Customer Reviews

Urban Spacemen and Wayfaring Strangers: Overlooked Innovators and Eccentric Visionaries of '60s Rock

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

This could be considered a follow up to "Unknown Legends of Rock 'n 'Roll" but this volume is more devoted to the British and American performers of the 1960's that stayed around the fringes of success. And the only reason I rated this a 4 is that I wished it had been 400 plus pages like "Unknown..."
Again, Unterberger has that approach where he seeks out the artist(s). In many cases, because alot of 60's bands are discussed, he got viewpoints from 2 - 3 members, which broadens the story. There aren't quite as many black and white photos in this book but the chapters are longer. Only about 20 artists are profiled but these names may ring bigger bells... The Beau Brummels, The Electric Prunes and the Pretty Things... to name a few.
This parallels Unterberger's previous book, in that he looks at these innovative groups at the height of their potential, yet because of choices made, accident, death, politics, lack of promotion, distribution or sheer arrogance, one or two hits was all the world heard. Most of these people at that time still kept making music - it was just never heard beyond a certain area.
To help with hearing these sounds now, Unterberger has at the end of each chapter "Recommended Recordings", which are mini reviews in themselves as he lists records and/or CDs that are readily available or may be very hard to get.
A compact disc is found at the back of the book with notes devoted especially to the tracks. This, however, is not as expansive as the disc found in "Unknown..."
In the chapter about Arthur Brown (Crazy World of) I was surprised that his work with The Alan Parson's Project went unmentioned. His vocal on "Tales of Mystery and Imagination Edgar Allen Poe", specifically, "The Tell-Tale Heart" is very dramatic in showing off his dynamics and range.
Yet that chapter is one of the more personable ones in the book, as the author describes meeting Arthur Brown at the train station, learning of the death of Screaming Lord Sutch, and having a small tea together.
There is alot more to music than the Top 40 or Hot 100 - no matter what year it is. This book relates that struggle for many artists of the 1960's; that having the talent to create sometimes meant more than having that hit. Sometimes having that hit was the beginning of the end of the bands's careers.
Ritchie Unterberger approaches each artist with sincerity and this is felt in reading about what happens or didn't happen. Also to add perspective, he tells what the artists are doing now in music - or not in music. Again, this is an enjoyable reference book he has created and a serious rock music library should not be without it.

Richie has pulled it off once again! On the heels of his "Unknown Legends of Rock N' Roll" he's created an essential publication for any fan of 60s rock n' roll history. From obscure groups like the Poets and Rationals to more well-known artists like the Beau Brummels and Bobby Fuller he provides the reader with a reading laced with personal interviews that highlight the ups and downs of the music business in the 1960s. A 6 track CD is included which features a fantastic live performance of the Electric Prunes' "I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night", which without the studio-produced effects of the hit single make it almost a different tune. In fact, maybe a better one. Here's hoping Richie is starting on another similar venture because this stuff is down right addictive.

I love Richie Unterberger. He can usually be counted on to get the facts straight but when it comes to critical evaluation he's always wrong! If he thinks something is impenetrable or unlistenable -Scott Walker's "Tilt" comes to mind- chances are it's worth checking out. He's tone-deaf when it comes to nuance, as witness his review at All Music Guide of -just off the top of my head- Susan Pillsbury's sole record. He's the Roger Ebert of music criticism, a man with a tiny bit of street cred which he uses mostly to endorse a comfortably "alternative" canon, one that excludes really challenging, innovative or unclassifiable accomplishments.

Richie Unterberger isn't my favorite author, and I don't always agree with his opinions and conclusions. That being said, I know of no one else who took the time to research and write about so many generally unknown and/or under appreciated artists that I love and put them all in one book. The subject matter alone of this volume and his earlier work, Unknown Legends of Rock 'n' Roll, are enough to forever earn my undying gratitude and respect for this author. This was obviously written for love of the music. Let's face it, most of these artists are obscure and don't generate a lot of sales. It's only logical a book about such artists isn't likely to sell that great either.

Urban Spacemen surpasses Mr. Unterberger's earlier work by leaps and bounds. This volume covers fewer artists, and thus has more time and space for each one. I also found the choice of artists to be of greater interest this time around. I bought this for the section on the brilliant guitarist Randy Holden. Everything else was pure gravy: Arthur Brown, The Pretty Things, Electric Prunes, The Fugs etc. I was very familiar with the songs of Fred Neil through the numerous artists who covered them, but knew very little of the man. Knew of The Bonzo Dog Band but not about them. And Kaleidoscope! This book introduced me to that innovative and talented band. Seventeen artists and two producers are covered with brief histories, interviews and discussion of the music. An average of 10 to 12 pages devoted to each one along with a photo or two. I wish Richie would have devoted at least 20 pages per artist, but that's a small complaint considering the quality of the music covered here. Absolutely fascinating from cover to cover. I've had this for 8 years and have read it at least a half a dozen times.

Essential reading for those who love those eccentric oddballs and innovators who's music is often as hard to track down as reliable information about its creation. An excellent volume covering those who rarely get the credit or attention they deserve. This is fascinating reading that I would recommend to anyone interested in the history of rock'n'roll and related styles of music, and those who get tired of only reading about those that achieved fame and fortune. If you buy it new, it comes with a CD of 6 songs. It should of had one by every artist, but hey, it's a nice bonus. The book alone is well worth the money.

I had found The Unknown Legends Of Rock'n'Roll an interesting source of reference, but one which revealed relatively little that cannot be found in the writings of some eccentric critics or in books such as The MOJO Collection.

This book is somewhat different instructure from Unterberger's previous work in that it is focused on many fewer artists and allows each one much more space. This really does benefit the book because the reader can know each artist mentioned much more than in The Unknown Legends Of Rock'n'Roll. One gains a true understanding of each artist, the people who formed them, their ideals and the music they made in a way one does not with The Unknown Legends Of Rock'n'Roll.

Moreover, Unterberger tries to explain the fact that there are so many undiscovered gems from the 1960s in terms of the culture of the decade. On the whole, he is fairly successful, even though he is careful to avoid claiming that the bands discussed were better than such acts as the Beatles, Rolling Stones or Velvet Underground. He is very successful, though, in explaining what has attracted certain groups of people to the undiscovered music of the 1960s, and tries to avoid the very common critical viewpoint that only those sixties bands who were predecessors of punk and new wave (Velvets, Stooges, MC5, Beefheart and the garage bands) are important today.

Some of the artists did actually have a major hit or fair success on album charts, unlike The Unknown Legends Of Rock'n'Roll, where there are very severe qualifications for inclusion. Such artists are re-evaluated in terms of other work that did not succeed of the charts. Distribution was not as regular in the sixties as it is today so that many bands could have had a hit locally that never became a hit nationally. This was particularly true of some "blue and brown eyed soul" groups such as Thee Midniters and The Rationals, the latter of which could never break out of their hometown in the era before the "Detroit sound" of the Stooges, MC5 and Alice Cooper became established.

As mentioned earlier, the artists mentioned receive a good description and one is able to track what the members of each groups discussed were doing (or collaborators in the case of artists like Tim Buckley) and to the way in which they evolved throughout their careers. This is, I feel, a better way of doing thins than the brief profiles of The Unknown Legends Of Rock'n'Roll, and gets into one's mind more easily. At the same time, it is no more revealing for some who reads incessantly about music than The Unknown Legends Of Rock'n'Roll, and the artists do not require as much to be written about them as the artists in The Unknown Legends Of Rock'n'Roll (Unterberger admits this).

On the whole, this is worthy reading and rather better presented than The Unknown Legends Of Rock'n'Roll.

unterberger is probably my favorite music writer, his tastes most closely resemble my own. he's right when he says that there were many, many great groups in the 60's that DIDN'T make it. there were (in my estimation) very very few truly bad bands in the 60's and early 70's- most groups had something going for them. if you like this era, you should also try mr. unterberger's other book on obscure rock greats. this book profiles interesting to sublime performers like the bonzo dog band, tim buckley, and fred neil, to name just three. hopefully unterberger will continue to produce books on musical figures from this halcyon period.

What I care about, what's important to me, is that the Bonzos are here. Anything that keeps the Bonzos, especially Vivian Stanshall, alive in any way, is a-ok in my book. Is this book a good book? I wouldn't really know, not caring much for books of this sort. I bought it for the Bonzos.