Vanilla Pop: Sweet Sounds from Frankie Avalon to ABBA (Paperback)

~ (Author) "At the Fourteenth Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Dinner in 1999, Billy Joel gladly accepted his award but could not resist adding..." (more)
Key Phrases: vanilla pop, sunshine pop, album cuts, Pat Boone, Brothers Four, Crew Cuts (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Lanza celebrates an oft-maligned musical genre-the "honey-coated crooning, creamy choral harmonies, and rippling guitar" of the likes of the Cowsills, Pat Boone, the Carpenters and ABBA-in this fond history. The author of Elevator Music: A Surreal History of Muzak argues that dismissing such artists and their music as "white-bread" and "vanilla" belies their achievements and influence; it also, he suggests, "reveals a tendency to fetishize 'blackness' as an antidote to romanticism." And just because someone performed pretty, easy melodies didn't mean he or she led a pretty, easy life: of the gifted, troubled British producer Joe Meek, Lanza writes that he "made every effort to document his terrified and torn existence in his music." Though Lanza is careful to detail the lives of his various subjects, his account becomes most interesting when he reveals the technical accomplishments of the singers and (especially) the engineers who helped make their sound. Producer Michael Tretow, for example, altered tape speeds to make ABBA sound bigger, "imbued...with sonic ventilation." Lanza is a real connoisseur of this music, and his knowledge and enthusiasm sometimes lend him the air of a preacher seeking to convert the masses: vanilla, he says, "has all along been the preeminent flavor." Most readers will wish for a little more criticism here and there, but in general, this is a surprisingly flavorful journey through an often-ignored musical landscape. 25 b&w photos not seen by PW.
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Review

"Interesting and fun to read." -- The New York Press

"The chapter on ‘ABBA’s Vanilla Ice’ is delicious." -- Chicago Free Press

"What makes Lanza’s new book compelling . . . is precisely his willingness to take risks on music that took very little." -- The Record

"With contagious enthusiasm, Lanza reveals the engineering tricks behind the dulcet sounds of the ‘50s and ‘60s froth." -- Blender

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Chicago Review Press (February 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556525435
• ISBN-13: 978-1556525438
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,319,284 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, November 2, 2007

By	Brian Chidester (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Joseph Lanza did something brave and integral with this book by dismissing the notion that American black suffering in music is a panacea for good taste and audio appreciation. Lanza not only made affluent white guilt seem ridiculous and empty, but he put forth all the flavors that made '50s and '60s white pop, rock and romanticism so great.

Doubtful anyone at this point would argue that early black jazz, blues and R&B are powerful evocations of American life in the first half of the 20th Century. Lanza, however, goes beyond viewing white pop music as a mere novelty of '50s naivete. The Norman Rockwell notion of songs like "Sh'Boom" or various Mitch Miller Singers albums are appreciated for their sonic beauty and delectible arrangement. These songs are as much flight-of-fancy... full of good times... as they are relics of a bygone era. Lanza's text holds works by the Ray Conniff Singers, the Lettermen, the Cascades and Harper's Bizarre up as All-American pieces of pop-art, giving them historical context and some good old journalistic insight on how to enjoy the music.

For my money, I haven't seen a better chapter written about producer Curt Boettcher yet. Here's hoping a Boettcher book is somewhere in the works. Until then, pick "Vanilla Pop" up and find out about the celestial sounds that inspired and sustained Boettcher and other creative minds.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Joseph Lanza's Vanilla Pop tantalizes you taste buds, June 23, 2005

By	James M. Meehan "j. meehan" (somerville, ma United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Vanilla Pop is revolutionary ! Of all the music books out there, this is the ONLY book that covers the careers of such popular artists as the Lettermen, the Four Preps, Brian Hyland and much more. He also goes into great detail about the production. There are already enough books written about the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, Nirvana, Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix. Mr. Lanza dares to be different in a biased society where these artists are considered lame and whitebread by critics and the public alike. As much as i like rock, heavy metal, soul and disco, I also like most of the artists in Mr. Lanza's book. His writing style is excellent and is filled with wit. He also covers some cult artists, such as Sagitarius, Joe Meek, Claudine Longet and the Sandpipers. Any true fan of music should read this book, it is essential.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Sweetness w/o Equal, January 25, 2005

By	David Scott "mottdeterre" (Claremont, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Funny that "Vanilla" should be such a rarefied taste, yet seekers of information on the musically arcane have few other places to turn if they want to learn more about Claudine Longet, Curt Boettcher, the Mike Curb Congregation, Harpers Bizarre or the Doodletown Pipers. The man who wrote the definitive volume on elevator music is back with a survey course on the sweet AM radio fodder that has been unfairly dismissed as MOR schlock but has come back into vogue thanks to folks like the Aluminum Group, Cinerama and even Belle & Sebastian. I find the writing at times somewhat ponderous for a sound that is lighter than air, but Lanza's sly wit helps alleviate his pedantic tendencies. He titles his chapter on the sweet'n'sour sound of the Carpenters "Someone Left the Cake out in the Rain" and his chapter on ABBA is called "Vanilla Ice." You'll likely learn something as you read both.