RSS
Home
Book review: Michael Jackson, Jimi Hendrix, Velvet Underground
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
(Omnibus Press)
Day-by-day books are not only great reference guides, but can also be a treasure trove of trivia for fans of the artist being profiled. And though it might seem a straight forward format, there’s more than one way it can be executed:
Michael Jackson: A Visual Documentary by Adrian Grant (Omnibus Press)
This latest edition of the guide (first published in 1994) has been updated to include Jackson’s sudden, tragic death last June, going from Jackson’s birth in 1958 to July 7, 2009, the date of his public funeral service. Grant, who former publisher of a Michael Jackson fan magazine (and subsequently involved with other Jackson projects), is fiercely protective of his charge, protesting the focus on “scandalous gossip” about Jackson’s life. Nonetheless, he focuses on the public Jackson himself, and sometimes at the expense of his working life, listing record release dates but not recording sessions. The book is very much geared toward fans, who presumably want less detail; for performance dates, for example, a venue may or may not be named, and there are no set lists provided. Grant also covers non-work related events, such as when Jackson visited a theme park or went to a party.
When Grant deals with child abuse allegations that plagued Jackson, he skews his lists in support of his idol, listing the date Michael Jackson: The Footage You Were Never Meant To See (a rebuttal to Martin Bashir’s infamous TV program Living With Michael Jackson), but oddly not giving the date when the Bashir program aired in the US. Similar discrepancies occur in areas that are less controversial, but more important to Jackson’s career. Though Grant relies on US chart information (because, according to the introduction, “Michael’s career started in the US”), he doesn’t always provide US record release dates; sometimes it’s there, sometimes it isn’t. Drawing on US chart info while not listing the US release date of Thriller, Jackson’s biggest album, keeps this book from being definitive (the discography is UK-only as well). As such, the book is a more like a fan’s scrapbook than a reference tool. And of the three books here, it’s also the most lavishly illustrated.
(Backbeat Books)
Ultimate Hendrix by John McDermott with Eddie Kramer and Billy Cox (Backbeat Books)
This book is a sort of update of McDermott’s Jimi Hendrix: Sessions, “sort of” because you not only get session info, you also get listings for Hendrix’s live performances.
This is a straight-ahead just-the-facts account, covering Hendrix’s career from 1963 to 1971. Each listing presents the information in a standard format; after the date, you get the name of the recording studio and session times, or concert venue and set list (if known). For radio and TV performances, the air date is included in the listing. Record release dates are given, and there’s also an index of song and album titles.
Unlike the Jackson book, you won’t find information on outside activities like press conferences or what parties Hendrix attended. There are also fewer photographs. But McDermott does go into a lot more detail about the events he covers. There’s some sort of information given for most performances, and he draws on interviews from various sources (including the co-authors, Kramer being Hendrix’s original engineer, and Cox a fellow musician). Those who wonder how Hendrix’s catalogue has grown to be so large when his career was so short will be amazed to see the work he packed into the years 1967 to 1970 (the book ends with the 1971 posthumous release of Cry Of Love).
Though McDermott says he used Mark Lewisohn’s The Beatles Recording Sessions as his guide, one wishes there was more Lewisohn-like detail in this book, such as listing the number of takes recorded. Nonetheless, this book is the best place to get a comprehensive picture of Hendrix’s career.
(Jawbone Press)
White Light/White Heat by Richie Unterberger (Jawbone Press)
This chronology of the Velvet Underground’s career sets quite a high standard as far as day-by-day guides are concerned. It’s the biggest of the three guides reviewed here, all 367 pages absolutely crammed with information (and though it would have increased the book’s length, it still would have been nice had the text been a few point sizes larger).
The book begins in 1958, covering the activities of the various Velvets before the group formed in 1965, a period usually not scrutinized in such detail. Unterberger writes extensively about every recording session, concert, and film date, drawing on a wealth of interviews, making the book more of a narrative account than a simple day-by-day. Apparently unwilling to leave anything out, there are sections at the end of each chapter for events that happened during a particular year, but where a date could not be pinned down. Record releases are highlighted in separate boxes throughout the text; this is especially useful for tracking the release of records after the group split in 1973.
The book continues through 2007, covering select solo releases by the group (especially if they include a song worked on during the Velvet years), the reunions in 1990 and 1993, the band’s induction into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame, and other notable events. The photo and illustration selection is so interesting, one wishes for more; early promo shots, ads, an article on drummer Maureen Tucker headlined “Spotlighting the Single Girl: She Gave Up Computers To Play Drums in Band,” Lou Reed meeting President Bill Clinton in 1998. A delight to look at, a pleasure to read.
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
