| TALKIN' 'BOUT A REVOLUTION Music and Social Change in America Dick Weissman New York: Backbeat Books, May 2010 |
Rating: 4.5 High |
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| ISBN-13 978-1-4234-4283-7 | ||||
| ISBN-10 1-4234-4283-0 | 370pp. | SC/BWI | $24.99 | |
This is one of the most complete compendiums of discussion about protest music I have seen. It looks all the way back to the Revolutionary War, and covers history from there up to the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It also covers many ethnic groups and genres of music: African-Americans, Native Americans, women, Spanish speakers; every genre of music from disco to folk to grunge to punk to rap to rock&roll.
That said, it necessarily does not go into great depth on any specific topic or individual. In fact, only a few get treatments I would call more than sketchy — Joe Hill, Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan — and it misses a few. Ian Tyson is mentioned as a writer of songs about Mexican-Americans, but neither Gordon Lightfoot nor his ballad "Miguel" gets a mention. (The author says he purposely omits Canadians. Obviously he makes exceptions to his omissions.) Among female rockers, Pat Benatar is not mentioned in the text [?]. The Index does not list her. Barbara Streisand and Bonnie Raitt are mentioned, but the Index misses them. Vickie Carr and Linda Ronstadt are omitted from the section on Spanish speakers, and from the Index. The same is true of Ritchie Valens ("La Bamba"), Jose Feliciano, and Selena.
I didn't make an exhaustive check, but I think his record on including songs is similarly spotty. In the chapter on Native Americans, he does not mention "Indian Reservation"1 by Paul Revere and the Raiders or Elton John's "Indian Sunset" — although Johnny Preston's maudlin "Running Bear" and the comically satirical "Please Mr. Custer" both appear.
Some of the pictures give the impression of being filler (e.g. the unnamed "Latina singing folk songs, circa 1940s" on page 250), and some are not very flattering of their subjects. The front cover, to my eye, seems "busier" or more cluttered than it should be. And, if you're wondering about the title, yes, Tracy Chapman is discussed and indexed.
This book has to be regarded as valuable but very uneven in its coverage. That is why I lowered its rating one notch. Still, for popular-music buffs, I consider it a keeper because of its breadth. It also includes a bibliography and discography. Look elsewhere for adequate depth on any specific individual.
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