BOMP: SAVING THE WORLD ONE RECORD AT A TIME
Suzy Shaw and Mick Farren (Ammo)
     This big 250 page A4 size hardback is a labour of love by Mick Farren and particularly Suzy Shaw the ex-wife and long time business partner of the late and highly missed Greg Shaw. This brilliantly designed books contains reprints of articles from Greg's first and pioneering fanzine The Mojo Navigator and the later Who Put The Bomp.
     I subscribed to Bomp in the '70s from the British Invasion issue in '73 onward until it folded in '80 with issue #21 but had never seen the earlier issues, and Mojo Navigator was just a legend -- issues now cost an arm and a leg on Ebay if any ever come up for sale.
     This book is worth its weight in gold , especially interesting are the reprints of long early interviews with The Grateful Dead, Big Brother and Country Joe And The Fish from '66 and The Doors from '67.
     Also included are articles from the early Bomp's by Greil Marcus and a wonderful 23-page rant by Lester bangs from issue #3.
     The evolution of Bomp from '60s fanzine to its embrace of the late '70s punk revolution and then record label are well documented, but what thrills most is the unearthing of the never issued #22 which with its interview with Sky Saxon showed that Greg was returning the magazine to its roots.
     Containing a plethora of photos, reviews, editorials etc this is a treasure trove for record fans and the many short essays by Suzy Shaw documenting the trials and tribulations of running both the fanzine and record label on a shoe string strengthen the triumph Bomp was and is.Tales of how she baked home made cookies to send to creditors and visits by tax inspectors are told in such a way that make you realise why even today she considers it all worth while.
     I cannot praise this book enough. It looks like a treat one and offers a cornucopia of delights. A must have for all Shindiggers.
www.bomp.com
Pat Curran

THE RESTLESS GENERATION
Pete Frame (Rogan House)
     Part social history, part musical history, this wonderful book documents in loving detail how rock music changed the face of '50s Britain. Starting with the brothers Bill and Ken Colyer and their efforts in the late '40s and early '50s to bring jazz and blues to war torn Britain and documenting along the way the careers of Lonnie Donegan, Tommy Steele, Marty Wilde, Terry Dene et al as well as the many who fell by the wayside this book brilliantly juxtaposes the quality of US records with their anaemic British covers and the paucity of coverage given by the BBC and music press of the time. The narrative is leavened with the irreverent humour, insight and a factual grasp that made the early issues of Zigzag and his Family Tree books so invaluable.
     Frame brilliantly places his story in its social and cultural time frame, quoting from the many scabrous attacks on the "new music" by establishment figures in government, entertainment and the musical press. The rise of skiffle, a very British phenomenon, mainly the result of a paucity of instruments and the funds available to buy them, is covered in great detail with stories of how the Roundhouse and Gyre and Gimbel became skiffle clubs leading on to the 2 Is coffee bar which in turn became the birthplace of British Rock'n'Roll.
     The myriad of movers, shakers, hopefuls, no-hopers and fellow travellers who frequented the Soho scene is given full range and the many stories are interwoven with a panache and flair for detail that gives credence to Pete's claim that "I began collecting interviews (over 80) for this book in '89 but could never find the time to set everything out and start assembling what was a colossal jigsaw until four years ago, when I moved to a remote outpost in the Scottish Highlands". A colossal jigsaw it is too, but it really is put together in a very coherent and readable way, all the time placing the events in their social context and drawing comparisons with the American music scene and detailing the obstructive practices not only of the BBC but also the musicians union.
     Successes are many: Lonnie Donegan, Chris Barber, Jack Good, Larry Parnes, Lionel Bart and John Barry among them but it is the lesser lights Tony Sheridan, Vince Eager, Rick Richards (who had his name pinched by Cliff) Colin Hicks (Tommy's brother) and Vince Taylor who provide some of the most interesting stories.
     As a baby boomer who grew up in the '50s, wore a Davy Crockett hat, listened to the Billy Cotton show and Radio Luxembourg, tried to whistle like Ronny Ronalde and had his 10 year old eyes and ears opened to the power of rock'n roll not by Elvis or Bill Haley but the local skiffle group performing the Lonnie Donegan songbook in the village hall, I found this book difficult to put down as all these memories and more came flooding back.
     Containing lists of records and a detailed chronology detailing all the main events month by month from October '49 to the end of '59 this is a labour of love and for younger readers wanting an entertaining and factual history of how rock 'n roll came to Britain this book cannot be bettered. Thoroughly recommended.
www.roganhouse.co.uk
Pat Curran

SHAKE SOME ACTION: THE ULTIMATE POWER POP GUIDE
John M Borack (Not Lame paperback 200pp)
     Maybe you have to be American to really 'get it', but I have never understood why The Raspberries are always cited (not to mention hallowed) as the originators or archetypes of power pop in the modern (i.e. as of the 1970s) period. I've played all their albums and key tracks and I still don't get it. If, as Greg Shaw succinctly (and he should know) put it in the March 1978 issue of Who Put The Bomp, the definition of power pop is '...explosive energy within a pure pop structure...' then the Raspberries seem to my ears to negate rather than epitomise that idiom.
     Great harmonies sure, but so much of their stuff is as mellow as fabric softener! I'd pitch The Records against them any day, a band who did contain harmony, melody and power and who quite possibly looked to The Raspberries as a template but improved it. I only raise this because here again in John Borack's most enjoyable Shake Some Action, The Raspberries again get the Godhead treatment. Clearly I am flawed (or may even be floored!) for being an unbeliever, but a heathen has to speak his mind. Onwards.
     The book is a coffee table snug square affair with various contributors giving history and opinion to what is essentially a variety of lists. There's a very good historical overview by Carl Caferelli that charts the progress and branch lines of power pop and pure pop etc. This then leads into potted critiques within such lists as 'the best power pop CD compilations', 'the 200 greatest power pop albums', '30 landmark vinyl albums from powerpop's golden age' etc. It is essentially, what is says on the cover a guide (the 'ultimate' will of course be subjectively debated for ever more). It does its job well.
     Already there are six downloadable CD-R volumes, unofficially compiled, based on the book's recommendations from one of the power pop blog sites. The book certainly caused me to start searching out the older vinyl albums and upgrading neglected CD-R copies with original wax and re-exploring my CD collection to give ear time to shelf filling discs long overdue for a spin. Not Lame are to be congratulated in funding this publication solely through advance orders sufficiently to make the book happen.
     Oh yes, it comes with a free CD of unissued, alt take and rare power pop from such as The Rubinoos, Chris von Sneidern, Walter Clavenger & The Dairy Kings amongst the 24 cuts. Only the most jaded of collectors or enthusiasts would fail to find fun and frolic in the book's 200 pages - well what other book do you know of about power pop? Exactly. A fun read and great to dip into, it's a definite joy to own. I must see a doctor about those Raspberries though!
www.notlame.com/PBPOWERPOPBOOK.html
Paul Martin