THE MEMPHIS GARAGE ROCK YEARBOOK 1960-1975
By Ron Hall (Shangri-La Projects; Hard Back Book: ISBN 0-9668575-2-6)
     Housed in a leather-like green sleeve with gold embossed print this book looks special before even opening it. And special it is. Well, that is if you want to see 136 pages of black & white pictures of numerous known and one-shot garage bands from Memphis. And I imagine this will be of great interest to many of us. It is to me. Cool shots of many complete unknowns (alongside The Gentrys, Sam The Sham and Big Star) that trace the evolution of the state's rock scene from bespectacled teen nerd bands to stack heeled, facial hair wearing, long haired hippies. A wonderful historical photo album essential for the garage fan!
www.shangrilaprojects.com
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

MISTY LANE #18 + Free CD
     I remember Misty Lane when it was an Italian-language-only photocopied 'zine indebted to neo-garage bands and B-Movie mayhem-a similar approach which I took with Gravedigger. Many years have passed and #18 is a stunner. (It's the first issue in a few years due to Massimo's time and effort having been taken up by the Misty Lane record label). Housed in a colour sleeve and featuring a stunning 134 pages this is a treat for garage lovers. Great pieces on Sky Saxon and The Lemon Drops made me pull out records by both bands (a clear sign that the writing has struck a major chord with the reader). There're decent Fuzztones related tales via a career overview of Protrudi's bubblegum punks Tina Peel and an in depth history of ex-Outta Place and current 'tone Andre Kusten's R&R tainted life; Patrick Lundborg's teen recollections of the '80s Stockholm garage explosion is an exceptional account that I'm sure will register with the rest of us bitten by the mop top and cool thread bug at a tender age; Jeff Connolly extols his incurable record collecting addiction, and there're brilliant interviews with the likes of major players The Remains and The Leaves, cult heroes The Bold and Terry Rae, and lesser knowns The Guilloteens, Tol-Puddle Martyrs, Tonto & The Renegades, The Bojax and The Bachs. All in all it's a mightily impressive effort, only let down by some missed opportunities. The Yardbirds interview should have been so much better. The: When did you form? What music do you like? Do you like new garage? questions posed to the current roster of bands interviewed are repeated again and again and do become tiresome. It could be politely said too that the regular typos and errors could have so easily been rectified if proofread by a native English speaking contributor. The minor flaws however have done little to tarnish an otherwise faultless magazine. On the plus side, the free CD, which is full to the brim with 28 top Misty Lane related tracks (featuring many of the bands covered in the magazine) more than make up for what little shortcomings there are!
     If other magazines are getting more and more open to a greater variety of music (which I must say not everyone is interested in) Misty Lane is definitely the first port of call for authentic GARAGE. Essential!
mistylane@iol.it
Jon 'Mojo' Mills