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19 of 19 found the following review helpful:
REMEMBER THE FUTURE Jun 08, 2003
By Kerry Leimer
At a time when music criticism has degenerated into little more than fawning declarations of "best ever", "profound", "unique" and any other in-the-service-of-sales bromide you can stomach, it becomes even more important to take serious note of what comes from people who truly love music.
As he tells us early on, Archie Patterson was raised on records. Music is such a big part of his life that he turns out to be the right man at the right time. Because, while the U.S. might have been drowning in disco during the 1970s, Europe was the home of some of the most compelling, innovative and advanced bands to ever perform or record. Compelling and important enough to lead to the publication of Eurock, which stands far apart in the world of fanzines as an authentic journal of the people, the bands and the ideas that continue to inform and shape the many forms of alternative music today.
The 700+ pages of "Eurock, European Rock & the Second Culture" is nothing short of the definitive word on alternative, experimental and progressive European music written from the perspective of listeners and enthusiasts committed to furthering the cause of an alternative music and the culture it represents. The book's scope is encyclopedic, providing criticism, reviews and interviews with artists and groups, articles on independent labels, technology and instrumentation. The book even offers a rare article by Lester Bangs on Amon Duul.
Organized chronologically, from 1973 - 2002, this book provides information about virtually every important and not-so-important independent and alternative artist you could hope to read about from Europe, the U.S., Japan and points beyond. But much more than music comes through. As the title implies, the writings in this book are part of a time of profound cultural change which was in many ways inseparable from the music in question. Patterson asks us to look not only at the music, but at the social and cultural context of what helped make such music possible, and do so through the voices of the musicians and their audience. It is this aspect of "Eurock, European Rock & the Second Culture" that makes it such an important and authoritative collection of thoughts and observations of music and how music operates in the world. And what you'll find is simply that what mattered in the early 1970s continues to matter today, and will always matter to those that understand music to be more than entertainment or distraction.
So while the current crop of self-styled critics can spare us only a minute or two to tell us and sell us that something is "great" while they already have their eyes and ears on whatever the industry tells them is "next", pull out your copy of Eurock and spend your time with the people and ideas that have remained true to music, for the love of music, for more than three decades.
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
Treasure chest Feb 08, 2010
By Golovanov Alexey
Pros: That's exactly what I've been looking for (for years) - "Eurock" magazine 1973-2002 in one book, an Encyclopedia of European culture over 3 decades. True sub- (or counter-culture) writing & reviews - it means that this is one of the very few books you can read. Excellently organized; a real goldmine of information - not only cult names like "Can" or "Amon Duul", but "Osanna" and - even - "Piirpauke" from Finland (I had an LP and couldn't find anything on the band, because I was not sure of spelling). Czeslaw Niemen - Polish music icon, SBB (Poland), Omega (Hungary)...In many aspects better than some of so-called "complete rock-discographies", and a very knowledgeable and authoritative guide. Excellent buy and great gift
Contras: Keep in mind that it is a collection of writings from a magazine (which grew out of the fanzine). Thus, it expresses the points of view of a rather limited circle of editors and contributors, and cannot be objective: so, too much attention paid to elitist noise mongers (whose impact on the music culture was not so significant), to much Amon Duul, Klaus Schultze etc, etc... France - too many pretentious e n m e r d e u r s, but no Moustaki (the changes which started in 1968 cannot be understood without this musician); Jacques Higelin (sorry, this is a must), no Charlelie Couture, Armande Altai - just mentioned, no Saint-Preux and no "Space". It didn't start with "Magma" - where is "Telephone"?
Hungary: apart from "Omega", there were "Locomotiv", "Scorpio", "Pyramis", "Neoton", Honk Tonk Man - ZZi Labor... Czeslaw Niemen - treated with due respect, but underrated. Far too much DDR-rock, while more innovative SBB, Partita, Budka Suflera from Poland are quite underestimated. No "Laibach" from ex-Yugoslavia (Slovenia, to be more precise) - their influence on contemporary music cannot go unnoticed and as a painful image of totalitarian art is of vital importance. Don't forget, that "Laibach" established Neue Slovenische Kunst, which influence went over the borders and some bohemian communes. Greece: Dyonisios Savvopoulos is a must, he was a cornerstone of underground culture, not to know that is unforgivable; "Akrites" and "Axis".
Denmark - "Savage Rose"? Norway - "Titanic"? What about "Frumpy", "Toad", "Weed"... Where are PFM, Gianna Nannini, Il Biglietto Per L'Inferno, De De Lind...
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Book of Underapprciated Gems Dec 02, 2009
By P. Mc Hugh
I began my relationship with Archie Patterson in 1980. I was listening to a radio program called "Synthetic Pleasure" and heard a track from the group Neuronium, from Spain and was astounded. The DJ was kind enough to provide contact information. So I called Archie and ordered two Neuronium LP's and that started me on the road to expanding my horizons and delving into a new culture of music.
I started with Archie as a customer of a very unique music distributor. Archie is not just a distributor, but also a researcher of the roots of the music and investigates the culture that surrounds the musicians and environment from which the music was made.
As much as he has been spreading the word of this treasure trove, he needed to expand the listeners (and now readers). Those that have been followers of Eurock know that no moss has been growing under Archie's feet. He has scoured the world for undiscovered music that tantalizes the senses. In doing so, he has unearthed the culture behind it. Readers will travel to Europe, Asia and other parts in their exploration. It may be of interest to some that Archie was distributing music from Eastern Europe when the Iron Curtain was still erected.
All of this exploration has been tantalizing and in many ways very exotic. In some respects this music is sort of an outgrowth of the exploration of different music from the 1960's. It was not psychedelic, but has elements of it in some of the music. It is not world music, as currently defined, but ethnic timbers are included. Western and Eastern music structures are prevalent as well as some without any structure; sometimes all of the above may appear in one album (or CD or Data File). Yes, there is rock music, but you will also find Rock In Opposition, Avant Garde, modern Classical, Electonic and a host of others.
Some names will be recognizable to the reader, many will be new. All of it is fascinating.
I implore readers and lovers of music to pick up a copy of this book. You will not be dissatisfied with your selection.
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