Main Lines, Blood Feasts, and Bad Taste

August 11, 2003
For fans of one of the most vocal and irreverent critical voices in rock and roll, this newly issued Bangs reader will be a boon. Serving as a companion to the 1987 collection Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung, this volume is a selection of 54 pieces, some of which have been recently uncovered. In his introduction, Morthland, a writer-at-large for Texas Monthly, offers a paean to Bangs, who died in 1982 of a drug overdose, describing him as the"best-known bull-in-a-china-shop... who was always dangerously loaded, who could be so insulting and malicious as well as self-destructive... who had an expansive lust for life and a sense of humor and (sometimes even, and for no apparent reason) cheerfulness to match it." Within these pages, the acerbic Bangs takes on Dylan ("Dylan merely used Civil Rights and the rest of the Movement to advance himself in the first place") and encourages the Stones in a 1973 Creem article ("I challenge those lazy, sniveling, winded mothermissers to PRODUCE"). There's plenty here to entertain music fans and inspire today's critics of rock and roll.

July 1, 2003
In the last five years, Bangs's name has been dropped more than Madonna's. One of the earliest and best popular music critics, he covered rock's heyday in the 1960s through its faltering in the early 1980s with an often brutal, Beat-driven effervescence. Like its companion, Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung (1987), this anthology showcases that influential style, but it also reveals Bangs's calmer, gentler, and-this reviewer would argue-more articulate side. Among the 54 selections, organized by somewhat vague themes, his travelog on Jamaica and its music industry, sociological take on the death of Sid Vicious, and reviews of Patti Smith's Horses and Nico's The Marble Index shine. To boot, Morthland, coexecutor of Bangs's literary estate and a former Creem colleague, includes his riffs on jazz, heretofore not seen by many eyes. Readers will be reminded of what Bangs, who died of an accidental Darvon overdose in 1982, should really be famous for: his lust for life and "soul" music, any tune that hits a nerve and the heart at the same time. Truly, this is a time capsule of when pop music still crackled and people held the stuff to an emotional standard. Highly recommended for popular music and literature collections, especially where the earlier collection circulated well.-Heather McCormack, "Library Journal"

Copyright 2003 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2003
Adult/High School-A collection of the rock critic's essays from 1968 to 1982. Bangs is as engaging to read today as he was in earlier years as his themes-music and musicians, and how people react to them-are timeless. His writing conveys the many layers of feeling that music can create. Some of the bands and musicians are still popular and some are still active, but even when he writes about those no longer current, he can make readers think anew about any type of music. The other great appeal of this book is the sheer quality of the writing, which connects the audience effortlessly and instantaneously with Bangs's thoughts. Those who truly love music or who enjoy good writing will appreciate this book.-Ted Westervelt, Library of Congress, Washington, DC

Copyright 2003 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.