Peter Doggett

Peter Doggett’s sweeping overview of popular music from the 1890s to today (well, 2015, anyway) had a huge challenge: Cover the major and minor trends, and find the threads connecting it all.

He succeeded, in an amazing way.

“Electric Shock” is one critic’s look at popular music and will have its detractors – I’ve read other reviews saying it’s too broad, or he wasn’t critical enough, etc. But in the Introduction, Doggett made clear what he was up to. He wanted to look at show more popular music, and couldn’t go back far enough. ’50s? ’40s? ’30s?

Eventually, he settled on the 1890s for two reasons: The beginning of ragtime, one of the first “popular” non-European music styles in the West, and it was the start of sound recording. Both events began to change music.

Another thing Doggett does is set aside his own biases. He acknowledges that the mere mention of Bing Crosby or Queen would set him off. He decided to let all the music speak to him – and in turn, he became a fan of more people and styles than he used to be.

The downside is it spends little time on some bigger practitioners, but the upside is the almost encyclopedic look at styles and artists. He covers jazz, blues, rock, country and subgenre after subgenre, such as swing, boy bands, electronica, bebop, exotica, folk, metal – almost anything that became popular, even for a second.

If you’re looking for a deep dive into rock or jazz, you won’t find it here. But if you want to relive the scope of popular music, decade by decade, you’ll find it here.

Highly recommended.

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ou Never Give Me Your Money is one of those books that if you pick it up at 9PM you'll find yourself at 2AM fighting to keep your eyes open but refusing to release them from the page. It is definitely essential, required reading for any Beatlemaniac, but be forewarned: Pepperland was one sordid, messed up disaster socially, spiritually, financially and personally.

Dogget's well-researched book covers all the ins and outs of the 1968-70 Beatle breakup does a great job explaining the financial show more and contractual details and how interpersonal conflict played a part in the McCartney/Eastman vs. Fab 3/Klein split. It then provides a synopsis of the post Beatle careers to the present and of course covering Lennon's assassination.

Dogget's description of the Apple offices awash in marijuana, malt whiskey and maudlin, hippy sensibility are funny in a "Oh I can't believe I'm watching this train wreck sort of way." Clearly, good vibes do not a business make. He is very fair to Yoko, I am pleased to write, although he does not gloss over her own foibles.

I think the greatest eye opener for me was what I'll call the standard amazon.com reviewer "they were only human" escape clause. Yes John, Paul, George and Richard (DON'T call him by his stage name; he hates that) were human. But they were pretty miserable, horrible humans - not just to themselves but to all those around them. I guess one could charitably put it as their fame and celebrity was incredibly damaging to their personalities, and their Beatles phase of their lives was so colossal that it was difficult for them to move forward. Even Harrison, the most "spiritual" Beatle, frequently comes across as a guy who used mantras little more than as a means to avoid responsibility (especially in his personal relations) and eagerly tracked every sterling pound of royalties that came in from sales of "My Sweet Lord."

All of them descended into substance abuse problems, but its Richards transformation into a pathetic drunk and Lennon's (a.k.a. "Johnandyoko") 1969-1973 ***hole antics made me root for the INS to deport him!

Ultimately, I don't believe in this "they were human" escape clause. Dogget makes clear that the various Beatles made very cogent, willing decisions that illustrate little more then their petty selfishness. It reminded me of Jerry Garcia's daughter's simple and devastating eulogy: he was a great musician and a shitty father."

And somehow, despite all, the music DOES transcend, as the book points out. It's a testimony to their phenomenal talent that 4 guys who pretty much loathed each other could still record Abbey Road. show less

Admittedly, I'm a sucker for books about the Beatles, but considering that about 50% of the book details the seemingly endless lawsuits the Beatles were involved in it's a surprisingly gripping read. I also like that it takes a somewhat skeptical view of the JohnAndYoko myth.

Ever wish you could have been a Beatle, in the eye of the storm, living it up, leaving a monumental musical legacy? Well, think again after reading this book. While there was was joy, there was also eternal business-related soul-sucking hell, and horrible interpersonal conflict. How would your personality unfold, given unlimited fame, fortune, and the whole world feeding on their ever-changing perceptions of your persona? I suspect few saints would emerge from the life the Beatles have had. show more Meticulously researched, illuminates every crack and cranny of the long and winding road and beyond. show less