Peter Doggett

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

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.

Doggett states in the book's preface that CSNY only released a total of 22 songs over their entire career and wonders why they have had such lasting impact. Yet he fails to answer his own question, choosing instead to focus on their toxic, ego-driven personalities that made their dynamic so challenging. Instead of chronicling one more fight or sexual indiscretion, I wish Doggett had delved a little deeper into their musical creation process. I finished the book with a strong dislike for all show more four men, and no greater understanding of what made their music so special. show less

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.

Read more of my reviews at Ralphsbooks. show less