Product Description

From the author of the acclaimed Revolution in the Head, Ian MacDonald takes us on a journey through the music of the sixties and seventies. Starting with one of the most important assessments of Bob Dylan to appear in print for many years, these essays range from the psychedelia of the Beatles and the rebellion of the Rolling Stones to the political activism of John Lennon, the 'dark doings' of David Bowie and the spiritual quest of Nick Drake. In the central essay of this collection, 'The People's Music', MacDonald argues that the emergence of the Beatles in the early sixties changed the world of music for ever, as the power in the industry shifted to the audience. Combining a close reading of the music with a detailed understanding of the times, this collection confirms Ian MacDonald's reputation as one of Britain's most important music journalists. Enlightening and entertaining, The People's Music is music writing as its best.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #221985 in Books
• Published on: 2003-07-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

Review
'A triumph - compelling, seductive, delightful... After finishing it, I went out and bought a pile of Beatles CDs and listened to the songs properly for the first time in my life... Quite brilliant.' Nick Hornby 'An unprecedented critical feat... The post powerful and enlightening work on British pop since Jon Savage's England's Dreaming.' Time Out 'No book has ever taken us closer to the actual music of The Beatles... A brilliant piece of work.' Tony Parsons

From the Publisher
The very best pieces from the UK's finest rock journalist. His first book since the acclaimed Revolution in the Head

About the Author
Ian MacDonald was born in 1948. A writer with many interests, he was Assistant Editor of the New Musical Express during 1972-5. He has also worked as a song-writer and record producer, and is the author of The New Shostakovich and the critically acclaimed Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties.

Customer Reviews

A Beautiful Read from a beautiful man.
Just to throw in my ha'penny - I'll not repeat what others have tastefully outlined, the contents and inevitably less tanglible thread.

The People's Music, to my eyes, DOES have structure and running themes within each of its pieces. The theme is (without wanting to smell of patchoulli oil) humanity and its expression through music. McDonald was clearly a humanist and also clearly a bit disappointed in humanity's preparedness to accept fairly low standards of behaviour, art and humanity, I suppose.

What this book is not, is a critical book. the subjects are generally looked upon favourably and with some exceptions, Mcdonald attempts to do what most music journalism doesn't, which is to invoke the feeling of music. Not in a free-form moo-ing display, hip speed-freak jive or psychedelic babble, but in a deceptively straightforward manner.

In particular, the pieces on Bob Dylan and Nick Drake reveal far more than far heftier tomes about either, particularly Dylan - about whom Mcdonald obviously sat down and had a good think about, again a rare quality in much of today's music criticism (in my wholly amateur opinion) ,which goes for the snappy soundbite without any thought of thinking about what the artist was thinking. Conjecture, for sure, but it's well thought out and Mcdonald was no conspiracy nut. The Nick Drake piece is a lovely piece of writing and, far more than the plain-speaking, fact driven RITH (also excellent, but apart from the introduction, not too similar to this selection), truly celebrates without fawning - something that I am unable to do when faced with writing like this. Stop reading this and read the book. McDonald is a sad loss.

You must read this book
I haven't read Ian MacDonald's previous book, Revolution in the Head, which others on this site have raved about, as a seminal work on The Beatles. After reading The People's Music, I shall, soon. TPM is essentially a collection of IM's writings in various magazines such as Mojo and Uncut. Each is a dissertation on its own, offering insight not just musical, but also psychological, philosophical and sociological. I strongly recommend this book to anyone wishing to expand their understanding of the place of popular music in the world, seen through the eyes of some of its major exponents over the last forty years. However it is probably of greatest value to those approaching middle age, who can remember the artists first-hand.

treading a thin line
Hmmm. Well, less a 'book' than a collection, and readers coming to this from the stunning 'Revolution in the Head' may be disappointed. That perhaps says more about my expectations than about the book itself, but it certainly seems to have been marketed as some kind of a successor.

'Revolution in the Head' gave us something startlingly new on the Beatles. Where we might have thought there was little new to say, I.Mac pulled up the floorboards, tore down the walls and introduced us to the plumbing and wiring which supports the songs and the history which informs them. And taking the Beatles catalogue as its structure, it had real cohesion and momentum.

The People's Music lacks this kind of structural unity - it's more of a ragbag of good pieces addressing a variety of artists. The approach is similar however - heavily musicological (why do I sense that Ian MacDonald wouldn't like this description?), applying the rigours of lit crit and music crit to the pop world. And why not ?

Well only because after a while the style seems to become a little stultifying, the insights almost predictable. It's kind of heavy, man, and a number of the artists can't quite stand the approach. That isn't to say that they don't merit close analysis, but there's a certain joylessness in the approach which after a while becomes wearing. Reading the much-acclaimed Nick Drake piece at the end I was reminded of the classic Rees-Mogg quote 'Who Breaks a Butterfly on a Wheel'. If you're not a Drake fan already (and I am), perhaps dissuaded by the respectful hush which already attends his output, this full-force cultural and musical dissection won't send you rushing to HMV. Like... I know how clever and significant it is, but how about the tunes ?

I suggest reading this alongside Giles Smith's 'Lost in Music', alternating between chapters, reminding yourself that in pop as in life, there's a thin line between clever and (joyfully) stoopid.