BOOKS
A PERFECT HAZE: THE ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THE MONTEREY INTERNATIONAL POP FESTIVAL Harvey & Kenneth Kubernik Santa Monica Press
of ancient Rome that was The Batcave. One hard- to-fill Monday, former punk Christian Paris and his mate Clive Jackson (aka The Doctor) launched their own weekly fantasy fun house
called Alice In Wonderland which would end up flying the capital’s freak flag for the next 10 years. After a shaky start, the club started
As festival director Lou Adler states in his foreword, “The line-up of acts would represent all genres of the immediate past, present and future of contemporary music; all acts would be treated the same and have first-class travel and accommodations.” Everything about that statement was new and uncharted in 1967.
Conceived during a stoned flight of fancy between Adler, John and Michelle Phillips, Cass Elliott and Paul McCartney earlier that year and made flesh via the intervention of benefactor Alan Pariser and promoter Ben Shapiro, Monterey became the first (and many would argue best) rock music festival. In this definitive tome, the Kubernik brothers trace the story from its ramshackle beginnings, wherein the likes of Johnny Rivers and Paul Simon wrote the initial cheques. Once it was decided that all profit would go to charity and heavyweights like Andrew Loog Oldham, Derek Taylor and McCartney himself had joined the board of directors, the booking of acts came easily. The Beach Boys and Dionne Warwick may have pulled out but Otis, Janis, Jimi, Ravi and the rest offered no resistance. Only those bastions of roguish non-conformity The Grateful Dead needed any convincing (and wound up stealing the backline by way of “payment”) but respected San Fran DJ Tom Donahue soon assuaged them and opened up the previously sceptical SF scene to the festival organisers. Lavishly illustrated throughout and bulging with insights from every surviving artist, crew member, journalist and audience member you could imagine, this book is a work of art in itself and one to be cherished. Andy Morten
A PRETTY SMART WAY TO CATCH A LOBSTER: THE ALICE IN WONDERLAND YEARS Christian Paris Self-published By 1983, Gossips had become the most happening basement in London, regular clubs held there including the weekly fall
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getting packed every week, stoking London’s psych scene by putting on bands of the day, outrageous Magical Mystery Trips and The Doctor firing up the exotic creatures on the dance floor (alongside yours truly for a while). In ‘86, the club was unexpectedly chucked on the world stage when The Doctor and his Medics hit #1 with their cover of Norman Greenbaum’s ‘Spirit In The Sky’, the Alice brand expanded to a Portobello Road boutique and line of psychedelic clobber, both called Planet Alice (although starting an LA branch with Ringo Starr’s daughter proved less successful).
The club ran out of steam 10 years
later, leaving cherished memories for ex- members but little documentation to plant it in any hall of fame. Rather than trawl around publishers, Christian decided to put his memoir out himself – it’s available for a tenner from his website. It’s a riotous romp, packed with the requisite sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll (laced with merry pranks and surreal wheezes), told with self-deprecating humour and even some disbelief at how far he pushed the boat out earlier in life.
Indispensable for Shindiggers. Kris Needs
SANDY DENNY: REFLECTIONS ON HER MUSIC Philip Ward Troubadour Publishing With Clinton Heylin’s acclaimed Denny biography back in print, Mick Houghton’s official offering due for publication next year, Thea Gilmour’s album of
unrecorded Denny lyrics gaining
plaudits and a touring tribute to the lady’s songs about to hit the road, one could argue that Alexandra Elene Maclean Denny has never had it so good. Philip Ward’s book is not a biography;
it’s a series of essays and critical analyses of some of the less-documented aspects of Denny’s life and music. There are fresh insights into the folk club period of the mid-60s, when she ran alongside colourful characters like Theo Johnson and taste- makers like Martin Carthy and Bert Jansch; the late ‘60s Stanhope Place era, where she and future hubby Trevor Lucas hosted party central; the peaks of Fairport and Fotheringay and the self-questioning, ultimately tragic plateau she navigated as a solo artist until her death in 1978. Chapters on Denny’s pitifully few TV appearances, overlooked songs, the 2008 “anniversary year” and the recent 19-CD “big box” make for riveting punctuation, while a well-aimed section about her contemporaries (Dylan, Nick Drake, Shelagh Macdonald and Led Zeppelin) hammers home her influence and influences. Ward’s writing is academic while remaining accessible, best illustrated by the long closing overview, the first piece of writing he undertook about his subject and still one of the best. Andy Morten
“Foppish? Me? Never!” Kaleidoscope with Peter Daltrey (second left)
TAMBOURINE DAYS: THE DEFINITIVE HISTORY OF KALEIDOSCOPE AND FAIRFIELD PARLOUR Peter Daltrey Chelsea Records Book Division/
www.blurb.com
Singer-songwriter Peter Daltrey discovered his talent in the mid- 60s performing material by the Stones, Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf with The Sidekicks. Con -
sequently, his songwriting flair developed naturally and flourished as The Sidekicks evolved into The Key, then the much-loved Kaleidoscope and eventually Fairfield Parlour. When the band called it a day in 1972, Peter amplified his creativity through his photographic artwork and solo recording projects. He now enjoys success with his digital artwork and over 20 solo releases. He recently travelled to California to team up with Astroid #4, performing together “as near to a Kaleidoscope gig as the world would ever see again”. Over the past few years, Daltrey has found the time to gather his memoirs. Tambourine Days contains plenty of tales of the English music scene and a generous helping of rare photos, clippings and excerpts from a vast archive that dates back to his pre-singing years and right up to his latest journey to California. The prose is clear and sometimes fable- like, as are many of Peter’s compositions. His question-answer approach brings events to life and his bright sense of humour is sure to amuse. Collectively, it’s a 200-page must-have for Kaleidoscope/Fairfield Parlour aficionados and of enormous interest to all ’60s/70s music enthusiasts. Angi Lepore
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