{"id":79242,"date":"2018-02-23T15:23:14","date_gmt":"2018-02-23T04:23:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.booktopia.com.au\/?p=79242"},"modified":"2018-02-23T16:16:52","modified_gmt":"2018-02-23T05:16:52","slug":"review-encyclopedia-australian-rock-pop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/2018\/02\/23\/review-encyclopedia-australian-rock-pop\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: The Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/a>The Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop (2nd Edition)<\/strong>
\nby Ian McFarlane<\/strong>
\nReview by That Metal Man<\/strong><\/p>\n

544 pages of Australian rock and pop facts, figures and history by music journalist and historian, Ian McFarlane. I have never held such an in-depth book of authority on Australian music, and nor will you.<\/p>\n

The Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop (2nd Edition)<\/em><\/a> is an A to Z of Australian music. You\u2019ll find every Australian recorded artist (plus adopted Kiwi sons and daughters), and plenty more you\u2019re yet to discover. McFarlane lists each band\u2019s original line-up, albums and carefully-researched milestones across every activity from break-ups to bust-ups, recordings\u00a0to television appearances, to live performances and band-member movement spanning their careers.<\/p>\n

Only die-hard Australian music fans can tell you that The Saints grew out of Brisbane garage band, Kid Galahad, or that Matt Finish, formed in 1978, actually disbanded in 1981 after their incredible debut album, before (briefly) reforming as a 3-piece in 1983. They probably garner their unbreakable knowledge from this very book. Bless \u2018em.<\/p>\n

Ian McFarlane is the author who will ensure that you never<\/em> lose an argument at dinner party tables as to whether the Bee Gees were the only artist during the 1970s that had nine #1 hits in the USA (they were), or that bassist and vocalist, Greg Macainsh formed Melbourne\u2019s brash pop phenomenon Skyhooks in 1973. At those same dinner parties, McFarlane will also empower you in driving home the fact that Perth band The Triffids did in fact leave Australia in 1984 to reside in the UK, where they enjoyed critical acclaim. A wide open road, indeed.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s rewind. The Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop<\/em> was originally published in 1999 after McFarlane researched and wrote that first edition covering \u201896 to \u201898. According to the foreword in this second edition, that first edition was selling on eBay for \u201cmore than $500\u201d. It\u2019s apparently a highly-revered piece of reference.<\/p>\n

So why is this piece of seminal Australian rock and pop history so well regarded? For starters, it\u2019s MASSIVE. At 544 pages, this second edition is a heavy beast to hold, with Midnight Oil\u2019s Peter Garrett greeting readers as you open the front cover, sweat dripping from his brow as adoring fans outstretch hands towards their hero. No better icon to carry the headstock of a book.<\/p>\n

There are extraordinary entries inside The Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop (2nd Edition)<\/em>. Just opening to random pages evokes memories of bands long forgotten (such as Bakery from the early 1970s, a hard-rocking band influenced by the likes of \u2018Sabbath and \u2018Zeppelin, who played alongside the late and great Billy Thorpe and The Aztecs). Who\u2019s your long-forgotten band from yesteryear? You\u2019ll probably find them here. I did, over and over again.<\/p>\n

Do you remember Lubricated Goat and their unforgettable and very infamous live ABC-TV performance on Andrew Denton\u2019s late-night variety show, Blah Blah Blah in late 1988, performed completed naked? The outcries the following day of \u201cmoral depravity\u201d from the likes of then radio commentator Ron Casey, and the front page expos\u00e9 run by the Daily Mirror<\/em>. I\u2019m proud to say I watched it live; the entire sodden event is tabled in The Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop (2nd Edition)<\/em>. I\u2019m sure the segment is kicking around somewhere online.<\/p>\n

As a then-15-year-old who fell in love with the Choirboys debut album in 1983, it was cool to see frontman Mark Gable\u2019s vocal loss mentioned, which occurred soon after the album appeared. I still remember Mark Gable speaking with Sydney Triple M radio DJ Jonathan Coleman, discussing the vocal cord damage. I still have the cassette recording of the interview stashed away somewhere.<\/p>\n

The Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop (2nd Edition)<\/em> isn\u2019t just a nostalgia trip (although for many this will understandably be the book\u2019s allure). You\u2019ll find entries for Sarah Blasko and Courtney Barnett, and Boy & Bear, to name a few worthy entries gracing airwaves right now.<\/p>\n

As I flicked pages, I rediscovered The Sports, Swingers, Ammonia, Mi-Sex, The Reels, Not Drowning, Waving; Jon English, Daddy Cool, The Chantoozies, Box the Jesuit, Sunnyboys, Black Alice, Bengal Tigers, Chris Bailey\u2026 oh geez, this could go on forever – and it does!<\/p>\n

As an Australian music die-hard, and a passionate supporter of Australian music in all its past and present glory, I\u2019m officially making this your call to arms – The Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop (2nd Edition)<\/em> has to be your next purchase. Read it to the sounds of The Triffids\u2019 Wide Open Road<\/em>, and all woes will dissolve as the setting sun shimmers heat from the highway on which your beloved Holden Torana rolls. Road trip, anyone? Learn more<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop (2nd Edition) by Ian McFarlane Review by That Metal Man 544 pages of Australian rock and pop facts, figures and history by music journalist and historian, Ian McFarlane. I have never held such an in-depth book of authority on Australian music, and nor will you. The Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop (2nd Edition) is an A to Z of Australian music. You\u2019ll find every Australian recorded artist (plus adopted Kiwi sons and daughters), and plenty more you\u2019re yet to discover. McFarlane lists each band\u2019s original line-up, albums and carefully-researched milestones across every activity from break-ups to bust-ups, recordings\u00a0to television appearances, to live performances and band-member movement spanning their careers. Only die-hard Australian music fans can tell you that The Saints grew out of Brisbane garage band, Kid Galahad, or that Matt Finish, formed in 1978, actually disbanded in 1981 after their incredible debut album, before (briefly) reforming as a 3-piece in 1983. They probably garner their unbreakable knowledge from this very book. Bless \u2018em. Ian McFarlane is the author who will ensure that you never lose an argument at dinner party tables as to whether the Bee Gees were the only artist…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":79246,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[6703,6678],"tags":[8574,8573,3822,7172,4482,7146,8572],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/AusRockandPopSocial.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79242"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79242"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79242\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79269,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79242\/revisions\/79269"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}