"The History of Rock: 1967" by Uncut Magazine

"The History of Rock/1967" by Uncut Magazine

How can anyone who is not touched by pop music, can possibly avoid the publications edited by Uncut, that focuses on one year in rock, via the original articles from Melody Maker and New Musical Express.   The issue I have just read, "1967," is simply fascinating.   It was the year of "Smiley Smile," "Sgt. Pepper" and "Magical Mystery Tour," along with the dark psych sounds of the Stones' "Their Santanic Majesties Request."   On one level, it is like traveling back in time, but for me, it is being in the 'now, ' and looking back to the past.   The two previous issues "1965" and "1966" one sees a progression of the old style of pop writing, which is basically a PR for the music business.   "1966" you start getting more journalistic approach to the music world, as it got more serious and baroque like.   "1967" is the first year of Technocolor for the pop world.  The previous years were very much like a black and white film.  

Jimi Hendrix, who is the cover figure for "1967" is the perfect example of color (not only skin) becoming prominent in that culture.   A lot of clothing from that period looks like left-over designs from the turn of the century, but now in living color.   The Stones were always either in muted or dark colors or black and white, but "Santanic" album is one of bright colors.   Scott Walker with the Walker Brothers featured greatly in '65 and '66, but one would think of them as black and white as well.    So overall, pop in the 60's became one of color, when before, it was dark shades of gray or stark black and white.   Also one notice that the major Dylan presence in '65 and '66 is non-existent in 1967.   Yet, his sense of adventure is everywhere in pop music at the time.

And singles are still important, but albums are making a strong aesthetic stand in 1967.  "Pepper" is like a novel, and so is the Stones "Santanic" album, and if one reads carefully, the death of Brian Epstein sort of brings in the end of the manager superstar.  "1965" was sort of a new world, and '66 was a time of exploring, but 1967 was a year of spiritual awareness or curiosity (especially for the Fab Four), and one gets the impression by reading this publication that everything was about to end.  In what way, no one knew.   One thing that is interesting, is that questioning in the interviews with the many artists are in a serious vein.    Some on war, but a lot of chatting among the press and the artist on the subject matter of drugs (mostly due to the Stones being busted that year) as well as God.

In "1967" we are introduced to The Monkees, Bee Gees, Cream, Traffic, The Who, The Move, Syd's Pink Floyd and the first pop festival, Monterey. .    A touch of flower power as well.  Everything was peaking, but then, it dimmed quickly.

"The History of Rock: 1966" by the Editors of UNCUT Magazine

"The History Of Rock: 1966" by the Editors of Uncut Magazine

For sure something happened in 1964, and maybe it was the year when I turned 10, and really became aware of music pop culture around me.  To my ears, '64 was full of bouncy music made by people with odd accents.  It was the first time in my life that I realized that there was music being made that appealed to me, and not only that, and perhaps even more important, it came from another culture.  By 1966, I was introduced to the word and aesthetic of "sophistication." 

"The History of Rock" is a monthly publication published and edited by Uncut Magazine, where they use the archives of New Musical Express and Melody Maker regarding contemporary music at that time.   It started off with "1965," and now I just finished reading the entire issue of "1966."   I have read so many books and articles dealing with the British invasion, that in this late stage of my life, it is totally refreshing to read archival material as when things were happening or in proper english, as it happened. 

The Rolling Stones and The Beatles were at their dizzy heights of making incredible recordings as well as being the prince (Stones) and King (Beatles) of the pop world at the time.  The beauty of this magazine is obtaining the role of the journalist at this time.  Most I think were mostly press relations, and not only worked for the music papers, but also for the artists as well.  So, one does not get critical attacks, but mostly acknowledgment and of course, praises.   It is ironic that at this moment in time in the U.K. great music was being produced by all sorts of bands and artists:  Donovan was making great recordings with Mickie Most, The Small Faces were getting more sophisticated as they entered the Andrew Loog Oldham world, and the Fab Four was spending more time in the recording studio, where one gets the amazing "Revolver" album.   Due to the times, Brian Jones was adding more exotic instrumentation to the Stones recordings, which made their masterpiece "Aftermath" such a classic and brilliant album.   Even shit records produced in England were at the very least, good constructed pop.  

Also UK readers and listeners were fully accepting the genius of Roy Orbison, early Simon & Garfunkel, and the beautiful Beach Boys.  It seemed for once, that the UK and the U.S. were in-tuned at the same time and place.   A pop utopia taking place, and ears was stretched out to the West Coast to India.    "The History of Rock" 1966" captures that series of moments as it happened.   Also great photographs and this is a perfectly designed magazine. 

- Tosh Berman

"The History of Rock" 1965 (UNCUT Magazine)

The History of Rock: 1965  (Uncut Magazine)

One of the great joys in my life, if sometimes not the only joy, is my introduction to the world of pop music.  My parents were consistently into music, and they have brought many recordings into the household that I eventually adopted as my own.   Early Beatle and Stones albums were for sure introduced by my parents, but in 1965,  at the age of 10 or 11, I became a consumer, by buying a 45 rpm single of the Yardbirds' "I'm a Man"/"Still I'm Sad."   How I got the money is something that is lost in history, but the memory of going to a record store in Westwood Village to purchase that single stayed glued to my brain or DNA to this very day.  By my nature I'm not a nostalgic person, but I would be lying to myself if I didn't admit that the year 1965 was an important one on many levels.   That December, we lost our home to a mudslide in Beverly Glen, and that included every possession I had at that time.   For sure, it did a number on my head, that even 50 years later, continues to exist in my DNA.

It pains me that I'm not into the current music world.  I would like to think of myself as being totally devoted to whatever is happening outside my home at this time and age.  But the truth is I kind of hate the world as it is right now.    The sounds I hear at the moment always reminds me of the past, and not in a good way.   On the other hand, the year 1965 was both rich in variety as well as being "new."   Oddly enough when I re-visit the recordings of that year, I'm still hearing new things.   There is a textural aspect of the records at that time, and when you pull back and look at 1965, one is struck how fast everything is.   What the Beatles were doing in January of that year is so different from what they recorded in December.  The same goes for the Stones and the Kinks.

Which brings up the fact that I was totally devoted to the sounds that were coming from the United Kingdom.   For one, I could understand the language, but still, it was from another world.   A fantasy world for me, due to the Beatles "Hard Days' Night" as well as the fashions that was coming out of that culture.   Pure teenage pop music, but for sure, with a tough jagged edge attached to the images.    For inspiration, I often go back to the 1960s to re-discover who I'm through my childhood years, but also for the unreal look of that era through its literature and especially the press at that time.  Which comes to UNCUT's special series of publications called "The History of Rock."

The first issue magazine is "1965," with others are being released on a monthly basis.  So far it is up to 1968.  I will get back to those as soon as I read them.   But now, I want to focus on the 1965 issue.    What it is exactly is re-prints of articles that were published in Melody Maker and New Musical Express in 1965.   Uncut Magazine editors did a beautiful job in making this glossy magazine into a visual treat, by selecting wonderful photographs of that era as well as choosing the right or correct articles of the time.   Besides the original interviews and articles, one also gets letters to the editor, the original advertisements that ran through the publication, and people like Dylan, Lennon and Harrison commenting on the newly released singles at the time.   So, one is getting a great snapshot of England's take on the new music that was being produced and distributed in 1965.

It's interesting to read articles and reviews as it happened, instead of people commenting on these records now in 2015.   Also you pick up trends such as bands making films.   The Beatles of course at this time did "Help" and "Hard Days Night," so it seems to be some pressure for groups such as The Stones making their feature-length film.    As well as others, but none of these films ever got made.   Most I think came from the Public Relations department of the management offices of both publications as well as the band's management.   The other is the "Dylan vs. Donovan" thread that went on in the press for that whole year.  One wonder if the Dylan and Donovan camp decided to promote this aspect of their careers at the time.  The beauty of reading these articles is seeing the genius at work with respect to Brian Epstein and Andrew Loog Oldham.   Both orchestrated the media to their liking, as if they had their own orchestras.

One has to presume that NME and Melody Maker had large teenage readership, yet the articles are not dumb down, and very intelligent in its own right.   Oddly enough, when I read celebrity news or magazines like People, it's really dumb.  NME or Melody Maker never took that route.  In fact, it's a world that is in love with the pop music world.  The charts, releases, the bands, the artists, and the managers are all authors in this particular era in England.   There is even a thoughtful interview with Bill Evans, John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman, so the magazine was willing to branch out to other forms or types of music, besides the teenager's world of music.

This is truly a superb piece of history as it happened, but edited and produced for today.   I recommend it highly.

- Tosh Berman