Ever since Bob Dylan electrified topical folk music in the 1960s, sparking renewed topical explorations in R&B, rock, pop, and more, the singer-songwriter has become a locus of high expectations in popular music. More autonomous and less collaborative than content creation in other electronic media, topical song-writing has brought undiluted political, ethnic, gendered, working-class and otherwise Othered voices to audiences of millions. In fast-paced cultures where change is a constant (anthropologist Margaret Mead called them prefigurative, The Clash said ‘the future is unwritten’), recording artists with perceptive and expressive abilities beyond the norm share important anticipatory views of where we may be going. At the peak of their abilities, singer-songwriters make manifest the value and importance of popular communication as culture and as a site of meaning-making.
Enter the Praeger Singer-Songwriter Collection (or Series), edited by James E. Perone, who has also authored nearly half its titles. The stated intention is for each book to proceed chronologically through its subject's recorded output, serving at least in part as a listening guide to that artist's body of work. In his series introduction, Perone cautions that due to the range of subjects and variety of authors, the nature of the books will differ. And differ they do. In terms of making a judgement about the series, one of Perone's books probably should have been included. This review endeavours to articulate this reader's impressions of the volumes about Patti Smith and Neil Young, neither authored by Perone. A common denominator is that both authors are deeply familiar with the musical output of their subjects, as well as the broad range of articles, interviews, reviews, biographies and autobiographies that the careers of their subjects have generated. In fact, the bibliographies of both these books are of considerable value – an efficient stepping-off point for any future work about these artists.
Joe Tarr's volume on Patti Smith was the far more satisfying of these two. While working chronologically through Smith's official releases, he does not shy away from looking at the circumstances of her life, her sense of self as artist and activist, the ongoing traditions she acknowledges connections to, and her main inspirers in poetry, prose, rock 'n' roll and activism. Tarr writes in an engaged, first-person style, admitting early on that his encounters with Smith's recorded work and performances have had a substantial impact on him. Throughout the book he effectively uses quotes from Smith to let her articulate insights about her creative processes and intentions as a rocker, poet, wife, Mom, and more. The fluid combination of discussion of Smith's artistic evolution, first-person impressions of the author and artist about her work, quotes from others, as well as reminders of historical and cultural context along the way, help create an appreciation for her real-time contributions to music and consciousness in uncertain times.
As a reader, I came away from this book with a sense of excitement about Patti Smith as a creative individual who took chances and significant time away from her career, then returned with renewed conviction and force. This book succeeded in, if not capturing, at least giving a sense of what it must feel like to create for an ongoing tradition of popular art, see it reach an audience, be dissected by critics, and influence future generations of artists. Tarr's discussion of each LP release, and in many cases specific songs, details circumstances surrounding the recording, the creative stimuli impacting Smith at the time, important concurrent events in the culture at large, artist image and images used in the packaging of the disc, as well as their market and critical reception upon release, creating a multi-faceted view of their contribution to an evolving culture. The many different views combined here about the Horses LP and its iconic cover photo (as a key example) give persuasive testimony to Patti Smith's importance as an artist who opened and has helped maintain new creative spaces for popular singer-songwriters and groups.
On the other hand, Ken Bielen's book on Neil Young leaches life from its subject and his work. The approach here is chronological and methodical, to the point of being tedious. The book is little more than a disc-by-disc, track by track description of lyric content, instrumentation, production style and sales/chart statistics. There are no invigorating quotes here, no deft weaving of culture and historical context to show contributions to a living tradition. There is no doubt that the author loves and respects the music he is discussing, but either lacks insight into the processes and impact of these creations or shies away from sharing them. I read this book cover to cover out of respect for my assignment, but it literally took me months. I am a Neil Young fan and consider him an important artist, but this book added nothing to the depth and nuances of my appreciation of his work. In some ways, this volume might find its best niche as a music book for the hearing impaired. If one can listen to the music being discussed, there is little need to read about it in this way. The most appropriate place for this book is on the shelf of a high school library.
So, the series editor's caution about variation among these books is well taken. If you are a fan of Bowie, Prince, Springsteen, Zappa, Carole King, John Lennon, Bob Marley, Paul Simon or Stevie Wonder, approach these books with caution. The concept behind the series is sometimes stronger than its actual output. The intent of honouring the role of singer-songwriters by discussing significant ones is well taken. Having said that, it appears that these books are at their best when they take into account the processes, output and impact of the singer-songwriters' careers, not just the artefacts. When discussion of singer-songwriters effectively takes into account the risks and chances artists take putting their creations into the public ear and details the impact of these releases as contributions to evolving culture, only then can books about musical creation hope to contribute something approaching the value of the music itself.
