Turn! Turn! Turn!: The '60's Folk-Rock Revolution

by Richie Unterberger

TURN TURN TURN - THE '60S FOLKROCK REVOLUTION

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 087930703X
• ISBN13: 9780879307035
• Release Date: July 2002
• Publisher: Backbeat Books
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.8" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

This book ROCKS!

Turn, Turn, Turn is an excellent look at the music of the 1960's. Having grown up in the 60's I found the book a fascinating trip down memory lane and was hard pressed to find any mistakes or flaws in its information! I now teach a course on Protest music at a University in Oregon and plan on using this book as a text next year. Consequently I would highly recommend it for anyone wanting to know about music in the 60's.

A Page Turn, Turn, Turner

I love music but some books about music are better left unread. Some pop music aficinados are best advised to go back and just listen to the music as a few attempts to give a literary voice to the spirit of the sound can strike a dull and pedantic note. Not so with this book. I found myself often unable to put it away as the author packed each chapter with so many historical notes that I was not aware of; clearly he did his homework. Much of his information came straight from the source, the writers, musicians, producers, and other insiders who were the leading lights and inspiration of that musical genre known as folk-rock. Of course, if one is not a fan of this type of music (and I am)you may not be engaged by Joe Unterberger's writing. However, as someone who was entranced by the Lovin' Spoonful and the Byrds, I consumed Mr. Unterberger's book with great zeal. I think musicians will find his work especially appealing as Unterberger gives careful attention to the creative side of the artists featured in his book. But if you are like me, someone who merely loves to sing along with the marvelous tunes of the gifted artists who gave voice to folk-rock, you may enjoy reading about the historical aspects of the music that, to paraphrase John Sebastian, is magical and can set you free.

Everything you could want to know and more....

Fan of Dylan, The Byrds, Fred Neil, the Farinas? It's all here. Well written, keeps your attention, and makes you want to go out and buy some vinyl! Nice job Ritchie!

A classic piece of folk-rock history!

First of all I was a little taken aback by one reviewer's comments that since Richie was only a toddler in the mid-60s that perhaps his perspective of the folk-rock music scene was somewhat skewed. To put it politely, Balderdash!I've been an Unterberger fan for years and have bought several recordings based upon Richie's reviews. As far as this book is concerned, I'd say it is certainly the definitive work on the roots and evolution of folk-rock. However it's not for everyone. The casual fan may find it somewhat drawn out, with references to producers, session men and various minor players. Unless one has at least some vague familiarity with these folks, or has an genuine interest in learning about them, I think one might become bored and skip ahead to more familiar territory. But if you've got a fairly good handle on the 60s music scene and love the music I'm sure that you'll find this book a delight.A lot of time is spent on Bob Dylan & the Byrds; but this is certainly appropriate since these are the quintessential performers that are most identified with the genre. Richie also includes more obscure artists like the Daily Flash, Bob Lind and P.F. Sloan and details their relatively unsung contributions to the music. The interviews are plentiful and insightful, whether you take some with a grain of salt or not. All in all this is a very enjoyable romp through a period that needed to be written about. Thanks to Richie's efforts it now has been!

unterberger is the best music writer out there

when it comes to the 60's and early 70's, unterberger is the best music writer i know of. david fricke is also good. what i like about these two guys is that they refuse to get bogged down in 60's cliches, unlike dave marsh and christgau. these guys don't condescend to their readers, or try to tell them what to like. unterberger in particular is a champion of overlooked and underappreciated acts, whereas marsh and christgau tend to generally go for the tunes that are played to death or commercially successful. unterberger and fricke seem like nice guys who really care about music, and don't have a hipper than thou vibe or abrasive personality. they're not allied with the music industry either in the way that landau and marsh were.unterberger's newest book is a concise summary of the folk rock era, with detailed analysis of the usual names like dylan, baez, and the byrds- but it also includes rather obscure and under appreciated figures from that time as well, at least to the average person, including tom paxton, fred neil, the great tim hardin, and judy henske. these people, and numerous others, were also important in the development of that genre. this book is a great read for not only the person who devours as much music trivia and information from rock's greatest era as he or she can, but it is also one that i would also recommend for the casual reader who just wants to know about the style and/or period. that's what i really like about this book, and unterberger's other works. they are eminently readable and entertaining, even humorous at times, and both music fanatics and the people who are ordinary, run of the mill fans will enjoy them. i don't always agree with unterberger's choices or opinions ( for instance,in particular if you're listening richie,i can't understand why you have given the move's third album, looking on , only 2 stars as i am a huge fan of that band, one you won't read about here as only a few songs are sort of folk rock and they fall outside the time frame of this work!) but they are always engaging and often enlightening to read. the man is more than just a good music writer, he's a good writer period.this fascinating book goes up to about mid 1966, it is the first of two works that deal with folk rock. the next one is apparently coming out next year. many key musicians and others involved with the music of the time were interviewed for this book. it's a tremendous work, and i would like to know what's next as far as unterberger books go.