On Track Short – serie

For a few shortyears in the 1970s, the unique music of Focus entertained the world. Builtaround the prodigious instrumental talents of Dutch masters Jan Akkerman(guitar) and Thijs van Leer (keyboards and flute), the band produced threeclassic hit albums in quick succession between 1971 and 1974, at the same timescoring two worldwide hits with 'Sylvia' and 'Hocus Pocus'. The latter piece isas ubiquitous as tunes from the 70s get, distinctive for Akkerman's famous riffand van Leer's bizarre yodelling. Musical and personal tensions between the twoled to a split in early 1976, but the band limped on without Akkerman until1978. An unlikely revival in 1985 was a false dawn, and except for a few publicappearances, the duo have not played together since. Stephen Lambe's book guides the readerthrough the band's early history, dealing with all seven Focus albums from theera song by song, plus the eponymous 1985 comeback. It is an important pottedhistory of the band and an insight into the tensions which led to such acreative - if short-lived – peak. But the book also acts as an essential guideto the astonishing music the two men made together – and sometimes apart -while at the apex of their powers.

Of all the loud, rebellious rock groups forged in the white heat of America's Motor City, MC5 were the most uncompromising. A high-octane force of nature, saluted now as punk pioneers, MC5 were streetwise Detroit factory rats, assembly-line escapees who lit the touchpaper on some of the most combustible rock'n'roll ever heard.It's 1968. An incendiary debut album fuses the raging pungency of free jazz with dislocated cosmic blues and brutally confrontational garage rock. A second will strip the music bare and become an ur-text for Britpunk. A third, exuding maturity and professionalism, will be widely praised. Yet by 1972, their advance ruptured by accident, deception and often self-sewn misadventure, MC5 are done.Despite the tendency to self-ignite, the distractions of activist tomfoolery and management seeking only a soundtrack to sedition, MC5's aim was pure: to get down, party and blow every other rock'n'roll band into insensibility. Now Richard Butterworth dissects MC5's chaotic, magnificent history, their records and the fevered countercultural ecosystem that spawned them: the speedfried music; the bristling posture; the duplicitous record deals; the corrosive drugs. And, of course, the significance of MC5's infamous catchphrase. So right now, it's time to ... kick out the jams, (brothers and sisters).

Exploding onto the late 1960s scene, The Stooges were a band unlike any other before. A bunch of misfit Mid-Western delinquents, their charismatic frontman, Iggy Pop, was a performer extraordinaire. Confrontational and theatrical, this maniacal entertainer was originally joined by the Asheton brothers, Ron and Scott, and their pal, Dave Alexander.This original lineup delivered two albums of primal, brutal-sounding rock noise before the band fractured. A fortuitous crossing of paths with a certain David Bowie in 1971, however, led to a creative rebirth for Iggy and the band. With a new guitarist in place, James Williamson, and the Asheton brothers making up the rhythm section, the reconstituted group ended up delivering a third album of nihilistic ferocity. Once again though, the album bombed, leaving the band to limp on until 1974 before calling it a day - at least for nearly three decades.During their absence, the band's influential legacy blossomed, and in 2003, the original trio of Iggy, Ron and Scott reunited, once again performing under The Stooges banner. The band toured extensively, finally achieving the respect and adulation that had been lacking the first time around. A new album appeared in 2007 before Ron's passing in 2009. James Williamson subsequently returned to the fold, enabling the band to continue touring and recording before more sad news ensued in 2014 when Scott Asheton passed away, thus leading to the cessation of the band.The Stooges' music has influenced countless other bands, artists and genres, and this book examines the band's enduring musical legacy by taking a fully comprehensive look at all the group's officially recorded output in detail