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Story Of Crass (2009)

by George Berger(Favorite Author)

3.84 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0857120123 (ISBN13: 9780857120120)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Music Sales Corporation

review 1: An exhaustive exhumation of every bit of history, every idea, and every opinion the band ever uttered. You really get an immersive experience, from the late '60s, when Penny and Gee acquired Dial House, through the turblulent early '70s, into the punk era, and beyond. With only a few exceptions, just about everyone involved with the Crass endeavor is mightily forthcoming with their thoughts and opinions. It's a dense read, and you will really step away from it with an increased understanding of everything from squatters to free festival culture to the difficulty of separating the National Socialists who want to stomp your face from the Trotskyists who want to talk your face off about the working man (in the abstract). The material about the Faulklands War was fascinating (... moreand a good historical overview of the act itself) and reading the transcript of the fake recordings was exciting and slightly dangerous. However, as we grind toward the end, with the last few chapters increasingly padded out through ever longer quotations from Penny Rimbaud's "The Last Of the Hippies," and as every single band member gives their voluminous thoughts on what it all meant, the act of pushing forward through the book felt like I was walking down a hall whose walls were initially getting narrower, and then were lined with sandpaper. But for the first 90% of the book, the reading is great and worthwhile.Also, if you know me and my musical proclivities, you can imagine that Berger and I diverged paths on the merits of "Yes Sir, I Will." I think it's one of their very best and most vital albums, while Berger diverges from this opinion by being wrong.
review 2: I thought it was worth reading, but the author's writing bothered me/seemed lazy at times. For instance, quoting long (1+ full pages) excerpts from "The Last of the Hippies" at several parts of the book; throwing in quotes by band members and others without always putting them in any context, etc. In this regard, it seemed more like a collage/zine of artifacts than a well-put together biography or history of Crass. I still enjoyed reading it and learning some new stories. less

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