The Kinks-All Day And All Of The Night: Day-by-day concerts, recordings and broadcasts, 1961-1996
By Doug Hinman

THE KINKS-ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT is a superb addition to the current trend of rock 'n roll reference books that chronicle a band's career - in this case The Kinks. Most important (to me anyway) is the recording information from their earliest sessions up until the '90s. Fascinating revelations abound - I wasn't aware that a session drummer was used for the majority of Kinks early recordings (similar to what happened to Ringo Starr in The Beatles - but…unlike the Beatles, the Kinks used a session drummer for much longer). It was also interesting to find out that "Village Green" started out as a Ray Davies solo album. Of course all the classic '60s Kinks albums are covered as well as "The great lost Kinks album" - NOT the 'Odds and Sods' release which used the same name, but "Four More Respected Men"

There is just something about these sort of 'chronicle' books that I find more interesting that your standard rock biography. I just find the timeline-approach to be fascinating and sometimes I understand the careers of bands better when I see it in such an analytical approach. Those familiar with Kinks lore know how they were prevented from touring the U.S. between 1965 and 1969 (important years in their creative development). I've got to admit that I've never really understood how the Kinks U.S. Union woes during their 1965 tour kept them out of the U.S. until 1969…until it was laid out in the chronicled format of this book where it all seemed to make sense.

In addition to the concert, recording and broadcast info on the band, there is a healthy dose of trivia. For example: the proto-Kinks actually had Rod Stewart among their ranks; the Kinks once shared the bill with The Beatles AND The Who (now that is a concert!); and Ray had a substitute on stage for a period (again, similar to The Beatles using Jimmy Nichols to drum in Ringo's absence in 1964). Also included are contemporary reviews of their live shows. I was also shocked to find the great live reviews of the Kinks '70s concept shows, unlike the albums from this time, which have generally been panned over the years.

THE KINKS-ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT is a stellar accomplishment in rock journalism and the continuing documentation of the important landmarks of rock 'n roll - in this case The Kinks. A must-have book for any Kinks fan!

Rocklopedia Fakebandica
By T. Mike Childs

THE ROCKLOPEDIA FAKEBANDICA is a “blast from the past” reference guide of all the fictional bands from TV and film (from the ‘50s to the current day). As a rule, the book sticks with American TV and movies (I can imagine how large it would be if it encompassed All fake bands including Europe and Japan!) I had so much fun looking up all the fake bands I could remember, such as: Candy Slice and the Slicers (Gilda Radner on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE), The Mosquitoes (GILLIGAN’S ISLAND), Scum of the Earth (WKRP IN CINCINATTI), The Commitments (movie of the same name), Eddie & the Cruisers (movie of the same name), Leather & the Suedes (actually Suzy Quatro – HAPPY DAYS), Otis Day & the Knights (ANIMAL HOUSE), The Wonders (movie of the same name), and of course The Blues Brothers (movie of the same name). And of course you have the KINGS of fake bands: Spinal Tap, The Rutles, The Archies & the Monkees. Speaking of which, there are excellent sections on The Rutles and Spinal Tap, with some info that I had never seen anywhere else before! Did ya know that Nigel Tufnel played guitar on the “Lenny & the Squigtones” album? Also that The Folksmen got their start long before the movie A MIGHTY WIND as the warm-up band for Spinal Tap? As for the Rutles, there is a great history of their origin, especially useful with the recent release of RUTLES 2: CAN’T BUY ME LUNCH (The sequel features a Neil Innes appearance on SNL – but it is undated. You can find out the date of the episode in this book!)

More than just a reference book, the website is also updated regularly with “new finds”. For instance – I remembered watching a 1975 episode of HAPPY DAYS that featured a rock band. The band wasn’t in the book, but I found it on the website: Johnny Fish and the Fins, who were actually real ban, Flash Cadillac and The Continental Kids. I delved further into this band to also find that they appeared in both AMERICAN GRAFFITI & APOCALYPSE NOW! This book also led me to find a copy of AMERICAN HOT WAX – the 1978 movie about Allan Freed. The movie features several fictional bands (all covered in the book) alongside established rockers. Trivia time: Cameron Crowe had a tiny role in the film!

I keep coming back to this book time and time again. In addition to the “bands” that I knew of, THE ROCKLOPEDIA FAKEBANDICA is a treasure trove of info on other “band” appearances in TV and movies – and I’ll be checking the TV guide for re-runs of some of these shows! All in all this is a GREAT reference guide to finding out about that bizarre genre of rock ‘n roll: the “fake” band!

Roman Candle: The Life of Bobby Darin
By David Evanier

When I first got into music in the '70s, one of my "mentors" was my Uncle BJ, who had fervor for music that kept me spellbound and soaking up information like a sponge. I can clearly remember BJ passionately telling me about seeing Bobby Darin live and that he was simply the best performer that he had ever seen! Of course, being more into "heavy" rock at the time, I was only familiar with "Splish Splash" and "Mack the Knife". It wasn't until later after seeing a few TV bios on Darin that I fully came to appreciate my Uncle's assessment.

With the recent Kevin Spacey movie about Darin's life, there has been the expected flood of books about his life. So you can imagine my dismay at the number of ho-hum, plain vanilla biographies that have appeared about Bobby Darin. How these books can make a life as fascinating as Darin's become such a boring read is beyond me. In addition to his music and film career, you have the soap opera-like drama of Darin finding out the truth of his "real mother" in 1968!

ROMAN CANDLE: THE LIFE OF BOBBY DARIN does what the others don't - capturing the passion and energy of a man that not only knew his days were numbered (Darin had a heart condition) but truly lived his life like a musical 'roman candle', wanting to get as much done in the time he had left. Although it is compact as far as biographies go (251 pages), it packs more bang for the buck as it makes you actually understand the complex character of Bobby Darin. Thankfully, it covers more of his musical career than his film career - although it does cover his unreleased, self-made movie THE VENDORS (would love to find a copy of this!). Also covered are his family dynamics (his bizarre love-hate relationship with his blood relatives), his connection with Bobby Kennedy, and his relationships with musicians such as Wayne Newton, Roger McGuinn and Tony Orlando. On a humorous note, I love the story of when Bobby met legendary record producer Phil Spector! (Let's just say that their temperaments would never have let them work together!)

But it is Darin's musical aspirations that I found most fascinating. He is described in this book as a mix between Ray Charles and Frank Sinatra - and while that gives you a starting point there is so much more to it. Darin was a true chameleon, traversing from rock 'n roller to Vegas-style crooner to folk music with relative ease - despite the dire warnings from those 'in the know' that it would kill his career. Although Frank Sinatra sang "My Way", that really should be Bobby Darin's theme song.

Well, my search is over for the BEST Bobby Darin biography! You want to understand Bobby Darin? Forget the other books and pick up this one!

God, Guns, and Rock & Roll
By Ted Nugent

Although GOD, GUNS, AND ROCK & ROLL has been out for a few years, I've just now had a chance to read it. Anyone familiar with the 'Motor City Madman' Ted Nugent knows that he is not one to mince words (or suffer fools gladly). Unfortunately, the "common-sense" gene seems to be missing from about 90% of all rock stars - they are content to spout unrealistic, pie-in-the-sky solutions to all of the mortal woes of the human race, whether it be in regards to politics, division of wealth, societal problems, etc. They passionately spout made-up facts, go on the road to promote losing politicians and tell everyone how they SHOULD feel. Ted Nugent is the exception to this 90% rule. He understands human nature (and the fact that you can't alter it) and doesn't pretend to have the "vision of the anointed" that plagues most clueless rock stars.

A large portion of the book is concerned with hunting and gun education (I'm not going to use the word "control" with guns because as Ted points out - common sense is normally thrown out the window with each knee-jerk reaction to the supposed problem. Ted lets the facts speak for themselves: "According to the Nation Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, more kids drown in buckets of water each year than by gun accidents." When it comes to vegetarianism, he humorously adds, "Like Chief Seattle I, too, consider animals my brothers. And like the good warrior, I eat 'em for dinner."

I too am a hunter and it is hard to explain its spiritual call to unbelievers. Ted articulates the "call of the wild" better than any writings I've seen on hunting. So, the next time someone asks my why I like "killing Bambi", I'll repeat some of Ted's pearls of wisdom. What about the propagated misconception of hunters? Ted explains, "I thank Walt Disney for the Bambi cartoon and the illogical fantasy nonsense it inspired to create the laughable antihunters to further the common sense that hunting always has been and always will be."

Part biography, part stories from the road, part parenting common sense, part politics and a healthy dose of facts regarding guns and hunting make GOD, GUNS, AND ROCK & ROLL a thoroughly entertaining book. It is a celebration of reality, spirit and rugged individualism through both humor and facts. It's refreshing to see that not ALL rock stars are deficient of the "common sense" gene!