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Turn On Your Mind
used to be called Kaleidoscope Eyes.
As his introduction explains at considerable length, Jim DeRogatis changed
the title because it was a reference to “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,”
which isn’t as good a Beatles song as “Tomorrow Never Knows,” whence the new
title comes. This sort of deranged nitpicking makes DeRogatis a perfect
guide through five decades of psychedelia, using band histories and
contentious High Fidelity-esque charts, one of which claims that
Culture Club’s “Karma Chameleon” is a psychedelic masterpiece. DeRogatis’s
mind may have expanded a little too far, but as the hippies would say,
Turn On Your Mind is a real gas. — James Slaughter, BLENDER
magazine
Back in 1996, rock scribe Jim DeRogatis
put out a book called Kaleidoscope Eyes: Psychedelic Rock From the ‘60s
to the ‘90s, which was a great overview of an often-misunderstood genre.
This tome immediately won my heart by pointedly not acknowledging the
Grateful Dead as the ne plus ultra of psychedelia—indeed, DeRogatis makes a
convincing argument that the Dead barely qualify as psych at all. More
importantly, though, the book has had a huge influence on my listening
habits over the past eight years, ultimately becoming as big a factor in my
record collection as the various volumes of The Trouser Press Record
Guide. (And isn’t that the point of a book about music? To encourage
readers to listen to that music?) DeRogatis’ lively, opinionated writing and
omnivorous taste made Kaleidoscope Eyes one of my very favorite rock
books. It’s been supplanted, however, by Turn On Your Mind: Four Decades
of Great Psychedelic Rock, DeRogatis’ revised edition of Kaleidoscope
Eyes. —
HIGH BIAS
(CLICK HERE FOR FULL REVIEW)
Jim DeRogatis
presents to the public his exhaustively researched book on the roots of
psychedelic rock, and his ensuing opinions and considerations on the most
influential psychedelic records of all time. The book’s title takes it’s
moniker from the omnipresent catch-phrase, setting the tone for a
drug-induced rollercoaster of musicians centering around
The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Brian Eno, Pink Floyd, and The Rolling Stones.
“Turn On Your Mind”
focuses on Psychedelia’s inception the 60’s, and shows the bridges and
seeping transitions into the Indy rock, Emo, and the roots of the Rave
scene. Despite spending time covering the British influence and the inner
workings of many smaller bands, the tome is effectively a 600-page CD review
laden with top ten “most psychedelic” lists.
DeRogatis
kaleidoscopically jumps from artist to artist doing a thorough job of
following up on all of his tangents; explaining why everything happened, who
dropped who’s acid, and what band both
Lemmy of Mötörhead
and Sci-Fi writer
Michael Moorcock
both fronted.
DeRogatis
is a writer for the Chicago Sun-Times, and is also is the author of the
meticulously researched and Romilar-laden
“Let It Blurt: The Life and Times of Lester Bangs, America’s
Greatest Rock Journalist.”
—
Brett Lemke,
MAXIMUM INK
To many, psychedelic rock is the musical
equivalent of the gray-ponytailed hippie: occasionally noticed at the
supermarket but mostly thought to be trapped in the Sixties. In this
self-described improvement on his earlier Kaleidoscope Eves,
DeRogatis (Let It Blurt: The Life and Tales of Lester Bangs) aims to
show that psychedelic rock didn’t just spring up and then wilt with the
flower children. He charts the genre’s journey from Albert Hoffman’s first
batch of LSD to the Beach Boys’ hipster bandwagon fave, Pet Sounds,
to the current jumble of techno/ dance/mind music. He also introduces us to
psychedelic rock’s family: the ugly nerd child (progressive rock), German
exchange students (Kraftwerk and Krautrock), and the aromatherapist (New Age
mood music). DeRogatis’s harsh honesty is refreshing as he rips into Jim
Morrison’s dimestore Beat poetry and Sonic Youth’s indie snobbery, but it
evaporates as he spends a whole chapter gushing over dork rockers Flaming
Lips. With the current explosion of neo-garage bands, this book will need
another edition in about three years. Recommended for most libraries, both
public and academic, and for drum and guitar start-ups. — Eric
Hahn, LIBRARY JOURNAL
There are probably as many defintions of
psychedelic music as there are of the nature of folk music. In this massive
revision of his 1996 book, Kaleidoscope Eyes, Chicago SunTimes rock
critic Jim DeRogatis makes it clear what he does, and does not, consider to
be true psychedelic music. He dismisses many late-60s icons such as the
Doors and Quicksilver Messenger Service in a few sentences each, but waxes
eloquently and at length about acts like Roxy Music, Pere Ubu, and Yes that
do not commonly fall under the psychedelic umbrella. Also, don’t pick this
up expecting to read about the current jam band scene (which gets about a
page), or to learn much about any groups that use blues or jazz influences
as the basis for extended improvisations (DeRogatis opines that the
Grateful Dead reached its artistic peak during their “garage band” phase in
1965-66). DeRogatis does a fine job of delving into the early 1970s
“Krautrock” phenomenon, and later shows his admiration for, and knowledge
of, the arcana of the myriad cult bands that made up the various psychedelic
revivals of the last quarter century. Where he really shines is in making
the connections between early psychedelia and contemporary genres such as
house music, techno, “stoner rock,” and rap. The book is also as
contemporary as publication deadlines allow, bringing in such current acts
as the Strokes and Polyphonic Spree. DeRogatis never pulls any punches, and
is as lavish in his criticism (describing Donovan’s early years: “...he
aimed for Woody Guthrie, but sounded more like Woody Woodpecker”) of
musicians he feels are overrated as he is in his praise of acts like My
Bloody Valentine and Moby. One may not always agree with DeRogatis’ strong
opinions, but his enthusiasm, and his prose, never flag throughout the
book’s encyclopedic length. The volume is peppered with “best of’ lists and
illustrations, and the 186 album “Ultimate Psychedelic Rock Library” and a
further 43-page discography provide plenty of aural support for those who
would rather listen than read. — Michael Parrish, DIRTY LINEN
Turn On Your Mind
is a massive 630-page look at the progression of psych rock since the
mid60s. DeRogatis doesn’t only focus on the usually covered San Francisco
psych scene, but also takes a trip to New York (Velvet Underground), Texas
(Thirteenth Floor Elevators) and England (Pink Floyd) as well as pointing
out the psych-leanings of The Beatles, The Byrds and other mainstream ‘60s
acts. The author also travels through the past three decades bringing to
light psych’s modern practitioners and onehit wonders, a rare interview
with Kraftwerk’s Ralf Hutter, and ends the book with “The Ultimate
Psychedelic Rock Library,” a list of 186 essential psych recordings, and
Further Psychedelic Explorations, a list of more bands and albums. The
“essential” list includes albums by a diverse group of artists ranging from
The Seeds, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Love, Parliament, and The Rolling Stones
to Genesis, Oasis, Stereolab, U2, and The Flaming Lips. — GOLDMINE
In Turn On Your Mind by Guitar
World contributor Jim DeRogatis is a historical and critical look at one
of rock’s most inventive genres. This mindexpanding book connects the dots
between early pioneers like Pink Floyd and new millennial practitioners
like the Flaming Lips and Wilco. Krautrock, shoe-gazers and one-hit wonders
are present and accounted for, but blotter acid is not included.— GUITAR
WORLD
Turn On Your Mind
is dense and comprehensive In examining,
the rise and heyday of psychedelia and its subsequent New Wave and rave
effect. DeRogatis is no stranger to deconstructing rock & roll - he’s
covered Lester Bangs, alt-rock critique, and more — but the ambitious effort
wears thin. At a time when few sounds are pure in influence, most
bands share broad artistic influences that don’t really make the connection
unique. Yet DeRogatis has a passion that’s alluring even when you’re
slogging past page 500. — Margaret Moser, THE AUSTIN
CHRONICLE
DeRogatis takes on that ever-present
Woodstock generation in Turn On Your Mind: Four Decades of Great
Psychedelic Rock (Hal Leonard). DeRogatis draws upon the parallels
between the summer of love and twenty-first-century stoner rockers, between
sixties acid tests and modern raves, to illustrate the enduring legacy of
the psychedelic era. So whether you’re a member of the baby boom or of the
“baby boom echo” generation, check out the balls on this writer. —
Barbara Rice-Thompson, PENTHOUSE
I’ve been a fan of writer Jim DeRogatis
since the publication of Let It Blurt: The Life and Times of Lester
Bangs, America’s Greatest Rock Critic. Now, he’s followed that with
Turn on Your Mind: Four Decades of Great Psychedelic Rock. What’s most
interesting in DeRogatis’ interpretation of what is and isn’t psych is that
his boundaries are widespread. He in now way limits himself to the middle
and late 1960s. You’ll find Moby in here, even Wilco, and justification and
context for it all. Turn on Your Mind deserves close reading.
—John Koenig, DISCOVERIES
FOR REVIEWS OF THE
FIRST EDITION (Kaleidoscope Eyes), CLICK HERE
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