Disco Duck, YMCA and Other Songs You Can't Help Remembering
Written: Aug 03 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Fast, easy read with a lot of information....
Cons: ...which some critics say is inaccurate. Also short on current music.
The Bottom Line: Worth the time to read with some interesting stories, but especially for fans of the music business.
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| Joubert's Full Review: Disco Duck and Other Adventures in Novelty Music :... |
Have you ever heard of Ace Collins?
Me either, but the author’s web site tells of 22 years in print with more than 50 books and 1,000 articles. This is a guy who knows how to get published. And one way is apparently by banging out niche books that have a small, built-in fan base, can be produced quickly and cheaply and supported by grassroots efforts. That is a pretty good formula for success.
Collins’ credits include books on country stars like Elvis, the Tillis family and the Mandrells, as well as books about Christmas and upcoming books about Easter and a new novel. As a collector of books about popular music, I think I may have browsed his work before, but Disco Duck was the first book of his we actually bought. And you know, it was an entertaining (and fast!) read.
Not Novelty Songs!
Yep, novelty songs and music are the subject here. A series of vignettes that touch on the history and context of famous novelty songs fires from the pages like a drummer hitting a riff on a snare. The context in which these short essays are presented is excellent. I won’t spoil the surprises inside the book by sharing those secrets here. Get a copy of the book yourself to find out how Disco Duck, YMCA and many other songs, especially from the early days of American rock and roll were created. Collins does a great job not only telling the why of most songs, but the how, and the combination makes for interesting reading.
What Works Well
Readers really have to be fans of the music business to fully appreciate Disco Duck. There are an awful lot of behind the scenes stories that are interesting, but only if you know what an A&R guy does or the difference between an engineer and a mixer.
Many one hit wonders, presumably the most common purveyors of novelty music, are covered in good biographical detail here. There is also information about long-lasting acts such as Randy Newman. Remember, his Short People kicked off a firestorm of controversy in 1977, but it was really a slam against prejudice. The context that Collins provides is very beneficial when touching on songs that you may not have thought of as a novelty.
What Doesn’t Work As Well
While stipulating that there are much fewer novelty numbers released today, Disco Duck is woefully short on current music. This may cause some readers to lose interest especially when the definition of novelty music can be overly broad.
Meanwhile, the insights are good, but either the editing or writing has taken hits from critics who have pointed out what they believe are inaccuracies in the data. For such a studied industry, popular music seems to have more than its share of urban legends and disputed facts. Collins unfortunately seems to have perpetuated some of them, a surprising error for someone with such a deep background in the field.
The Bottom Line, Dog Earred Pages and All
A fast read with some interesting stories. If you don’t get the exact literal truth behind various novelty songs, you will at least get some great stories. After all, everyone needs to know how the Village People came into existence. All I will say as a spoiler on that topic is that there was marketing genius involved and more than a little bit of luck.
Five Things To Remember From This Review
1. The definition of novelty music may be overly broad, but Collins sticks to the main “wacky” songs rather than the merely unusual or unique.
2. Author Collins has written more than 50 books, many of them on niche music.
3. Much of the material is from music released pre-1980s, which may cause some readers to lose interest.
4. Some critics have said that Collins or his editors missed facts or repeated music legends. It’s still entertaining.
5. A really fast read that can be flipped through instead of read in order.
Joubert’s FunLink
Although they’re not novelty music, one of my favorite sites that pokes fun at how we mis-hear lyrics is named after a critical error while someone was listening to a Jimi Hendrix tune. Read about that twisted lyric and more at:
http://www.kissthisguy.com/
Recommended:
Yes
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