Eric James Abbey

Author Eric James Abbey does a good job of capturing the "feel" of garage rock and explaining how the underground music scene works. Since it is based on Detroit's underground scene, it is very specific and detailed. Abbey obviously has some ties to this scene and/or has done extensive research on the topic. The book shows the history of Detroit's garage rock scene and how it came to be, including the bands that influenced it, and shows the effect that garage rock has had on mainstream society. The book is very well-organized and flows logically, despite a few flaws.

I think that if I was a bigger fan of garage rock and underground music, I would have enjoyed this book a lot more. I thought that it was poorly written; it was very repetitive, and I got extremely tired of reading the same words over and over again (i.e.: "nostalgia" or "nostalgic"; "cannot be overstated," etc.). I also thought it was very contradictory. For example, it is proposed that one of the fundamental values of garage rock is its separation from suburban living; however, does garage rock not get its name from the common practice of rehearsing in suburban garages? This is just one of many contradictions within the book.

Although I found so many flaws in this book, on the whole, it was not entirely unenjoyable. I liked reading about the history of some of the bands I know, such as the White Stripes. As I said before, this book would be more enjoyable if I had more of an interest in garage rock. I would recommend this book to anyone who would like to learn more about the underground revolution, its roots, and its influence on American culture.… (más)