Sophistopunk: The Inside Story of Mark Opitz & Oz Rock

by Mark Opitz, Jeff Jenkins, Mark Opitz

A broken home, rags to riches, mind-blowing excess, exotic locations, laugh-out-loud anecdotes, and tragedy; this is the inside story to Mark Opitz and making the great albums of Oz Rock Mark Opitz has lived an extraordinary life. His tale is remarkable, immediately gripping, and incorporates the making of some of the greatest music and musicians Australia has ever known. It begins in 1975 where a job with the ABC led Mark to the music label EMI, which in turn led to a musical apprenticeship with the legendary record producers Harry Vanda and George Young. Describing the next phase in Mark’s life is like recapping an Australian rock engineering records with AC/DC; producing the first album for The Angels; a long, fruitful, and extremely colorful association with Cold Chisel and simultaneously running the A&R department at Warner Music; producing landmark albums for Divinyls, The Models, Australian Crawl, Hoodoo Gurus, and forming another close association—this time with INXS. The end of the '80s saw Mark globetrotting as "advisor to the band" on INXS's massive Kick Tour and eventually living in Michael Gudinski's basement. This last arrangement was more rock 'n' roll than any of Mark’s musical ventures to date. Mark also had to manage Bob Dylan's performance for the Academy Awards, recorded Ray Charles, and produced Kiss with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra; all parts of one incredible story. This book will take readers on a unique journey inside the bands, tours, and recording studios of the music that defined an Australian generation.

Genres: Nonfiction

366 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2013

Reviews

[Rowan MacDonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read a lot of musician biographies, but never one from the producer's perspective until now - I'm so glad I did. This book was one of the best Christmas gifts I've received in years. I developed a completely new appreciation and understanding of the integral role a producer plays in not only creating a record, but in Mark's case, the iconic sound of an entire nation.

This book was filled with so much music talk. And I love music. It's why I read books on the subject. Anyone can do drugs, get drunk and shag some groupies, but only a select few ever gain access to the inner sanctum workings of a band. Hearing the stories behind some of my favourite songs, and how certain sounds were created was fascinating reading.

It was a book as much about human behaviour and people management as it was music. The job of music producer is so diverse! Reading comments from musicians Mark worked with throughout the book also provided an interesting insight from the musician side, which balanced the book nicely. There were also numerous poignant moments throughout and Mark's success was testament him overcoming the adversity he endured growing up.

With each page turn, yet another one of my favourite bands would appear out of seemingly nowhere. I had no idea the sheer scope and diversity of Mark Optiz's work! It was truly a story of Oz Rock as much as it was of Mark's, and this made for an amazing book.

A must-have for any fan of Australian music. I'm going to go crank some Angels, Chisel and AC/DC now.

[Vincent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clumsily written and the persistent egomania of Opitz grates heavily but the book contains some fascinating insights into the Oz rock scene and will have you dusting off your old records.

[Peter Gleeson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Great Read for those growing up in the 80s listening to bands like Aus.Crawl, Angels, Barnsey, Divinyls, InXS, Models, & more. An emotion-charged recall of Opitz's life growing up, being apprenticed to Vanda & Young, and becoming The name when it came to producing music in Australia.

[Garry Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read, bringing back so many memories

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great easy to read overview of one of Australia's most successful record producers responsible for albums by Cold Chisel, INXS, Hoodoo Gurus, AC/DC, Divinyls, Angels, Models etc.