The Sound of Our Town: A History of Boston Rock and Roll

by Brett Milano

Boston has had its celebrity bands, including Aerosmith, The Cars, J. Geils, and even the band Boston, fronted by the recently lamented Brad Delp. They're all here in this anecdotal, illustrated history. But what makes this book such a great read-and what gives Boston its distinctive sound-are tales of the local bands who played not in the Gahden or even at the legendary Boston Tea Party of late 60s fame and legend, but at The Rat, Club 47, the Lizard Lounge, and all the other clubs, boites, and dives Milano has been haunting since he first arrived in the city as a college student smitten with rock. Observing the scene in 2007, Milano notes, Three decades from now, somebody will likely be getting all warm and fuzzy about the days when you could see the Konks, the Dents, Andrea Gillis, Muck & the Mires, the Downbeat 5, the Coffin Lids, Bang Camaro, Ad Frank, Dirty Ticket, the World's Greatest Sinners, Hooray for Earth, Temper, the Tampoffs, Red Invasion, and the Pug Uglies on a regular basis. Chances are, Milano has heard every one of them.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

254 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2007

Reviews

[Brian DiMattia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't give you an unbiased review of this book. It isn't five stars for the writing, although Milano does some solid research, reporting, and reminiscing, and he tries to give each generation their fair share of space. My favorite anecdote was the revelation that surf rock legend Dick Dale, a Quincy native, developed his signature style after a childhood of listening to his Lebanese father's records of Middle Eastern folk music. Now go listen to "Misirlou" again and it'll be a totally different experience.

Instead, the genius of this book is in the moments it makes you relive. For me, that was things like:

*My first Dropkick Murphy's show, in the parking lot of the Bayside Expo Center. Ken Casey screams "BOYS ON THE DOCKS" and the mosh pit seemed to expand like a chain reaction. I didn't even conciously enter the pit that night, it swallowed me whole, and when I came out the other side I was a dedicated DKM fan.

*First time I ever saw Mary Lou Lord; I was supposed to be covering Joan Jett at a benefit concert (in memory of the recently murdered Mia Zapata, RIP). I was hanging out at Axis, wanting Ms. "Bad Reputation" to get out there so I could take some notes and go home when this tiny blonde chick starts playing "His Indie World." And I fell in love, then and there. How could I not?

*Seeing Letters To Cleo at Paradise, the night Kay Hanley started out with a full bottle of Jack Daniels, and when half the bottle was gone she decided that rather than standing she'd rather play drums and make Stacy Jones come up and sing Weezer's "Sweater Song."

*The July 4th weekend I was hanging out with my Sister, when they announced on the radio that Mark Sandman was dead. The next day before driving to Connecticut I bought a copy of "Yes," and within 5 minutes realized to my horror what I'd missed.

*Skavengers at Mama Kin, Violent Femmes at Avalon, meeting Holly Brewer at a Store 24, my first Mighty Mighty Bosstones "Hometown Throwdown" at the Middle East. Writing about music for the Boston College "Heights," including an amazing, cut-short-by-the-cops, Green Day show at the Hatch Shell in 1994 (more arrests than songs played, the mark of a great punk show). Interning for WFNX where my boss told me about this band he was in called "Orbit." Doesn't hurt that he founded Lunch records and that he also played in Dear Leader.

*Dreseden Dolls opening for the Legendary Pink Dots with no piano or drums, just them and a borrowed acoustic guitar.

*Seeing Dresden Dolls later at the Orpheum for the "Yes, Virginia" CD release party. Seeing the lights go up as everyone in the theater stood to sing along with "Sing" was an awe-inspiring moment. The only thing that could possibly top it: being part of the same thing two years later at Symphony Hall.

That's what this book does. It's like sharing war stories with someone you've just met, about bands you've both known and loved, in a city that feels like home is supposed to. You want a summary? Here it is, and it applies no matter what town, or what music scene you're loyal to: Milano quotes bassist Pete Sutton who quotes legendary late Boston DJ Mikey Dee, saying "Go out and see one local band a week. It would do you and the band a helluva lot of good."

[Tobey · Rating 4 out of 5]

His topic is too broad. Covering the Boston Rock scene over the last fifty years is so big that he can devote a max of three pages for the greats and less than a paragraph for the run of the mill band. It was a trip down memory lane reading the section on the 90's scene (that was when I spent most of my time in the Boston club scene). A lot of bands mentioned that I hadn't thought of for a while. Everyone has a favorite band that didn't make the cut.

If you were in/around the Boston scene in the past 50 years you should read the book but be prepared not to learn much.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I lived and breathed the Boston music scene during the 1980's and continue to support when I visit Beantown. Brett is to be commended for his time and effort in putting this wonderful book together.

[Hillary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of scattered and unfocused. Is it going to be an overview of the entire musical landscape of Boston or just the rock scene? It started one way then settled into the other. And with an impulse for kindness toward some of its subjects as opposed to being honest even when it meant being unflattering, it shied away from being a more journalistic endeavor.

That being said, it namechecked so many of the bands and individual people who populated the Boston music scene, particularly the 1970s-1990s that turned out to be the focus. Minor bands nationally that may have been making an impact in the local scene where duly represented. And Milano draws a picture of what Boston music looked like.

And there is no other book that I know of that even attempts to draw a historical picture of the Boston music scene so, for that, I'm appreciative.

[Andre Diehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of the writing is meh, I would've been happier with an annotated timeline.

Things I learned:
Bullet LaVolta > fugazi.
Freddy Cannon is amazing
Rob Zombie is from Haverhill
I would be completely happy never having to hear/think about the Dresden Dolls ever again.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brett Milano's History of of Boston Rock music is largely focused on punk, post punk, and early alt-rock. It starts Roxbury's soulful quartets of the 50s before covering the 60s, and early 70s arena rock bands but the book does seem to carry a bit of a bias towards the scene from roughly 1980-2000. Interestingly the beginning of this range coincides with the author's move to Boston.

It's a ook that makes me want to buy music, and that's great but it's not as inspiring as I'd hoped. It would have been nice to see the 80s branch out a bit more from the punk/alt/indie scene and touch on some of jam or fusion scene. I know that Club d'Elf is somehow tied to morphine. It would have been nice to see more exploration of the links between Boston's current music scene and the major artists of the past.

[Diskojoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great history of the Boston rock & roll scene from the doo-wop '50s through the Bosstown '60s, the Rat '70s-'80s to the present day. The author (who I actually met at the Brian Wilson Smile show in Boston several years ago) does a great job relating the story of bands such as Aerosmith, the Cars, the Remains & the Dresden Dolls, among others.

[Ray Charbonneau · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quick overview of 50 years of Boston rockish music. On the one hand, I was there for a chunk of the time, so it was nice to revisit familiar territory. On the other, there wasn't much depth anywhere, so I didn't learn that much that was new. The writing was serviceable, but not as exciting as the music. Use the book as a record guide, and go find the music!

[Marilyn Mccarthy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this because I was into the Boston music scene during the late 70s and I read about a lot of the bands I knew and used to go see all the time. It was a fun time.