Unless you lived through the 1970s, it seems impossible to understand it
at all. Drug delirium, groovy fashion, religious cults, mega
corporations, glitzy glam, hard rock, global unrest--from our 2018
perspective, the seventies are often remembered as a bizarre blur of
bohemianism and disco. With Pick Up the Pieces, John Corbett
transports us back in time to this thrillingly tumultuous era through a
playful exploration of its music. Song by song, album by album, he draws
our imaginations back into one of the wildest decades in history.
Rock. Disco. Pop. Soul. Jazz. Folk. Funk. The music scene of the 1970s
was as varied as it was exhilarating, but the decade's diversity of
sound has never been captured in one book before now. Pick Up the
Pieces gives a panoramic view of the era's music and culture through
seventy-eight essays that allow readers to dip in and out of the decade
at random or immerse themselves completely in Corbett's chronological
journey.
An inviting mix of skilled music criticism and cultural observation,
Pick Up the Pieces is also a coming-of-age story, tracking the
author's absorption in music as he grows from age seven to seventeen.
Along with entertaining personal observations and stories, Corbett
includes little-known insights into musicians from Pink Floyd, Joni
Mitchell, James Brown, and Fleetwood Mac to the Residents, Devo, Gal
Costa, and Julius Hemphill.
A master DJ on the page, Corbett takes us through the curated playlist
that is Pick Up the Pieces with captivating melody of language and
powerful enthusiasm for the era. This funny, energetic book will have
readers longing nostalgically for a decade long past.
