Funk and soul become a lens for exploring three decades of Minneapolis and St. Paul history as longtime music journalist Andrea Swensson takes us through the neighborhoods and venues, and the lives and times, that produced the Minneapolis Sound. Visit the Near North neighborhood where soul artist Wee Willie Walker, recording engineer David Hersk, and the Big Ms first put the Minneapolis Sound on record.
Across the Mississippi River in the historic Rondo district of St. Paul, the gospel-meets-R&B groups the Exciters and the Amazers take hold of a community that will soon be all but erased by the construction of I-94. From King Solomon’s Mines to the Flame, from The Way in Near North to the First Avenue stage (then known as Sam’s) where Prince would make a triumphant hometown return in 1981, Swensson traces the journeys of black artists who were hard-pressed to find venues and outlets for their music, struggling to cross the color line as they honed their sound.
And through it all, there’s the music: blistering, sweltering, relentless funk, soul, and R&B from artists like Maurice McKinnies, Haze, Prophets of Peace, and The Family, who refused to be categorized and whose boundary-shattering approach set the stage for a young Prince Rogers Nelson and his peers Morris Day, André Cymone, Jimmy Jam, and Terry Lewis to launch their careers, and the Minneapolis Sound, into the stratosphere. A visit to Prince’s Paisley Park and a conversation with the artist provide a rare glimpse into his world and an intimate sense of his relationship to his legacy and the music he and his friends crafted in their youth.
PAT'S REVIEW
I got this book thinking that the author was going to talk about Prince, Morris Day, Time, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, among others. Really not the case. The first part of the book brings you up to speed on the music scene of the fifties and sixties, in Minneapolis. The author also gives you some of the people in the jazz and club scene who were important during tough times. All of this was good along with the history of Minneapolis, like the rioting in the sixties which I understood needed to be in the book even though I already knew about that also being a history person. What I missed out on is why all of this had the impression or cause of the explosion of the music that came out of the city. There was no mention of the reason or the how or why all of these individuals became so big in the music when they did or even how Prince stayed at the top for so long. That is what I felt was missing out from this book. For someone like me who is into the music and still listens to these groups and to Prince, I was hoping for more. I do know the author put a lot of time and effort into this project I was just expecting more. I received this book from Netgalley.com I gave it 3 stars. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com
No comments:
Post a Comment
We ask that when you are leaving a comment that you are remebering that children may be reading this blog, without the knowledge of a consenting adult. We all put our disclaimers on to get into the sites but kids are smart. Please be aware when posting to use safe language and pics. Thanks :)