New Book:Turn the Beat Around:The Rise and Fall of Disco

**delboy** · July 23rd, 2005, 06:26 AM

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...rniesdiscomusi
Turn the Beat Around - The Rise and Fall of Disco - Peter Shapiro

Has anyone seen or bought it yet?

**Ida Sessions** · July 23rd, 2005, 01:43 PM

I just finished reading it. It's very well-researched and the author definitely knows his stuff regarding the musical innovations that led to the disco sound. For the most part there is good insight into the socio-political context of 70s dance culture but some of the conclusions he draws will seem cliche to anyone who already pays attention to these things.

Also, there are too many grand pronouncements about which records, clubs, or djs were most influential and most definitive. Every 5 pages he cites something or someone new which exposes a certain laziness in the writing.

His analysis of "I Feel Love" and the Chic sound are brilliant though. And he brings the atmosphere of the clubs from that era vividly to life.

This is the only book about disco I've read so I can't compare it to others, but it does seem tailored made for the members of this forum! :D