Review: "Never A Dull Moment: 1971 The Year That Rock Exploded," by David Hepworth

If you are a baby boomer and love music, if you are a younger person and love music, if you have spent your life listening to tunes and radio and artists and been to concerts, you ought to jump into this opinionated, grand book extolling the music of 1971. The author opens with a left-handed disclaimer...everyone believes that a certain year from their lifetime is the greatest year of music or rock that has ever existed. BUT he states that he is correct and 1971 is truly that year. The trick is that he may be right. A month-by-month breakdown of records that were released in 1971 is included with background, explanations and anecdotes that accompanied each single or album. It is amazingly entertaining, save for the bands that the author considers "greats" but to the general public have never been heard of before or since. The wealth of material that accents the release of each record fills in a wel Of course, I am completely biased, being 19 in 1971 and in my second year of college. Music was consumed at an amazing rate, continually and passionately. Friends introduced us to new sounds every week, if not daily. Adventurous new music crossed genres and many of us fell in love with all of it. Here's a glimpse: Rollin Stones - Sticky Fingers Who - Who's Next Doors - L.A. Woman Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV David Bowie - Hunky Dory Carole King - Tapestry Joni Mitchell - Blue Cat Stevens - Teaser and the Firecat Jethro Tull - Aqualung Janis Joplin - Pearl Traffic - Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys Elton John - 17-11- 70 Allman Brothers - Live at Fillmore East Chicago - Chicago III Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - 4 Way Street Santana - Santana III Yes - Fragile Concert for Bangladesh Black Sabbath - Master of Reality Sly and the Family Stone - There's a Riot Goin On T. Rex - Electric Warrior War - All Day Music and Marvin Gaye - What's Going On and a host of others. If you can beat that list, give it a try. And read this book first.