REVIEWED: Joseph Lanza "Elevator Music"
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>> by Joseph Lanza
>>
>> St. Martin's Press, 1994
Considering this is the confluence of one of my main musical interests,
and a writer of obvious depth of background, I'm still a bit mystified
as to why I found this such an unsatisfying read.
One thought is that a good deal of the book seems to be little more
than Lanza's personal musings about Muzak and other easy listening
musics. Some of the text is nothing more than quotes cribbed from the
liner notes of record albums. This all adds up to nothing new to those
of us who've been collecting and listening to this music. For those
who haven't, the ephemeral album-cover marketing descriptions of the
music simply don't convey much.
What's missing, especially in the first 2/3 of the book, are first-hand
accounts and interviews. Virtually none of the great composers,
arrangers, song-writers and musicians discussed in the book are
actually interviewed. In some cases, they have passed on, but in
others, either Lanza couldn't track them down, or simply chose not to.
It's a shame, because what's left reveals virtually nothing about the
people behind the music. The last 1/3 of the book, especially the
section about Beautiful Music radio, provides a hint of insight, but
again, falls short of providing any sort of authoritative historical
account.
Overall I found the structure of the book to be difficult to follow.
The chapters don't add up to any sort of traceable arc, and the text
within the chapters is often scattered and without discernable point.
It's too bad that Lanza's editor didn't do a better job of keeping the
book focused, and finding a more readable outline.
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"I interpret the First Amendment as outdated, archaic, and ignored."
-Michael John Falkner