There are two kinds of people in this world. One believes David Mitchell is the bees knees, the best writer working, and the other makes the sign of the cross and runs away from all his words.
I'm in the latter camp.
Although, there is a third breed...people who have no idea who and what I'm talking about and don't care.
When the "Cloud Atlas" movie was released there was a huge buzz, but a concomitant blowback, from Mitchell fans who felt they did not get it even remotely right.
I did not see "Cloud Atlas." I don't think I'd even heard of David Mitchell. And since the film got mediocre reviews at best, I passed.
But then two people sent me David Mitchell's 2010 book "The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet." And I was on the fence, but then Don Henley told me he was reading it so I decided to plow through.
It was my most difficult reading experience of the last decade. No, even longer, do I have to hearken back to 1972, when I had to read "Ulysses"?
And I read "Jacob de Zoet" the same way I read "Ulysses." I just kept on going, I stopped worrying if I understood what was going on. And I'd like to tell you when I was done with the book I was satisfied, but the truth is I was just relieved, and I swore I'd never read another David Mitchell book again, even though people kept recommending them.
But then Andrew weighed in. I'd written about "Opal & Nev" possibly being the best fiction rock book of all time. (Yes, I know about "Daisy Jones & The Six," I read it, liked it and even wrote about it: bit.ly/3g29iZt But "Daisy Jones" follows the Fleetwood Mac narrative quite closely, "Opal & Nev" is more original, and chews off more, even though "Daisy Jones" is the easier reading experience.) And he kept bugging me. To the point where I got "Utopia Avenue" from the library. Little did I know Mr. Oldham was in it.
As a matter of fact, almost all of the rock royalty kicking around in the late sixties is in "Utopia Avenue," from both sides of the glass and both sides of the pond, and I don't want to ruin the reading experience, but it's fun when the members of the band Utopia Avenue run into stars, and there are narratives, aligned with truth, as to how these famous names behave.
So at first I was thrilled and surprised by "Utopia Avenue," I couldn't wait to get home from my hike and read the book. But then the second night, I was dazed and confused, it turned into a David Mitchell book, with endless words where you weren't quite sure what was going on, I was ready to give up. But Felice was ahead of me, and she was enjoying it, and she acknowledged at times it was difficult, but that it swung back, so I decided to stay the course and keep reading.
So what we've got here is the formation of a band in 1967.
And it's very different from today. First and foremost there is a band. Today bands are rare, because not only are they hard to keep together, there's the issue of the MONEY! Sure, you're willing to starve for a while, but if you actually hit it you at least want to get rich, at least never have to get a day job again, but that's not how it was for most acts back then, they were doing it for the music, they gave it all up for the music. Elf gave up college, Dean starved, Jasper detoured from his privileged upbringing and...Griff was an anomaly, trained as a jazzer he crossed over into rock.
Levon puts the band together. It's his last chance. He's got some backing and the thought of going back to where he came from is anathema.
So everybody's got a family and everybody's got a backstory.
And unlike in the usual rock novel, the book is just not a string of plot points run together. Sure, there's plenty of plot in "Utopia Avenue," but a lot of it revolves around the band members and their histories and individual dealings. "Utopia Avenue" moves slower than the average rock level, it's not "Behind the Music," an entire act's history shmushed down into an hour, rather it's a deep dive into just a few years. And in those years are a lot of hopes, which are too often dashed, and detours, and excitement and drudgery. Join a band and you can see the world, and I'm not only talking about travel. Just don't plan on getting rich at the end, then again there was a hell of a lot less money in it in the sixties, and never forget, almost no one made it.
So what we've got here is a real writer writing a rock story, and that's very rare. But it is David Mitchell, so he goes off the rails occasionally. Also, if you're familiar with Mitchell, you know his books all reference his others. Yes, the lead guitarist in Utopia Avenue is named...Jasper de Zoet. Furthermore, in this book they tell you how to pronounce it, which is "zoot," I read that whole damn book about his ancestor and kept on getting it wrong!
So Elf's family is middle class. She's the black sheep. She's talented, but her parents want her to go straight. And she's insecure sexually, she doesn't think she's good-looking enough, sexually attractive. Then again, when Utopia Avenue starts to gain traction being a woman in a band you get the spotlight shined upon you, and it's weird, getting attention just because you're a woman, in a world run by men, how do you handle it?
And some of the men are creepy, but oftentimes you don't realize this until it's too late.
Dean comes from a challenging background. His father didn't want him to be a musician either, but his dad takes more drastic action than Elf's.
And Jasper keeps getting called a girl because of his long hair.
And today these issues are completely incomprehensible, but you don't know, in 1967 even growing your hair long was a statement, there was the generation gap, parents were not best friends with their children.
Getting a record deal is the hardest part. Back then if you didn't have one, you couldn't play.
And then there's the money. If you're in music you know the cliché: "It's not about the money...IT'S ABOUT THE MONEY!" If you've got the single, you make more, because of the publishing. And there are three writers in Utopia Avenue, so who goes first? And then the label starts to meddle and you have to make the album on a budget and...
The nuts and bolts, the mechanics, are pretty well delineated here, even the risks of the road. You got paid in cash, because you couldn't trust the promoter's check to be good.
Yes, there's a lot of truth in "Utopia Avenue."
But it's a commitment. It's long, and it's not always an easy read. But in these days where we're confronted with the present all day long, the news which obliterates us, the pain of everyday life, "Utopia Avenue" is a great respite, you can dive into this world and remove yourself from the issues of today, your troubles.
"Utopia Avenue" is 570 pages long. And I couldn't read even 10% per hour. So do the math, you can see how long it took me to read it. I know it's a holiday, but I spent most of Saturday and a good chunk of Sunday finishing it, never mind the hours I put in before.
Which is why there was never much buzz about "Utopia Avenue" in the rock world when it was released last year. Records are short, they require little commitment, and music is not an intellectual business, as a matter of fact if you're highfalutin', you often miss the point.
Then again, back in the sixties, the highfalutin' people were involved, that's just how powerful the music was. If you couldn't play, you wrote. That's how Jon Landau started out. R. Meltzer... The writers weren't as legendary as the players, but they were known.
And when "Utopia Avenue" came out I don't remember universally positive reviews.
Then again, it gets four and a half stars on Amazon, but is that mostly Mitchell fans?
If you're looking for something light, something you read only for the plot, don't even start. But if you're willing to go down the road less taken, where all the rewards lie, you'll get more out of "Utopia Avenue" than almost any fictional book about music, maybe nonfiction too. Will it give you a leg up, teach you lessons, help you get rich? Absolutely not. If for no other reason than the business is completely different today, it's corporatized, the hustlers and sharks of yore are gone...but it was these characters that gave the business its color, they took risks corporate types never will, and they risked on innovation, all the bands sounded different.
And didn't last long.
That's one thing you learn as you age...the peak period for almost all acts is very short, just a handful of years, and then they lose it, or the sound changes, or people tire of them, or all three. They may stick in your mind, but they're also stuck in time, playing their hits forever, assuming they had any.
If you're old enough to remember the sixties, and contrary to the legend, everybody remembers them if they lived through them, this is your era.
If you're younger than that, you'll still recognize most of the names, and you'll also get insight into how it used to be.
On Denmark Street. At the Marquee. In the record bins. Which used to be the most happening places extant. Forget dope, you got high just going into a record store. Mitchell does a good job of capturing that spirit. And more...
P.S. "Utopia Avenue" isn't about making a statement, the words service the story, it's not like there's a stunning aphorism on every page, wisdom laid down. But there are a number of passages I highlighted, I want to drop a few:
"No — you are a star first, therefore you have the hits."
You've either got it or you haven't, either you're dripping charisma or...get a job behind the scenes.
"A person is a thing who leaves."
You're alone in this world. The most committed person dies. It's sad, and lonely, hopefully the music will keep you rooted.
"'If I can play,' says Jasper, 'it's because I practiced in lieu of a living. It's not a method I recommend.'"
BINGO! This is the difference between yesterday and today. Do you want to shut off social media, never mind streaming television, and take ten years to practice your instrument? I don't think so...
"You'll be ripped off, mugged, and shat on, but Utopia Avenue's waiting for yer. Hang on in there."
It's a long way to the top if you wanna rock and roll. And that means a lot of false starts, a lot of blind alleys, if you've got it and you persevere you've got a chance, but without perseverance you'll never make it.
"'The best pop songs are art,' says Jasper. 'Making art is already a political act. The artist rejects the dominant version of the world. The artist proposes a new version. A subversion. It's there in the etymology. Tyrants are right to fear art.'"
And there you have it folks, the difference between yesterday and today. And the definition of an artist.
"'And music scares 'em shitless,' says Dean. 'It's the hooks. Once music's in yer, it's in for good. The best music's a kind of thinking. Or a kind o' rethinking. It doesn't follow orders.'"
That's the power of music. And we haven't had that spirit here since...
"'Everyone acts. The trick is to do it well and reap rewards.'"
Yup, even if you're not on stage, if you're working in a record store, everyone is playing a role.
"How stability is illusory. How certainty is ignorance."
This is the hardest part, you can never rest. But as difficult as this is, it's what makes life interesting.
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