Publisher's Weekly Review
Not ony is Ladd, a L.A. disc jockey for more than 20 years, trapped in a 1960s-1970s time warp, the golden age of rock, but he seems to be unaware of his own hype. He views pre-rock tunes as bubblegum music and those written after 1980 as corporate music for yuppiedom. He ascribes a nobility of motive, a power of intellect and virtually limitless talent to the top rockers, arguing that John Lennon, for one, ``created some of the most enduring music of all time.'' If Ladd's uncritical enthusiasm for the era and its stars does not prove off-putting to discerning readers, the lyrics he quotes in abundance will. Stripped of the music, the messages and sentiments expressed by the lyrics sound anything but profound. Photos not seen by PW. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Library Journal Review
This account of Ladd's career as a Los Angeles FM radio disc jockey spans the late 1960s to the late 1980s. Ladd begins with a summary of the rise of free-form FM radio as an alternative to top-40 programming under Tom Donahue at KMPX and later KSAN in San Francisco. He masks many names and stations' call letters in pseudonyms, diminishing his book's value as a historical account. However, his story is by turns inspiring and infuriating, as we read of the creative new medium being gradually co-opted by its corporate ownership and forced into a strict programming format adhering to market research. Ladd offers appealing reading for those with an interest in 1960s culture, rock music, and broadcast media. His anecdotal insider's view of the radio industry fills a subject gap, and, therefore, most public libraries should have it.--David Dodd, Benicia P.L., Cal. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.