August 6, 2001
In 1979, the Ramones declared the end of the century. To many music insiders, this proclamation rang true: Rock and roll radio—or free-form FM that allowed DJs to select music—was dead, so there was no sense in dragging out the 20th century when it had already crested. Born after an FCC ruling in 1964, free form was never as "free" as it sounded. In this affably told history of music freaks vs. corporate monsters, Neer reveals that FM was a doomed marriage of commerce and creativity. In fact, FM was molded into a competitor of jingle- and single-heavy top-40 AM radio. Suddenly, there was pressure on musicians to craft quality albums (take the Beatles'Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band), as DJs (like Murray the K) sometimes played entire sides to compensate for the lack of advertising. First a jock at an AM college station, Neer went on to land a program directorship at New York's WNEW-FM. His 30 years there inform the bulk of the narrative, though glimpses into the evolution of other New York and West Coast power stations are offered. Readers will get an inside, but not necessarily enthralling, view of the legendary station owners and managers, jocks and rock stars of the free form era. It's important that this story be told, but Neer's voice doesn't come across compellingly on paper.
October 1, 2001
Neer began his career in professional radio during that brief, shining moment in radio history between the late Sixties and early Seventies that saw the rise of FM and "free form" radio. Much like Michael Keith's collection of oral histories, Voices in the Purple Haze: Underground Radio and the Sixties (Praeger, 1997), this work is not a definitive overview of the birth of FM radio or of free-form radio itself but is rather an entertaining, informative memoir focusing primarily on the author's experiences at WNEW-FM in New York. (Related activity at other New York-area stations and at a few West Coast stations is discussed as well.) Brief accounts of appropriate historical background are included. The countless personal anecdotes and tricks of the trade more than make up for the uneven coverage and the confusing time sequencing of chapters. This book will undoubtedly be of great interest to those seeking to break into big-time radio, particularly alternative stations, as some things never change. For larger public libraries and academic libraries supporting broadcasting programs. Angela Weiler, SUNY at Morrisville Lib.
Copyright 2001 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
September 1, 2001
\deflang1033\pard\plain\f3\fs24 Neer's history of the format that swept the FM band in the late '60s and very early '70s centers on doings at New York's WNEW but relates to similar progressive rock and heavy-music stations across the country. FM deejays' quieter, more laid-back delivery fed into the conceit of the fans and purveyors of what is now called classic rock. The style's dominance lasted only until 1971 or '72, in Neer's view. "Righteous Rock Radio would continue on a bit longer, struggling valiantly into the eighties, and die quietly in the nineties like a spent stick of incense." Despite the format's whirlwind five-year heyday, the conceits about rock genius and creativity that it spawned are still around today. A nice little snapshot of cultural history, this. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2001, American Library Association.)