A Melange of Musical Pipedreams and Pandemonium Paperback – 18 May 2017

This large A4 book is a comprehensive discography of psychedelic and progressive music from Ausralia, KNew Zealand, Afrrica, Turkey and the Middle East.that also covers many rock, pop, beat, r&b and folk records from these countries. The years covered are 1963 - 1976. The music on the records is briefly described along with potted histories of the artists. The decriptions are essentially non-judgmental and as such are not reviews. Potential buyers may already have similar books by Vernon Joynson and the format of his books are all similar. Much of the content of the book is an update of material previously published in Joynson's "Dreams, Fantasies and Nightmares from Faraway Lands" (the Australian stuf) and "Dreams, Fantasies and Nightmares from Faraway Lands Revisited" (Australia and South Africa) which also cover music from Latin America and Canada.

Musicologist and author Vernon Joynson's 2008 title "Dreams, Fantasies And Nightmares From Far Away Lands Revisited" has been put to bed and replaced by two new titles, the first of these "A Melange Of Musical Pipedreams And Pandemonium: Australian, New Zealand, African, Turkish And Middle Eastern Rock, Pop, Beat, R&B, Folk, Psych And Prog 1963-1976" is reviewed here.It is also important to note that while the book mainly covers the period 1963-1976 in terms of detailed discographies; releases and bibliographical information about the bands and artists featured in the book that continued to record beyond this time-frame are included too, albeit not in quite such detail.Whilst some may be sad that “Dreams …”, which has been out of print for many years now, will never be updated again, the good news is that the demise of "Dreams" has given birth to two new titles, the first of these, "Melange...." greatly expands the coverage of bands from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa that appeared in “Dreams” and adds more new entries, but also introduces for the first time a new section covering Turkey and The Middle East. The book also expands the South African section that appeared in “Dreams” to encompass details of the Afro-rock artists who recorded in sub-Saharan Africa (particularly Nigeria, Ghana and Zambia) in this era, many of whose original recordings are now highly collectable."Melange" follows the same format of author Vernon Joynson's expanded two volume edition of "Tapestry Of Delights" so far as the information contained in each individual entry is concerned. This means it contains detailed discographies (encompassing albums, EPs and 45s, original releases and reissues), bibliographies, comments regarding their music, compilation appearances, and an up-to-date rarity scale for all albums releases between 1963 and 1976 for each entry. There are also excellent descriptions of the careers and music of the majority of bands/artists featured. The 12-page full color section of album artwork photos is joined by copious numbers of black and white photos in the individual band entries. For the devoted music collectors, as well as casual music fans, this is invaluable information.The handsome, softbound book, 768 pages in length, with its striking front cover, is available in a strictly limited, numbered print run of 850 copies worldwide. Although the tome retails £49.99 pounds sterling, there are many fine online book sellers offering the tome at a greatly discounted price. It is worth seeking these out to get yourselves the best deal you can.Proudly joining Joynson's other incredible rock music encyclopedia, "Fuzz, Acid And Flowers" and the previously mentioned "Tapestry Of Delights," this massive volume is absolutely jam packed with information, all available within finger tip range. A most impressive addition indeed, I cannot recommend this work highly enough. Many, many hours were spent collecting data, translating languages, listening to the relevant music, collecting and publishing photographs of bands and album artwork alike. Be sure to pick up a copy before this tome goes out of print and prices skyrocket as they have when his previous works have gone out of print. I guarantee you will not be disappointed.