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Rating: 
Summary: Informative, yet very opinionated.
Review: Jim DeRogatis presents to the public his exhaustively researched book on the roots of psychedelic rock, and his ensuing opinions and considerations on the most influential psychedelic records of all time. The book's title takes it's moniker from the omnipresent catch-phrase, setting the tone for a drug-induced rollercoaster of musicians centering around The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Brian Eno, Pink Floyd, and The Rolling Stones. "Turn On Your Mind" focuses on Psychedelia's inception the 60's, and shows the bridges and seeping transitions into the Indy rock, Emo, and the roots of the Rave scene. Despite spending time covering the British influence and the inner workings of many smaller bands, the tome is effectively a 600-page CD review laden with top ten "most psychedelic" lists. DeRogatis kaleidoscopically jumps from artist to artist doing a thorough job of following up on all of his tangents; explaining why everything happened, who dropped who's acid, and what band both Lemmy of Mötörhead and Sci-Fi writer Michael Moorcock both fronted. DeRogatis is a writer for the Chicago Sun-Times, and is also is the author of the meticulously researched and Romilar-laden "Let It Blurt: The Life and Times of Lester Bangs, America's Greatest Rock Journalist."
Rating: 
Summary: Essential
Review: This book could easily win five stars, but if you are a real fan of psychedelic rock you will detect several and serious omitions.For example: Verve's "A storm in heaven", Talk Talk's "Laughing stock" and Bailter Space's "Robot world", just to name a few, ARE NOT CITED among the fundamental records of the genre. And this is not a matter of taste. Why "brit-pop" bands like Oasis and Blur are mentioned here? Well, maybe Oasis for "Standing on shoulder of giants" and Blur for "Leisure" but, in the name of noise inspired by drugs, where are more important psychedelic rock groups like The Clean or The Dead C or The Sun City Girls? On the other hand, you have (almost) all the basic psychedelic records... and a lot more. (Almost) all the bands are here, from the 60's to the 90's, from mainstream to alternative, from rock and roll to electronica. You will find also (almost) all mayor "concept" albums, from Pink Floyd's "Dark side of the moon" to Future Sound Of London's "Dead cities". Metal, rap, hip hop, etc. Excelent job by Jim DeRogatis. It's still "Kaleidoscope eyes: Psychedelic rock from the '60s to the '90s" but enhaced. However, somehow i feel it could have been better.
Rating:
Summary: I Won't Hold My Breath For The Third Edition
Review: This is a nice reference work, with lots of useful information collected in one place. But don't make the mistake of thinking that, just because it's 600 pages, it's definitive. For instance, the Residents don't even rate a mention. Not one word. Nor do the Cramps, even though shameless Cramps imitators the Von Bondies rate a line. Camper Van Beethoven are mentioned once, but only in the context that they were David Lowery of Cracker's previous band. Cracker? CBV's third album is one of the all-time greatest psych albums of all time, even if only for the insane cover of "Interstellar Overdrive" featuring Eugene Chadbourne (who also doesn't rate a mention, though he has done at least two double albums with the letters LSD in the title.) And REM is only mentioned in passing, as a "one-hit wonder." What could be trippier than _Murmur_? I bought the previous version of this book when it came out, and was hoping that some of the glaring ommission had been rectified in this expanded edition, but no. There are some factual errors and ommissions, too. You'd think that DeRogatis would have had time to fact-check a little more. And, though I pretty much agree with his negative assessment of Grateful Dead (and their fans,) two chapters devoted to how much he dislikes them is a little much.
Rating:
Summary: I Won't Hold My Breath For The Third Edition
Review: This is a nice reference work, with lots of useful information collected in one place. But don't make the mistake of thinking that, just because it's 600 pages, it's definitive. For instance, the Residents don't even rate a mention. Not one word. Nor do the Cramps, even though shameless Cramps imitators the Von Bondies rate a line. Camper Van Beethoven are mentioned once, but only in the context that they were David Lowery of Cracker's previous band. Cracker? CBV's third album is one of the all-time greatest psych albums of all time, even if only for the insane cover of "Interstellar Overdrive" featuring Eugene Chadbourne (who also doesn't rate a mention, though he has done at least two double albums with the letters LSD in the title.) And REM is only mentioned in passing, as a "one-hit wonder." What could be trippier than _Murmur_? I bought the previous version of this book when it came out, and was hoping that some of the glaring ommission had been rectified in this expanded edition, but no. There are some factual errors and ommissions, too. You'd think that DeRogatis would have had time to fact-check a little more. And, though I pretty much agree with his negative assessment of Grateful Dead (and their fans,) two chapters devoted to how much he dislikes them is a little much.
Rating:
Summary: solid stuff
Review: thorough, solid, entertaining and long over due analysis that takes us into and beyond the dark side of the moon.
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