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Rating: 
Summary: Lanza does it again
Review: A smart, witty and appealing -- if not exactly straightforward -- history of an elusive subject...
Rating: 
Summary: Mediocre writing meets lackadaisical editing
Review: Considering that this is the confluence of an interesting (but mostly unexplored) musical genre, and a writer with a deep background in the subject, it's a shame that this book is such a hugely unsatisfying read.One of the main problems is that a good deal of the book is little more than Lanza's uncritical musings about Muzak and other easy listening musics. Another is that some of the text is nothing more than quotes cribbed from the liner notes of record albums. It adds up to nothing new for those who collect and listen to this music, and fails to convey much beyond the ephemeral album-cover marketing to those just picking up on easy listening. What's missing, especially in the first 2/3 of the book, are first-hand accounts and interviews. Virtually none of the great composers, arrangers, songwriters and musicians discussed in the book are actually interviewed. In some cases, they have passed on, but in others, either Lanza couldn't track them down, or simply chose not to. It's a shame, because what's left reveals virtually nothing about the people behind the music. The last 1/3 of the book, especially the section about Beautiful Music radio, provides a hint of insight, but again, falls short of providing any sort of authoritative historical account. Overall, the book's structure is difficult to follow, and the lack of a discernable arc leaves the reader unmotivated. The text within the chapters is often scattered and without discernable point. It's too bad that Lanza's editor didn't do a better job of keeping the book focused, and helping him find a more readable outline.
Rating: 
Summary: Fails to entertain or inform very well...
Review: Despite the fact that this book is endorsed (on the back cover) by no less than Wendy Carlos (a fairly well-known composer and musical traditionalist), and despite the fact that I personally like a lot of "easy listening" type music, Lanza still fails here in his attempt to write a good book. Part of the problem, in my opinion, is that there really is no definable genre that could be called "moodsong." All music creates a mood of some sort, when it comes right down to it (whether by accident or design, what's the real difference?). And Lanza does a poor job of covering the history of the Muzak Corp. or any specific area of "easy listening" (all are drastically short-shrifted in a mere 233 pages). In defining the genre, it seems Lanza defined it too broadly -- it would take a thousand pages at least to really do justice to the material he covers -- not to mention, a lot more in-depth research than he apparently did or was willing to do. What's more, his speculative arguments fail to convince me... I do enjoy most of the music (aesthetically) and am not ashamed to say so, but it's my right-brain, emotional side that likes it. Lanza's attempts to analyze or 'justify' easy-listening and mood music in general fall flat, and his utopian speculation just ends up sounding silly and contrived. I agree with most of the points the previous reviewer made.
Rating: 
Summary: Gross errors in the work evidence (in my opnion) no research
Review: I can only speak to the topic of Mantovani, being a somewhat informed
fan, Mr. Lanza's statements, offered as historically accurate are so
far off base as to be laughable. For instance, Mr. Lanza states that
Mantovani "loathed the accordian", nothing could be further
from the truth. He loved the accordian and featured it beautifully in
arrangements as appropriate. There are dozens of errors on the history
of Mantovani, which leads me to believe the rest of the accounting is
also erroneous and perhaps not worth the purchase price of the
book. Too bad, there is a lot of wonderful history regarding
light-orchestra music, but Lanza simply isn't the one to put it
together.
Rating:
Summary: Going up?
Review: I wanted to like this book. Whatever its aesthetic merits, "elevator music" and its cognates -- easy-listening, Muzac, mood music, etc. -- have been such a pervasive phenomenon that the subject deserves serious investigation. Unfortunately, Lanza wants to extend his case beyond the seriousness of the subject to arguing that elevator music deserves to be regarded as serious music. Maybe someone out there is capable of sustaining that argument; Lanza can't. For starters, his grip on other forms of music that many of us do take seriously (such as classical, jazz and rock) is shakey at best. What do you make of an author who describes the jazz trumpeter Bobby Hackett's stints with Muzak as a departure from "improvisation dementia"? In addition to being a broad and inaccurate swipe at jazz, the comment demonstrates complete ignorance of Hackett, a musician famed for his golden tone and smooth, melodic interpretations of Dixieland and popular songs. Or consider the following regarding easy-listening interpretations of famous rock songs: "Many from Bob Dylan, the Doors, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Mamas and the Papas, R.E.M., the B-52s, U2, and Van Morrison have been refurbished from loud, plodding, adolescent thunder to something tasteful, airy, and mystical." Dylan, adolescent? Van Morrison, plodding? The Mamas and the Papas, loud? But the root problem -- and authorial prejudice -- is in his assignment of the adjectives "tasteful, airy, and mystical" to music that's best described as bland, flat, and deliberately unengaging. "Mystical," is a term Lanza frequently applies to elevator music. Bottom line: he cannot distinguish the amniotic state of neutered consciousness that Muzak acheives from the genuine achievement of goodness, truth and beauty that can be enjoyed in better music, whether it be folk, rock, jazz or classical. In the end, Lanza's posture shifts from being one that provokes curiousity to one that seems downright perverse. Lanza concludes his book with a sympathetic reading of the "emotional engineers" in Huxley's "Brave New World." As I read Lanza's praise of the artificial ("most of us, in our hearts, want a world tailored by Walt Disney's 'imagineers'") I couldn't help but think of George Orwell and the sad conclusion to "1984" in which the hero, numbed by falsehood, confesses his love for Big Brother.
Rating:
Summary: Joseph Lanza Nails His Subject Matter Impressively
Review: Lanza's exploration of elevator music, easy listening and all things moodsong is the definitive book for anyone who has an interest in a very misunderstood genre. As someone very close to the Easy Listening and Mood Music programming that quietly ruled FM radio for much of the 70's, let me tell you... Joseph Lanza nails his subject matter impressively. Whether you consider yourself a Percy Faith, Roger Williams or Mantovani fan... or are just curious about these plush, melodic sounds, "Elevator Music: A Surreal History Of Muzak, Easy Listening and Other Moodsong" makes for enjoyable reading. This isn't a book that seeks to cash in on what someone recently decided to call lounge music but an evenhanded evaluation of fascinating, mostly instrumental adult pop music with melodies that always lingered on.
Rating:
Summary: Joseph Lanza Nails His Subject Matter Impressively
Review: Lanza's exploration of elevator music, easy listening and all things moodsong is the definitive book for anyone who has an interest in a very misunderstood genre. As someone very close to the Easy Listening and Mood Music programming that quietly ruled FM radio for much of the 70's, let me tell you... Joseph Lanza nails his subject matter impressively. Whether you consider yourself a Percy Faith, Roger Williams or Mantovani fan... or are just curious about these plush, melodic sounds, "Elevator Music: A Surreal History Of Muzak, Easy Listening and Other Moodsong" makes for enjoyable reading. This isn't a book that seeks to cash in on what someone recently decided to call lounge music but an evenhanded evaluation of fascinating, mostly instrumental adult pop music with melodies that always lingered on.
Rating:
Summary: "Elevator Music" gave me a BIG L-I-F-T!
Review: The author did a marvelous job researching the subject ofpoporchestra easy listening music. He covers in some detail all thegreats who made this style of music so popular during the 1950s, '60s and '70s. The welcome chapter on Beautiful Music stereo FM radio stations of the '70s should have included the name of Bob Chandler, who programmed WGAY Washington, D.C. Bob was the person most responsible for making 'GAY the best station of its kind in the U.S. and the #1-rated station in our Nation's Capital during much of the 1970s. Please note that Time-Life Music has issued a series of Instrumental Favorites featuring all the artists discussed by the author. ( ) Author Joesph Lanza has written the annotations to this series of exquisite recordings.
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