cover image Women, Sex and Rock 'n' Roll: In Their Own Words

Women, Sex and Rock 'n' Roll: In Their Own Words

Liz Evans. Pandora Press, $14 (276pp) ISBN 978-0-04-440900-7

Certainly women have been slighted regarding recognition for their role in the development of rock 'n' roll. In the past, attention has been paid only to the loudest, most provocative acts-the Janis Joplins and the Patti Smiths. Today a woman in a band is less likely to be looked at as a freak, but any woman becomes a role model to a younger generation-whatever her private reasons for playing music. British rock journalist Evans has chosen to stay clear of the musical mainstream in this collection of profiles and personal recollections. Tori Amos, Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon and Marianne Faithfull are the most well-known of the 14 women interviewed here. Most gripping is Throwing Muses' Kristen Hersh as she talks straight about her music and how it has been affected by her schizophrenia. Evans' editorial selections represent her personal music taste, but she does overlook some of the most influential women in the business, including such innovators and ground-breakers as Chrissie Hynde (The Pretenders), The Raincoats and Madonna, who are barely mentioned in passing. If the sense of history throughout is rather secondhand, the look at the future of rock 'n' roll that each woman offers may be enough to please die-hard fans. (Jan.)