Click Here To Purchase West Coast Revelation
 
Authors: John York & Kim Fowley
Audio CD
Publishers: Global Recording Artists
ASIN: B0054LGN3I
 
 
 
According to collaborator Kim Fowley, West Coast Revelation is something that’s never been done before. In the view of this important contributor to rock history, the album is a new type of audiobook, one that’s half music, half talk. Try as I might, I can’t think of any project quite like it that would disprove Fowley’s claim.
 
West Coast Revelation is justly billed as being by “John York and Kim Fowley” although multi-instrumentalist York is the only one of the two to sing and play. Back in the ‘60s, York was an in-demand touring musician who traveled with Johnny Rivers and the Mamas and Papas. Then, he joined the Byrds during their “Easy Rider” and “Jesus is Just Alright” country/rock period. Over the years, he’s worked in various re-groupings of ex-Byrds, toured with Barry (“Eve of Destruction”) McGuire, and released solo projects for Global Recording Artists.
 
Kim Fowley has been a legendary figure in rock since 1960 when he produced the hit “Alley Oop” for the fictional Hollywood Argyles. He then produced”They’re Coming to Take Me Away” for Napoleon XIV and appeared on albums from Frank Zappa. His major claim to public fame came in the mid-70s when he master-minded The Runaways, a presence captured by actor Michael Shannon in 2010’s biopic of that group.
 
Fowley also has Byrds connections, co-writing songs with Skip Battin on the final records from the Roger McGuinn outfit. Then, last year he hooked up with John York to create a unique artifact crafted to evoke the spirit of the LA sound from the ‘60s. First, Fowley wrote lyrics which York put to music and performed. Then, the two sat down with Fowley interviewing York about what the times were like back when the West Coast was a center of the folk/rock music scene. The resulting CD is a back-and-forth mix of these songs and the interviews, many of the conversations leading into songs that recall both the glory days of yore and what’s going on in the 21st Century.
 
Certainly, the main draw for this set is the songs, driving acoustic anthems like “Angels and Trucks,” “Memories of Days Gone By,” and “Rock and Roll is Another Word for Freedom.” (According to Fowley, “Laurel Canyon and Topanga” sums up the story in one song, mentioning the names of the giants who sang together, played together, and hoped to change the world together with music.) But, unlike any other such collection, the interviews add a dimension that gives listeners insights into York’s own past, the times that molded the sounds of those he knew and worked with, and what are, after all these years, the meanings both York and Fowley take from their memories.
 
 For those who remember the recordings of the era, this is a paean to the times with new material celebrating the spirit and flavor of what we were listening to. The talk takes us into the contexts and settings of those who created those sounds, then and now. For those too young to remember the late ‘60s, this set is a 75 minute gentle window that doesn’t deal with sex or drugs but very much why rock and roll was another word for freedom.
      
 Click Here To Purchase West Coast Revelation
 
 

Dr. Wes Britton’s audio interview with Kim Fowley for online radio’s “Dave White Presents” is available for listening or download HERE: