Prehistoric Sounds

Prehistoric Sounds chronicles the music scenes of Melbourne and Sydney in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The book focuses on key bands and performers who shaped the Australian punk and post-punk landscape during this period. The text includes interviews with musicians, promoters, journalists and other industry figures who witnessed the evolution of the scenes firsthand. McFarlane combines these firsthand accounts with extensive research to document venue histories, record releases, and band lineups. The book contains over 100 photographs from the era along with reproductions of gig posters, ticket stubs, and other ephemera. A detailed discography and venue index serve as resources for researchers and music fans. The narrative captures a transformative period in Australian music history when international influences merged with local creativity to produce distinctive regional sounds. The book illustrates how subcultural movements develop and interact within specific geographic and social contexts.

There are not enough internet reviews to create a summary of this book. Instead, here is a summary of reviews of Ian McFarlane's overall work: Readers consistently highlight McFarlane's exhaustive research and attention to detail in documenting Australian music history. Music fans praise The Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop for its comprehensive coverage and factual accuracy. What readers liked: - Thorough documentation of lesser-known bands and regional scenes - Clear, accessible writing style - Reliable source citations and cross-referencing - Useful discographies and band member listings What readers disliked: - Limited coverage of post-2000 artists in earlier editions - Some readers wanted more biographical details about artists - Print editions can become outdated quickly Ratings & Reviews: Goodreads: 4.2/5 (87 ratings) Amazon Australia: 4.5/5 (34 reviews) Reader quote: "McFarlane manages to pack an incredible amount of information into each entry without sacrificing readability. This is the definitive reference for Australian music." - Goodreads reviewer Note: Limited review data available online as many of his works were published pre-internet era.

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🎸 The book chronicles the complete history of Australian punk and post-punk music scenes from 1976 to 1983, including rare photos and comprehensive band histories. 📚 Author Ian McFarlane spent over a decade as a music journalist for publications like Juke Magazine and is considered one of Australia's foremost music historians. 🎼 The title "Prehistoric Sounds" comes from a 1979 album by influential Brisbane punk band The Saints, who were one of the first punk bands outside the US/UK to release a record. 📷 Many of the photographs featured in the book had never been published before, sourced directly from musicians' personal collections and underground zine archives. 🌏 The book documents how Australian punk developed its own unique sound and aesthetic, distinct from American and British punk, influenced by the country's geographic isolation and local garage rock tradition.