A REVIEW, -THE STORY OF CRASS by george berger

This is the book about crass that the world has been waiting for, lover or hater of crass. written/not/in/the/expected/crass/record/cover/style/but/instead/written in a standard 'rock biography' style it unscrambles the band from the myths, legends and criticisms that have dogged it for years.
the book's chapters start normally enough with different names for each chapter but then they are done in a 'crassy' way by counting down the years to 1984 and then it finishes the chapter with 'after the facts' then the epilogue, the book is also littered with passages from an old lp give away booklet called 'last of the hippies' where the passages are relevant to the chapter or situation, revealing a glimpse of what the band were up to at that time.
the book starts with the meetings of the various crass members, their coming and going's, life for the bands members and how they got involved with each other and more importantly, various events like their involvement with the first Stonehenge festival (not all members were involved though, at the time Steve ignorant was still a skinhead!) and the various 'musical' styles they played with, with the likes of john cage getting mentioned more than once (and even gets 'copied' in the 'sound of free speach' track of total silence), the book also goes on to follow the contact with politics the various members had and their lives and travels before crass 'proper' (although various members were doing various things together at various times with various line-ups they didn't become a whole until 'crass' the band). and how that pre-crass time was ultimately to have influenced the bands outlook.
we read how the members came and went before the band, their art school time (the best way of avoiding the factory in the 1970's, everyone from the pistols, clash etc, right down to crass did it then).
Being written by someone who is/wasn't a member of crass helps to give the book its balance, because as well as telling of the bands triumphs it also recalls the bands failures in equal measure, it also gives you a glimpse into the mindsets of various members regarding certain matters and we can see how different members had different opinions regarding certain issues.
as well as charting the bands career and the house that the band was based in (called dial house, "it wasn't a commune") we also get a surprising cast of characters passing through, some friendly, some not, and some your not quite so sure about.
this book is for those who were/are fans of the band, those who hate them and those who are just curious, you don't have to be a fan of the band to enjoy the book. i have read 'rock biogs' before about bands i didn't even like because they had an interesting history but this book blows them all away, and it even contains photo's of the band , so now those who were not fortunate to ever see them live can now see what they look(ed) like (i saw them in 82-83 so i already knew they were a bunch of old baldy 's with a Sid-a-like singer! and with an old geezer doing all that mad drumming!, mind you i knew that charlie harper was on the wrong side of 35 when he released 'teenage'.) the 'privileged middle class' myth is put to bed quite nicely as is the too old to be punk myth (a load of old bollocks anyway, always was), and because the band were obliging with their memories we get to find out about how they now view certain events with the benefit of hindsight, and the band are honest about where they felt they went wrong and how they now feel that their base in Epping cut them off and distanced themselves from the general punk scene ("out of the loop") and the wider world at times.
but the book isn't just the history of a bunch of politicians, its a book about a band and all the constraints that puts on you, especially when the band has set its self up with such a strict agenda as crass did and how they were hampered by themselves, this is most amusingly put across by Steve ignorant who tells us about a gig the band did in Amsterdam "these two birds wanted to shag me and i wanted to shag them but i couldn't coz i was in crass", these contradictions are put across evenly and shows us that there were individual personal identities in the band and not just the single entitled golumm that crass were considered even today despite the years, or, because of it.
things can look different when looking back, and when looking back to the late 1970's/early 1980's it did seem like the world was coloured grey cold, fascistic (ha, you don't need to look back to see that one) and on the brink of nuclear war on a daily basis, and this book traces the efforts by a bunch of people who tried in their own little way to make the times a bit better by playing challenging punk rock and succeeding in places and failing in others.
and on the 'hippie' thing, i will (mis)quote mark p of sniffin glue/ATV when he was slagged off by punks for admitting to liking rock'n'roll (Jerry lee Lewis, Elvis etc) before punk, -'what do you expect? did you think we all refused to listen to music before punk? and if i liked a record then, why cant i still like it now, punk or not?', they were not hippies but punks who believed in punk a lot more than many others who used it to springboard themselves to fame, crass proved that perfectly by sticking to punk and providing other bands with a foot in the door, how many other 'punk' bands can be said to have helped so many other bands further their careers for nothing?
in all a fair handed biography of a band who in their own little way changed punk and helped to influence others with a legacy that can be seen today on a global scale, not bad for a band who didn't even have any publicity photos for people to look at.
so, as a 'rock'n'roll biog this book is the bollocks and like i said, like them or not you will enjoy this book if you like to read 'rock biogs', and if you are a fan of the band you will love it. but without doubt the books most important role is how it will become become invaluable as a source book on the band in years to come. i give it 8 out of 10.