NZ Musician

There are any number of journalists/music critics/trivial pursuiters who could have come up with this as a likely title for a book, so we should all be grateful it was Nick Bollinger who followed through. Apart from being an informed and entertaining writer, he is a lover of good music, and by virtue of being a regular print and radio reviewer as well as a musician, he has a uniquely intelligent perspective. His book does not look just at the popular or successful in a predictable greatest hits fashion, rather it seeks out the seminal albums of their time, the artist-defining albums and often the unrecognised genius.
Similarly there are some key compilations, ‘AK79’ and ‘Proud’ obviously, but others like ‘Pie Cart Rock’n’Roll’ and ‘When The Haka Became Boogie’s Greatest Bits, Volume 1’, which few others would have given space to.
Presented chronologically, starting with ‘The Tahiwis: Historic 1930 Recordings’ Bollinger takes three or four pages each to look at his chosen 100 albums, finishing at 2009 with Ed McWillams/Cake/Pie Warmer’s ‘The Fearsome Feeling’. Likely neither of these albums sold more than a few hundred copies and it is to Bollinger’s credit that he carefully defined his own off-beat brief, looking for albums that contain a “programme of music that holds your fascination from start to finish”, and largely excluding what could be called single genre music.
“My choices usually involve some kind of hybrid, which I have come to believe is the essence of most great pop.”
No surprise that Split Enz make multiple appearances – their four spots looks to be the band record. Fourmyula, for whose 4-CD mega release Bollinger has also recently written liner notes, get three of their albums in, including the unreleased until now, ‘lost album’, ‘Turn Your Back On The Wind’.
The book’s introduction rightly points out the difficulties of ascribing the ‘essential’ tag to newer recordings which have yet to prove their legs. Still, with the sheer numbers of local music releases increasing year on year, recordings from the last decade fill out the last quarter. They include a good representation of Pacific-influenced hip hop, dub and roots, new and old school pop and even the comic joys of Flight of the Conchords. It would be a shame to mention some and not others – find out if your own faves are there by buying a copy.
There is a lot to like about this book, including its handy bible-ish size, the simple design including the way the release and recording details are neatly highlighted, the pictures and most importantly Bollinger’s consistently informative, often personal commentaries. Essential indeed.