This great anthology takes in the very best of Mojo Navigator, Who Put the Bomp, and Bomp! Numerous full page reproductions from the archives of the aforementioned organs are interspersed with essays by Mick Farren and Suzy Shaw. Being the erstwhile wife, lifelong friend and business partner of the late Greg Shaw, Suzy Shaw’s pieces add a certain poignancy and intimacy to this history of the Bomp! music empire which Greg Shaw founded in 1966 by producing Mojo Navigator. Although Shaw extended Bomp’s tentacles to include the Bomp! record label and a successful mail-order business (still running today under the auspices of Suzy Shaw), it is with the magazine wing that this tome is primarily concerned.

Although Mick Farren must be well used to commenting on the emergence of rock’n’roll and subsequent evolution of rock music his writing is as engaging as ever, and he provides a colourful introduction, as well as several other pieces including his “Preamble to Punk” essay. Adding a further element of gravitas, other notable contributors include the likes of Greil Marcus, Lenny Kaye and Mike Staxx. Excellent though they are, the essays only tell part of the story and it is the original material that really speaks for itself, both in the literary sense and visually.

Lavishly illustrated throughout and benefiting from the addition of extra photographs and pictures, Bomp’s large coffee-table format also lends itself perfectly to the faithfully reproduced full-size articles, reviews and covers from the magazines’ archives. Although perhaps not as visually striking as the later Bomps! the earlier mimeographed editions of Mojo Navigator and Who Put The Bomp still have a certain rudimentary DIY fanzine charm to them nevertheless. But, overall the juxtaposition of contemporary essays and graphics with the original material is truly a sight to behold. In some respects is not too dissimilar from Farren and Edward Barker’s Watch Out Kids from 1972. Farren rightfully acknowledges “graphic master”, Ryan Corey, for making this “a masterpiece of design”.

As for the writing, Bomp! covers the whole gamut of musical genres from west coast psychedelia, garage bands, glam rock, or “glitter”, power pop, rockabilly, English punk , New York punk and acid punk. Interviews, articles and features on the likes of names, then emerging, such as the Grateful Dead, Doors, Sex Pistols, Ramones and Blondie, as well as relatively unsung bands (at least at the time) such as 13th Floor Elevators, Seeds, and Standells and so on. Aided and abetted by the likes of journalists who are now household names, such as Lester Bangs, Greil Marcus and Nick Kent, Greg Shaw and Bomp!, in it’s various guises, had their collective fingers on the pulse of the musical zeitgeist for nigh on a decade and a half before Shaw apparently became disillusioned with the direction the punk scene was taking, and the last edition of Bomp! was shelved before it could be published due to financial constraints.

Thought to have been lost years ago, the original art boards for the last edition were rediscovered by chance in 2006, and have been reproduced here in their original format and entirety to provide one last treat for any Bomp! enthusiast. All in all then Bomp! proves to be a must for any forty-something-plus nostalgic for the music of their youth, as well as proving to be a veritable treasure trove of garage delights for any teenager disillusioned with current music trends, seeking to find some kind of inspiration from the alternative music of a bygone era. But let it not be said that over the years Shaw never lost his knack for backing a good hunch. Brian Jonestown Massacre anyone?

RD January 2008