Manifesto of Rock. Or rather, a manuscript. After all, rock is an ancient teaching. At a superficial glance, we discover some 70 faithful years of existence - this does not resemble archetypal antiquities. However, you just have to dig deeper and we come to the middle of the fourth millennium BC. And here no objections from brave skeptics are accepted. The point is this... Not a single tape, not a single reel of demo recordings lying around, has reached us (on behalf of the ancients). It worked - yes. But... Maybe the human factor. Maybe a global conspiracy of pop fans. Who knows?
And therefore we are happy (in our ignorance) and accept: rhythm came to rock from Africa, and Africa is God knows how long ago and, perhaps, Ancient Egypt is just a transfer station. We also accept (having cast aside all doubts) that romantic howls accompanied by trembling are the brainchild of Europe. And even if that same Europe is younger than Africa, in terms of settlement by all sorts of peoples everything is the same: a dark matter, an ancient teaching, the music of tears, suffering and sorrow. And rock itself!.. And rock itself, brothers and sisters, is the highest form of development of uh... those very rhythmic howls.
Rock has very deep roots!
Very old parents!
And in general: “Everything that you and I call the stage - it all began on these stages...” No beatings or insults are accepted for the stage - we are watching the classics of Soviet cinema. And epigraphs - they weren’t invented by the Reds, they were even in use before the Reds.
“What does this have to do with the manifesto?”
Roll over Beethoven!!!
That's what it has to do with it.
Yes. A ragamuffin and a criminal, a street element and a representative of the lower class of American society - that is who the author of the manifesto, Mr. Chuck Berry, is. He still has the meaningful nickname Duke. And what did he roll out to us in that manifesto? In April 1956?
I'm gonna write a little letter,
Gonna mail it to my local DJ.
It`sa rockin` little record
I want my jockey to play.
Roll over Beethoven, I gotta hear it again today!
It seems like nothing new: “Go, dad, to such and such a mother and give her some air to live!” The old is overboard. Then the new goes overboard: it has become old. The ship of history is sailing, and behind it, in the fairway, chests of all stripes are rinsing - with stupid junk.
You know, my temperature`s risen`
And the jukebox blows a fuse.
My heart`s beatin` rhythm
And my soul keeps on singin` the blues.
Roll over Beethoven and tell Tschaikowsky the news!
See what's going on!.. The shameless Mr. Berry gives our Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky a kind of uh... kick (the rock message is also called). Sheer shamelessness. And what would be discussed here if not for ELO.
Not a fruit. No. This is not a fruit. This is a musical group from the West. Like our Soviet VIA - only different.
In January 1973, the British rock band Electric Light Orchestra presented the world with its second studio album - ELO 2. And on it appears that very famous cover of the above-mentioned manifesto thing - Roll over Beethoven, complemented by a breathtaking introduction from the Fifth Symphony of the truly great Beethoven . And then - instantly and at the same time - everything falls into place. Beethoven spoke more than once about this introduction (the motive of the first movement): “So fate itself is knocking on our door.”
ELO just put an end to it. An unstoppable force collided with an immovable obstacle. And soon after that, the tireless Sony rolled out catalogs of its audio systems with amazingly elegant, downright breakthrough advertising - scattered sheet music, marble busts of Beethoven and Presley, “clean sound, there’s always a classic.”
Fly, fly, petal, through...
As soon as you touch the ground, in my opinion...
Rock became classical music that year, 1973. Some new type and model, but still classic. In the same January of 1973, a worldwide broadcast of Elvis happened - the Aloha from Hawaii concert, which was simultaneously watched by a hell of a lot - hundreds of millions - of viewers around the world, and even though Elvis didn’t sing Roll over Beethoven there, he still did the Johnny B song He performed Goode of the ubiquitous Chuck Berry (fire and fire - we find and watch): the opening bridge, which each of us has stuck in our ears since childhood, is the same in these two hits.
What else is worth saying at the end?
To the gallery page
Rock is a flash - the brightest! - a star that has matured for millennia. Supernova. Yes, yes, in space everything is calculated in millions of light years, but we’re not really talking about space here (and don’t get carried away).
Rock is the eruption of a volcano, which truly almost demolished, burying under the ashes of fan frenzy, the entire musical culture of mankind... However, it’s on you! — entered the framework, settled down and took his place of honor. And it seemed that everything was so close and so possible...
Old, huge trees that reach to the sky sometimes give off powerful shoots.
We will wait.
A new reading of one of the most ancient teachings of the sublunary world.
We will wait.
Roll over Beethoven
And dig these rhythm and blues!..
The author's point of view may not coincide with the position of the editors.