Your reviewer must confess that as a rule the merest whiff of anything purporting to relate to New Age issues usually sends him scrambling for the hills and as “Turn Off Your Mind” is subtitled “The Mystic Sixties And The Dark Side Of The Age Of Aquarius”, my hackles were immediately starting to rise.
Initially, the reason I persevered was because the author GARY VALENTINE (minus the LACHMAN, his actual surname) was BLONDIE’S original bassist and co-songwriter of such cracking songs as “(I’m Always Touched By Your) Presence, Dear”. Well, the excellent news is that he’s equally adept in literary matters as only a couple of brief chapters of “TURN OFF YOUR MIND” prove so conclusively.
Make no mistake; this tome (running to virtually 400 pages, plus extensive bibliography) is extremely ambitious, as Mr. Lachman examines not only the obvious darker moments of the “mystic 60s” (egs. CHARLES MANSON, Satanism and cults in general, TIMOTHY LEARY and the Acid Revolution…you know the form already) but he also traces the early days of mysticism, the I CHING, Tarot, weird pulp fiction and far more besides. It’s a lasting testament to Lachman’s abilities in both researching and writing factually and impartially that the reader can remain focussed and “with the process” to cop a phrase.
The generally acknowledged “Hippie” era (roughly from 1966’s San Francisco through the notorious Manson-related slayings and the ROLLING STONES’ disastrous Altamont Festival in December 1969) is examined in surgical detail, but Lachman widens his net to include figures from the occult, ranging from ALEISTER CROWLEY to the Russian philosopher GURDJIEFF and all points in between, plus lots of weird figures in Literature (as a LOVECRAFT head, this was a boon) and you’re astonished to discover how many people were apparently tarred with the Dark Side’s brush. Even to a confirmed cynic, JAYNE MANSFIELD’S involvement with “The Black Pope” ANTON LaVEY is both illuminating and very scary indeed.
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Obviously, depending on your preferences, some parts of “TURN OFF YOUR MIND” will appeal more than others. For instance, as a longstanding JACK KEROUAC fan, I personally found the examination of the Beats considerably more absorbing than the lengthy story of the rise of TOLKEIN. Indeed, he comes across as even more of a whinging bastard than I’d imagined, though as someone almost apoplectically opposed to his elf-infested cack (complaints to the usual address, please) I can nevertheless admire Lachman’s diligence in researching what I’m forced to admit is still a major growth area today.
Naturally, we’re mostly drawn to “TURN OFF YOUR MIND” because of its’ rock and roll associations, and Mr. Lachman deals with THE BEATLES, ROLLING STONES, THE DOORS, LED ZEPPELIN, BEACH BOY Dennis Wilson’s involvement with CHARLES MANSON and far more than we’ve room for here. A lot is already well documented, but you’ll be pleasantly surprised by some of the detail filling these (mostly true) stories here.
Overall, GARY VALENTINE LACHMAN has done an incredibly good job in pulling together such disparate (and often extremely weird) strands together to weave a coherent tapestry, keeping you enthralled for the most part, at least. He’s just published a further book dealing with his days on the New York punk scene from 1975 – 1981, which I suggest you follow up on the strength of this. In the meantime, give yourself over to the strange forces contained within.
For once, I think I can safely recommend it
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