Whatever the genre, be it jazz, folk, punk, disco, hip-hop or alternative, all musical scenes are a product of their environment – and no place has played a more integral role in shaping its aural output than that of New York City. This notion provides the premise for Jesse Rifkin’s superb tour of the city and its influence on music over the past 60 years.
Exhaustive in its attention to detail, This Must Be The Place: Music, Community And Vanished Spaces In New York City is an enlightening escapade through the mean streets of the Big Apple, which veers far off the beaten track of renowned venues to infiltrate the urban underbelly of the concrete jungle. Sure, we may take in CBGB, Max’s Kansas City, Studio 54 and the Hotel Chelsea et al, but we also see them in a different light here. Max’s Kansas City, for example, was the setting for many a debauched night but also doubled up as a diner for office workers by day.