I couldn’t read music if you put a gun to my head. But I have no trouble reading about music. Here are the biographies and books due this week:
Classic Rock: Photographs from Yesterday & Today
By Jim Summaria and Mark Plotnick
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Your front-row seat to some of the greatest rock & roll concerts of all time. Classic Rock: Photographs from yesterday and today features the original, high-quality performance photography of veteran photojournalist, Jim Summaria. Through his camera lens, readers get a front row center seat to not only Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famers in performance, but additional acts often overlooked and whose contributions are compelling. This book draws an intriguing visual contrast between artists in their prime – and, if still performing, as they have appeared more recently.The addition of quick facts and trivia about these artists, key recordings, and revealing quotes from these musicians, peers, and critics will further entertain readers.”
I Am Damo Suzuki
By Damo Suzuki
THE PRESS RELEASE: “When the anarchic vocalist of Can left the celebrated German band in late 1973, the ensuing decade-long absence was taken by many to be the end of his personal story. But it was just the beginning. In I Am Damo Suzuki, Kenji Damo Suzuki and co-author Paul Woods illuminate a life in music driven by the principle of randomness. The book spans the influence of western music on Suzuki growing up in post-WWII Japan, his rejection of national traditions and a lifelong journey of exploration. After his hippie-influenced beginnings as a provocative street musician, Suzuki’s story took an unlikely turn after a chance recruitment into Can, one of the most innovative bands of the seventies. A stint of family life and the role of Japanese salaryman preceded his return to the music world with The Damo Suzuki Band and later with Damo Suzuki’s Network, an international vehicle for musical communication using sound instead of words. With contributions from family members, lifelong friends, musical collaborators and Damo’s long-term partner, I Am Damo Suzuki is an absorbing portrait of a musical catalyst and enigmatic icon.”
Bruce Springsteen: The Stories Behind the Songs
By Brian Hiatt
THE PRESS RELEASE: “The legend of Bruce Springsteen may well outlast rock ’n’ roll itself. And for all the muscle and magic of his life-shaking concerts with the E Street Band, his legendary status comes down to the songs. He is an acknowledged master of music and lyrics, with decades of hits, from Blinded by the Light and Born to Run to Hungry Heart, Dancing in the Dark and The Rising. In Bruce Springsteen: The Stories Behind the Songs, longtime Rolling Stone writer Brian Hiatt digs into the writing and recording of these songs and all the others on Springsteen’s studio albums, from 1973’s Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. to 2014’s High Hopes (plus all the released outtakes), and offers a unique look at the legendary rocker’s methods, along with historical context, scores of colorful anecdotes, and more than 180 photographs. Hiatt has interviewed Springsteen five times in the past and has conducted numerous new interviews with his collaborators, from longtime producers to the E Street Band, to create an authoritative and lushly illustrated journey through Springsteen’s entire songbook and career.”
Johnny B. Bad: Chuck Berry and the Making of Hail! Hail! Rock ‘N’ Roll Hardcover
By Stephanie Bennett
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Thirty years ago, Chuck Berry starred in the seminal music documentary Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock ‘N’ Roll, which profiled the legend during a star-studded concert celebrating his sixtieth birthday. Now, on the heels of Berry’s death, comes the complete story behind one of America’s most enduring and embattled icons. Compiled as an oral history by the film’s producer, Stephanie Bennett, Johnny B. Bad combines interviews from the film’s participants, including its music director – Keith Richards. These unique interviews and accounts paint a vivid and multifaceted picture of the artist. Berry was at once a witty, articulate genius, now widely considered the godfather of rock and roll; a shrewd businessman, who had no trouble endlessly renegotiating contracts and refusing to perform until additional cash was gathered up; and also a convicted criminal, who in addition to serving time in prison for transporting a minor across state lines for immoral purposes” had also been accused of sexual assault and sued in civil court for installing cameras in the restroom of the Southern Air, a restaurant he owned in Wentzville, Mo.”
