It’s another big week for folks who like to read as well as listen, with a slew of moving memoirs, eye-popping photo books and retrospectives on bands, albums, scenes and ’zines — and even a book devoted to one of my favourite albums. Here’s the deal:
The Beautiful Ones
By Prince
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Prince was a musical genius, one of the most beloved, accomplished, and acclaimed musicians of our time. He was a startlingly original visionary with an imagination deep enough to whip up whole worlds, from the sexy, gritty funk paradise of Uptown to the mythical landscape of Purple Rain to the psychedelia of Paisley Park. But his most ambitious creative act was turning Prince Rogers Nelson, born in Minnesota, into Prince, one of the greatest pop stars of any era. The Beautiful Ones is the story of how Prince became Prince—a first-person account of a kid absorbing the world around him and then creating a persona, an artistic vision, and a life, before the hits and fame that would come to define him. The book is told in four parts. The first is the memoir Prince was writing before his tragic death, pages that bring us into his childhood world through his own lyrical prose. The second part takes us through Prince’s early years as a musician, before his first album was released, via an evocative scrapbook of writing and photos. The third section shows us Prince’s evolution through candid images that go up to the cusp of his greatest achievement, which we see in the book’s fourth section: his original handwritten treatment for Purple Rain—the final stage in Prince’s self-creation, where he retells the autobiography of the first three parts as a heroic journey.”
Time Is Tight: My Life, Note by Note
By Booker T. Jones
THE PRESS RELEASE: “From Booker T. Jones’s earliest years in segregated Memphis, music was the driving force in his life. While he worked paper routes and played gigs in local nightclubs to pay for lessons and support his family, Jones, on the side, was also recording sessions in what became the famous Stax Studios-all while still in high school. Not long after, he would form the genre-defining group Booker T. and the MGs, whose recordings went on to sell millions of copies, win a place in Rolling Stone’s list of top 500 songs of all time, and help forge collaborations with some of the era’s most influential artists, including Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, and Sam & Dave. Nearly five decades later, Jones’s influence continues to help define the music industry, but only now is he ready to tell his remarkable life story. Time is Tight is the deeply moving account of how Jones balanced the brutality of the segregationist South with the loving support of his family and community, all while transforming a burgeoning studio into a musical mecca. Culminating with a definitive account into the inner workings of the Stax label, as well as a fascinating portrait of working with many of the era’s most legendary performers-Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, and Tom Jones, among them-this extraordinary memoir promises to become a landmark moment in the history of Southern Soul.”
Blood: A Memoir
By Allison Moorer
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Mobile, Alabama, 1986. A fourteen-year-old girl is awakened by the unmistakable sound of gunfire. On the front lawn, her father has shot and killed her mother before turning the gun on himself. Allison Moorer would grow up to be an award-winning musician, with her songs likened to “a Southern accent: eight miles an hour, deliberate, and very dangerous to underestimate.” But that moment, which forever altered her own life and that of her older sister, Shelby, has never been far from her thoughts. Now, in her journey to understand the unthinkable, to parse the unknowable, Allison uses her lyrical storytelling powers to lay bare the memories and impressions that make a family, and that tear a family apart. Blood delves into the meaning of inheritance and destiny, shame and trauma — and how it is possible to carve out a safe place in the world despite it all. With a foreword by Allison’s sister, Grammy winner Shelby Lynne, Blood reads like an intimate journal: vivid, haunting, and ultimately life-affirming.”
Heavy Tales: The Metal. The Music. The Madness. As lived by Jon Zazula
By Jon Zazula
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Heavy Tales is the detailed, never before told story as lived by Jonny Zazula of how he founded Megaforce Records out of a flea market in New Jersey with his wife, Marsha and built a dynasty unmatched by others, forever changing the scope of Heavy Metal. The bands they worked with would go on to release some of the most prolific and important albums in heavy metal history, giving it its Golden Era. Jonny Zazula was a renegade youth who went from living on the New York City streets, to later working on Wall Street, and then moving unexpectedly towards the music business. In the winter of 1982, while working in a flea market, he received an unexpected demo tape from underground, unsigned band Metallica. Eager and determined to have the music heard by the entire world, Jonny Z and Marsha founded Megaforce Records in 1983, and soon after released Metallica’s debut album, Kill ‘Em All. Through this release Megaforce had cemented its position as the de-facto music label in America for Heavy Metal – but that’s just the start. Heavy Tales details the stories of how Jonny Z worked miracles by managing and releasing albums by Metallica, Anthrax, Testament, Mercyful Fate, Raven, Overkill, Exciter, Stormtroopers of Death, Method of Destruction, Ace Frehley, King’s X, Ministry, Mindfunk, Nudeswirl, Warren Haynes, Disco Biscuits and others, and how one night in 1984, he jokingly created Rap Metal before anyone else conceived the idea. With the foreword written by Chuck Billy, plus over 100 rare photographs unearthed from the MegaVault and photographer friends, Heavy Tales is the definitive American story of a family man with a dream, determined to prove to the world that heavy metal belonged on the stage, on the radio and in your living room.”
The Beatles from A to Zed: An Alphabetical Mystery Tour
By Peter Asher
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Peter Asher met The Beatles in the spring of 1963, the start of a lifelong association with the band and its members. He had a front-row seat as they elevated pop music into an art form, and he was present at the creation of some of the most iconic music of our times. Asher is also a talented musician in his own right, with a great ear for what was new and fresh. Once, when Paul McCartney wrote a song that John Lennon didn’t think was right for The Beatles, Asher asked if he could record it. A World Without Love became a global No. 1 hit for his duo, Peter & Gordon. A few years later Asher was asked by McCartney to help start Apple Records; the first artist Asher discovered and signed up was a young American singer-songwriter named James Taylor. Before long he would be not only managing and producing Taylor but also (having left Apple and moved to Los Angeles) working with Linda Ronstadt, Neil Diamond, Robin Williams, Joni Mitchell, and Cher, among others. The Beatles from A to Zed grows out of his popular radio program From Me to You on SiriusXM’s The Beatles Channel, where he shares memories and insights about the Fab Four and their music. Here he weaves his reflections into a whimsical alphabetical journey that focuses not only on songs whose titles start with each letter, but also on recurrent themes in The Beatles’ music, the instruments they played, the innovations they pioneered, the artists who influenced them, the key people in their lives, and the cultural events of the time. Few can match Asher for his fresh and personal perspective on the Beatles. And no one is a more congenial and entertaining guide to their music.”
Rush: Wandering the Face of the Earth: The Official Touring History
By Skip Daly & Eric Hansen
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Alex Lifeson, Geddy Lee, and Neil Peart performed together for the first time to an audience of 11,000 people in 1974. Forty years later, their last tour sold over 442,000 tickets. This is the story of everything in between. This is the story of Rush. Fondly known as the Holy Triumvirate, Rush is one of the top bands to shine through rock-and-roll history. Wandering the Face of the Earth covers Rush’s storied touring career, from their humble beginnings as a Toronto-area bar band playing middle school gymnasiums to their rise as one of the world’s most sought-after live acts, selling out massive arenas around the globe. This book includes every setlist, every opening act, and every noteworthy moment meticulously researched and vetted by the band themselves. Along with spectacular, never-before-seen imagery, this is THE must-have tour compendium for Rush fans.”
Tom Waits by Matt Mahurin
By Matt Mahurin & Tom Waits
THE PRESS RELEASE: “This visually arresting book is a testament to the unique collaboration, going back three decades, between the photographer and illustrator Matt Mahurin and the musician Tom Waits. Having shot magazine portraits, album covers, and music videos of Waits, Mahurin was inspired to resurrect 100 dormant film negatives as a jumping off point to explore his own surreal, poetic, and occasionally dark vision. The images vary from traditional portraits to ones that capture Waits in concert—but the majority are richly imagined scenes in which Waits is more muse than musician. In addition to the diverse images, the book includes a foreword by Waits, an essay by Mahurin on their longtime collaboration, and 20 original paintings, drawings, photographs, and digital images inspired by Waits’s song titles.”
Gunner Stahl: Portraits: I Have So Much To Tell You
By Gunner Stahl
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Despite only being 26 years old, photographer Gunner Stahl has captured shots of some of the world’s most famous rappers including Drake, Migos, Kayne West, A$ap Rocky, Childish Gambino, Gucci Mane, Post Malone and many others. He started by capturing the burgeoning hip-hop scene in Atlanta with an undeniable raw energy that has led to professional opportunities with magazines like Vogue, Fader and Highsnobiety as well as brands like Google, Red Bull, Moncler, Adidas, Stella McCartney, PUMA, and Kylie Jenner’s Thick clothing collection. In Portraits, he will publish unseen images of rap’s most famous artists along with written contributions from rapper Swae Lee and photographer Chi Modu.”
Led Zeppelin: Denmark 1968-1970
By Jorgen Angel & Søren Vangsgaard
THE PRESS RELEASE: “In September of 1968 the newly formed Led Zeppelin played their first concert ever, under the name The New Yardbirds, at a Danish school in the Copenhagen suburb of Gladsaxe. The 17 year old photographer Jorgen Angel was present at this first concert and his pictures from the bands Copenhagen shows in 1969 and 1970 tell the story of, not only the band, but also the unfolding of the Danish rock scene. His photographs have gone on to be recognized as some of the most evocative images of the young Led Zeppelin.”
Jimi Hendrix: The Nordic Concerts 1967-1970
By Jan Persson & Søren Vangsgaard
THE PRESS RELEASE: “From 1967 until his tragic death in 1970 Jimi Hendrix played 29 concerts in Denmark, Sweden and Finland, quite a few of them at humble venues. This book comprises the best photographs from these concerts selected from the extraordinary photographic archives of Jan Persson, Jorgen Angel and Veronica Hjorth. There are stunning photographs taken both on and off stage that have rarely or never been published before. The narrative is related by the people involved in the shows—the promoters, the roadies and the support bands—as well as reviews from the local newspapers and magazines of the period.”
Judas Priest: Every Album, Every Song
By John Tucker
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Although Judas Priest are on the cusp of an illustrious 45 year career, many would argue that their most creative and influential period ran from their first release in 1974 until front-man Rob Halford shocked the metal world by quitting the band in May 1992, following the completion of the Painkiller tour. By then Judas Priest had fourteen albums to their name, five of which made it into the UK Top 20, and had grown in stature and image from a kaftan-wearing rock band with pretensions of being the next Queen to a leather and studded, full-force, heavy metal onslaught. Copied by many but surpassed by none, Judas Priest came to symbolise the very essence of heavy metal music, and by the time of their breakthrough album British Steel their look and sound was replicated by many young hopefuls as the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal spawned the next generation of metal bands. This book studies Judas Priest’s varied output in detail. Musicians inspired by the band explain what Judas Priest and their albums meant to them, and the late Chris Tsangarides, whose first break came with the Sad Wings Of Destiny sessions, offers his insight to one of the world’s greatest heavy metal bands.”
Elton John in the 1970s: Every Album, Every Song
By Peter Kearns
THE PRESS RELEASE: “In 1970, Elton John, formerly Reginald Kenneth Dwight, stepped from the obscurity of suburban Pinner, Middlesex, England, into a pop culture reeling from post-Beatles fallout, to become one of the biggest-selling recording artists in the world. To date he has sold over 300 million records from a discography of 30 studio albums, four live albums, over 100 singles, and a multitude of compilations, soundtracks and collaborations. He is the recipient of six Grammys and ten Ivor Novello awards, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1995 and knighted in 1998. In 2018 he embarked on what is intended to be his swansong world tour, Farewell Yellow Brick Road. This book covers the period from Elton’s earliest 1960s releases to his final 1970s album, Victim of Love. It is a critical overview of every track on the thirteen studio albums released in an era when Elton was at his most successful and that many fans consider to be the musical high-point of his career. Also included are the two live albums 17-11-70 and Here and There, and the trove of album-worthy B-sides that augmented the discography along the way.”
The Wild Tchoupitoulas’ The Wild Tchoupitoulas (33 1/3 Book 142)
By Bryan Wagner
THE PRESS RELEASE: “The Wild Tchoupitoulas is a definitive expression of the modern New Orleans sound. From Hey Pocky A-Way to Big Chief Got a Golden Crown, the album draws on carnival traditions stretching back a century, adapting songs from the Mardi Gras Indians. Music chanted in the streets with tambourines and makeshift percussion is transformed throughout the album into electric rhythm and blues accented funk, calypso, and reggae. The album bridges not only genres but generations, linking the improvised flow from group leader George Landry, better known as Big Chief Jolly, to the stacked harmony vocals by his nephews Aaron, Art, Charles, and Cyril–the core members of the soon-to-be-formed Neville Brothers, playing together here for the first time. With production from Allen Toussaint and support from The Meters, the city’s preeminent funk ensemble, The Wild Tchoupitoulas brings an all-star brigade, pressing these old anthems into new arrangements that have since become carnival standards. In the process, the album helped to establish the terms by which processional second-line music in New Orleans would be commercialized through the record industry and the tourist trade, setting into motion a process that has raised more questions than it has answered about autonomy, authenticity, and appropriation under the conditions of a new cultural economy.”
Wendy Carlos’s Switched-On Bach (33 1/3 Book 141)
By Roshanak Kheshti
THE PRESS RELEASE: “So much, popular and scholarly, has been written about the synthesizer, Bob Moog and his brand-name instrument, and even Wendy Carlos, the musician who made this instrument famous. No one, however, has examined the importance of spy technology, the Cold War and Carlos’s gender to this critically important innovation. Through a postcolonial lens of feminist science and technology studies, Roshanak Kheshti engages in a reading of Carlos’s music within this gendered context. By focusing on Switched-On Bach (the highest selling classical music recording of all time), this book explores the significance of gender to the album’s–and, as a result, the Moog synthesizer’s–phenomenal success.”
The Hard Times: The First 40 Years
By Matt Saincome, Bill Conway, Krissy Howard
THE PRESS RELEASE: “Since 2014, The Hard Times has been at the forefront of music journalism, delivering hard-hitting reports and in-depth investigations into the punk and hardcore scene. From their scathing takedown of Kim Jong-un after he appointed himself the new singer of Black Flag to their incisive coverage of a healthy Lars Ulrich being replaced by a hologram, the site has become a trusted source for all things counterculture. Now, in this zine-style historical retrospective,” the writers behind the site reveal their humble roots, documenting The Hard Times’ ascension alongside the rise of punk. With original articles from their ‘archives’ commenting on ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s punk, as well as fan favorites from the aughts onward, this comprehensive examination of the scene will make readers dust off their Doc Martens and creepy crawl their way to the nearest pit.”
