Hope you like Billy Joel or EDM — those are your only two options for new music books this week. Hey, it could be worse: It could have been Pat Boone and polkas.
Liberty: Life, Billy and the Pursuit of Happiness
By Liberty DeVitto
THE PRESS RELEASE: “For 30 years, Liberty DeVitto was the driving force behind one of the biggest pop artists of all time. With his intense drive, endless creativity, and New York swagger, Liberty created the grooves for 13 platinum Billy Joel albums that have sold over 150 million copies, and wrote and performed the drum parts on 22 of Billy’s 23 top-40 hits and all of his six Grammy Award-winning recordings. He toured the world multiple times as one of the most well-known drummers of his era. The amazing success did not come without a price. This is Liberty’s story: a tale of an Italian-American kid who followed his dream and attained unimaginable success, only to see it crumble before his eyes, and ultimately experience a rebirth after passing through the fire of broken relationships, divorce, substance abuse, the death of a brother and a bandmate and the pain of losing the persona the world knew as “Billy Joel‘s drummer.” In this compelling memoir, Liberty takes you back to his immigrant roots and ultimate settling on Long Island, a place he recounts in warm detail. He then traces a musician’s journey: early childhood bands, a rise through the local club scene, wedding bands, building a career, his first tours, and then a juggernaut of success, excess, and stardom with Billy Joel. The making of each of Billy’s albums is recounted in detail, with specific memories from the recording sessions of every song on every album from Turnstiles through Storm Front. Liberty then shares stories from the production and tour for River of Dreams and the end of his tenure with Billy. Liberty is a tale of following and fulfilling your dream, a love story of a drummer and his drum, and an inside look at the music and career of Billy Joel from the man who viewed it from the best seat in house: the drum throne.”
Electronic: From Kraftwerk to the Chemical Brothers
By Jean-Yves Leloup & Ian Anderson
THE PRESS RELEASE: “With its roots in Detroit and Chicago in the early 1980s, electronic dance music was popularized across Europe through underground rave parties and clubs. Its impact on contemporary culture is still unfolding today. Containing interviews with early pioneers such as techno legend Jeff Mills, The Designers Republic’s Ian Anderson, and those pushing the political dimension of electronic music, such as ballroom dancer and DJ Kiddy Smile, Electronic bears witness to the shifting nature of the genre. Illustrated with over 300 images, some published here for the first time, Electronic features Jean-Michel Jarre’s virtual studio; work by pioneer Daphne Oram of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop; audiovisual performances by musicians like Bicep and The Chemical Brothers; fashion collections by Raf Simons and Charles Jeffrey of Loverboy; iconic photography by Jacob Khrist and Tina Paul; artwork by Christian Marclay; club graphics from Peter Saville and Mark Farrow; tons of album cover designs; and iconic venues such as the Haçienda, Gatecrasher, Fabric, Berghain and The Warehouse Project.”
