Led Zeppelin, Talking Heads, Hendrix, Queen, Kiss, The Beatles, 10CC and even Redbone — looks like it’s going to be a big week for classic rock fans. Or at least the ones who like to read:
Jimmy Page: The Anthology
By Jimmy Page
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “From his early days as a young session musician, through his years on the world stage with Led Zeppelin, to his solo work and collaborations, Jimmy Page has lived a spectacular life in music. Throughout it all, he has amassed an extensive private archive of iconic guitars, stage costumes and personal memorabilia. Now, in The Anthology, Jimmy Page is granting exclusive access to his archive for the first time, and telling the inside story of his phenomenal career. In a new text of over 70,000 words, Jimmy Page guides the reader through hundreds of rare items, many of which are previously unseen, and others of mythic status, such as the Gibson double neck guitar, his dragon-emblazoned suit, his white embroidered poppy suit, and the outfit worn in the concert film The Song Remains the Same. Also included are handwritten diaries, correspondence, rare vinyl pressings, previously unpublished photographs and much, much more. Jimmy Page has personally selected each piece to be photographed in this book, which has been created with his full participation. The result is Jimmy Page: The Anthology . Both reflective and revealing, it is quite simply the legendary musician’s most comprehensive and fascinating account of his life to date.”
Whatever It Takes
By Tom Morello
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “As the cofounder and guitarist of Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, and Prophets of Rage, and as a solo artist and collaborator with artists as diverse as Bruce Springsteen and Wu-Tang Clan, few musicians have been as groundbreaking as Tom Morello. Now, for the first time, Morello’s remarkable life as a guitarist, songwriter, singer, and political activist is captured in Whatever It Takes. Telling the story from his first guitar to the present day, Morello’s commentary is accompanied by a wealth of photographs, handwritten notes, and set lists, many of which are previously unpublished and come from the author’s personal archives. Stunning images of Morello’s heavily customized guitars complete this jam-packed photographic memoir, and the result, like his incendiary guitar playing, is fascinating, honest, and completely unique. Introduced by the Oscar-winning filmmaker Michael Moore, Jann Wenner, the cofounder of Rolling Stone, Morello’s Prophets of Rage collaborator Chuck D, and Nora Guthrie, daughter of the legendary Woody Guthrie, Whatever It Takes is the defining document of one of the greatest rock guitar players of our times.”
American Utopia
By David Byrne & Maira Kalman
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “From former Talking Heads frontman and multimedia visionary David Byrne and revered bestselling author, illustrator, and artist Maira Kalman — an inspiring celebration in words and art of the connections between us all. A joyful collaboration between old friends, American Utopia offers readers an antidote to cynicism, bursting with pathos, humanism, and hope — featuring his words and lyrics brought to life with more than 150 of her colorful paintings. The text is drawn from David Byrne’s American Utopia, which has become a hit Broadway show and is now a film from Spike Lee on HBO. The four-color artwork, by Maira Kalman, which she created for the Broadway show’s curtain, is composed of small moments, expressions, gestures, and interactions that together offer a portrait of daily life and coexistence. With their creative talents combined, American Utopia is a salvo for kindness and a call for jubilation, a reminder to sing, dance, and waste not a moment. Beautifully designed and edited by Alex Kalman, American Utopia is a balm for the soul from two of the world’s most extraordinary artists.”
Redbone: The True Story of a Native American Rock Band
By Christian Staebler & Sonia Paoloni
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “You’ve heard the hit song Come and Get Your Love in the movie Guardians of the Galaxy, but the story of the band behind it is one of cultural, political, and social importance. Brothers Pat and Lolly Vegas were talented Native American rock musicians that took the 1960s Sunset Strip by storm. They influenced The Doors and jammed with Jimmy Hendrix before he was “Jimi,” and the idea of a band made up of all Native Americans soon followed. Determined to control their creative vision and maintain their cultural identity, they eventually signed a deal with Epic Records in 1969. But as the American Indian Movement gained momentum the band took a stand, choosing pride in their ancestry over continued commercial reward. Created in cooperation of the Vegas family, authors Christian Staebler and Sonia Paoloni with artist Thibault Balahy take painstaking steps to ensure the historical accuracy of this important and often overlooked story of America’s past. Part biography and part research journalism, Redbone provides a voice to a people long neglected in American history.”
Looking to Get Lost: Adventures in Music and Writing
By Peter Guralnick
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “By the bestselling author of Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock ’n’ Roll and Last Train To Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley, this dazzling new book of profiles is not so much a summation as a culmination of Peter Guralnick’s remarkable work, which from the start has encompassed the full sweep of blues, gospel, country, and rock ‘n’ roll. It covers old ground from new perspectives, offering deeply felt, masterful, and strikingly personal portraits of creative artists, both musicians and writers, at the height of their powers. “You put the book down feeling that its sweep is vast, that you have read of giants who walked among us,” rock critic Lester Bangs wrote of Guralnick’s earlier work in words that could just as easily be applied to this new one. And yet, for all of the encomiums that Guralnick’s books have earned for their remarkable insights and depth of feeling, Looking to Get Lost is his most personal book yet. For readers who have grown up on Guralnick’s unique vision of the vast sweep of the American musical landscape, who have imbibed his loving and lively portraits and biographies of such titanic figures as Elvis Presley, Sam Cooke, and Sam Phillips, there are multiple surprises and delights here, carrying on and extending all the themes, fascinations, and passions of his groundbreaking earlier work.”
Conversations with Phantoms: Exclusive Interviews About the 1978 TV Movie, Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park
By Ron Albanese
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “All Wrongs Will Be Righted With This Book! Or maybe, some people will still not like its subject matter! In the late 1970s, the makeup and costumes wearing rock group Kiss conquered American album charts and stormed the nation’s arenas, putting on hundreds of their explosive concerts for their fans, the Kiss Army. True rock ‘n’ roll superheroes, they also began making inroads in merchandising, such as having their own comic book. The next step was to do some kind of film. Since its first airing in October of 1978, the resulting NBC TV movie Kiss Meets The Phantom of The Park has been overwhelmingly perceived as a hokey misstep in the band’s history. While lamenting what it is not, detractors have forgotten what it is: fun, super ’70s, and vintage Kiss. Conversations With Phantoms is author and lifelong Kiss fan Ron Albanese’s deep dive behind the scenes of Kiss Meets The Phantom of The Park. Thirteen never-before-published interviews plus “Phantom Findings” comprise an informative and entertaining read, not only for the band’s followers, but for anyone into 1970s pop culture.”
Jimi Hendrix: Still Burning Bright
By Hugh Fielder
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Seattle-born guitarist, songwriter and singer Jimi Hendrix soared to the very top rank of all guitarists quickly after arriving in London at the height of the British Blues boom. Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page stood back in amazement while Eric Clapton, a god of the guitar at the time was destroyed by the brilliance of this quixotic presence and never recovered. Later, Hendrix, riding his success back to the U.S., saw his energy and experimentation bring accolades from industry and audiences alike. At Woodstock, his rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner was a defiant burst of electric glamour that reached back to the field holler of the blues, and forward to the roots of modern rock. His drug-related death in September 1970 was a shock, but the influence of Jimi Hendrix burns ever brighter, his reputation growing with each new generation.”
Queen: The Neal Preston Photographs
By Neal Preston
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Neal Preston is one of the most prolific and highly regarded rock photographers of all time. He began working with Queen in the mid 1970s as their tour photographer. He was present on the legendary South America tour in 1981, Live Aid in 1985, and the band’s last tour with Freddie Mercury in 1986, among others. Brian May has commented, “Neal just has the knack, the skill, to always be in the right place at the right time.” This official book, produced in collaboration with the band, features over 200 images and is an exhilarating ride through their years on the road together. It is the first time Preston and Queen have collated this work in one volume: glimpses of life backstage, live performances, post-performance highs and lows, and outtakes — many of which have never been seen before — are accompanied by memories and anecdotes from Preston with forewords by Queen guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor. The pages vibrate with a palpable energy.”
While We Were Getting High: Britpop and the ’90s
By Kevin Cummins
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Remember the rise and fall of Britpop — the seminal U.K.-based music and culture movement of the ’90s — through its most striking images, with many never published before. Also featuring interviews with the heroes of Britpop, including Noel Gallagher. Hundreds of photographs taken by renowned photographer Kevin Cummins, chief photographer at the NME for more than a decade, showcase Britpop’s greatest stars at their most creative and iconic. Artists photographed include Oasis, Blur, Pulp, Kula Shaker, The Verve, Suede, Elastica, Happy Mondays, The Stone Roses, The Bluetones, The Boo Radleys, Dodgy, The Charlatans, Echobelly, Gene, Kenickie, Mansun, The Divine Comedy – Supergrass, Sleeper, Menswear, Marion, The Seahorses, Shampoo … and many more.”
Cuba: Music and Revolution: Original Album Cover Art
By Stuart Baker & Gilles Peterson
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The first book about Cuban record sleeve design, compiled by Gilles Peterson and Stuart Baker, Cuba: Music and Revolution features hundreds of rarely seen vinyl records from the start of the Cuban Revolution at the beginning of the 1960s up until 1985, when Cuba’s Special Period, brought about by the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the withdrawal of Russia’s financial support for the Cuban government, led to the demise of vinyl-record manufacturing in Cuba. The artwork here reflects both the cultural and musical depth of Cuba as well as the political influence of revolutionary communism. Over the past century, Cuban music has produced a seemingly endless variety of styles — rumba, mambo, son, salsa — at a dizzyingly fast rate. Since the 1940s a steady stream of Cuban musicians has also made the migration to the U.S., sparking changes in North American musical forms: bandleader Machito set New York’s jazz and Latin scene on fire, and master drummer Chano Pozo’s entry into Dizzy Gillespie’s group led to the birth of Latin jazz, to name just two. After the Cuban Revolution in 1959, the new government closed American-owned nightclubs and consolidated the island’s recording industry under a state-run monopoly. Out of this new socialist agenda came new musical styles, including the Nueva Trova movement of left-wing songwriters. The 1980s saw more experimentation in modernist jazz, salsa and Afro-Cuban folkloric music. Generously illustrated with hundreds of color images, Cuba: Music and Revolution presents the history of Cuban record cover art, including many examples previously unseen outside the island itself.”
The Beatles 101: A Pocket Guide in 101 Moments, Songs, People and Places
By Vikki Reilly
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The Beatles are not only a rock ’n’ roll group, but a social and cultural phenomenon that have captivated music fans for decades. For many, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr changed everything. This guide distills their amazing story into 101 informative and entertaining chapters, taking you from their rough and ready early Liverpool days through their world-shattering success in sound, stage and screen, to an afterlife that could never have been predicted when they first started out. Here, you’ll find facts and figures about their chartbusting songs, albums and films, meet the people that helped them along the way, and visit milestones and controversies such as their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, meeting Elvis Presley, John Lennon’s “bigger than Jesus” comments, experimenting with drugs and the avant-garde, and starting up Apple.”
10cc: Every Album, Every Song
By Peter Kearns
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Hailing from Manchester, England, sophisticated pop purveyors 10cc hit the ground running with their 1972 debut single, Donna. Their pedigree reached back to bassist Graham Gouldman’s ’60s songwriting successes including The Yardbirds’ For Your Love and The Hollies’ Bus Stop. Guitarist and recording engineer Eric Stewart was already a bona fide pop star, having sung the global 1966 hit Groovy Kind of Love for his group The Mindbenders. When the pair teamed up with drummer and singer Kevin Godley and multi-instrumentalist and singer Lol Creme, the combination wrought a legacy of four albums. They included the ambitious The Original Soundtrack and several hit singles, including the groundbreaking I’m Not In Love, that were rich in eclectic boundary-pushing pop that earned 10cc comparisons to The Beatles while still occupying a unique position in music. Departing in 1976, Godley & Creme moved on to create genre-defying experimental albums, while Gouldman and Stewart continued their run of hit singles and albums with a new 10cc lineup. Their final album was 1995’s Mirror Mirror, a highly respectable full stop on the influential band’s colourful and innovative discography. This book examines every released recording by both Godley & Creme and 10cc, including the band’s debut album under their early name, Hotlegs.”
Fender Telecaster and Stratocaster: The Story of the World’s Most Iconic Guitars
By Dave Hunter
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The Fender Telecaster, created in Leo Fender’s Fullerton, Calif., workshop and introduced in 1950, is a working-class hero and the ultimate blue-collar guitar. It wasn’t meant to be elegant, pretty, or sophisticated. Designed to be a utilitarian musical instrument, it has lived up to that destiny. In the hands of players from Muddy Waters to James Burton, Bruce Springsteen to Joe Strummer, the Telecaster has made the music of working people — country, blues, punk, rock ‘n’ roll, and even jazz. Fender’s Stratocaster is arguably the number-one instrument icon of the guitar world. When introduced in 1954, its offset space-age lines, contoured body, and three-pickup configuration set the music world on its ear — it was truly unlike any guitar that had come before. In the hands of the world’s most beloved players, such as Buddy Holly, Eric Clapton, Ike Turner and, yes, Jimi Hendrix, the Stratocaster has since become a popular instrument of choice among rock, blues, jazz, and country players and, not coincidentally, is also one of the most copied electric guitars of all time. In this authoritatively written, painstakingly curated, and gloriously presented combined edition to celebrate Fender’s 75th anniversary, author Dave Hunter covers both of the guitar’s histories from concept, design, and model launch through its numerous variations and right up to the present. The story is richly illustrated with archival images, musicians in action, studio shots, memorabilia, and profiles of over 50 Tele and Strat slingers through the ages.”
The Last Great Event: With Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison
By Caroline Foulk & Ray Foulk
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The list of performers is a who’s who of the then music elite: Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, The Who, Joan Baez, Richie Havens, Joni Mitchell, Procul Harum, The Doors, Leonard Cohen, The Moody Blues, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Kris Kristofferson, Donovan, Melanie, Jethro Tull — the list goes on. This was Britain’s Woodstock and all on a tiny island off the south coast. It would also be Hendrix’s last major performance — 17 days later he was dead. The 1970 Isle of Wight Festival was a pivotal event in so many ways. It spanned five days and nights with an audience widely reported to have reached 600,000 (on an island with a population of 120,000) who were entertained by an unsurpassed galaxy of world-famous musicians. But the organization of such a huge happening was inevitably far from plain sailing. It proved to be a roller coaster ride for the intrepid young Foulk brothers, who navigated its course through a year of relentless political buffeting — from local reactionary opponents and then from extremist counterculture militants. Just as Island opponents were busily sabotaging the festival site and issuing death-threats, so too an unsavoury cabal of radicals arrived from London under the banner of the White Panthers, intent upon undermining the event. For the first time, Ray Foulk, joint organizer, gives his own full, frank and authoritative account. Many remember this festival as a magical, life-changing experience, encapsulating the sixties trip of sex, drugs, rock ‘n’ roll and a political yearning for a better world. But for others, a question looms large over the history: did this final festival help precipitate the end of the dream of an alternative society, or did it reflect the changes already taking place? This most controversial of festivals was aptly promoted by the Foulk brothers themselves as The Last Great Event.”
