Join thousands of book lovers
Sign up to our newsletter and receive discounts and inspiration for your next reading experience.
By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy.You can, at any time, unsubscribe from our newsletters.
A retrospective of one of Britain's most successful bands. Spanning the period 1970 to 1984, the creative peaks and troughs of all the songs recorded by 'The Frantic Four' are examined in detail by a fan who can play guitar a bit, and also knows his Bach from his byte.
The purpose of this book is to present a history of Thin Lizzy through their music - to cover every song released through official channels, presented in context, including an overview of its content.
Little Feat on track dives into the ups and downs of their 50-year career and discusses every album and song, from their idiosyncratic 1971 debut to the post-pandemic optimism of 2021's When All Boats Rise.
In 1992, Singer, pianist and composer Tori Amos achieved fame with the intensely personal solid gold record, Little Earthquakes, the first of fifteen studio albums. Each new recording cut new ground both musically and thematically. Since then, Amos has performed world-wide, both as a soloist and also accompanied.
This installment of the On track series examines the vast The Smiths back catalogue in detail, from their debut single 'Hand In Glove' (1983) to Morrissey's vinyl single release of a live version of 'Cosmic Dancer' in 2021, recorded with David Bowie back in 1991 - and all the songs from all the albums and singles in-between.
The 1980s encapsulated Marillion's birth, commercial apex, and near-implosion. This book combines meticulous history with careful musical analysis to chronicle their most turbulent decade from their first gig, through the dizzying success and destructive decadence of their time with frontman Fish.
.Status Quo are a British institution - a multi-million selling band of epic proportions and while their career was in it's hey day during the 1970s, the hits kept coming through the 1980s along with breakups, lawsuits, line-up changes, substance abuse and a high-profile, highly successful comeback after calling it a day in 1984.
'If you talk about the '70s, I was a hardworking artist. I did nothing but tour - recording, touring, TV, you know. I had constant jetlag. Constant black shadows under my eyes but, oh, what a ride! What a wonderful ride. And I'm still doing it now.' Suzi Quatro. With a succession of hit singles, including eight UK top twenty hits and two number ones, sell-out tours and six studio albums, Suzi Quatro was an enduring presence throughout the 1970s, the decade that saw her move away from being part of an all-girl band in Detroit and relocate to England for a solo career that challenged old stereotypes and helped redefine the image of the female rock icon. Taking each year in turn this book takes a detailed look at Suzi Quatro's career throughout the decade where she enjoyed her greatest successes, including a comprehensive overview of each album and single released during that period, her touring schedule and her frequent media appearances, including that famous guest role in Happy Days. As well as making extensive use of press archives from the era, Suzi Quatro In The 1970s also includes personal reflections from an exclusive interview with Suzi herself.
Captain Beefheart (Don Vliet) was undoubtedly the creator of the most bizarre and wonderful music. A child prodigy sculptor, he applied his artistic approach to music, creating 'aural sculptures'. He befriended Frank Zappa in High School, collaborating on a teenage rock opera and sci-fi/fantasy film entitled Captain Beefheart vs The Grunt People. It was from this film that Don took his name. Of course, a magic character had to have a magic band. The Magic Band started out as a blues band in the mid-sixties but soon, with lysergic propulsion, surreal poetry, free-form jazz, polyrhythms and African beats, they were at the forefront of West Coast Acid Rock. A series of hugely inventive albums, including the infamous Trout Mask Replica, established them as the foremost avant-garde rock band with legendary live performances. The author was there for their first concert at Middle Earth and that night changed his life. Few Bands are as influential. The Beatles, The Fall, PJ Harvey and Tom Waits all pay homage, While The Magic Band have inspired a myriad of tribute bands and created a mythology like no other. This book sets the history of the band in context, analysing every track and interpreting the music with its poetic content. It is essential reading for diehard fans and the Beefheart-curious alike.
Donovan is one of the musicians who defined the 1960s. From his humble, working-class roots as a teenager with big dreams, he rose to become an icon of the times, the troubadour of the flower power generation. His story is one filled with tales of romance, legendary friendships, and screaming fans. But it's also the story of a spiritual journey and of a personal mission to bring his message of love to the world. Most of all, though, it's about the music.Defying the press who dubbed him a mere Dylan imitator, Donovan found his own unique voice and produced some of the most creative and enduring music of the '60s; songs that captured the imagination with memorable melodies and poetic, thought-provoking lyrics. He transcended his folk roots to blend in rock, pop, jazz, classical and world music elements like no one had done before. The mythical, magical decade of the 1960s was the time that Donovan made his mark on the world. This book tells his story through a deep dive into the music he created in those times, including new insights from John Cameron, who arranged and played on many of Donovan's classic songs of the era.
Pearl Jam are the last men standing from great alternative rock explosion of the Nineties. They introduced themselves with one of the biggest-selling and most iconic albums of the decade, and their follow-up albums broke sales records worldwide.
Joe Jackson is a singer, songwriter, composer, and performer who has twisted and turned his career through numerous genres, and continues to release excellent albums forty years after his initial breakthrough success.
This book tells the full Human League story, from the band's origins in Sheffield, through the full arc of Human League and the very early Heaven 17 hits, and the albums - track-by-track, into the twenty-first century...
George Harrison was known as 'The Quiet Beatle', although this title did him a disservice, considering his intellectual focus and thoughtful nature. Instead, he was arguably 'The Chameleonic Beatle', a moniker that only serves to understand the deeply complex guitar player better. And in a deeply complicated decade, Harrison's artistry flourished.
Bruce Springsteen called him 'one of the great, great American songwriters' and Stephen King once said that if he could write like him, he 'would be a happy guy'. So how is it that most people, if they have heard of Warren Zevon at all, know him only as 'that Werewolves' guy'?
The 1970s saw the rise of rock and metal as a force in record and ticket sales. Right there at the birth of this was Black Sabbath, whose first album came from nowhere to smash into the top of the charts in Britain and around the world. This is a comprehensive roundup of the band's music in the decade.
Billy Joel On Track contains behind-the-scenes stories and an analysis of Joel's extensive studio recordings, many of which became top 40 hits in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.
Free were formed in 1968 towards the end of the British blues boom. After two critically acclaimed albums, the release of 'All Right Now' and the album Fire and Water in 1970 brought them major success. Musical and personal differences took their toll and they split after the comparative failure of their next album and single.
If you've never delved into Eric Clapton's contributions to other artist's recordings, then this is a handy guide to help the reader find his way into such a lengthy and successful second career. If his own albums are the main story, then these recordings run alongside: an alternative history of one of rock's most prolific musicians
Generally regarded as one of the most tragic tales in the history of rock music, the story of Badfinger does indeed make for an impressively sombre Hollywood-style film script.
Sign up to our newsletter and receive discounts and inspiration for your next reading experience.
By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy.