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Books > Music > Composers & musicians
How has a group conceived as a short-lived commodity outlived many
more 'real' bands by nearly fifty years? Why are The Monkees still
important, and what does this tell us about their music, their TV
show, and our understanding of popular culture today? Despite being
built in Hollywood, and not necessarily to last, that is precisely
what their music, TV, and cinematic output has done. They in many
ways unique-as the first 'made for TV' band, their success
introduced methods of marketing pop that have since become standard
industry practice; their 'big screen' use of film and images in
live performance is likewise now a firmly established principle of
concert staging; and in the way they changed the rules of the game,
taking control over their own affairs at the height of the success,
risking magnificent failure by doing so. The Monkees invented a new
kind of TV, gave a new model to the music industry, and left behind
one of the most enigmatic movies of the modern era, Head. This book
is about all that and more. Beginning by exploring the origins and
personalities of the four Monkees before looking in depth at their
work together on screen, on stage, and on record, this is the first
serious study of the band and the first to fully acknowledge their
importance to the development of pop as we now know it.
This book is a backstage pass to the ups, downs, and all-out
craziness of arena rock-deep discussions with Rod Stewart, jamming
with legends like Mick Jagger and Justin Timberlake, gaining
groupies, and striking out solo. Stevie Salas was one of many boys
coming of age in the 1980s-when the American dream was rock
superstardom. As lead guitarist for a San Diego band, Salas played
backyard parties and school dances and even scored the music for
the cult classic Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. When he
auditioned for Rod Stewart-where he was the youngest band member by
a decade-Salas's life truly hit a turning point. Salas pulls no
punches to describe the initial skepticism and hazing he faced as
the youngest member of Stewart's band, the night he stood up for
himself on the tour plane, and the emotional late-night talk with
Rod Stewart that restored the frontman's faith in his young,
untested guitar player and his new group that was struggling to
find its groove. Yet they became a band of brothers and formed a
camaraderie they share to this day. When We Were the Boys revolves
around the year Salas began as an inexperienced musical prodigy and
finished as a seasoned rock 'n' roll veteran-more mature as a man
and musician.
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Life
(Paperback)
Keith Richards
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Once-in-a-generation memoir of a rock legend - the No. 1 SUNDAY
TIMES bestseller. 'Electrifying' New York Times 'A masterpiece' The
Word 'Funny, poignant, brutally honest' Sunday Telegraph With the
Rolling Stones, Keith Richards created the riffs, the lyrics and
the songs that roused the world, and over four decades he lived the
original rock and roll life: taking the chances he wanted, speaking
his mind, and making it all work in a way that no one before him
had ever done. Now, at last, the man himself tells us the story of
life in the crossfire hurricane. And what a life. Listening
obsessively to Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters records as a child in
post-war Kent. Learning guitar and forming a band with Mick Jagger
and Brian Jones. The Rolling Stones' first fame and success as a
bad-boy band. The notorious Redlands drug bust and subsequent
series of confrontations with a nervous establishment that led to
his enduring image as outlaw and folk hero. Creating immortal riffs
such as the ones in 'Jumping Jack Flash' and 'Street Fighting Man'
and 'Honky Tonk Women'. Falling in love with Anita Pallenberg and
the death of Brian Jones. Tax exile in France, wildfire tours of
the US, 'Exile on Main Street' and 'Some Girls'. Ever increasing
fame, isolation and addiction. Falling in love with Patti Hansen.
Estrangement from Mick Jagger and subsequent reconciliation. Solo
albums and performances with his band the Xpensive Winos. Marriage,
family and the road that goes on for ever. In a voice that is
uniquely and intimately his own, with the disarming honesty that
has always been his trademark, Keith Richards brings us the
essential life story of our times.
"Ed's photos take us behind the scenes and in the middle of the
action. I always felt like I was being transported to the location
of the shot, and was experiencing it all first hand. The Stooges
Funhouse sessions are my favorite rock photos of all time. I wanted
to be those guys. Those images have stayed with me my entire life
and continue to inspire me to this day !!!!!" - John Varvatos In
May 1970, The Stooges were in the middle of recording their
celebrated album, Fun House at Elektra Records Recording Studio in
Los Angeles. That same month, they appeared at the Whisky a Go-Go
on Sunset Boulevard for two incredible nights. Ed Caraeff, a new
rock photographer who had burst onto the scene three years prior
with his now-iconic image of Jimi Hendrix burning his guitar
onstage at Monterey, happened to be in that crowd, and took a
plethora of wonderful pictures. Only a few stills from that
phenomenal gig were ever reproduced. Most famously, one was used on
the cover of Fun House. The rest were filed away. Until now. Ed
Caraeff's coverage of this monumental moment is reprinted here for
the first time in book form. He not only captures the energy,
madness and raw power of Iggy Pop's performance, but also the
preceding minutes before the band stepped onto stage and made
history. Along with images and contact sheets, original interviews
shed new light on that unforgettable night. Interviewed by
pop-culture historian Jennifer Otter Bickerdike, names include Jac
Holzman, Head of Elektra Records during the recording of Fun House;
Mikael Maglieri, son of Mario Maglieri, owner of the Whisky a Go-Go
when The Stooges played in 1970; Danny Fields, a DJ/publicist
credited for signing MC5 and The Stooges; and Jeff Gold, music
historian and noted Iggy Pop biographer. A tribute to the band that
rocked the world, Iggy & The Stooges: One Night at the Whisky,
1970 will revolutionise your view of music.
'Genuinely funny; indeed, the story will keep you entertained for a
very long time' Sunday Times Joy Division changed the face of
music. Godfathers of the enduring alternative scene, they
reinvented rock in the post-punk era, creating a sound - dark,
hypnotic, intense - that would influence U2, Morrissey, R.E.M.,
Radiohead and many others. This is the rollercoaster story of Joy
Division - the friendships, fights, fall-outs; the rehearsals and
recording sessions; the larger than life characters - told by the
band's legendary bassist, Peter Hook. 'Hook has restored a
flesh-and-blood rawness to what was becoming a standard tale. Few
pop music books manage that' Guardian 'An honest, enthusiastic
account . . . it's a window like no other into the reality of life
in this most aloof of bands' Metro 'An immense account of Joy
Division's rise . . . having read Hook's book, you'll feel like you
were the fifth member of the band' GQ 'A bittersweet,
profanity-filled recollection . . . if you like Joy Division, you
really have to read it' Q Magazine 'Hook lifts the lid on the real
Ian Curtis' NME 'He's frank, incredibly funny, and it isn't shy'
Artrocker
Rick Bucklers autobiography is the first from a member of The Jam,
who some considered were the ultimate Mod band. Rick tells The Jam
story from growing up in Woking and meeting fellow members Paul
Weller and Bruce Foxton at school, through their formation in 1972
and tells of the band's early years before signing to Polydor
records. He provides a year by year account of The Jam's progress
whilst describing what it was like being a part of the music
industry during the 70's and 80's and some of the characters who he
met along the way including the Ramones, John Enwistle, Sid
Vicious, Blondie, Boy George and Paul McCartney. Rick shares his
own experiences and thoughts about what it was like to be in one of
the UK's most successful bands who spent a great deal of time
recording, performing and touring. Following The Jam's split in
1982, Rick gives a candid account of how he coped and his
subsequent relationship with Paul and Bruce. All three members of
The Jam stayed within the music industry and Rick takes the reader
through his years in Time UK and various other bands up until
forming From the Jam. A must read for any Jam fan.
The Beatles were - are - probably the most famous and successful
band in the world, and despite breaking up over 40 years ago, their
popularity remains rock solid, with fans ever-thirsty for new
celebrations of their work. Organized by year, this brilliant book
covers all the major events in their relatively short career.
Jimi Hendrix has been for sure a unique guitarist and a master of
rock music, who, with his early death, aged 27, entered the
Rock'n'roll Hall of Fame with all the glory it takes. The
never-heard-before result of his continuous improvement was
contained in just three albums "Are You Experienced?", "Axis: Bold
as Love" and "Electric Ladyland". A deep focus on the three most
important years of Hendrix's career, closely followed by Assante,
skilled author and real expert on rock music. Unedited photos,
quotes, legendary interviews and deep research to outline the
iconic figure of this rock legend.
Known for his orchestral, operatic and choral works, James
MacMillan (b. 1959) appeals across the spectrum of contemporary
music making. James MacMillan appeals across the spectrum of
contemporary music making and is particularly celebrated for his
orchestral, operatic and choral pieces. This book, published in
time to mark the composer's sixtieth birthday, is thefirst in-depth
look at his life, work and aesthetic. From his beginnings in rural
Ayrshire and his early work with Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, through
the international breakthrough success of The Confession of Isobel
Gowdie,the continuing success of works such as the percussion
concerto Veni, Veni, Emmaneul and his choral pieces, to his current
position as one of the most prominent British composers of his
generation, the book explores MacMillan's compositional influences
over time. It looks closely at his most significant works and sets
them in a wider context defined by contemporary composition,
culture and the arts in general. The book also considers
MacMillan's strong Catholic faith and how this has influenced his
work, along with his politics and his on-going relationship with
Scottish nationalism. With the support of the composer and his
publisher and unprecedented access to interviews and previously
unpublished materials, the book not only provides an appraisal of
MacMillan's work but also insights into what it means to be a
prominent composer and artist in the twenty-first century. PHILLIP
A. COOKE is a Composer and Senior Lecturer and Head of Music at the
University of Aberdeen. He has previously co-edited The Music of
Herbert Howells for Boydell.
"Francis Wolff's images of musicians at work are so relaxed and
intimate that they capture the spirit not just of the moment but
also the era." - Herbie Hancock One of the most renowned Jazz
photographers of all time, Francis Wolff (1907-1971) was essential
to the success of the Blue Note record label. Born Jakob Franz
Wolff in Berlin, Germany, he soon became a Jazz enthusiast, despite
the government ban placed on this type of music after 1933. In
1939, Wolff, a Jew, left Berlin where he had worked as a commercial
photographer, and established himself in New York. He began working
there with his childhood friend Alfred Lion, who had co-founded
Blue Note Records with Max Margulis. The latter soon dropped out of
his involvement in the company, and Wolff joined Lion in running
it. Wolff took thousands of photographs during the Blue Note
recording sessions and rehearsals. His highly personal visual
concept would be forever associated with both Blue Note and jazz as
a whole. This book compiles more than 150 Francis Wolff photos of
jazz stars, most of which are published here for the very first
time. Among the many artists portrayed are Art Blakey, Tina Brooks,
Clifford Brown, Donald Byrd, Don Cherry, Ornette Coleman, John
Coltrane, Miles Davis, Dexter Gordon, Grant Green, Herbie Hancock,
Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Elvin Jones, Thelonious Monk, Lee
Morgan, Bud Powell, Sonny Rollins, and Wayne Shorter. It also
includes a special introduction by Grammy Award Winning music
historian and jazz critic Ashley Kahn. Text in English, with an
introduction in English, French and Spanish.
The Art of the Dead showcases the vibrant, charismatic poster art
that emerged from the streets of San Francisco in 1964 and 1966. It
traces the cultural, political, and historical influences of
posters as art back to Japanese wood blocks through Bell Epoque, on
to the Beatniks, the Free Speech Movement, and the Acid Tests.
Featuring interviews and profiles of the key artists, including
Rick Griffin, Stanley Mouse Miller, Alton Kelley, Wes Wilson, and
Victor Moscoso.
The book uses Grateful Dead as the vehicle to tell the story of
poster art as The Dead were the band that ultimately proved to be
the most substantive and engaged partner for the artists and hence
featured the best art of any rock 'n' roll band ever. The book will
follow a chronological evolution of the art from the band's
origination in 1965 through Jerry Garcia's death in 1995.
The book is in four-color throughout, featuring iconic and rare
images as well as extensive process material, including sketches,
original art, blue lines, film, and printing plates that show how
the art was created. It will also include essays by Greil Marcus,
Peter Coyote, and Victoria Binder, as well as essays on the
elements of the printing process from the original art to the final
poster.
Ultimately, the Art of the Dead makes the case that poster art is
truly an original form of American fine art.
"Jean-Pierre was himself a musician, but his choice of instrument
was a camera, which he never put away." - Michel Legrand "I am so
happy to see Leloir's work published, because behind each image is
a story - one that needs to be told and appreciated. Leloir was not
just a photographer; instead he was a preserver of history. As a
result, this book holds hundreds of stories that shine a light onto
the lives of those who live in these pages. Leloir had a unique
ability to preserve an entire atmosphere and its surrounding
emotions. between the four corners of a picture, but beyond his
talent as a photographers, he presented himself not as paparazzi,
but a friend. He and my other brother Herman Leonard were two of a
kind; they had the same passion for photography and an endless
supply of vision." - Quincy Jones This book gives ample proof of
Jean-Pierre Leloir's amazing ability to immortalise performers and
to capture candid moments at the airport, backstage, and in the
dressing rooms of the most legendary Paris jazz and concert venues:
"I loved the people I photographed, so I made myself as available,
yet as discreet as possible", he used to say. "I never wanted to be
a paparazzi. I wanted them to forget my presence so I could catch
those little unexpected moments." The selection of photographs
showcased here has been carefully selected from Leloir's immense
catalogue. Many of the images have never been previously published
before, and can be easily catalogued as 'atypical' shots, as the
musicians were captured primarily in spontaneous situations, away
from the fanfare of the stage. Text in English with an introduction
in English, French and Spanish.
David Bowie needs no introduction. An immense star whose music and
writing transcended generations he was one of the most articulate
influencers of modern music. Over fifty years his singles and
albums slid up and down the bestseller charts, adapting to the
changing times, exploring new musical themes, always pushing at
boundaries in a desperate desire to seek out the new and the
different. This fantastic new, unofficial biography covers his
life, music, art and movies.
This fifth volume of Britten's letters covers a period of intense
activity in his life and works, culminating in his great pacifist
choral masterpiece, War Requiem. The fifth volume of the annotated
selected letters of Benjamin Britten - edited by Philip Reed and
Mervyn Cooke - covers the years 1958-65, during which he wrote two
major operatic works, A Midsummer Night's Dream and the
ground-breaking Curlew River, and his pacifist choral masterpiece,
War Requiem. Other significant compositions from the period include
the orchestral song-cycle Nocturne, the first of the cello pieces
for Rostropovich, and settings of poems by Blake and Pushkin.
Correspondents include friends, fellow artists and collaborators
such as William Plomer (librettist of Curlew River), Edith Sitwell,
E. M. Forster, Christopher Isherwood, Robert Graves, the Earl of
Harewood, Yehudi Menuhin, Mstislav Rostropovich, Galina
Vishnevskaya, Dmitri Shostakovich, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau,
Barbara Hepworth and Duncan Grant, as well as Britten's partner and
principal interpreter, Peter Pears. The volume charts the peak of
Britten's position as one of the leading figures of the
international musical establishment as composer, conductor and
pianist, and his continuing involvement with the Aldeburgh Festival
and the English Opera Group. The deterioration in Britten's
relationship with Boosey & Hawkes, his publishers since the
mid-1930s, is closely documented, as is the founding, at the
composer's instigation, of the new publishing house of Faber Music
in 1964. Central to the period is the composer's warm friendship
with musicians from the Soviet Union, and Britten and Pears's
visits to Moscow, Leningrad and Armenia are charted in detail.
Published in association with The Britten-Pears Foundation.
A screenplay to the dramatized documentary about the eccentric
Canadian pianist Glenn Gould.
The Work is a book of lyrics and illustrations by the late Scott
Hutchison, lyricist, vocalist and songwriter of Frightened Rabbit.
This paperback follows the sold-out limited hardback edition and
presents the band's complete lyrics (including B-sides and
rarities) with handwritten excerpts by Scott, alongside his
illustrations. The book is meant both as a celebration of and
tribute to Scott's unbridled creativity. It aims to fulfil his
wishes by being the book that he wanted to create and had spoken of
creating before his death. Readers are advised that The Work
includes content about topics that some may find upsetting,
including references to suicide. "Seeing this book come to life has
been something of a bittersweet experience. Reading the lyrics
without music really brings home the stark reality of what Scott
was going through and at the same time highlights the talent of
someone who I consider to be one of the best songwriters in the
world. This would've been a different release had Scott been
involved but we all felt it was important that his lyrics be
celebrated and given the spotlight they deserve. As Scott has said,
these words were always meant to be accompanied by music, but the
impact of digesting them without is no less great. Pick up this
book of words, hold it, share it and immerse yourself in the world
Scott created by opening not only his heart but his whole soul to
the world." Grant Hutchison (Scott's brother and drummer of
Frightened Rabbit)
A fresh, elegant and vital enquiry into the elusive character of
opera, unfolded through categories and case-studies, with an
emphasis on historical background, psychology and performance. This
book mounts a searching enquiry into the elusive character of
opera. The author argues that any work of art can be grasped
primarily through its constellation of Platonic ideas, or
'categories', several of which he explores in light of a new
definition of the art-form. He elaborates each category with
case-studies rooted in the time, place and circumstance of an
opera's origin: most of these are adaptations of
previously-published essays, though somedraw on talks for
universities, opera houses and the BBC. Although he looks back to
the infancy of opera, he concentrates on later, more familiar
repertory - principally Wagner, Verdi, Strauss and Britten.
Case-studies included under 'Psychology' reveal his long-standing
involvement with psychoanalysis, and those under 'Performance'
reinforce his view of opera as a branch of rhetoric. As the first
of a two-volume project, What Opera Means deals with categories
accessible to all: of fifty entries, only two require basic musical
knowledge (the second volume will be for specialists). The book is
thus suitable for the general reader, as well as for college
courses. CHRISTOPHER WINTLE is Emeritus Senior Lecturer in Music at
King's College London and General Editor of the series Defining
Opera (Plumbago Books). He has published extensively on nineteenth-
and twentieth-century music, and for twenty years was an opera
critic for the Times Literary Supplement. KATE HOPKINS (Editor) is
Content Producer for Opera at the Royal Opera House and Senior
Assistant Editor of Plumbago Books. She has written on opera and
literature for ENO, WNO and The Royal Opera.
Industry of Magic & Light is a love letter to the
counterculture of the 1960s and a requiem for its passing. The
much-anticipated prequel to Keenan's cult classic debut, This is
Memorial Device, Industry of Magic & Light is set in the same
mythical Airdrie in the 1960s and early 70s and centres on a group
of hippies running their own psychedelic light show. Told in two
halves - the first in the form of an inventory of the contents of a
caravan abandoned by one of the hippies, the second in the form of
a tarot card reading - it is not so much a book about the 1960s as
a direct channelling of the decade's energies, bringing to life how
even the smallest and dreariest of working class towns felt so full
of possibility in the wake of the psychedelic moment. Via artefacts
from the time - everything from poetry chapbooks, record reviews
and musical instruments through bubblegum wrappers, bicycle repair
kits and mysterious cassette recordings - the book opens out into
adventures along the hippy trail in Afghanistan and behind the Iron
Curtain that leads a cast of new and returning characters - as well
as the authorities - to believe that they are literally making
magic. Simultaneously a forensics of the 1960s, a detective novel,
an occult thriller, a vision quest, and the hallucinatory
exposition of a moment where it felt like anything was possible,
Industry of Magic & Life brings to life the streets of small
working class towns as transformational sites of utopian joy.
The fascinating letters of conductor-author Nicolas Slonimsky
(1894-1995) to his wife, sharing his adventures as he traveled
around the world to conduct new American music. In the
mid-twentieth century renowned musicologist, conductor, and
lexicographer Nicolas Slonimsky traveled to cities throughout the
world to play and conduct music of the American avant-garde. From
trips to Paris, Berlin, Havana,New York, Los Angeles, Buenos Aires,
Rio de Janeiro, and Moscow, Slonimsky wrote letters to his wife,
the art critic Dorothy Adlow, vividly and humorously describing his
adventures. Dear Dorothy: Letters from NicolasSlonimsky to Dorothy
Adlow is a collection of these missives. Though personal, they
chronicle Slonimsky's work as an ambassador of modern music who
introduced twentieth-century composers, particularly American
composers, to audiences worldwide. Full of his admired wit and
energy, the letters recount his performances, rehearsals, lectures,
day-to-day activities in foreign cities and concert halls, and the
anxieties of stretching limited funds to cover an ever-expanding
itinerary. They also reveal a side of Slonimsky not seen from his
other published writings: a man with deep devotion to his wife and
family. Annotated and with an introduction by Slonimsky's daughter,
Electra Slonimsky Yourke, this collection documents the meeting of
historic musical cultures-Old World Europe, the Soviet Union, and
the vibrant countries of Latin America-with the modernist music of
the United States. Written in a lively, humorous style, these
letters will be of interest to scholars and students of American
music and social historians as well as musicians, music lovers, and
concertgoers. Electra Slonimsky Yourke is the daughter ofNicolas
Slonimsky and Dorothy Adlow, and editor of several collections of
her father's work, including The Listener's Companion and the
four-volume Writings on Music. Nicolas Slonimsky (1894-1995) was a
Renaissance man in the modern-music world of the mid-twentieth
century. Composer, conductor, critic, and lexicographer, he
authored many books including Lexicon of Musical Invective:
Critical Assaults on Composers since Beethoven's Time and a memoir,
Perfect Pitch.
The Sunday Times bestseller, revised and updated for the 250th
anniversary of Beethoven's birth. ---- As heard throughout 2020 on
Classic FM ---- You know the music... but do you know the man? ----
Ludwig van Beethoven is one of the world's best loved and most
influential composers. His life - its dramas, conflicts, loves and
losses - is played out in his music. ---- In this special edition
to mark the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth - with a new
section featuring his most celebrated pieces - John Suchet shows us
the man behind the music. He reveals a difficult and complex
character, struggling to continue his profession as musician
despite increasing deafness, alienating friends with unprovoked
outbursts of anger one moment, overwhelming them with excessive
kindness and generosity the next, living in a city in almost
constant disarray because of war with France. ---- This is the real
Beethoven, and Suchet brings him faithfully and vividly to life.
---- This updated edition of Suchet's acclaimed biography contains
new material, including a detailed guide to Beethoven's most
important compositions, family tree and timeline.
The Polish-born, British-based pianist Andre Tchaikowsky (1935-82)
saw himself principally as a composer- one of several conflicting
elements in his personality, charted by the diaries he kept between
1974 and 1982. Andre Tchaikowsky was only 46 when he died,
internationally renowned as a pianist - and he made the headlines
after his death when he left his skull to the Royal Shakespeare
Company for use in performances of Hamlet. Yet for all his facility
at the keyboard Tchaikowsky's real passion was composition. The
internal conflict between pianist and composer compounded an
already complex character. A Polish Jew and Holocaust survivor,
Tchaikowsky was also a homosexual. The diaries he kept between 1974
and his death chronicle the struggles that ran through his life.
Debt kept driving him back to the concert platform when his true
wish was to find the time to compose. His spirited writing details
the joys and vicissitudes of his life with striking candour. The
diaries are introduced and annotated by Anastasia Belina-Johnson,
who also provides a chronology of Tchaikowsky's life and a survey
of his music. Includes a CDof the pianist in recital. Anastasia
Belina-Johnson is Head of Classical Music at the Leeds College of
Music.
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