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This groundbreaking biography of a brilliant but disturbed
performer explores the paradox of the man and the artist. Based on
more than 100 interviews, this intelligent profile explores
Morrison's roots; the hard times he went through in London, New
York, and Boston; the making of his seminal albums "Moondance" and
"Astral Weeks"; and the disastrous business arrangements that left
Morrison hungry and penniless while his songs were topping the
charts. Detailed are the breakdown of Morrison's marriage, the
creative drought that followed, and his triumphant reemergence. In
addition, this biography attempts to explain the forbidding aspects
of Morrison's persona, such as paranoia, hard drinking,
misanthropy, as well as why, in the words of his one-time singing
partner Linda Gail Lewis, Morrison's music "brings happiness to
other people, not him." Also included is a Van Morrision
sessionography that spans 1964 to 2001.
The second volume of Clinton Heylin's magisterial biography takes
us from Dylan's 1966 motorcycle accident to the present day. We
meet a man who is determined to confound expectations; yet whatever
he does only seems to confirm his iconic status to fans and critics
alike. There are peaks and troughs. Long periods of writer's block
are followed by sudden bursts of creativity that produce some of
the best work of his career, including perhaps his most celebrated
album, 1975's Blood On The Tracks. There is the unpredictable
recording process, with Dylan often including on his albums the
worst takes and leaving off the best songs altogether. On the
Neverending Tour he reinvents his songbook on a nightly basis, at
times without recognition. Then there are the albums and songs that
reveal the genius of an artist whose lyrics draw on centuries of
American culture but who refuses to be shackled to his own past.
Today his voice is almost unrecognisable from his 1960s peak, and
the man whose songs had been devoted to dissecting his romantic
relationships has become focused on mortality, solitude and getting
old. Yet his albums continue to top the charts, 2020's Rough And
Rowdy Ways being his fourth No. 1 album of the twenty-first
century. There is no other living artist whose creative output has
remained constantly intriguing, often baffling, sometimes
infuriating but always fascinating for over sixty years. Clinton
Heylin's definitive, scrupulously researched and revelatory life,
based on unprecedented access to the official Tulsa archive and
other new sources, paints the fullest and brightest portrait yet of
an iconic figure that has defined contemporary culture.
Exhaustively researched and packed with unique insights, this
history journeys from the punk scene's roots in the mid-1960s to
the arrival of "new wave" in the early 1980s. With a cast that
includes Patti Smith, Pere Ubu, Television, Blondie, the Ramones,
the MC5, the Stooges, Talking Heads, and the Dead Boys, this
account is the definitive story of early American punk rock.
Extraordinarily balanced, it tells the story of the music's
development largely through the artists' own words, while
thoroughly analyzing and evaluating the music in a lucid and cogent
manner. First published in 1993, this was the first book to tell
the stories of these then-little-known bands; now, this edition has
been updated with a new discography, including imports and
bootlegs, and an afterword detailing the post-1970s history of
these bands. Filled with insights from interviews with artists such
as Lou Reed, Debbie Harry, David Byrne, Patti Smith, and Richard
Hell, this book has long been considered one of the essential reads
on rock rebellion.
In virtually all areas of Dylan's life - his immigrant antecedents,
his business dealings, his various addictions and his romantic
attachments - Heylin is able to provide a fascinating picture of a
man who changed the whole course of popular music in the sixties
and, over thirty years later, won three Grammys. Heylin has given
full weight to Dylan's own words and those of his closest
associates, with over 250 people quoted in the book, helping to
provide a portrait of a complex figure. Including 60,000 words of
brand new material - dealing with Dylan's four twenty-first century
albums; his archival audio-visual projects; his third film; his
series of paintings and exhibitions; his autobiography, Chronicles;
and his ongoing romantic liaisons and 'missing' marriages - this
fully updated story of Dylan provides a monumental overview of the
Man and his Music.
The celebrated popular music scholar presents an intimate portrait
of The Boss and his legendary band
Bruce Springsteen fans know that the band makes the man, which is
why millions of people have jammed stadiums and arenas to see The
Boss play countless shows with his incredible E Street Band. In
this revelatory and unapologetic biography, respected music scholar
Clinton Heylin turns a critical eye towards Springsteen's early
days, capturing this classic phase of his career and his rise from
Asbury Park hood rat to global rock star. Using long-buried
archival recordings and bootlegs, Heylin expertly traces
Springsteen's creative process as a songwriter and performer and
illuminates the roles of the E Street Band members in creating
their distinctive sound. Highly nuanced and as fiery as Springsteen
himself, "E Street Shuffle" offers the most revealing portrait yet
written on this American icon.
This is the second volume in Clinton Heylin's magisterial survey of
the songs of Bob Dylan. The first volume - Revolution in the Air
which is now available in paperback - charted the rise of Bob Dylan
from his first jottings to the full expression of genius in songs
such as 'Hard Rain Gonna Fall' and 'The Times They Are a Changin''.
Still on the Road begins in 1974 with "Blood on the Tracks", the
album filled with masterworks such as 'Tangled Up in Blue' and
'Simple Twist of Fate' that heralded a watershed in Dylan's
creative journey, and continues to chart his never-ending
fascination with music and the art of song up to 2006's "Modern
Times". Praise for Revolution in the Air: 'Beg, steal, borrow ... a
compelling history of Dylan's mercurial song writing.' Mojo, 5-star
review 'Better than any biography could ever be, and a crucial
Dylan book' Jonathan Letham 'Valuable resource' Observer 'A
gripping new book by Dylan scholar Clinton Heylin so is so far in
the deep end that its borderline insane . . [yet] has been devoured
with a ravenous, insatiable appetite, and I have even made notes in
the margin.' Mark Ellen, Word. 'Terrifically interesting for Dylan
nuts' Sunday Herald 'Manna for completists' Metro 'True to form,
Heylin digs deep-way deep-into the songs, mixing cold hard facts
with illuminating anecdotes.' - Mark Smith, managing editor,
Acoustic Guitar
Bob Dylan has always regarded himself as a songwriter: 'I am my
words,' he wrote in 1964. Distilling a lifetime's passion and
study, leading Dylan author, Clinton Heylin charts the development
and first moments of genius of this unique artist whose songs
changed the world. From his first attempts at writing, Song to
Bridget, in 1957, (apparently for Brigitte Bardot) Bob Dylan always
aspired to poetry, yet his role as a writer rather than a performer
of his own songs is often overlooked. In over fifty years of
creativity he had penned some of the most iconic, and perfect,
songs in popular history. Arriving in New York in 1961, the city
had an enormous impact on the young artist and, as he established
himself amongst the folk clubs and artists, he would produce songs
that spoke for a whole generation: Blowing in the Wind, A Hard
Rain's Gonna Fall, The Times They Are a Changin', Like a Rolling
Stone, and Forever Young. In Revolution in the Air Clinton Heylin
recounts the story of each song as it is written, giving a full
appreciation of the songs themselves as well as Dylan the emerging
artist. Unlike any other book on Dylan, it charts his rise as a
writer, where he gained his inspiration, the burst of energy which
produced some of his most famous songs as well as the lesser known
stories behind the more iconic verses. This is an essential book
for anyone interested in Dylan and his place in literature.
Informative, opinionated, packed with new insights and revelations,
this is an instant classic.
With Fairport Convention and solo, Sandy Denny displayed one of
contemporary music's finest voices; she also composed her own
material, including "Who Knows Where The Time Goes"--a huge U.S.
hit for Judy Collins--and sang on Led Zeppelin IV. However, Sandy
tragically got caught in a spiral of drink and drugs and died at
age 31 in 1978. Best-selling Dylan biographer Heylin draws on hours
of new interviews to tell Sandy's story.
Since the early days of rock 'n' roll--since Elvis Presley came out
of Memphis to startle the world--a whole body of writing has grown
up around it, from the album notes to obituaries, from on-the-road
insider tales to dissections of the meaning behind the meaning.
"The Da Capo Book of Rock & Roll Writing" presents the very
best of this writing, on the best of the music: the Beatles, Elvis,
Bruce Springsteen, the Sex Pistols, Bob Dylan, Jim Morrison, Janis
Joplin, and countless others. Part history, part literature, part
reference book--part hyperbole and part disillusionment--"The Da
Capo Book of Rock & Roll Writing" is an extraordinary tribute
to one of the great creative achievements of the century: rock
& roll. And where else can you find "The First Tycoon of Teen"
by Tom Wolfe "In Which Yet Another Pompous Blowhard Purports to
Possess the True Meaning of Punk Rock" by Lester Bangs "What the
Sixties Had That the Eighties Don't Have" by Paul Williams "You and
the Boss" by Tama Janowitz
The Velvet Underground, among the most influential bands of all
time, are credited with creating a streetwise, pre-punk sensibility
that has become inseparable from the popular image of downtown New
York. "Discovered" by Andy Warhol in 1966, the VU - with their
original line-up of Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, and Mo
Tucker - would soon become the house band of the avantgarde,
composing songs simultaneously furious in their abrasiveness and
beautiful in their pathos, standing in striking contrast to the
prevailing flower power of the era. All Yesterdays' Parties gathers
for the first time almost all of the published writings
contemporary with the band's existence-from sources as mainstream
as the New York Times to vanished voices of the counterculture like
Oz, Fusion , and Crawdaddy! The book is a revealing snapshot of an
era by trailblazing rock writers such as Lester Bangs, Robert
Greenfield, and Paul Williams. With photographs, posters, and other
visual evocations of the period throughout, All Yesterdays' Parties
is an invaluable resource, a trove of lore for anyone interested in
the VU, their roots, and legacy.
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