Read any good music books lately? Or some all-time favorites?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Tim Wilson, Sep 2, 2014.

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  1. White_Noise

    White_Noise Forum Resident

    Location:
    Templeton, MA
    It's probably been mentioned but both of Nick Kent's books: Apathy for the Devil and The Dark Stuff are probably both in my personal top three.

    The first one is an autobiography that tells the story of a young journalist in the 70's who toured with or interviewed seemingly almost relevant act of the 70's.

    The latter one is compilation of some of his best work and was recommended to me by one of the members of this board when I wanted a good account of Brian Wilson's descent into insanity. I couldn't put it down and it's one of the only music related books I've read more than once.
     
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  2. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    absolutely a ton of fun!
     
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  3. Adam9

    Adam9 Русский военный корабль, иди на хуй.

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    The last one I read was Tune In by Mark Lewisohn. I thought I had read enough biographies of the Beatles but this one I found is in a league by itself in terms of the scholarship. I had the chance to hear Lewisohn talk about the book. When an audience member asked what was the biggest wow! moment or revelation that the author had found while researching the genesis and early history of the band, the author responded that there was one on almost every page. After having read it, I tend to agree. There is a wealth of information maybe even too much sometimes but better too much than insufficient. This was the short version too by the way.
     
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  4. batman144144

    batman144144 Nocturnal crime fighter/audio enthusiast.

    The Paul Stanley bio is pretty good...
     
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  5. rokritr

    rokritr Shoveling smoke with a pitchfork in the wind

    I hope you'll give our new book, "Jim Morrison: Friends Gathered Together" a try. It's a book that I worked on with Jim's close friend Frank Lisciandro, who interviewed a dozen of Jim's friends, co-workers, mentors, lovers. It's literally the first book to look at the Man behind the Myth, and the response has been beyond what we hoped for :)
    Jim Morrison: Friends Gathered Together

    The Hoffman Forum's own DrBeatle gave us a GREAT REVIEW recently, and Frank and I thank him very much :)
    DrBeatle's review

    Cheers!
     
  6. Crazyhorse11

    Crazyhorse11 Hoser

    Location:
    Edmonton, AB
    Jimi Hendrix - Crosstown Traffic
     
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  7. analogy

    analogy Active Member

    Location:
    Holland
    Thanks for the heads-up. Will definitely check it out when time & money allows ;).
     
  8. mmars982

    mmars982 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pittsburgh, PA
    Just finished "Man on the Run" - about McCartney in the 70's. Wasn't expecting much, but it was actually a pretty good book.
     
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  9. uncarvedbloke

    uncarvedbloke Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK - SOT
    Morrrissey ~ Autobiography

    :confused:
     
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  10. Ephi82

    Ephi82 Still have two ears working

    Location:
    S FL
    Man on the Run, McCartney in '70's

    I got a little bored mid way through. Biggest revelations to me were the degree to which McCartney was shattered by the Beatles breakup, his continued difficulty in having comfortable relationships with Wings bandmates, (he's not nasty, but he can be "lofty" and a real cheapskate), and the degree to which he lived a hippie lifestyle (albeit one with tons of money)

    Something So Strong, Crowded House by Chris Bourke

    About half way through. Interesting journey of a band that were superstars for many years except in the US. Most of these rock bios dont have anywhere near enough insight into the recording/production of records. This one is pretty, good. He nails how selecting Mitchel Froom was critical to the bands initial success. He also effectively describes why Neil Finn is an under recognized as one of the best songwriters of our times

    The Beatles and me on Tour, Ivor Davis

    A real interesting read from the inside of the Beatles early US tours. You feel like you "met" each of the Beatles and spent a couple of days with them on the road when you are done with the book. The impressions go beyond the stereotypes.

    Starr, picked on, low man on the totem pole, between the Beatles, but fiercely protected and loved by them as well. Harrison, was already starting to quit the band even then because he hated being in the fishbowl. He was the most consistent musician night after night on stage.

    McCartney, polite, eager to please, but hugely ambitious and his ego much larger than he thought anyone could see. Lennon, most obvious that he was the essential ingredient in the Beatles, but complex, obnoxious, genius, aggressive, enagaging, friendly, caring, and insecure beyond belief.
     
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  11. Fullbug

    Fullbug Forum Resident

    Location:
    Seattle
    The Dark Stuff, Nick Kent
    The best rock crit book ever printed.
     
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  12. Daryl M

    Daryl M Senior Member

    Location:
    London, Ontario
    Funny.....I'm not a Kiss fan by any stretch of the imagination, but I have read every
    book related to this band and love them all!
     
  13. misko

    misko Forum Resident

    Location:
    Philadelphia, Pa.
    Any title by Richie Unterberger is always well researched and well written. His recent book about The Who covering Lifehouse through Quadrophenia is excellent.
     
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  14. batman144144

    batman144144 Nocturnal crime fighter/audio enthusiast.

    Yeah, there is something about them that is interesting.

    The Gordon Gebert book is unbearably bad. Don't even bother.
     
  15. I am midway through an awesome book in French about jazzwoman/composer/band leader Carla Bley: Carla Bley L'innatendu-e, under the direction of Ludovic Florin, collection jazz land, naïve livres, 157 pages, 2013. It is so good it would deserve its own thread. But I ignore for the moment to which extent it duplicates or not the material in the one book in English about her, published a couple of years ago, which I have not fumbled through yet. It's not a translation though.

    The authors are journalist-writers and university readers with music as specialization (jazz, Stravinsky, orchestration).

    Lots of scores, tons of photos I have never seen before (documenting mostly the late 50s/60s era, cool and fun concert posters, in-depth analysis, long interviews with CB, a detailed discography (though not critical, which I would have preferred)... An altogether fantastic object to behold!
     
  16. Clanceman

    Clanceman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland, Or
    Never thought the day would come. I just bought a Keith Richards authored children's book, Gus & Me. :)
     
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  17. zen

    zen Senior Member

    [​IMG]

    Essential for MKII fans. It's a great read, with lots of photos, news clippings and memorabilia. Written by Simon Robinson and Stephen Clare telling the story of the formation of their classic line-up and the recording of their first album Deep Purple In Rock. According to the Highway Star website, this has been several years in the making. It shows. :thumbsup:
     
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  18. For those interested in the subject, I highly recommend digging up something I came upon last week, of all places at our local Goodwill: "The Work of Hipgnosis - 'Walk Away René'", compiled by Hipgnosis and George Hardie, text by Storm Thorgerson, Paper Dragon, (C) 1978 (159 p.), about the legendary art design group who created so many fantastic and iconic album covers from the late 60s and the 70s. Includes many quality reproductions, photos of their shop, etc., and, most importantly, tons of stuff to read from the creators about their interactions and meetings with their big superstar clients, and myriads of technical details on how they did those visual miracles with the means of their day and age... Fascinating!

    Lots of ink is spent on what they consider their best achievement: Led Zeppelin's "Presence", which happens to be also my own favorite; a total cracker!

    ..."Toe Fat"!... Now how in the name of heck did I ever happened on that weird album cover in my neck of the woods in 1971?!...
     
    Last edited: Sep 19, 2014
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  19. jimod99

    jimod99 Daddy or chips?

    Location:
    Ottawa, ON
    [​IMG]
     
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  20. john greenwood

    john greenwood Senior Member

    Location:
    NYC
    Re-reading parts of Finishing the Hat by Stephen Sondheim. Some of the greatest non-rock lyrics ever written, together with an astute commentary about the craft of (non-rock) lyric writing.
     
  21. danveryan

    danveryan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Huntsville, AL
    For a start,
    I recommend the following:
    Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards by Al Kooper
    John Lennon by Phillip Norman
    Les Paul by Mary Alice Shaugnessy
    Any books by Peter Guralnick
    Yardbirds, The Ultimate RaveUp by Greg Russo
    I'm a Believer by Mickey Dolenz and Mark Bego
    The Big Beat by Max Weinberg
     
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  22. MEMPHISSUN

    MEMPHISSUN Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    LIFE IN THE RAIN - STORY OF NELSON RIDDLE

    Best / fav"s (SOME) would be ...

    LAST TRAIN TO MEMPHIS
    BILL HALEY - FATHER OF ROCK "N" ROLL BY OTTO FUCHS
    GO CAT GO - LIFE AND TIMES OF CARL PERKINS,BY DAVID MCGEE
    REMEMBERING BUDDY,BY JOHN GOLDROSEN
    THE TRUE ADVENTURES OF THE ROLLING STONES,BY STANLEY BOOTH
    ALL THE RAGE,BY IAN MCLAGAN
    SMALL FACES AND OTHER STORY"S (SECOND EDITION),BY ULI TWELKER/ROLAND SCHMITT




     
  23. Bill

    Bill Senior Member

    Location:
    Eastern Shore
    PF Sloan, What's The Matter With Me
    Steve Boone, Hotter Than A Match Head
    Joel Selvin, Here Comes The Night
    Tommy James and Howard Kaylan books, too, although not recent.
    Each great in its own way.
     
    Last edited: Sep 21, 2014
  24. RelayerNJ

    RelayerNJ Forum Resident

    Location:
    Whippany, NJ
    If anyone has read the latest Greil Marcus, please share your thoughts!
     
  25. Radio KTmS

    Radio KTmS i am a dj, i am what i play

    i re-read these every year or so:
    [​IMG] [​IMG]
    and,
    speaking of greil marcus,
    i've been trying to finish this for the past twenty-five years:
    [​IMG]
     
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