These Albums Merit An Entire Book Written About Them! Name Your Picks.

You may know that the Beatles White Album and Dylan's Blood On the Tracks have had whole books written about the making and music of those albums.

Which albums do you feel deserve a whole book written about them and would motivate you to read them?

What other albums ALREADY have had a book written about them and are out there now?

 

Chinese Democracy - not because of it's quality so much as its journey. I bet that would be a helluva story.

 

well, there's the entire 33 1/3 series.

they vary wildly in quality.

 

The Trout Mask Replica story might make a good horror flick.

 

I got this one for Marquee Moon...a gift card purchase...need to read it soon.

 

Definitely "This Heat" and "Deceit" by This Heat.

There is an excellent 33,1/3 book about "20 Jazz Funk Greats" by Throbbing Gristle so.... they could do it!

 

Skylarking-XTC
Synchronicity-The Police

 

that's one I'd say falls under the heading of providing more information about the band itself (and Verlaine in particular) than about marquee moon specifically. if you're a big television fan, you might know already a lot of what's in there.

many of the books in the series are written like this because there's rarely a beatlesque level of data available specifically about the recording of many albums. sometimes the author makes it work, sometimes not.

 

Who's Next (Richie Unterberger devoted half a book to it already ...) -E

 

written by Drew Daniel, one of the members of matmos. for what it's worth, Gen doesn't care for it (and I agree).

 

The Gong Trilogy - Radio Gnome Invisible, Angels Egg, You.

 

"Wilco: Learning How to Die" by Greg Kot heavily features Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.

 

In fact, John French dedicated extensive passages of Beefheart: Through the Eyes of Magic to the creation of the album. A really insteresting book.

 

And I also see it listed with the 33 1/3 books. I might have to check this out.

 

In another thread a few weeks ago, someone shared a Sunday Magazine piece on Van Morrison and a slice of an aspect of Astral Weeks, his epic transformative LP.

Based on the article and THAT album, would love a book on it!

 

Steely Dan's Gaucho.

First there's the overdose death of Walter Becker's girlfriend Karen Roberta Stanley who died Jan. 30, 1980. Then in April of that year Walter Becker was hit by a car while crossing the street. At some point an engineer erased a tape with one of their best songs, "The Second Arrangement." After the LP came out, Becker was hit with a wrongful death lawsuit from his late girlfriend's parents.

On top of all that, their recording method of having session players come in and out to do parts is worth some exposition. The album only has seven songs and it would be interesting if someone could list all the unused takes on each one.

And then there's all of those outtakes...

 

I think there's books about Tubular Bells and The Madcap Laughs already.

There should be a book about Queen II

 

The 33 1/3 series is great. I've enjoyed reading about Bobbie Gentry's "Ode to Billy Joe" as well as Neutral Milk Hotel's "In The Aeroplane Over The Sea".

I'd love to read something on Patti Drew's "I've Been Here All the Time". I'd love to know which musicians played on the album and learn more about Patti herself.

 

Band of Gypsies

 

About Them?

 

the beach boys smile

 

there is a 33 1/3 installment on smile. it is notoriously poorly-received.

 

Some publishing house should partner in some way with Geffen so the record company can recoup at least a little of the money they spent on that flop.

Ed

 

Blue Öyster Cult's Imaginos. Wikipedia gives a brief overview of the tales told therein & the long & twisting road to the album's completion... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imaginos

 

Ashley Kahn has written books on Miles' Kind of Blue and Coltrane's A Love Supreme.

There's also Mark Paytress' book on Patti Smith's Horses.