Popular music Books

Book SynopsisRising to prominence in 1994 on the back of their eponymous debut album, Korn ushered in a new sound within heavy metal which many would try and imitate in the years that followed. Earning themselves the title of "The Godfathers of Nu Metal", the Bakersfield quintet has sold well over 40 million records, they have topped charts all around the world, and they have also won multiple awards which include two prestigious Grammys. Still firing on all cylinders after three decades, Korn continues to produce powerful and accessible anthems in the present day. Korn On Track covers all the band's studio releases thus far- from their 1993 demo tape, Neidermayer's Mind, to their thirteenth studio album, The Nothing, released in 2018. Reviewing every track and delving into the stories behind many of them, also discussed is Korn's largely unheralded unreleased material, and B-sides which also include songs exclusively featured on movie soundtracks.

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Book SynopsisNo period of Bob Dylan's six-decade career confounds fans more than the 1980s. The singer began the decade with Saved, the second in a trio of explicitly religious records, and a tour in which he declined to play his older songs because of concern they were anti-god. Dylan's ambivalence about the songs that made him an icon was mirrored by fans, many of whom found his post-conversion messages strident and judgmental. This made Saved his worst selling album in years and set a pattern for the next several years. Despite being a prolific time, in which the singer released seven studio albums, the decade was defined by inconsistency. Throughout the 1980s, some of his most profound work alternated with lackluster compositions and indifferent performances - sometimes on the same album. However, even as Dylan struggled artistically, all of his albums contained reminders of why he continued to be celebrated. By the end of the decade, his perseverance - both on stage and in the studio - and a spontaneous collaboration with some of his peers coalesced into his best received releases since the 1970s. Rather than closing a book, the combination of Oh Mercy and the first Traveling Wilburys record pointed to new chapters. The 1990s began a remarkable run of success that few popular artists have managed at any stage of their careers.

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Book SynopsisEveryone loved The Hollies. They were the 'group's group'. Never confrontational or rebellious, always smartly suited, always smiling. The band had an unbroken run of immaculate pop singles which, while they seldom had that must-buy factor of the latest Rolling Stones or Beatles record, was hallmarked by tight harmonies and unfailing chart sensibility. Throughout the sixties and well into the seventies, everyone had - own up - at least one or two Hollies singles in their collection. No-one begrudged The Hollies their hits. When 'He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother' and 'Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress' became global million-sellers, The Hollies were inducted into The Rock 'n' Roll Hall Of Fame. Graham Nash - by then deep into his second career as part of Crosby, Stills and Nash - was reunited with other members of the outfit, all on stage together in the March 2010 ceremony. This book tells the full story, from the band's origins in Manchester, through the full arc of hits, and the albums - track-by-track, into the twenty-first century, then... now... always

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Book SynopsisWhen Hereford group Silence teamed up with songwriter Ian Hunter in 1969 to form a group that aimed to be a cross between Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones and Procol Harum, they rapidly became one of Britain's most popular live acts, but a major hit single and album initially proved elusive. In 1972, disillusioned and exhausted, they split before being encouraged to reform by David Bowie and finding immediate chart success with a song he gave them, 'All the Young Dudes'. After two years of hits and internal conflicts Ian left and enjoyed a chequered solo career that has lasted to this day, initially in partnership with guitarist Mick Ronson until his death in 1993. The rest of the group subsequently shortened their name to Mott and then British Lions, the latter a collaboration with former Medicine Head front man John Fiddler, although they failed to re-establish themselves despite several solid months of touring on both sides of the Atlantic. As Ian wrote, 'Rock'n'roll's a loser's game'. They won, they lost, but during the 1970s released some inspired, highly individual music, that went on to inspire and be championed by several other acts, notably Queen, the Clash and Def Leppard.

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Book SynopsisStatus Quo? All their songs sound the same and they only know three chords' Really? This retrospective of one of Britain's most successful bands takes this lazy criticism and puts it to the sword. 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. Francis Rossi, Rick Parfitt, Alan Lancaster, and John Coghlan withstood the slings and arrows of unending criticism to become a national institution, even playing to Royalty along the way. After their early, psychedelic-influenced and fleeting pop success, Quo underwent a dramatic and natural re-invention, unleashing a series of innovative albums and hit singles, such as 'Down Down' and 'Rockin' All Over The World' that established their unique sound and style. Relentless touring, changes in musical direction, unwise choices of producer, substantial substance abuse, and personality clashes, all played their part in the collapse of the classic line-up before a brand re-launch in 1986 that enjoys continued success to the present day. Status Quo - The Frantic Four Years on track examines the band's groundbreaking first era with critical detail and honest opinions.

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Book SynopsisLittle Feat may not be a household name, but they are well-known to a good number of musicians who are: Keith Richards rounded up the Rolling Stones to see them perform in Amsterdam in 1975, Robert Plant publicly lamented their lack of success (as Led Zeppelin's soared into the stratosphere), and Bob Dylan and Elton John saw them in concert whenever possible. Legends like Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Raitt, and Bob Seger helped out on their many record albums, and they backed up Robert Palmer, John Cale, and Chico Hamilton. Yet they never had a hit single, and the closest they came to success was with their 1978 live album, Waiting for Columbus (later performed live in its entirety by jam band Phish) - but not even the death of their leader, Lowell George, could stop the Feats' shoes from sailin': the band reformed in 1988 and has continued since, with Craig Fuller and Shaun Murphy helping out along the way. 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.

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Book SynopsisBritpop Decades covers the ten-years that witnessed the birth, boom and bust of Britpop - a period in which home-grown indie guitar music from across the UK went mainstream, pop stars were cut from the most unlikely of cloth, and British culture made its voice heard with some incredibly bombastic choruses. Delving deep into the 75 key albums that defined a decade, the book includes full band biographies, detailed track-by-track discussion, recommendations for further listening and some personal reminiscences by the authors who together came of age during the 90s. Also featuring a year-by-year review of the era, highlighting all the key historical, cultural and pop-cultural changes that took place, this is your guide to one of the most exciting, vibrant and sensational periods British music had witnessed since the 1960s. Part of Sonicbond's acclaimed Decades series, the book offers a window into the 90s for those that want to understand the time and a memory box for those that were there, but had too much fun to remember it.

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Book SynopsisMotorhead are arguably the greatest rock and roll band in history, but it took many years to win that accolade. This is the story of the band that refused to die. They started off as the Vengeful Bastard and they had a tough beginning. The band had to deal with wayward producers, hostile record companies, more than a couple of false starts and even the ignominy of being proclaimed the Worst Band in the World by the NME! Famed for their legendary loudness and their singular anthem, 'Ace Of Spades', Motorhead have not only proved inspirational but also, accidentally, created two sub-genres of heavy music: speed and thrash metal. Not bad for a band who announced themselves with: 'We are Motorhead, and we play rock and roll.' at their numerous live gigs. This book covers every studio album, band rarities and significant solo work from Lemmy. It is designed as a useful companion to the recorded output of a unique band. From the highly regarded trio of albums that ended the 1970s, through the line-up hardships and turmoil of the 1980s to the occasionally awkward musical experiments of the early 1990s, this book closes with the triumphant two-decade-long career revival of the band.

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Book SynopsisSince 1963 Eric Clapton has contributed to two hundred albums by other artists: from very famous to the obscure and the unexpected: Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, The Rolling Stones, Sting, Phil Collins, Rod Stewart, all four of the Beatles, Martha Veléz, Jonathan Kelly, Corey Hart, Stephen Bishop, Hawkwind, Ray Charles, Kate Bush, The Tony Rich Project, Toots and the Maytals and Mary J. Blige. If you’ve never heard (for instance) ‘Beat of the Night’ by Bob Geldof, ‘Sexual Revolution’ by Roger Waters or ‘I Wish It Would Rain Down’ by Phil Collins, this book tells you about Eric’s part in those recordings and many more, as well as his more notorious collaborations with the likes of The Beatles, Bob Dylan – and Ed Sheeran! Indeed, this book puts these into context across nearly sixty years of documented sessions. If you’ve never delved into Eric’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

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Book SynopsisDepending on who you asked, George Harrison was many different things to different people. There was his songcraft, which won over the affections of producer savant Phil Spector; there was his musicianship, that captured the hearts of blues savants Eric Clapton and Delaney Bramlett; and then there was his penchant for comedy, which made him an obvious shoo-in for Rutland Weekend Television and Saturday Night Live. But behind these traits stood a fragile man, aching for enlightenment and peace in an industry that strove to rid him of any of it. Keenly aware of this conflict, Harrison was brave enough to commit it to tape on the wistful Dark Horse, a confessional album written against the backdrop of a regrettable American Tour. But Harrison was always ready to brave the conflict, and it served him better to ride it out than to return to The Beatles for an easy paycheque. He 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

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Book SynopsisThe legendary Jimi Hendrix has had all kinds of superlatives bestowed on him since his incendiary debut in 1966, but Lou Reed's pithy summation beats the lot: '...he was such a bitching guitar player'. Jimi Hendrix On Track explores each thrilling song and album, drawing out exactly what made Hendrix not only a great guitarist but also a vocalist, arranger, interpreter, producer and songwriter of genius. Hendrix's revolutionary albums with The Experience and Band of Gypsys are discussed in detail, as are his posthumous releases from First Rays of the Rising Sun to Both Sides of the Sky. His early work as a session player for acts like The Isley Brothers, Little Richard and even Jayne Mansfield is considered, along with his later work as a guest star on albums by Stephen Stills, Robert Wyatt, and McGear and McGough; and not forgetting his blistering work as a producer for Eire Apparent. From psychedelic odysseys to progressive blues to proto-metal to funk-rock, Hendrix mastered them all. Jimi Hendrix On Track is an informative guide to some of the 20th century's most extraordinary recordings.

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Book SynopsisSheffield in the late-1970s was isolated from what was happening in London in the same way that Liverpool had been in 1963. A unique generation of electro-experimental groupings evolved in the former Steel City around Cabaret Voltaire and The Future. The Future split into two factions, Clock DVA and The Human League. Then The Human League split into two further factions, Heaven 17, and The Human League as we now know them, fronted by Philip Oakey with Joanne Catherall and Susan Sulley. Dare became one of the most iconic albums of the eighties; the album by which Human League are most instantly recognised. It is a musically ambitious album, both driven and voracious album, with giddy grenades of shared inventiveness. A triumph of content over considerable style, at once phenomenally commercial and gleefully avant-garde. The American success of 'Don't You Want Me', accelerated by the high-gloss movie-quality video, exploiting the band's extreme visual appeal, heralded what was soon termed the Second British Invasion. It was the first of two Human League singles to top the American charts. This book tells the full 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...

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Book SynopsisIn the 1990s, there was only one real punk rock band still standing. Rancid. Other so-called punk acts had bent the term so much they were unrecognisable as punk or had become a caricature of the expression. Or worse of themselves. Childhood friends Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman formed Rancid in 1991. Heralding from the punk scene in Gilman Street, Berkeley, they were members of the ground-breaking outfit Operation Ivy. After Op Ivy’s demise, the duo recruited Brett Reed on drums and by the release of their second LP in 1994, the enigmatic Lars Frederiksen on guitar and vocals. In 1994 came the inspirational, platinum-selling …And Out Came The Wolves. The band were soon a fixture on MTV, radio and even Saturday Night Live. At this point, many would have disappeared into the stratosphere, but not Rancid. They worked tirelessly in the punk network, giving plenty back and keeping true to those crucial two elements of punk – liberation and unity. In 2021, they remain the most credible punk band on the planet. Rancid Tracks describes their nine studio albums, track by track, and covers compilations, stand-alone singles, splits, rarities, and unofficial releases.

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Book SynopsisBetween 1972 and their first break-up in 1976 (and then again following their 1979 reunion), Roxy Music were arguably the most exciting, ambitious and vivacious bans in the land - a core four piece of vocalist Bryan Ferry, guitarist Phil Manzanera, horn player Andy Mackay and drummer Phil Thompson (but also featuring, at different times, Brian Eno and Eddie Jobson) who emerged during 1972's long, hot summer of glam rock, but who could never be readily pigeonholed. The greatest records they made became, in turn, some of the greatest records of the age. 'Virginia Plain,' 'Pyjamarama,' 'Street Life,' 'All I Want Is You,' 'Love is the Drug,' 'Trash' and 'Dance Away' were the hits, but even the deepest cuts on the band's first five albums became anthems for a generation. Roxy were no ordinary band in other ways, too, as Ferry, Manzanera, Mackay and Eno all embarked upon solo careers - which, between them, were responsible for a complex catalogue of songs that stretches from the ballads of the 1930s to the electronica of the distant future, from Wagner's Valkyries to David Bowie's Low. This book encompasses all of that, documenting the histories of both band and band members, while analysing and detailing every album and single released by the Roxy family throughout the decade.

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Book SynopsisFree 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. After starting new bands that never took off they reformed, but following further dissension and guitarist Paul Kossoff’s drug problems they disbanded for good in 1973. Vocalist Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke then formed Bad Company, who became one of the hottest bands on both sides of the Atlantic, maintaining a stable line-up with ex-Mott The Hoople guitarist Mick Ralphs and ex-King Crimson bassist Boz Burrell for the rest of the decade. Each member later pursued outside ventures, although they regrouped at intervals, recruiting new members after Ralphs’ retirement and Burrell’s death. This book examines both bands’ work and career from 1968 to 1980, plus the Kossoff, Kirke, Tetsu, Rabbit album, Kossoff’s solo work and Back Street Crawler, with a chapter on their later history, notably Rodgers’ three years with Queen.

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Book SynopsisPearl 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. To date they have sold over 30 million albums worldwide, as many as iconic such artists as The Doors, Tom Petty, and Rush. Just as those artists did, Pearl Jam built an intense cult following who feel personally connected to the band. They tour constantly and are renowned for the quality of their live shows. While maintaining a huge network of fans, they have also collaborated with rock legends and helped boost the profiles of new artists. They fight for social justice causes even when that costs them in other areas. And through it all they keep releasing amazing music. Yet for many they remain an artefact of the Nineties, the epitome of the angsty Gen X stereotype. By going through their entire discography track-by-track, covering their origins in the Seattle scene, their musical development, and how the pop culture context has changed around them, this book will argue that Pearl Jam are not only one the greatest bands of their generation, but one of the greatest bands of all time.

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Book Synopsis‘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.

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Book SynopsisHaving moved from jazz, Blues and R'n'B to out-and-out pop in his various 1960s bands, keyboard player Manfred Mann went back to the drawing board in 1971 with a new quartet, Manfred Mann's Earth Band, and the intention of focusing on progressive rock. With a repertoire that leant partly on radical rearrangements of songs by Bob Dylan and then Bruce Springsteen, largely instrumental epics that borrowed from Gustav Holst's The Planets suite, and improvisations based around the interplay between Manfred's newly-acquired moog synthesiser and the lead guitar of Mick Rogers, who left in 1975 but later returned, they soon built up a formidable live reputation throughout much of Europe (particularly in Germany) and America. Apart from the Holst-inspired 'Joybringer', a top ten hit in 1973, British success was slow in coming, until a cover version of Springsteen's 'Blinded by the Light' and its parent album The Roaring Silence three years later took their status to a new level on both sides of the Atlantic. This book examines the nine albums, fluctuating fortunes and various line-up changes from what was to be their best and most prolific decade.

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Book SynopsisDonovan 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.

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Book SynopsisCreedence Clearwater Revival were a San Francisco band of the 1960s that had nothing to do with Human Be Ins, Timothy Leary, or the Summer of Love. They were, for a time, the most popular band in the US but never scored a number one hit. They were headliners at Woodstock but didn’t appear in the film or on the soundtrack LP. They shared a radical ‘back to basics’ sensibility with The Band but were not embraced by the emerging rock press with anywhere near the same enthusiasm. When the punks were hunting dinosaur bands to extinction in 1977, Richard Hell covered one of their songs on his debut album. In the 1980s, as their songs became staples of ‘classic rock’ radio, they were revered by underground bands like The Gun Club, The Minutemen and The Scientists. As Butch said to Sundance, ‘Who are those guys?’ In this book, a track-by-track analysis of all the band’s recorded output, Tony Thompson rolls up the sleeves on his plaid shirt and prepares to answer the big questions. Who’s Jody? What is ‘chooglin’? Where is Green River? Why can’t the singer leave Lodi? Who was the fortunate son? Is the bathroom on the right?

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Book SynopsisBrian Eno is arguably one of the most influential musicians working in rock music. Starting out as synthesizer peacock of the early glam rock era Roxy Music, Eno not only changed his look but his musical style throughout the seventies and moved from foot-stomping proto-punk anthems to the quiet introspection and inventor of ambient music. Along the way, he became a much in demand producer working with Ultravox! and Talking Heads and also collaborated with David Bowie on three of the most important albums of his career. He also managed to blur the boundaries between rock music and modern avant-garde classical music with the founding of his 'Obscure Records' label. Eno began this decade strutting his stuff onstage to Bryan Ferry's songs and finished it with the serene melodies of Music For Airports and, along the way, managed to squeeze in a couple of albums with King Crimson's Robert Fripp as well as being part of the krautrock scene. This is Eno’s journey through the highs and lows of the seventies.

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Book SynopsisStatus 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. While much has been written about the 'glory years', Quo's difficult but triumphant struggle through the 1980s is a much more exciting story with twists, turns and a sense of peril that feels like it could go either way. This is a celebration of Quo's music at its most vulnerable and experimental, at a time when the band lost old fans, gained new ones and made some of the most varied and creative recordings of their career. No stone has been left unturned with several members of the band contributing stories and anecdotes from their own perspectives that should leave even the most knowledgeable of fans feeling like they've learned something.

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Book SynopsisAfter the singularity of Astral Weeks in 1968, the 1970s were the formative years for the solo career of one of the acknowledged giants of modern music. Van Morrison was one of the music legends who defined the decade, with every album bringing out different aspects to Morrison's vast musical spectrum. His story in the 1970s is a chronicle of a Belfast artist coming to terms with the voice, the call, the dream of America. The decade saw Morrison work through the promise of the land of the blues and jazz, westerns and railroads, big cities and backwoods. It also saw his own spiritual quest and the reimagining of a nordic North European heritage and Caledonian Irish roots alongside the realisation of emigration and exile. Morrison forged a rich and complex artistic catalogue that continues down the years to the present day. Beginning with smash hit Moondance in 1970, his output in the decade continued through Tupelo Honey via Hard Nose the Highway to 1979's Into the Music. By the end of the 1970s, he was again using Europe to recast his music and imagination for another half century in the business, but throughout most of the decade his songs centred on America as he created the foundation of an unparalleled legacy

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Book SynopsisEven in an age of unparalleled innovation and artistic freedom, Spirit stood head and shoulders above their 1960s-era rock 'n' roll contemporaries. Perhaps only Love shared the same sort of expansive and adventurous artistic vision as the five guys in Spirit, whose disparate and diverse musical backgrounds led them to explore the outer regions of rock 'n' roll as the band incorporated elements of the blues, folk, R&B, and jazz into their heady brew of psychedelia-tinted hard rock. Although they never experienced the level of commercial success that their talents and innovative music deserved, few bands since have matched Spirit in eccentricity, originality, intensity, and instrumental virtuosity. For all their creative accomplishments, Spirit's legacy is that of a half-forgotten band whose name is seldom brought up in 'classic rock' discussions. Spirit on track corrects this oversight, revisiting the band album by album, song by song, from their ground-breaking self-titled 1968 debut and their masterpiece, Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus through the break-ups and reunions and solo efforts of the lean years until their resurgence in the 1990s with albums like Tent of Miracles. More than a mere album guide, this book recounts 30 years of the trailblazing artistry of Spirit.

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Book SynopsisThey pulled on their platform boots and slapped on the makeup when everybody else was discarding theirs. Their albums were subject to poor production, scathing reviews, and commercial indifference. Other bands refused to have them as their opening act. Their record company was up against the wall. By all reasoning, they should have become one of the 'lost' bands of the 1970s, like the Harlots of 42nd Street or the Hollywood Stars. Yet in 1975 Kiss unexpectedly came Alive! and by the following year, they were the biggest rock and roll band - and brand - in America. This is a journey through Kiss's first and most storied decade. It is the story of the four men behind the masks, and the music they made, the studio albums, the legendary live albums, and of one of the greatest rock follies in music history, the four simultaneously released solo album. Along the way, it tells of the costumes and the concerts, the merchandise and the Marvel comic books, the television appearances and the disastrous 1978 movie, Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park. And having bestrode the 1970s like an unstoppable colossus, it ends with Kiss under siege, beset by changing public taste without, and combustible personalities within.

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Book SynopsisThere were a lot of very different bands peddling their wares in the progressive rock 'golden age' of the 1970s - some tending toward symphonic grandeur, other towards jazz fusion, and others still ploughing the more immediate end of the spectrum. There were the left-field eccentrics and the tricky 'difficult' bands. Apart from it all, however, there were Van Der Graaf Generator. In a decade stuffed with a wild array of influences, styles and instrumental line-ups, there can be few tending quite so near to the definition 'unique' as the four musicians who made up the 'classic' line-up of Van Der Graaf. For a start, there was the astonishing songwriting and vocals of generally accepted 'leader' Peter Hammill, but there was much more behind that to set these men apart. Their unparalleled instrumental make-up saw little or no guitar and no bass guitar, while organist Hugh Banton handled the bass parts on pedals, David Jackson pioneered an astonishing saxophone style, playing two instruments at once, electric rather than miked up, and using a full effects pedalboard. Drummer Guy Evans filled in - well, everything else. It was and remains a sound quite like no other. This book documents their incredibly influential first decade as prog's ultimate 'outsiders'. It's quite a ride.

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Book SynopsisVan Halen are arguably America's greatest ever rock n' roll band. From inauspicious roots as a backyard covers outfit, they went on to revolutionise and revitalise heavy rock, creating a world-conquering blend of heavy metal power, punk energy and pop hooks. Armed with staggering musical virtuosity and irresistible charisma, they sold millions of records and spawned legions of imitators. From their humble origins and meteoric rise, through some dark, troubled years, to their triumphant rebirth, the band produced a remarkable body of work. In this thorough and illuminating book, Morgan Brown guides us song by song through the band's classic albums, charting their development from Sunset Strip upstarts to multi-platinum stadium rockers and beyond. We'll examine the music's ingredients and inspirations, and meet the characters behind the songs, including visionary guitar genius, the late Edward Van Halen, motormouth master showman David Lee Roth, and his replacement, powerful vocalist Sammy Hagar, who ushered in a new era for the band. Equally suitable for inquisitive new listeners or long-time fans, this book is both an in-depth guide to, and an enthusiastic celebration of the career of a truly legendary band. Feel like diving in? Well, as Roth said, go ahead and jump!

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Book SynopsisOut of the dozen different line-ups since Fleetwood Mac formed in 1967, there's only one incarnation that truly matters for most listeners. During their time together, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham created some of popular music's most enduring records, including 1977's Rumours. Written and recorded as multiple relationships within the band were collapsing, the landmark album became a worldwide hit that still attracts new fans. Disbanding might have been the rational response to the turmoil surrounding the making of that album, but they continued touring and recording even as tensions within the group continued to accumulate. Although Fleetwood Mac only recorded two albums together in the 1980s, four of the five members released solo albums that brought their individual contributions to the band into focus. After the group splintered in the late-1980s, it took a request from a US President to fix it, if only temporarily. The underlying tension between the band members' individual and group efforts - the truth that they worked best together but could only do so for limited periods - continues to the present day and reflects that even more so than the 1970s, the 1980s were the pivotal decade for Fleetwood Mac.

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Book SynopsisFew singers have been able to change with the times like Johnny Mathis. Although his fame rests on his massive popularity in the 50s and 60s when he competed with Elvis and Frank Sinatra and outsold almost anyone, Mathis has remained relevant through the decades and no other crooner is as technically skilled or able to cover multiple genres so convincingly. Jazz, soul, disco, country, classic and contemporary pop, Mathis has adapted his impressive vocal range to all kinds of music and transgressed the stereotype of what a male voice is supposed to sound like. The longest-running artist on Columbia, he has been recognized by the record industry with The Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award and three recordings in the Grammy Hall of Fame, but so far, there hasn't been an exhaustive examination of his complete recordings in book form. Authorized by Mathis and including fresh insights from himself as well as his producers and arrangers, Misty: The Music of Johnny Mathis, rights that wrong. With detailed discussions of the records and a discography, the book traces Mathis's musical journey from the past to the present and includes a wealth of photos and album scans from his own archive. It's the ideal companion for fans and new listeners interested in exploring one of the most prominent voices in American music.

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Book SynopsisBeck Hansen has enjoyed three decades of success, creating an unprecedented variety of music across a labyrinth of releases that challenge conventions and push pop music boundaries. He's been individually pigeonholed as folk, anti-folk, lo-fi, alternative, hip-hop, rock, R&B, rap, country, noise, dance-pop, and electronica - by critics of only one album. Mainly, he's just Beck. Beck's free-range approach to music and art was fostered at an early age. His father is a classically trained musician, his mother lived life as art, and his grandfather was a central figure in the experimental Fluxus scene. Beck absorbed these influences, then dropped out of school at age 14 to forge his own path. Just nine years later, he became an 'overnight success' with the so-called slacker anthem 'Loser'. This book provides meticulous, chronological organization to Beck's seemingly overwhelming official recorded output, from the indie experimentation of Stereopathetic Soulmanure and One Foot in the Grave, through the commercial and critical heights of Odelay and Morning Phase, and into the mainstream successes of Guero, The Information, and Colors. Along the way, details of more than 300 songs include the expected ('Where It's At'), the underappreciated ('Rental Car'), and the obscure ('Brandon Nevins').

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Book SynopsisOf all the British bands that blasted to fame in rock's golden age, Nektar remain the most mysterious and least documented. Because they chose to base themselves in West Germany, until now commentators in their native land have tended to overlook them. They're all but excluded from prog's official narrative even though Remember The Future is a classic of the genre and one of very few European art rock albums to conquer the US. This book reveals Nektar as much more than just a hit LP, celebrating a catalogue rich in works of equal stature which, uniquely for the time, poured so effortlessly from the players. Whether you know only the clutch of 1970s albums that are Nektar at the pinnacle, or you've followed their progress under leaders Roye Albrighton and now Derek Moore, here's everything you need to complete your understanding of an agile, continuously intriguing band as distinctive as their covers, as dazzling as their light show, and as warm as their fans. It documents how Germany was both boon and bane for the band, how America tore them apart and pulled them back together, and how from Journey To The Centre Of The Eye to The Other Side Nektar have a vision and a connection that brings them much closer to our small scared lives than any other band of their stature.

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Book SynopsisThe 1980s saw Alice Cooper release arguably his most diverse collection of albums, ranging from new wave to metal to full-on radio-friendly rock. They weren't all commercially successful, but all are worth listening to and some are excellent. This book (which follows on from the author's acclaimed Alice Cooper In The '70s) features all new interview material by the author with 45 musicians and performers who worked with Alice over the decade. Many have never been interviewed before and they offer fascinating insight into working with Alice and each other. Key interviewees include Mike Pinera, Jan Uvena, John Nitzinger, Graham Shaw, Ken Mary, Kip Winger, Kane Roberts, John McCurry and Al Pitrelli. Consequently, the book includes a lot of new facts and information that should please fans. The author adds commentary and opinions on all of the songs from the era, Alice's film work and the five live tours. There is also an appendix on the album that could have been but never was. Alice 'contributes' from the contemporary press of the time are referenced, which became more loquacious as the decade goes on. Alice in the '80s, what a thrill ride that was!

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Book SynopsisBursting out of industrial Birmingham in the late 1970s and hitching a ride on the Two-Tone bandwagon for their first single, The English Beat answered the question of whether punk and reggae should mix better than anyone else. Their stunning first album in 1980 was an immediate success in their home country and even as they charted an unexpected course through the early years of the new decade, they retained a loyal following of roots, radicals and rockers. They additionally began to build a reputation in the USA through hard work on the road, but, in 1983, the pressure of maintaining a career strung across the Atlantic tore the group apart. The two front men Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger, formed the slick and initially successful General Public, but they were completely eclipsed by Fine Young Cannibals, the soul-pop outfit created by guitarist Andy Cox and bassist Andy Steele and whose second album sold millions worldwide. This book covers the tumultuous period 1979-89 when this trio of groups poured forth a torrent of brilliant music and covers every album and every track, scooping up along the way the hits that never were, experimental B-sides, remixes and guest appearances. It is a truly idiosyncratic creative flare path lighting up a strange but exciting decade.

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Book SynopsisHorslips: arguably the greatest band in Irish rock music history. This five-piece band produced truly special, unique music in the 1970s. By joining literary craft and their cultural heritage with a fusion of traditionally inspired music with rock instrumentation, they created a genre of music which became known as 'Celtic Rock'. Horslips also pioneered an 'in-house' approach to the rock music business, controlling their stage presentation, graphic design, record pressing and concert promotion. Their finest albums - The Tain, and The Book Of Invasions - adapted legendary and historic texts with compelling music. Elsewhere the life and times of Turlough O'Carolan, the famine and emigration provided a conceptual backdrop to Dancehall Sweethearts, Aliens, and The Man Who Built America. But the band broke up in 1980. Reconvening in the next century, after the 'longest tea break in history', they produced a new 'acoustic covers' album, played stadium-filling gigs and television performances, and recorded two live albums. This book celebrates (and sometimes criticises) the creative waves that Eamon Carr, Barry Devlin, Johnny Fean, Jim Lockhart, and Charles O'Connor gave us.

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Book SynopsisGreen Day are one of rock history's greatest and most successful bands. Singer/guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool have been together creating rock music with a punk heart for over three decades. The trio has reigned supreme, shattering previously conceived notions of how commercially successful a punk rock band can be. They helped extend the boundaries of the genre by adding excellent pop/rock song writing. Green Day harnessed alternative music's creativity with a passion and fire that ignited two of rock's best albums, the influential Dookie, which sold 20 million, and the culturally important rock opera American Idiot, which sold 16 million and went on to become a Broadway show. In their 30-plus years, Green Day revolutionized rock musically and lyrically, inspiring countless bands. During the 1990s, they lead the pop-punk charge, and in the 2000s, they inspired a second generation of fans and bands through a lyrically intelligent and musically complex style of hard rock. Green Day: On Track takes a journey through the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame band's career, analysing every album and song in their storied catalogue

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Book SynopsisOnce, there were four university students who started a rock band named after a firetruck. Five and a half decades later, REO Speedwagon are still going strong, still drawing massive crowds, and, thankfully, still have no plans to stop. With classic albums like the multi-platinum You Can Tune a Piano, but You Can't Tuna Fish and the ten million-selling Hi Infidelity, REO conquered America's heartland, then the nation, and then - as a ten-year 'overnight sensation' - the world. It was the rock tunes like 'Golden Country' and 'Back on the Road Again' that built their reputation before the ballads like 'Keep on Loving You' and 'Can't Fight this Feeling' brought them global fame. REO have sold over 40 million records under their own name and are further featured on the soundtracks to scores of films and television programs, including Supernatural and Ozark. The current line-up with the 'new guys' has been together for more than 30 years. REO Speedwagon On Track shines a light on the band's lengthy career. This book delves into the tracks on each of their 16 studio albums, their official live releases, and several compilations, and provides a glimpse of some of the band members' outside projects,

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Book SynopsisWhen Freddie Bulsara arrived in England in 1964, fleeing with his family from a bloody revolution on the streets of his homeland Zanzibar, he already knew that he wanted to be a rock'n'roll star. But before that dream could become a reality, there were three specific people he needed to meet. Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon were the other three components in what became Queen, a band whose name is now writ large in rock legend, but whose members spent their early career mired in legal troubles, critical hostility and financial hardship. In the early 1970s, with their preening singer and arch conceptualiser now renamed Freddie Mercury, the group projected an image that was at once regal, mystical and exotic. Yet behind the black eyeliner and billows of dry ice, Queen were four sharply contrasting individuals whose dogged struggle to win success was every bit as dramatic as the ogre battles and fairy king fantasias that populated their music. Queen in the Seventies is an up-close examination of the band's now critically adored first ten years, the decade when they forged their unique vision, beat off the critics and became, after many epic tantrums and much violent throwing of crockery, champions of the world.

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Book SynopsisDiscovering The Beatles at the age of fourteen, David Paton had no idea that one day he’d work with Paul McCartney in Studio Two at Abbey Road or that he’d write a number one worldwide hit, or that he’d spend three years touring the world and recording as bass player with Elton John, including playing in his band at Live Aid. These achievements were well beyond his imagination – yet he did them. For David, making music was a joy and a privilege, but his career as a musician made it possible for him to meet and work with some of the world-famous artists that he idolised. David Paton is the singer, songwriter and bass player with the group Pilot, writing the worldwide hits ‘Magic’, ‘January’ and ‘Just a Smile’. He was a member of The Alan Parsons Project for ten years and did session work with The Pretenders, Paul McCartney, Kate Bush, Chris De Burgh, Chris Rea and Jimmy Page, to name but a few. This book gives an insight into the life of a successful songwriter and session musician. He has a lot to say, but as well as telling his story, the book also offers valuable insight into what to do – and what not to do – for creative people interested in pursuing a career in music.

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Book SynopsisBob Dylan is the magician who sprinkled poetic fairy dust on to the popular music of the early sixties and his songwriting sparked a revolution and changed rock music forever. The diminutive poet/singer claimed he was merely a 'song and dance man' but Dylan altered popular music from intellectually bereft teenage rebellion into a serious adult art form worthy of academic study. Dylan headed for the sixties as a Little Richard rock 'n' roller but soon turned acoustic folkie and after absorbing the music and words of Woody Guthrie, Robert Johnson and Brecht, he became a vagabond social troubadour. Basking in Rimbaud he transformed into a poetic symbolist before later immersing himself in lysergic beat surrealism. The chameleon of Dylan in the sixties was bewildering to his followers. His first album was a raw debut folk/blues. Then followed three acoustic poetic gems, three ground-breaking surreal ,electric wonders and four that were more mundane and country-tinged. But by the mid-sixties he was a strung-out polka-dotted rock star. He crashed (physically and mentally) before leaving the sixties as a clean-cut country crooner. Dylan had mutated more times than a trilobite. Dylan's ground-breaking music changed the world and his amazing story is revealed by exploring the eleven albums that he released between 1962 and 1970.

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Book SynopsisTraversing power metal, acoustic introspect and finally settling on their breakthrough cinematic sound, Finnish heavyweights Nightwish are the leading name in the sumptuous world of symphonic metal. Having tackled numerous high-profile line-up changes, each threatening to derail the grand vehicle of spirit curated by founder Tuomas Holopainen, their every turn has been documented across nine studio records. Whilst the surface presents the Nightwish discography as a feast of metaphor and imagination, it's in the undercurrent that the vulnerability of the compositions are revealed; the fury of 'Master Passion Greed' detailing the acrimonious split with vocalist Tarja Turunen, the melancholia permeating Century Child and the awe-inspiring ode to evolution of Endless Forms Most Beautiful. This book analyses every song released by the group, from their Angels Fall First debut to 2020's Human. : : Nature., discussing inimitable singles 'Nemo' and the begrudgingly composed 'Sleeping Sun' as well as patriotic sport soundtracks, impromptu live outings and curious cover versions. Nightwish On Track also discusses the abundant live releases and compilations from their career to date and gathers together an exhaustive list of the band's B-sides and rarities.

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Book SynopsisKeyboard wizard Rick Wakeman is one of the most talented and influential musicians and composers to have graced the world of popular music. He is also one of the most prolific, with more than a 100 albums to his credit. The 1970s, however, was Rick's most important decade one in which he regularly topped magazine polls, staged extravagant concerts and released several highly successful albums, including a UK number one in Journey To The Centre of The Earth. Rick's professional career began as a highly respected session musician where he played on hundreds of recordings, including many hit singles and songs by David Bowie, Elton John, Cat Stevens and Lou Reed, amongst many others. He was also a member of the folk rock band Strawbs and played a key role in the International success of progressive rock pioneers Yes. In addition to tracing Rick's career trajectory throughout the 1970s, this book examines in detail his recorded output during the period, including nine solo albums, six albums with Yes and two with Strawbs. As such, this is the most comprehensive guide yet to the music of Rick Wakeman during this most pivotal decade in the history of rock

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Book SynopsisSlade were one of the biggest British bands of the 1970s. One of the early pioneers of gl,am rock they enjoyed an incredible run of six number one singles, four top-ten albums and a succession of sell-out tours. However, after a failed attempt at an American breakthrough in the mid-1970s, Slade returned to Britain and faced dwindling record sales, smaller concert halls and a music press that had lost interest in them. By the end of the decade, they were playing residencies in cabaret clubs and recorded a cover of a children's novelty song. But then came a last-minute invitation to play the 1980 Reading Festival, setting into motion one of the most remarkable comebacks in rock history. As we come to the fiftieth anniversary of Slade's 1973 annus mirabilis that saw 'Cum On Feel The Noize', 'Skweeze Me, Pleeze Me' and 'Merry Xmas Everybody' all enter the UK charts at number one, this book celebrates the music of Slade. From the band's beginnings in the mid-1960s through each year of the decade that gave them their biggest successes, every album and single is examined, as well as their raucous live shows and colourful media profile.

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Book SynopsisFrom humble beginnings, as they emerged pimple-popped and sweaty out of a global New Wave of British Heavy Metal scene infiltrating California in the early 80s, through to almost complete world domination, sell out tours and Billboard chart success, Metallica's story is like few others. With an insatiable hunger andhell-for-leatherr attitude, they helped to forge a new direction for metal music across the world, combining progressive anger with, at times, sweeping ballads. In the space of just a few album,s they transformed from thrashing wannabes (Kill 'Em All) into real heavy rock contenders (...And Justice for All) - before unleashing a new blend of chart-topping heavy metal on the masses (Black Album). A band of dogged workers, with twists and turns, heartbreak and line-up changes peppering their more than 40-year career, if they aren't on the road, it seems they're in the recording studio, with an incessant hunt for the next loudest, ground-breaking sound, spurring them on. They rode a wave, then started a tsunami, so prepare to be blown away. Metallica give you 'heavy baby!'

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Book SynopsisSoft Machine are perceived as cold and forbidding. At their peak in the 1970s, they purposefully raised the hackles of pop journalists, the musical establishment, and even their own fans. Their music was designed to exclude all but the most devoted. Their line-up constantly churned, divesting themselves of every player that tried to make a human connection. Instead of the community of live performance, they favoured an abusive blast of ferocious noise that never ceased from the first note to the point you were driven out of the venue in shock. That all this was true only for a short period of their career and is certainly not the case for more recent incarnations is irrelevant if potential listeners are turned away before they've even dared to hear a note of their music. Do so, and an entirely different band emerges: one that is sly, spry, tuneful, trippy, and surprisingly welcoming, merging a glorious melange of prog rock, jazz fusion, and much more and capable of shifting on a unison beat from soul ballad to freeform skronk, from fuzz-driven pounding to aching minimalism. This book guides you through the maze of the band's works, revealing why every album is worthy of re-evaluation, why they're so influential, and why you should rush to assimilate as many of them as you can. It covers the live and studio material released by the parent group, all related projects with a 'Soft' in their name, and the essential extracurricular activities of every member from 1960 to the present day.

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Book SynopsisAlex Harvey was active in the music industry from the very birth of British rock and roll. A Zelig-like figure, he won a contest to become Scotland’s Tommy Steele in the 1950s, followed the Beatles to Hamburg in the early 1960s, dabbled in psychedelic rock during the Summer of Love, and joined the house band of counterculture musical Hair at the close of the decade. By the time 1972 rolled around, he had been there and done that, but had never made it big. He was 37 years old, and thinking of calling it a day. Also thinking of calling it a day were Scottish hard rockers Tear Gas. They had released two albums, each with a different line-up, none of which set the world alight, and now their singer wanted out. In a last-ditch effort to salvage something, Alex Harvey and Tear Gas’s respective managers decided to unite their respective acts. The result was Sensational. This book examines not only the eight albums by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, but also Harvey’s earlier work with his Soul Band and solo, and his post-SAHB releases. It also reviews those two Tear Gas albums as well as Fourplay, the album SAHB released without Alex.

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