Search results for ""sonicbond publishing""

Keyboard 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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Discovering 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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Once, 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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In 1973, the Allman Brothers Band were one of the most popular in America: they headlined the Watkins Glen Summer Jam, attended by an estimated 600,000 people and their album Brothers and Sisters was a number one for five weeks on the Billboard listings that summer. The single 'Ramblin' Man' hit #2 in October. The group made the cover of Newsweek. Rolling Stone named them 'band of the year'. Their story can only be described as 'volatile'. Always a strong live draw since forming in 1969, in the two years prior to Watkins Glen they had released one of the greatest live albums of all time and lost two founding members in near-identical motorcycle accidents, including guitar genius 24-year-old Duane Allman. Increased drug use and a ruinous 1976 court case forced the band apart. A three-album reunion between 1978 and 1982 rekindled some of the old fire, but it was with their twentieth anniversary and second reformation in 1989 that provided a degree of stability and acclaim. The passing of founder members Butch Trucks and Gregg Allman in 2017 definitively ended the band's story. Their legacy of eleven studio albums, six contemporaneous live albums and several box sets includes classics such as their self-titled debut, the sophomore Idlewild South, their artistic and commercial breakthrough, the definitive live document At Fillmore East and astounding final album Hittin' The Note from 2003.

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Horslips: 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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One of the true musical geniuses of the late 20th and early 21st century, Richard D. James has continued to be a pioneer in the electronic music landscape throughout his prolific, multi-faceted career. James, under his myriad of aliases, laid the foundation for ambient techno, drill 'n' bass and dark ambient across the span of six phenomenal studio albums and a multitude of EPs and side projects. Alongside this, he crafted a unique visual identity, expressed through his iconic logo and video collaborations with Chris Cunningham. If that wasn't enough, he has become a figurehead for artists as diverse as Thom Yorke and Pharrell Williams. Year by year, the mythos surrounding him continues to grow, ensuring he remains as culturally prevalent as ever. With no new, officially released music since 2020, this book marks the perfect opportunity to track the course of James' sizeable catalogue. From the well-known to the obscure, the rapid bursts of activity in the 1990s to the so-called 'hiatus' in the 2000s, every corner of this formidable discography is examined in vivid detail, providing insight and an impetus to discover to new listeners and hardcore fans in equal measure.

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Donovan 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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Sheffield 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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‘In the beginning,’ Billy Joel entertained Long Island locals, with The Hassles and Attila, prior to forging a solo career in 1971. One year later, the singer-songwriter-pianist captivated college students when ‘Captain Jack’ dominated the Philadelphia airwaves. ‘And so, it goes…’ Cold Spring Harbor was rife with barrelhouse piano and tear-stained balladry but with Turnstiles Joel realised his dream of forming a stellar band. The success of The Stranger led to sold-out arenas and 52nd Street honoured the heyday of American jazz, while The Nylon Curtain highlighted socio-economic inequities and wartime brotherhood. 1993’s River of Dreams fused reggae and world music. Then, in the early 2000’s, his celebration of classical works ushered in a sea change. Unquestionably, Billy’s catalogue has thrived, despite constantly changing trends in the music industry. Over a fifty-plus year span, many of his relatable songs have become standards, covered by countless artists. The third best-selling solo artist in the U.S. has continued to attract multi-generational audiences across the planet, so if you’re ‘all in the mood for a melody,’ read on. Billy Joel On Track contains behind-the-scenes stories and an analysis of Joel’s extensive studio recordings, many of which became top 40 hits in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. ...

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Phil Collins was everywhere in the 1980s. He had more top forty singles in the US than any other artist during the 1980s: fourteen as a solo artist and eleven with Genesis, along with two number one albums. Add to this, twenty-five solo / group hit singles and eight number one albums in the UK. He also recorded with artists as diverse as Peter Gabriel, John Martyn, Frida, Robert Plant, Mike Oldfield, Marti Webb, Al Di Meola, Adam Ant, Eric Clapton, Phil Bailey, Band Aid, Marilyn Martin, Paul McCartney, Tina Turner, Chaka Khan and Tears For Fears - another thirty-five albums or standalone singles, some of which were massive global hits. He also found time, somehow, to tour with Plant and Clapton in addition to his extensive in-concert duties with Genesis and as a solo artist. And perform at Live Aid. At both concerts. That’s around six hundred live concerts in total between 1980 and 1989. There’s no doubt that the guy was busy in that period! Amidst the overwhelming commercial success and ahead of any other career plan Phil Collins was and is a musician. His ubiquity between 1980 and 1989 hides ten years of magnificent music and this book examines Phil Collins’ musical output through these ten tumultuous years.

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Depending 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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Bruce Springsteen called him 'one of the great, great American songwriters', Jackson Browne hailed him as 'the first and foremost proponent of song noir', and Stephen King once said that if he could write like him, he 'would be a happy guy'. The list of artists that lined up to appear on his records include Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Dave Gilmour and Emmylou Harris. So how is it that most people, if they have heard of Warren Zevon at all, know him only as 'that Werewolves' guy'? This book goes beyond that solitary hit single to examine all aspects of Zevon's multifaceted, five-decade career, from his beginnings in the slightly psychedelic folk duo Lyme and Cybelle, through to his commercial breakthrough in the late Seventies with Excitable Boy, his critically acclaimed late Eighties comeback Sentimental Hygiene, his decline into cult obscurity, and his triumphant if heart-breaking final testament, The Wind, released just prior to his death in 2003. Along the way the reader will discover one of rock's consummate balladeers, as well as a cast of characters including doomed drug dealers, psychopathic adolescents, outlaws of the Old West, BDSM fetishists, ghostly gunslingers, an unfeasibly large assembly of apes, and, yes, lycanthropes unleashed on the streets of London.

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Since 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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The 1970s saw the rise of rock and metal as a force in record and ticket sales. Right there at the birth of this was Black Sabbath, whose first album came from nowhere to smash into the top of the charts in Britain and around the world. The book covers the career of the original foursome - Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne and Bill Ward – from Polka Tulk, through Earth and their original nine years as Black Sabbath, when the band recorded such iconic albums as Paranoid, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and Masters of Reality. The book includes new interview material from key figures including Rick Wakeman and engineers Mike Butcher and Robin Black, among others. This is a comprehensive roundup of the band's music in the decade. All of the albums and singles from 'The Rebel' until 'Never Say Die' are examined in detail, along with related archive releases. There is also a section covering Black Sabbath's tours in the era, looking at key live recordings from every tour. Overall, this is the most comprehensive account of the fortunes in the band during this crucial decade yet written.

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Rising 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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In 1992, Singer, pianist and composer Tori Amos achieved fame with the intensely personal solid gold record, Little Earthquakes, the first of fifteen studio albums. Each new recording cut new ground both musically and thematically. Since then, Amos has performed world-wide, both as a soloist and also accompanied, by a rhythm section, an octet or an orchestra. Her projects have ranged from the musical, A Light Princess to the classically-inspired Night of Hunters. Grammy nominations include: Best Alt. Album for Under The Pink, Boys for Pele and From The Choirgirl Hotel and Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for 'Strange Little Girls.' Amos was the first female artist to chart in the Billboard Top ten in Classical, Alternative and Rock genres simultaneously for Night of Hunters. She has been strongly involved in Native American issues and was the first spokesperson for RAINN, the largest, anti-sexual violence organization in the U.S. This book provides a track-by-track analysis of those essential recorded works, starting from Tori Amos' late 1980s synth-pop beginnings through 2017's illuminating Native Invader

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Ever since their debut single was released in 1983, The Smiths have influenced musicians worldwide with their jangly guitar pop, infectious melodies and front man Morrissey's passionate lyrics. During their relatively short lifespan (1982-1987) the quartet released four now iconic albums and lots of singles, and in 1988, not even a year after the last Smiths album, Morrissey embarked on a solo adventure that's still ongoing, with 13 studio albums and plenty of singles and live albums so far. This installment of the On track series examines this vast back catalogue in detail, from The Smiths' debut single 'Hand In Glove' (1983) to Morrissey's vinyl single release of a live version of 'Cosmic Dancer' in 2021, recorded with David Bowie back in 1991 - and all the songs from all the albums and singles in-between. Combining facts and trivia with personal views and memories, this is a rollercoaster ride through the highs and lows of Morrissey's long career, making it the perfect listening guide to accompany you while discovering the music of The Smiths and Morrissey.

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Caravan have a history that stretches back over half a century, with a catalogue of music that ranges from progressive rock classics to pop gems that should have been hits. Lumped into that strange category known as ‘the Canterbury Sound’, they are both the paradigm and the transcendent band within that nebulous category. This book traces their history, track-by-track, over eighteen canonical albums, stopping off to examine the plethora of live and BBC session releases that have swollen their back catalogue like a girl who grows plump in the night. Beginning with their pop-psych debut on Verve, continuing through the run of classic and revered albums on Decca/Deram that forged their reputation, and then on the albums that saw them move towards pop and be swept up by the tides of fashion, it ends with the decades of reunions that saw fewer albums, but a refinement of the sensibilities that define their unique sound. With ever-present Pye Hastings on guitar/vocals/songwriting, and Richard Coughlan at his back on drums, the band has also been defined by the skills of viola player Geoff Richardson and the Sinclair cousins – David on keys and Richard on bass. But this is not to belittle the contribution of every musician and songwriter whose talents have combined to make this most English of bands just that little bit special…

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Whether you know him as Howard Coward, Napoleon Dynamite, or the Emotional Toothpaste, and are familiar with his work with the Attractions, the Confederates, or the Imposters, Elvis Costello's career has always been about reinvention and his vast catalogue of over 30 studio albums since 1977 is a testament to his prolificacy. However, this book focuses on his most acclaimed and accessible work, recorded mostly with The Attractions (Steve Nieve, Pete Thomas, and Bruce Thomas) between 1977 and 1986, though some other high-profile friends - Nick Lowe, Billy Sherrill, and T-Bone Burnett, among others - show up along the way. From his modest solo beginnings as a pub rocker with attitude on My Aim Is True to his cacophonous epitaph to The Attractions on Blood and Chocolate, this book follows a hectic and, at times, baffling career trajectory that often steamrolled commercial fame and fortune in favour of artistic freedom and expression. Elvis Costello and The Attractions - On Track explores every album, every song, and every non-album B-side or contemporary cast-off from their all-too-brief whirlwind decade of existence.

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Beat Instrumental summed it up in 1971: 'In a few short months Curved Air have emerged from the unknown depths to become one of the most talked-about bands around. By a combination of record company promotion (ranging from ads to that pretty patterned album) and a word-of-mouth reputation gained from their gigs, the group became a name before they had really done that much. Such a situation can be worrying for a band but Curved Air have the confidence to carry on unaffected.' Propelled into stardom at an exhilarating speed due to clever marketing and virtuosity in their musicianship, particularly violinist Darryl Way, the story of Curved Air in the 1970s is of a band that burned brightly before collapsing well ahead of their time. Fronted by the exotic Sonja Kristina, they supported Jethro Tull, Deep Purple, Johnny Winter, Edgar Winter and B.B. King in huge stadiums, and several famous names passed through their ranks. These included Stewart Copeland who went on to form the Police with Sting. Every line up of Curved Air presented a stellar range of talent across a musically fascinating contribution throughout the decade. This book documents it all - from the groundbreaking albums like Air Conditioning and Phantasmagoria to the line up changes and traumas which caused the band to disband for the first time in 1976.

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The ultimate cult progressive band - as revered as Yes or Genesis by those that have 'found' them. Poorly served by literature, very little long-form material has been written about the band. Though the band have never reformed, several members have taken part in the UK-based tribute group Three Friends. They lasted only a decade and never lit up the world's charts, but progressive rock connoisseurs always knew what today's audiences are now beginning to discover: that Gentle Giant belong in the pantheon of great bands of the era. At times edgy and experimental but also capable of great beauty (not to mention some of the greatest riffs known to man), the group's explorations of medieval music gave their sound unique character. But it was the thrilling complexity of their compositions - which Frank Zappa might have called the "statistical density" of their writing - together with the instrumental ability of its players that make their music as potent today as they were at their peak nearly 50 years ago. This book takes a microscopic look at each of Gentle Giant's eleven studio albums and provides fresh assessments of the many live and 'odds'n'sods' recordings, as well as rounding up existent DVD/Blu-ray documentary and performance footage. In doing so, it tells the story of one of progressive music's most fascinating groups and the thrilling - and occasionally tortuous - ride the Shulman brothers and key band-mates like Kerry Minnear and Gary Green experienced along the way.

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