History & Criticism

A tell-all biography of the epic in-fighting of the Grateful Dead in the years following band leader Jerry Garcia's death in 1995The Grateful Dead rose to greatness under the inspired leadership of guitarist Jerry Garcia, but the band very nearly died...

Cool. It was a new word and a new way to be, and in a single generation, it became the supreme compliment of American culture. The Origins of Cool in Postwar America uncovers the hidden history of this concept and its new set of codes that came to define...

'Love this book! It triggers so many memories of the rave era. Thoroughly recommended.' - FATBOY SLIM 'Captures the hedonism and humour of the nineties with a laugh-out-loud honesty. The perfect Ibiza holiday read...if you can get it through customs!' -...

An expansive and illuminating account of the development of electronic music in the UK, told with passionate enthusiasm by Matthew Collin, the critically-acclaimed author of Altered State and Rave On. Dream Machines tracks the music's evolution from...

2021 marks the 50th anniversary of the release of the first Electric Light Orchestra album. The ELO story is one of continued success for over 50 years. From inauspicious beginnings in 1971, where live audiences barely reached double figures, ELO...

A downright revolutionary 30th-anniversary deluxe edition of the iconic bestselling biography of Nirvana, updated with exclusive new content exploring the personal and cultural forces that inspired the music, the author's friendship with Kurt Cobain and...

An epic journey through sea shanties, high tides and seven seasFrom the international bestselling singer comes The Book of Sea Shanties.The world sang in harmony with Nathan Evans, the Glaswegian postie turned singer of sea shanties. Join him as he takes...

Clad in white tie and tails, dancing and scatting his way through the "Hi-de-ho" chorus of "Minnie the Moocher," Cab Calloway exuded a sly charm and sophistication that endeared him to legions of fans. In Hi-de-ho, author Alyn Shipton offers the first...

This is a thoroughly researched study of the origins of the New York City punk scene, focusing on Television and their extraordinary debut record. Two kids in their early twenties walk down the Bowery on a spring afternoon, just as the proprietor of a...

Apologies but we at Booksplease don't have a full description for this book.Book InformationISBN 9780714529189Author Karlheinz StockhausenFormat PaperbackPage Count 220Imprint Marion Boyars Publishers LtdPublisher Marion Boyars Publishers Ltd

'The greatest book ever written on British independent music' Guardian'One of the best British music books of the last ten years' MojoFounded by Alan McGee in 1983, Creation Records achieved notoriety as the home of Primal Scream, the Jesus and Mary...

Offering a concise introduction to one of the most important and influential piano concertos in the history of Western music, this handbook provides an example of the productive interaction of music history, music theory and music analysis. It combines...

'Hungry Beat is the story of an all-too-brief era where the short-circuiting of that industry seemed viable. But hell, the times were luminous as was the music these artists made. The songs and many of the players remain, and here they tell their story...

Brahms has long been considered an arch-conservative, the last Classical master, but modern research reveals a troubled and self-critical Romantic whose genius united the emotionalism of his times with Classical principles. Malcolm MacDonald demonstrates...

In 1976 with punk rock all the rage a trio called The Police hopped on board, but bassist/vocalist Sting and drummer Stewart Copeland had an ulterior motive. They posed as punks in hopes of getting signed and would then make the sophisticated music they...

Always enigmatic and outside of the mainstream, most people associate Hawkwind with 'whoosh' noises, 'Silver Machine', Lemmy and 'Space Rock' music. From the beginning, Hawkwind have been trailblazers, even when they have explored blind alleys and...

Ubiquitous in the music world, Fender (R) guitars and amplifiers are also icons in popular culture, their shapes and sounds instantly recognizable. Authoritatively written and lavishly illustrated, Fender 75 Years is the officially licensed anniversary...

Praise for the Too Fast To Live Too Young To Die exhibition: "A fascinating look at how punk and new wave music met the eye" New York Times "An absolute joy" Financial Times The...

Miles: The Autobiography, like the man himself, holds nothing back. He talks about his battles against drugs and racism, and discusses the many women in his life. But above all, Miles talks about music and musicians, including the legends he has played...

The first half of the 1970s was an especially fertile period for British progressive rock laying claim to classics such as ETarkusE ESelling England by the PoundE ELarks' Tongues in AspicE EThe Dark Side of the MoonE and EThick as a BrickE...

For 13 years, Peter Hince lived the rock 'n' roll dream. As head roadie for Queen he had a front row seat and backstage pass to some of the greatest moments in music.Now, he is opening up his incredible archive and sharing hundreds of photographs and...

This is the story of the Cavern Club - the most famous club in the world. The Cavern saw the birth of the Beatles and Merseybeat, and more. Respected author, music journalist and Merseybeat historian Spencer Leigh - with a little help from Sir Paul...

A SUNDAY TIMES BEST PAPERBACK OF 2021* Shortlisted for the 2021 Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year prize* A critically-acclaimed Sunday Times, Spectator and Independent Book of 2020* Now with colour photography by Michael Turek'Richly absorbing.....

How did the most reluctant member of the Fab Four put his mark on all of their music? This book helps listeners hear how George Harrison shaped the sound of The Beatles and how he carried that sound forward into his solo career Within You Without You...

"Aja" was the album that made Steely Dan a commercial force on the order of contemporaries like Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles and Chicago. A double-platinum, Grammy-winning bestseller, it lingered on the Billboard charts for more than a year and spawned...

The Northern Soul scene is a dance-based music culture that originated in the English North and Midlands in the early 1970s, it still thrives today with a mix of fifty-year olds and new converts, and its celebration of 1960s Soul has an international...

Totally Wired features 32 interviews with the post-punk era's most innovative musicians and colourful personalities. From Ari Up, Jah Wobble, David Byrne, Edwyn Collins, it also includes conversations with the most influential of label bosses, managers,...

'It is the most singular of sounds, yet among the most ubiquitous. It is the sound of isolation that has sold itself to millions.'Miles Davis's Kind of Blue is the best selling piece of music in the history of jazz, and for many listeners among the most...

Through a series of interviews with a wide range of people connected to Pink Floyd in their earliest days (including Nick Mason, Peter Jenner, Jenny Fabian, Storm Thorgerson, Duggie Fields and Peter Whitehead), John Cavanagh paints a vivid picture of how...

After 40 years in existence, the shorthand of critics of Tears for Fears has been to describe them as an 80s band. It is understandable why that categorisation happens when songs like 'Mad World' appear in films that typify that period and 'Everybody...

Apologies but we at Booksplease don't have a full description for this book.Book InformationISBN 9781935950165Author Scott CarlsonFormat PaperbackPage Count 384Imprint Bazillion PointsPublisher Bazillion Points

From Rolling Stone, the definitive and lavishly illustrated companion book to one of the most popular and hotly debated lists in the world of musicWhen Rolling Stone publishes a list, the world listens. The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list was first...

Apologies but we at Booksplease don't have a full description for this book.AwardsLong-listed for Porchlight Business Book Awards - Big Ideas and New Perspectives 2022.Book InformationISBN 9780593132739Author Danyel SmithFormat PaperbackPage Count...

What links Taylor Swift to a factory worker? Kanye West to a German engineer? Beyonce to a boardroom mogul? They've all changed the face of the music business, in the most unexpected ways. How Music Got Free is the incredible true story of how online...

Experience the passion and drama of the world's greatest operas with this sumptuously illustrated visual guide.Immerse yourself in more than 400 years of the world's most celebrated operas and discover the fascinating stories behind them. Explore the...

'The ideal interpreter of the Ring ... a fascinating and valuable study ... absorbing and convincing' Sunday TimesThe Ring of the Nibelung is one of the greatest works of art created in modern times. Roger Scruton's brilliant and passionate exploration...

A new edition of Humphrey Burton's celebrated biography of Leonard Bernstein, published to coincide with the centenary of his birth. With a new introduction by the author.'Humphrey Burton's biography remains the essential account of American music's...

This book celebrates Madvillainy as a representation of two genius musical minds melding to form one revered supervillain. A product of circumstance, the album came together soon after MF DOOM's resurgence and Madlib's reluctant return from avant-garde...

Drew Daniel explores the album's multiple agendas: a series of close readings of each song, with key concepts, strategies, and contexts.Previous writings about Throbbing Gristle have tended to dissolve into lurid half-truths about deviance on and...

The sound of 'Wichita Lineman' was the sound of ecstatic solitude, but then its hero was the quintessential loner. What a great metaphor he was: a man who needed a woman more than he actually wanted her. Written in 1968 by Jimmy Webb, 'Wichita Lineman'...