History & Criticism

'You never knew what you were going to be confronted with when you went on Later...' Nick Cave 'Later... is a voyage of discovery for us as well as the viewers' Dave Grohl Dave Grohl and Alicia Keys loved it, Bjoerk...

Apologies but we at Booksplease don't have a full description for this book.About the AuthorRalph J. Gleason (1917-1975) was cofounder of Rolling Stone magazine and the author of numerous articles and three highly regarded books on music and musicians...

Decades tend to crest halfway through, and 1995 was the year of the Nineties: peak Britpop (Oasis v Blur), peak YBA (Tracey Emin's tent), peak New Lad (when Nick Hornby published High Fidelity, when James Brown's Loaded detonated the publishing industry,...

This title presents a compelling examination of the classic "Pavement" album, including interviews with all band members and record label staff. Upon its release in 1995, Wowee Zowee confounded a lot of "Pavement"'s fans. And yet, over the subsequent...

This title presents a compelling examination of the classic "Pavement" album, including interviews with all band members and record label staff. Upon its release in 1995, Wowee Zowee confounded a lot of "Pavement"'s fans. And yet, over the subsequent...

Everyone 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...

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is one of the most successful composers that Russia has ever produced, but his path to success was not an easy one.; A shy, emotional child, intended for the civil service by his father, Tchaikovsky came late to composing as a...

Few, if any bands, have been as prolific or consistently creative as Genesis were in the 1970s, both together and apart. Across that decade, the mothership released eight studio and two live albums, played a thousand concerts and launched the solo...

A lively, engaging guide to music around the world, from prehistory to the present Human beings have always made music. Music can move us and tell stories of faith, struggle, or love. It is common to all cultures across the world. But how has it...

The fascinating story of a hugely popular instrument, detailing its rich and varied history from the Middle Ages to the present The recorder is perhaps best known today for its educational role. Although it is frequently regarded as a stepping-stone on...

In the first decade of the twenty-first century, Kanye West created the most compelling body of pop music by an American artist during the period. Having risen from obscurity as a precocious producer through the ranks of Jay Z's Roc-A-Fella records, by...

The five films the Beatles worked on during their time together (A Hard Day's Night, Help!, Magical Mystery Tour, Yellow Submarine, Let It Be) all represent key phases in the group's career-some successful, some not. Subsequent reissues of the films have...

Apologies but we at Booksplease don't have a full description for this book.Book InformationISBN 9781629635507Author Ian GlasperFormat PaperbackPage Count 640Imprint PM PressPublisher PM Press

Apologies but we at Booksplease don't have a full description for this book.Book InformationISBN 9780451531766Author Aaron CoplandFormat PaperbackPage Count 304Imprint Signet ClassicsPublisher Penguin Putnam IncWeight(grams) 150g

In 1970, Elton John, formerly Reginald Kenneth Dwight, stepped from the obscurity of suburban Pinner, Middlesex, England, into a pop culture reeling from post-Beatles fallout, to become one of the biggest-selling recording artists in the world. To date...

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...

A fascinating history of the piano explored through 100 pieces chosen by one of the UK's most renowned concert pianists "Tomes . . . casts her net widely, taking in chamber music and concertos, knotty avant-garde masterworks and (most welcome) jazz...

From the ashes of Nirvana, Dave Grohl rose as a one-man band with a self-titled album: The Foo Fighters. Now, 25 years on, and with a rock solid outfit that includes Nate Mendel (bass), Taylor Hawkins (drums), Chris Shiflett (guitar), Pat Smear (rhythm...

THE LOUDER THAN WAR #1 BOOK OF THE YEARA ROUGH TRADE, THE TIMES, MOJO, UNCUT, THE HERALD BOOK OF THE YEARThis is not a book about a rock band. This is not even a book about Mark E Smith. This is a book about The Fall group - or more precisely, their...

Known for his orchestral, operatic and choral works, James MacMillan (b. 1959) appeals across the spectrum of contemporary music making. James MacMillan appeals across the spectrum of contemporary music making and is particularly celebrated for his...

As an innovative and constantly inventive jazz pianist, Brad Mehldau has attracted a sizable following over the years, one that has grown to expect a singular, intense experience from his performances. With Formation, Brad seeks to extend that experience...

Though "Nevermind" was Nirvana's most commercially successful album, and the record that broke them - and the grunge phenomenon - internationally, "In Utero" has increasingly become regarded as the band's best album, both by the critics and the band...

This epoch-making record of the late '80s effortlessly combines dense swathes of guitar noise and dance music. This turned out to be their last record, guitarist and studio maestro Kevin Shields having set their standards so high it was impossible to...

The prequel to Bob Stanley's universally acclaimed Yeah Yeah Yeah, Let's Do It is the only book that brings together all genres to tell the definitive story of the birth of Pop, from 1900 to the mid-fifties. 'An absolute landmark/joy/gossip-fest/door to...

Leonard Bernstein was arguably the most highly esteemed, influential, and charismatic American classical music personality of the twentieth century. Conductor, composer, pianist, writer, educator, and human rights activist, Bernstein truly led a life of...

The essays in "The Resistible Demise of Michael Jackson" consummately demonstrate that writing on popular culture can be both thoughtful and heartfelt. The contributors, who include accomplished music critics as well as renowned theorists, are some of...

From his allegiance to punk rock in his adolescence to becoming an essential voice on music and culture, Kelefa Sanneh makes a deep study of how popular music unites and divides us. Distilling a career's worth of knowledge, he explores the tribes music...

Apologies but we at Booksplease don't have a full description for this book.Book InformationISBN 9780140062236Author Robert PalmerFormat PaperbackPage Count 320Imprint Penguin USAPublisher Penguin Putnam IncWeight(grams) 249gDimensions(mm) 196mm * 130mm...

Homemade records, tape-hiss worship and a taste for a very peculiar kind of psychedelia have carved themselves a weird niche in the contemporary musical landscape under the name of lo-fi. This genreless genre, characterized by poor recordings and...

Julian Cope, eccentric and visionary rock musician, follows the runaway underground success of his book "Krautrocksampler" with "Japrocksampler", a cult deconstruction of Japanese rock music, and reveals what really happened when East met West after...

David Bowie: every single song. Everything you want to know, everything you didn't know. David Bowie remains mysterious and unknowable, despite 45 years of recording and performing. His legacy is roughly 600 songs, which range from psychedelia to glam...

The Clash were an extraordinary band. Bursting out of the Punk explosion in 1977, they recorded their self-titled first album over three weekends. It is now regarded as the quintessential Punk record. Over the next five years they recorded another...

Apologies but we at Booksplease don't have a full description for this book.Book InformationISBN 9781101970393Author Brad TolinskiFormat PaperbackPage Count 400Imprint Anchor BooksPublisher Random House USA IncWeight(grams) 318gDimensions(mm) 201mm *...

'It's just another song to me. I've written 1,000 of them and it's really just another one.' Jimmy Webb 'When I heard it I cried. It made me cry because I was homesick. It's just a masterfully written song.' Glen Campbell The sound of 'Wichita...

When 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...

The contribution of the British Isles to the history of the violin family has been consistently under-estimated. For over 200 years England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland have produced many fine makers and an abundance of quality instruments and bows, now...

______________ 'A beautifully poised series of dialogues about literature, music and politics, and they're a testimony to the enormous gifts and courage of both men' - Tom Paulin, Guardian 'A marvellous eavesdrop on the discourse of exchange...

In recent years Hugo Riemann's ideas have thoroughly captured the music-theoretical imagination, both in the United States and abroad. Neo-Riemannian theory has proven particularly adept at explaining features of chromatic music where other theoretical...

Walls Come Tumbling Down charts the pivotal period between 1976 and 1992 that saw politics and pop music come together for the first time in Britain's musical history; musicians and their fans suddenly became instigators of social change, and 'the...

Derided as one-hit wonders, estranged from their original producer and record label, and in self-imposed exile in Los Angeles, the Beastie Boys were written off by most observers before even beginning to record their second album - an embarrassing...