Strange Fascination: David Bowie: The Definitive Story

Buckley, David, 1965-. Strange fascination : David Bowie : the definitive story, London : Virgin Books, 1999.

To date, this 533 page book is the most complete account of London born singer/songwriter David Bowie and his impact on pop culture ever written. With exclusive and revelatory interviews with the Thin White Duke's closest collaborators and the man himself, and an unrivaled degree of access to excessively photographic material, the Liverpudlian music journalist David Buckley presents a lot of detail with great precision. Readers can sense the extensive research that is behind this updated and revised biography. Focus on the art not the gossip, Buckley knows what—or who—he’s talking about. Very academic and thorough.

•Image: Goodreads | Citation: Trove | Annotation: Goodreads, Amazon

Comfortably Numb: The Inside Story of Pink Floyd

Blake, Mark. Comfortably Numb : The Inside Story of Pink Floyd, Cambridge, Mass. : Thunder’s Mouth Press, 2008.

Lucidly written, this could arguably be the most comprehensive book ever written about the English progressive rockers Pink Floyd. As meticulous, exacting and ambitious as any David Gilmour-Roger Waters (plus Syd Barret) creation, this 448 page chronicle covers a lot of ground, from a background story and history of the band, to how the albums charted and were received by critics and fans, the meaning of the songs, to musical progression versus creative tension. In addition to this, the book also incorporates hundreds of new and exclusive interviews—with band members, friends, road crew, musical contemporaries, former housemates, and university colleagues. Notoriously private and very guarded when it comes to their past and their personal lives, the British popular music and culture writer Mark Blake very thoroughly disclosed the problems of each Pink Floyd member, which means that, as a reader, you really do feel as if you’re being sucked into the drama. Well researched. Well documented. Accurate. Every chapter is a trove. Indeed.

•Image: Goodreads | Citation: Trove | Annotation: Goodreads, Amazon

Wild Years: The Music and Myth of Tom Waits

Jacobs, Jay S., 1962-. Wild Years : The Music and Myth of Tom Waits, Toronto : ECW Press, c2006.

This 336 page biography presents over 30 images and isn’t for those looking for juicy details and scandalous stories. That being said, the Philadelphia-based author Jay S. Jacob exposes the truth about the man with the gravely voice: the details of his music career are recorded here as nowhere else—the most detailed discography on the planet, from his early years, when Waits embraced the beatniks and the grimy realities of life on the streets, to more recent tonal experiments. Overall, the biography is painstakingly researched, clear cut, unapologetic, and highly informative—it gives readers a sense that they could actually know Waits. Those looking for a portrait of Waits, the artist, will be amply rewarded by this newly updated book.

•Image: Goodreads | Citation: Trove | Annotation: Goodreads, Amazon