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

Bob Dylan: Behind the Shades Revisited

Heylin, Clinton. Bob Dylan : behind the shades revisited, New York, NY : William Morrow, c2001.

This unauthorised biography is deemed by The New Yorker as “the most readable and reliable” of all Bob Dylan biographies. This recommendation is probably due to the fact that Manchester native Clinton Heylin wrote it with a close-up and personal narrative-style which is refreshingly free of either uncritical worship or parochial judgments. Originally published in 1991 as Behind the Shades, in 2001 Heylin added new sections, substantially reworked text, and brought the story up-to-date with the American singer/songwriter’s explosive career in 2000. Though he was denied access to Dylan for this book, his exhaustive research and 260 interviews with important people in Dylan’s life—George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Emmylou Harris, Robbie Robertson, to name a few—give Heylin story considerable depth. In 780 pages, the readers follow the story of Dylan from his humble beginnings in Minnesota to his arrival in New York in 1961, his subsequent rise in folk circuit of Greenwich Village and continued with his Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde success, his motorcycle accident, his protest-fuelled songs, to his controversial conversion to born-again Christianity. The fans will be given what they have always wanted: a chance to get to know the man behind the shades.

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

Fleetwood Mac: The Definitive Story

Evans, Mike, 1941 October 30-. Fleetwood Mac : The Definitive Story, New York : Sterling, c2011.

“Definitive” probably the most apt word to describe this book, which is more akin to a fascinating but not too in-depth coffee table book. Overall, it is a nice overview of the British-American soft-rock legend, Fleetwood Mac, complete with incredible pictures and illustrations throughout—featured on almost every other page. Presenting excessive photos of the band, album covers, tour books, other odds and ends, the London based author, Mike Evans triumphantly tells the tale of Fleetwood Mac in his written-meets-visual combination. If you are new to the band or a long time Fleetwood Mac pack rat, this book represents a 288 page encyclopaedia: each album is given it’s own page with album info (tracks, credits and full cover artwork) including most of the solo albums up through Stevie Nick’s Rock a Little. Along the way, most of the famous stories—sexual affairs within the band, high consumptions of drugs and alcohol, partnership breakup and reconciliations—told.

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When Giants Walked the Earth: A Biography of Led Zeppelin

Wall, Mick. When giants walked the earth : a biography of Led Zeppelin, London : Orion Books, 2008.

This 534 page biography of Led Zeppelin provides second-person narrative style, fan fiction-esque interlude, and is written as if the author had almost insight into the main characters (Led Zeppelin). Written by British veteran rock journalist Mick Wall who happens to also be a former associate of both Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, the biography is rich and revealing: delving into the depths of the four band members unique personalities (Page is fascinated with English occultist Aleister Crowley and his active Ordo Templi Orientis religious practice) and the chronology of events is well-organised; starting with the time of Jimmy Page in the Yardbirds and his struggle to bring together an “album-centered” band through every obstacle, as well as great stories about the album covers, management, Elvis, The Who, the rise and sad loss of Bonham, everything you should know about the Biggest Band in the World.

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

Meetings with Morrissey

Brown, Len, 1957-. Meetings with Morrissey, London ; New York : Omnibus Press, c2009.

This 324 page book is beautifully written, thoroughly researched, and intimate in style. The former New Musical Express journalist Len Brown has produced a very intelligent and insightful account of the career of Morrissey, covering his 25 years as The Smiths frontman, and onto his solo work. In this biography Brown revisits his own NME-era interview with the English singer/songwriter, explores in detail the extraordinary lyrical content of Morrisey's songs—there’s even a great chapter detailing Oscar Wilde’s influence on Moz’s lyrics. He takes a retrospective look at the singer-songwriter's most distinctive memories—he dyed his hair gold at the age of 13 and it turned purple; he was then sent home from school. It is the personal and socio-political context of the period which Brown weaves into Morrissey’s life and art which makes this biography such a tender and worthwhile exposition essential reading for Morrissey fans.

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

Motörhead: Live to Win

Burridge, Alan, 1951-. Motörhead : live to win, Los Angeles : Cleopatra, 2012.

This 220 page chronicle is a first class, serious, in-depth look at the metal band Motörhead. Written by British Alan Burridge, who happens to also be the president of the fan club "Motörheadbangers", he takes the readers back to the beginnings of the musical group who once won the New Musical Express poll for “the best worst band in the world”. The struggles, the hardships, the poverty, many never before published facts and a great deal of rare and early photos are revealed in this full colour, glossy, thick paper biography. Longing for incredible attention to detail about Motörhead since the pre-Ace of Spades era? This is the ace of reads.

•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.

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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

Neil Young: The Definitive History

Evans, Mike. Neil Young : The Definitive History, New York : Sterling, 2012.

This coffee table book is a quick but entertaining encyclopaedia of Neil Young’s nearly six-decade rock ’n’ roll journey. Written by London based musician-cum-writer Mark Evans, this overly illustrated life retrospective traces the Canadian singer/songwriter’s collaborative work (with Crazy Horse, Buffalo Springfield, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young), solo career—highlighting almost every album, his tour—his live performances often used as his stage to advertise his political point, his activism—particularly for green causes and Farm Aid, as well as his personal life—his relationship and his near fatal brain aneurism. All in all, the book is 288 pages of informative and encyclopaedic-like chronicle which will easily appeal general adult readers and definitely hungry-for-more “Neilophytes”.

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