Books — All Formats  

Amazing images from the universe of Sun Ra – a mixture of rare photographs and mural images painted by Aye Aton – sometime percussionist with the Arkestra, and a heck of a great painter too! The book begins with these stunning full color photographs of Ra on the set of Space Is The Place – images from 1972 that echo the cover of the album of the same name, but which feature a costumed Ra in a number of different settings – including a few parking lot shots that make him look like a true visitor from the cosmos, briefly walking on our planet! The bigger second half of the book features photographs of murals painted by Aton (who's also known as Robert Underwood) – all of them spacey and trippy, and in a similar spirit to the Saturn Records album covers – except these were all painted on walls and ceilings, in very vivid colors. Aye painted many images in the Arkestra commune in Philly – and other paintings appear to be from the south side of Chicago – and all work here is seen by the wider public for the first time ever. Archivist John Corbett provides an essay with the book to situate the work – and the whole thing's a vivid visual treat for any fan of Sun Ra!

A beautiful collection of early 30s newspaper strips penned by Floyd Gottfredson – early daily comics starring Mickey Mouse, but offering up a very different version of the character than on the screen! The format does a great job of tying Mickey to some of the other comic stars of the time – and as many of these strips are in a longer-form narrative mode, with as much adventure as humor, there's more parallels here to strips like The Gumps, Gasoline Alley, and Thimble Theater than you might expect. Gottfredson's line work is wonderful – clean and lean, with that edgey early version of Mickey that disappeared later on – presented here in sparkling black and white, in a hardcover volume that's almost 300 pages in length!

A beautiful collection of early 30s newspaper strips penned by Floyd Gottfredson – early daily comics starring Mickey Mouse, but offering up a very different version of the character than on the screen! The format does a great job of tying Mickey to some of the other comic stars of the time – and as many of these strips are in a longer-form narrative mode, with as much adventure as humor, there's more parallels here to strips like The Gumps, Gasoline Alley, and Thimble Theater than you might expect. Gottfredson's line work is wonderful – clean and lean, with that edgey early version of Mickey that disappeared later on – presented here in sparkling black and white, in a hardcover volume that's almost 300 pages in length! Also features bonus essays – and some color material too.

One of the harder-hitting books we've ever seen on James Brown – an account of his famous Boston performance on April 5, 1968 – the night after Martin Luther King was assassinated – but one that also looks at Brown's lasting impact on race in America as well! We appreciate author James Sullivan's approach here, as it gets right past some of the over-told stories from Brown's early days – and jumps right in to the time when The Godfather was really starting to get funky, and shake things up around the country in the process. Book includes a foreword by Chuck D, some black and white photos, and is 244 pages, paperback.

Vintage album covers from the 70s – all hand-picked by Aubrey Powell of Hipgnosis – a company responsible for some of their own classic images back in the day! Powell does a great job with the package – and manages to go way beyond just Hipgnosis covers, to include a really wide-spanning set of images that really sums of the depth of 70s music! You'll find covers here from artists that really run the gamut – Sex Pistols, Rolling Stones, Kate Bush, The Damned, Be Bop Deluxe, Boz Scaggs, The Cramps, Joe Jackson, The Slits, Pop Group, Peter Gabriel, David Bowie, and dozens of others – all laid out in a full-color book that's about 10" square – which makes for a great read as you're flipping through the pictures. The book is divided into years – showing a great evolution of style during the decade, matched with key news moments from each period too. 191 pages, full color, and nice and heavy!

British punk, right up from the trenches – presented here in a surprisingly well-detailed book that really gets at the heart of the key years of 1976 and 1977! Dave Thompson writes the book as compelling narrative – history, but filled with the sort of passion that would have grabbed you if you were there (and don't pretend you were!) – served up with a cast of characters that includes a few surprises, plus the key figures you'd expect. There's a handful of black and white images, but the story here's the main thing – and Dave does a great job of telling it. 325 pages, softcover.