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Partial matches: 24
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CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Robert DardenNothing But Love In God's Water – Black Sacred Music From The Civil War To The Civil Rights Movement (hardcover) ... Book
Pennsylvania State University, 2014. New Copy ... $4.99 10.99
Part one of a massive two volume set that looks at the growth and change in African American sacred music from the Civil War onwards – shifts that occurred for years before the music became to be known as gospel, but with an ear towards all those elements that would really come to the forefront in the postwar years! Writer Robert Darden has roots both in the field of gospel journalism, and academia – and he blends both together in ways that follow a well-researched body of evidence, but also presents things in a very down to earth way at points. The book his hugely annotated, with some black and white images throughout – and is a fascinating look at this often-undocumented years of music. Hardcover edition is 210 pages. Book

Partial matches2
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Meredith OchsAretha – The Queen Of Soul – A Life In Photographs (hardcover) ... Book
Sterling, 2018. New Copy ... $6.99 24.95
Fantastic photographs of the Queen Of Soul – images that start from her early years in Detroit, then move to her rise to fame on Atlantic Records in the 60s – and continue with images that follow Aretha well into her later years too! The book mixes together color and black and white, famous and obscure – and often includes images that are a great sidebar to some better-known photos of Franklin – all supported by text from author Meredith Ochs. This is hardly a comprehensive look at Aretha Franklin, but the photos are more than enough – great shots of Aretha on stage, in the studio, on the TV screen, and just kicking back on her own – 138 pages, hardcover, with images throughout. Book
(Spine has a small remainder mark.)

Partial matches3
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Jamel ShabazzJamel Shabazz – Albums (hardcover) ... Book
Steidl (Germany), 2023. New Copy ... $34.99 50.00
The biggest book we've ever seen to focus on the photography of Jamel Shabazz – a Brooklyn photographer who was out on the streets in the glory days of the old school – famous for his work capturing key sides of the early hip hop scene, and plenty of other New York culture as well! The book follows strongly from other volumes to collect the work of Shabazz – like Back In The Day and Time Before Crack – but the presentation is a bit different, as each page represents a page in one of Jamel's photo albums – usually with a few different color photographs on each page, often in arrays that bring together images from a single location or which have a way of resonating with each other. Subject matter is similar to other books of the photos of Shabazz – lots of early 80s New York street scenes and street portraits – and the huge book comes with a few essays on the work as well. Hardcover, 320 pages, and full color throughout – with hundreds of images! Book

Partial matches4
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
✨✧ Cisco BradleyWilliamsburg Avant Garde – Experimental Music & Sound On The Brooklyn Waterfront ... Book
Duke University Press, 2023. New Copy ... Temporarily Out Of Stock
The music scene in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, is one that's had an undeniable impact on cultural activity in recent decades – yet it's also one of those scenes that initially happened without most folks taking place – that is, it was a real artist and musician's scene, and not the kind that was easily open to outsiders until many years later! In this really well-done book, Cisco Bradley (who also gave us a great volume on William Parker) digs deep into the earliest days of the Williamsburg scene – that late 80s moment when Manhattan and other spots had become too expensive for the truly creative – and the other side of the East River emerged as a great place to move, live, and continue to make music. Bradley really gets at the criss-crossing elements of the scene at the time – and follows it well into the 21st Century, to a time when the changing real estate market in Brooklyn, and subsequent zoning changes, started to give Williamsburg the same creative fate as Soho, the East Village, and other important New York scenes in previous decades. Different initial chapters look at key spaces as forces – warehouses and lofts, clubs and galleries, and even pirate radio – and later chapters look at the larger forces causing change in the 21st Century. A really hefty book, as well-researched as it is well-written – 388 pages, softcover, with some black and white images. Book

Partial matches5
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
✨✧ Ivan BrunettiAesthetics – A Memoir (hardcover) ... Book
Yale University Press, 2013. New Copy ... Out Of Stock
A beautiful collection of images by Ivan Brunetti – a cartoonist we've followed for decades here on the Chicago scene, and have watched with great appreciation as he's gotten worldwide attention for his work in the New Yorker and numerous other publications over the years! Brunetti's an amazing individual, with a character that goes even deeper than his artwork – and this book is something of a memoir, told by Ivan in words that go alongside the images – little stories about their creation, or his own place on the planet at the time – with some cartoons, some cover illustrations, and lots of obscure drawings, sculptures, and physical objects that are a real discovery, even if you've bought his comix and other books. The layout is great – as illuminating as the contents – and the hardcover book is color throughout. Book

Partial matches6
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Cisco BradleyUniversal Tonality – The Life & Music Of William Parker ... Book
Duke University Press, 2021. New Copy ... $21.99 30.95
A huge book on the equally-huge creative legacy of bassist William Parker – a musician who first arose in the loft jazz scene in New York during the 70s, but who's gone on to be one of its greatest surviving players, and one who's transformed the inspirations of that world into so many different modes of expression over the decades! Author Cisco Bradley really digs deep – following Parker from his southern roots to his childhood in the South Bronx, to his strong contributions to avant scenes, first in New York, then around the globe – all with a sensitivity to community and context that shows that Parker isn't just some genius musician, but both an evolving participant in creative activity, and one whose contributions have transformed the landscape as well! The book is softcover, 402 pages, and has copious notes, a discography, and even some black and white images as well. Book

Partial matches7
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Terry BurrowsArt of Sound – A Visual History for Audiophiles ... Book
Thames & Hudson, 2017. New Copy ... $34.99 50.00
A beautiful book of images – not just for record lovers, but for all fans of sonic delights – as the author starts from the earliest days of recorded sound, then moves up through decades of representation – following images of record players, radios, cassette tapes, albums, 78 record sleeves, and dozens of other variations on the way that sound and music is presented! The heavy volume is an artbook first, but also has plenty of history in the mix – and the author presents images from around the world, in a way that really gets away from the Anglo-centric evolution of the record industry – coming up with all sorts of weird images of record scenes in so many different locations, mixed with stark photographs, blueprints, and other images too. The book is a visual delight throughout – even in final pages that deal with the digital generation – and this heavy hardcover volume is 350 pages, with full color images throughout! Book

Partial matches8
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Robert CataliottiDrumsville – The Evolution Of The New Orleans Beat ... Book
Louisiana State University, 2022. New Copy ... $27.99 39.99
A book that's as lively as the image on the cover – one that traces the role of drums and percussion in the music of New Orleans – following a legacy that runs from the 19th century all the way up to contemporary sounds as well! If you know the sounds of Nola, you know that the drum is the key – and that because of the city's placement as a crossroads of culture, New Orleans helped create all sorts of new grooves, from the early years of jazz up through more contemporary soul and hip hop as well. The book is square, almost like a record cover – and is filled with images of both instruments and players – as it traces a long legacy that begins in Congo Square, then runs through improvised percussion experiments, early jazz, then blues, funk, soul, and later styles as well. Book is hardcover, 227 pages, with images throughout. Book

Partial matches9
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
John CorbettPick Up The Pieces – Excursions In 70s Music (hardcover) ... Book
University Of Chicago, 2019. New Copy ... $25.99 30.00
Writer John Corbett has given us words on a huge variety of musical styles over the years – a fair bit of them left field and avant – but this time around, he's tackling the full range of 70s rock, pop, and soul music – in a huge book that's unlike anything he's ever written before! First off, the large volume is very personal – part listening autobiography, part paean to the musical giants who shaped the decade, and part hindsight record review of all the amazing sounds that were created during the 70s! The book follows the decade with year-by-year chapters – yet it's hardly a history at all – as Corbett picks key songs and albums as touchstones for each year – partly because of their impact, but more because of the power they had for him as a listener. The albums run the gamut – from Nursery Cryme by Genesis, to Les Stances A Sophie by The Art Ensemble Of Chicago, to Pink Moon by Nick Drake – and songs include "Sex Machine" by James Brown, "School's Out" by Alice Cooper, and "Long Time" by Boston. 496 pages, hardcover. Book

Partial matches10
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Youssef DadudiMonk – Thelonious, Pannonica, &The Friendship Behind A Musical Revolution (hardcover) ... Book
First Second, 2018. New Copy ... $5.99 24.99
The baroness Pannonica De Koenigswarter was a key supporter of New York bop musicians in the postwar years – referenced in tunes like "Nica's Tempo", "Pannonica", and other classics – and a was also a friend to a number of important figures, including Thelonious Monk! That friendship is served up here in very rich detail, in a graphic novel that follows Nica from Europe to the New York scene – and traces both the work of Monk and their friendship over the course of many decades – including both famous scenes and moments, and some more fanciful musings on jazz, life, and mental health. Hardcover book is 347 pages, with tri-color images throughout. Book

Partial matches11
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Brian DohertyDirty Pictures – How An Underground Network Of Nerds, Feminists, Misfits, Geniuses, Bikers, Potheads, Printers, Intellectuals & Art School Rebels Revolutionized Art & Invented Comix (hardcover) ... Book
Abrams, 2022. New Copy ... $6.99 30.00
One of the best books we've ever read on any sort of creative scene and cultural moment – a superbly-penned account of the rise of underground comix in the 60s, and the growth and changes of the movement in the decades that followed! Author Brian Doherty makes the scene come alive in ways that are even more powerful than most music books that try to do the same – tracing the disparate roots of key figures like Robert Crumb, Gilbert Shelton, Trina Robbins, and others – as they end up converging in San Francisco in the late 60s, finding a way to express themselves through new styles and new means of production and distribution – then spread out as the 70s move in, and underground comix provide the building blocks for the graphic novel generation to come. The book is insanely well-researched, but also written with a lively style that really gets at both the creative talents and individual personalities of each of the folks involved – all at a level that makes for a hell of a read that goes way past the usual book on comics, music, or any other sort of cultural creative scene! Hardcover edition is 439 pages. Book

Partial matches12
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Matthew GoodyNeedles & Plastic – Flying Nun Records 1981 to 1988 ... Book
Third Man, 2022. New Copy ... $27.99 39.99
A hugely detailed look at one of the hippest rock labels of the 80s – New Zeland's Flying Nun Records, an imprint that also had a huge impact on the rest of the world at the time! Flying Nun were key in helping guitar-based sounds get past the modes of the punk and post-punk years – not shaking off those influences, but refining them, pushing them forward, and really evolving the sound through key groups like The Clean, Chills, Verlains, Bailter Space, and Straightjacket Fits – all of whom really helped pave the way for big indie moments over here in the decade that followed. The book offers up an insane amount of information on Flying Nun – in year-by-year chapters that detail every single release, always with photos and cover art, plus more images too – in a hefty softcover volume that's almost 400 pages, and full color throughout. Book

Partial matches13
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Joseph LanzaEasy Listening Acid Trip – An Elevator Ride Through 60s Psychedelic Pop ... Book
Feral House, 2021. New Copy ... $19.99 24.95
About 30 years back, Joseph Lanza first turned us on to an amazing array of 60s easy listening records that we'd never fully given their due – and here, he continues the journey, but with a key shift into the world of psychedelia too! The book is a wonderful look at the way that easy listening and instrumental pop tried to stay vibrant in the second half of the 60s – and it follows the way that easy artists of the time were picking up the aesthetics of the younger generation in a variety of ways – not just doing cover versions of songs by The Beatles and Stones, but also going for trippier artwork on their album covers, and using more unusual studio techniques in production – all in ways that made for a huge legacy of very groovy records! At times, things would even move backwards – as older songs from the early part of the century were given a mod spin for the 60s generation – and the range of topics covered here is as wonderful as Lanza's presentation. The book is a very cool 7" square format – with lots of album reproductions and great graphics, plus a list of 50 essential records at the back – served up in a softcover volume that's 237 pages in length. Book

Partial matches14
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Mario LunaBeyond Heaven – Chicago House Party Flyers Vol 2 – From 1981 to 1992 ... Book
Almighty & Insane Books, 2020. New Copy ... $16.99 20.00
The secret history of Chicago house music – a side of the scene that's even more obscure than its many rare records or long-departed clubs! The book is a fantastic follow up to the first volume – and like that one, features rare flyers, posters, and ads for some of the underground Chicago house music events and venues – some of them legitimate entertainment venues, but others more obscure hole-in-the-wall places – including some churches that were surprising hosts to house music events back in the day! The book has no text, but features full color reproductions of dozens of flyers and posters – most of them very detailed and vibrant, with loads of information on obscure artists, DJs, and other forces helping to make house music happen – often emblazoned with addresses that will come as a real surprise if you only know the Chicago of the 21st Century! A beautiful book – and one that makes us proud to call Chicago our home. Book
(Back in print!)

Partial matches15
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
✨✧ Jimmy McDonoughSoul Survivor – A Biography Of Al Green (hardcover) ... Book
Da Capo, 2017. New Copy ... Temporarily Out Of Stock
The first really in-depth look at the life of the great Al Green – a book that traces the fascinating journey that led a young man from Memphis to the top of the soul charts in the 70s – only to leave the world of secular music for the church in the following decade, then go on to a surprisingly rich career in decades that followed! The book is especially great at the roots of Al's sound and style – and if you dig southern soul as much as us, you'll really appreciate the author's account of the long journey before Green rose to fame at Hi Records – the kind of journeyman work that's often eclipsed when an artist becomes a star. The book also includes an appendix with a discography and legal notes too – and is over 400 pages, hardcover, with some black and white images. Book

Partial matches16
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
✨✧ Juan OrtizLost In Space – The Art Of Juan Ortiz (hardcover) ... Book
Titan (UK), 2018. New Copy ... Temporarily Out Of Stock
A huge book of oversized posters from artist Juan Ortiz – all based on specific episodes of the 60s sci fi classic Lost In Space – and presented here in a dizzying array of styles! As you can see by the image on the front, Ortiz has a strong eye for retro modes – and throughout the book, he creates all these cool color images that follow the show, season by season, episode by episode – creating a picture for each, in ways that are sometimes like movie posters, other times like book jackets, subway ads, and other older styles. The images are very cool, even if you don't know the show (but we do – and love it) – and there's a white margin on the side of each image, so you could cut out the very large pages, and have yourself a whole room full of posters – or just enjoy the book as it is. Book is hardcover, 120 pages, and a very large 10.5" x 14.5". Book
(Please Note – The spine has a small remainder mark.)

Partial matches17
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
✨✧ Record Collector's Special IssueCity Pop Best 100 – 1973 to 1989 ... Book
Record Collector (Japan), 2020. New Copy ... Temporarily Out Of Stock
A well-done guide to the legendary years of city pop music in Japan – and one that's got way more than the hundred albums hinted at by the title! The book follows the format of other Japanese disc guides – with images of key records in the genre, mostly presented in full color – alongside other text in Japanese, which you can easily read using Google Translate or a similar app on your phone, via the camera. Even without that text, though, there's plenty here to steer you towards important records in this under-discovered genre that's only know beginning to get appreciation by English-speaking listeners. The book presents an initial top 100 of the most important records – but then continues into sections with listings for hundreds more records, divided by key artists – almost all with color reproductions of the covers, next to a few black and white. Book is 265 pages in all, with listings for hundreds of city pop records! Book

Partial matches18
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
✨✧ David GoodisBlack Friday (softcover) ... Book
Black Lizard Books, 1954. New Copy ... Out Of Stock
A great bit of noir from the legendary David Goodis – a lesser-known gem that was penned in the 50s, and delivers the kind of tight, stark story that makes Goodis so great! The tale follows a down-and-out character who's not really a thug at heart – trying to get back in the green with one big scheme, yet ending up as most of Goodis' characters – as a victim of his own weakness. The book offers a great portrayal of the underbelly of the postwar years, see through the eye of a newcomer – and the slim volume delivers plenty in a very short space, like most of these Black Lizard classics. Softcover, 129 pages. Book

Partial matches19
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Booker T. JonesTime Is Tight – My Life, Note By Note (hardcover) ... Book
Little Brown, 2019. New Copy ... $6.99 30.00
The title's a reference to one of the greatest hits of Booker T & The MGs, the legendary Memphis group that featured Booker T himself on organ – a hell of a player, and an individual with a much longer legacy than just his early recordings for Stax Records! Booker has roots that go way deep in the Memphis scene, long before Stax Records – and the book recounts those days, and also follows the keyboardist as he moves west to California, opening up in superstardom in a very different way! The style is a bit unique – almost like these little diary entries written from different locations in different years, but put together to form this cool patchwork picture of Booker T's hopes and dreams, music and personal life, all with a very vivid approach. The hardcover edition is 336 pages in all, with a section of images in the middle. Book

Partial matches20
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Dorothy BakerYoung Man With A Horn (softcover) ... Book
Nyrb, 1938. New Copy ... $4.99 15.99
Maybe one of the best – and one of the first – works of fiction to deal with a jazz musician – a really wonderful piece of work from writer Dorothy Baker, served up in a way that's part pulp, part noir, part JD fiction – but served up at a level that also echoes the more important fiction of the thirties generation from which it emerged! The story's loosely based on the music of Bix Beiderbecke – but more in terms of vague inspiration, as Baker's scope here is wider, and the story covers more than you might expect – a great piece of prose that's far better than the movie that followed. Softcover edition is 185 pages. Book
(Spine has a small remainder mark.)

Partial matches21
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Blank FormsBlank Forms 09 – Sound Signatures ... Book
Blank Forms, 2023. New Copy ... $17.99 25.00
A hefty journal that's almost bigger than a book – 300+ pages, all delivered with the kind of well-penned text and really compelling subjects that always makes Blank Forms such a winner! This time around, there's a very long interview with Detroit underground legend Theo Parrish – referenced in the title, and served up with a huge amount of full color images as well – of posters, records, fliers, and more – so that the Theo Parrish section alone is over 175 pages in length! The rest of the book also features a combination of interviews and writings from creative forces – also illustrated – the first a long section that interviews dhrupad singer Amelia Cuni, followed by two pieces penned by her – the second a discussion of the music of Takehisa Kosugi by Akio Suzuki and Aki Onda, followed by writings by Kosugi on the sound objects of Suzuki! 324 pages, softcover, with illustrations throughout. Book

Partial matches22
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
Gregor Muir & Yilmaz Dziewior edAndy Warhol (paperback) ... Book
Tate (UK), 2020. New Copy ... $8.99 31.00
Way more than just another art book on the creations of Andy Warhol – although there are plenty of those inside, too – as the large volume is part of an exhibition at the Tate in London, which looked not just as Warhol's artwork, but also his past, his ties to the larger scene, and some special strands of his life and career! As such, the book is overflowing not just with big projects, but also a lot of other smaller parts of his history – including unusual photographs, drawings, and even record cover images – with a few great essays at the beginning, followed by over 100 pages of amazing creations in both color and black and white. The large softcover book is a heavy 224 pages. Book

Partial matches23
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
✨✧ Brian SouthallThe White Album – Revolution, Politics & Recording: The Beatles & The World In 1968 (hardcover) ... Book
Carlton, 2018. New Copy ... Temporarily Out Of Stock
A unique sort of book – one with both an a-side and a b-side, each of which takes a different approach to The Beatles' classic white album! The first half of the book is an in-depth look at the musical masterpiece – presented with lots of vintage images, reflections on the record by group members, and track-by-track examinations of the double-length album! The second half follows in a similar image-rich approach, but then looks at the context in which the album was released – the cultural scene, political mood, musical vibe, and other aspects of the year 1968 – traced in month by month chapters. And the writing is great – this isn't one of those books that uses pictures to fluff up the text – and the hardcover edition is 10" square, 190 pages, with images throughout. Book

Partial matches24
CD, LP, Vinyl record album cover art
✨✧ E Taylor AtkinsBlue Nippon – Authenticating Jazz In Japan ... Book
Duke University Press, 2002. New Copy ... Out Of Stock
An amazing history of Japanese jazz, and another great testament to the impact jazz had on global cluture! The book covers the entire history of Japanese jazz, from the first wave in the dancehalls of the 1920s, to the amazing renaissance of the 60s and 70s. It's a well-paced, incredibly researched, thoughtfully laid out story that we are glad to have had the opportunity to enjoy – with a lot history of that is deeply neglected in the Dusty Groove half of the world, if not everywhere. There are life stories of passionate, unrecognized musicians that mirror those in other parts of the world, as well as those unique to the Japanese experience. Atkins understands the artistic impulses of the musicians and followers, which is essential to the book's appeal to music freaks like us, but he's also an accomplished historian with a great capacity for conveying the nationalist cultural big picture. More than 350 pages, including the bibliography (which is worth the price alone) with a lot of amazing photos that help push the narrative along at a fast clip, not unlike a great piece of music! Book
 
 
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