Books — New Arrivals 
A special selection of disc guides and discographies, music history, record art books, graphic novels, and some nicely-priced remainders!
Items added September 17 - 21
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(Items 1 – 57 of 57)
James McBride —
Kill Em & Leave – Searching For James Brown & The American Soul ... Book 
Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2016. New Copy ... $6.99 19.99
A great contrast to some of the more straight-ahead James Brown biographies on the market – as writer James McBride takes a circuitous path to look at the genius of The Godfather – not the shining stars of the bigger highlights in his career, but the lost corners and more distant ... read more Book
Jo Rippon —
Art Of Protest (hardcover) ... Book Imagine, 2019. New Copy ... Just Sold Out!
A beautiful book that's perhaps more important now than it was when first published – a full color presentation of protest posters throughout the 20th Century – leading up to some fantastic images from more recent years too! The surprising thing about the book is that the issues haven't ... read more Book
(Spine has a small remainder mark.)
Jimmy Webb —
Cake & The Rain – A Memoir ... Book St Martins, 2018. New Copy ... $4.99 17.99
A beautiful memoir from one of our favorite songwriters of the 60s – the legendary Jimmy Webb, who first sprung on the charts with a variety of hits at a very young age! Only just a boy, Webb displayed a sensitivity with words and ear for unusual arrangements that beat the work of so many of ... read more Book
(Small remainder mark on spine.)
Andrew Wilson (ed) —
Conceptual Art In Britain 1964 to 1979 ... Book Tate (UK), 2016. New Copy ... Just Sold Out!
A rich overview of the shift in art that took place in the UK from the mid 60s through the late 70s – that moment of new practice and unusual forms that was quickly known as conceptual art, thanks to its mix of theory, politics, and culture! The book offers up a history of the movement, ... read more Book
Jerry Dantzic/Thames & Hudson, 2017. New Copy ... $12.99 40.00
A really lovely late-life portrait of Billie Holiday – an oversize book that's filled with black and white photographs taken during the month of April, 1957 – when Billie was headlining at the Sugar Hill club in Newark! Holiday's late troubles are well-known, and often etched upon her ... read more Book
David Wills —
Hollywood Beach Beauties – Sea Sirens, Sun Goddesses & Summer Style 1930 to 1970 (hardcover) ... Book Dey St, 2018. New Copy ... Just Sold Out!
Images of famous stars at the beach – not the creepy tabloid photos that always seem to catch them at their worst – but lavish full color images that are pulled from film shots, publicity stills, and magazine layouts – all documenting an ever-evolving sense of fashion in the sand ... read more Book
(Spine has a small remainder mark.)
Billy Bragg —
Roots Radicals & Rockers – How Skiffle Changed The World (hardcover) ... Book Faber & Faber (UK), 2017. New Copy ... $8.99 29.95
You'll know Billy Bragg as a singer/songwriter, but he's also a surprisingly strong historian and author here – giving us a vivid look at the rise of skiffle bands on the UK scene at the end of the 50s! Skiffle was something that never played as strongly on our shores, but was inspired by ... read more Book
Peter Williams —
English Seaside ... Book English Heritage (UK), 2012. New Copy ... $6.99 29.98
A lovely look at the British seaside – the coastal resorts that have provided a crucial respite to city-dwellers for many years – and which have evolved into special spots all their own! We all know the parodies of these places from Fawlty Towers and Quadrophenia – but the ... read more Book
David Sedaris/Little Brown, 2017. New Copy ... $8.99 50.00
A very unusual sort of diary from writer David Sedaris – but maybe that's what we'd expect, given that Sedaris has always been something of an unusual figure himself! The book does feature diary entries, often from moments when Sedaris was visiting a certain place – but there's also a ... read more Book
Edward McClelland —
Folktales & Legends Of The Middle West ... Book Belt Publishing, 2018. New Copy ... $4.99 20.00
Dark tales from the Midwest – mostly 18th and 19th stories from a variety of sources – including sailor shanties, slave spirituals, and the folklore of Native Americans – all presented here in a relatively easy to read format, with a few illustrations. Our favorite story, though, ... read more Book
Catherine Flood —
British Posters – Advertising, Art & Activism ... Book V&A (UK), 2012. New Copy ... $3.99 35.00
A fantastic look at the use of images in political activity on the British scene – a great legacy that runs from the early 20th century to the present – presented here a book of stunning full color images! Most of the work here focuses on the strong role that posters, billboards, and ... read more Book
Michael Nesmith —
Infinite Tuesday – An Autobiographical Riff (hardcover) ... Book Crown Archetype, 2017. New Copy ... Just Sold Out!
To those in the know, Mike Nesmith has always been way more than a Monkee – a genius at business, a sensitive songwriter, and a guy who's had a hand in so many key moments in music and culture – even if he doesn't always take credit for his work! That understated quality has always ... read more Book
(Spine has a small remainder mark.)
Kenney Jones —
Let The Good Times Roll – My Life In Small Faces, Faces & The Who (hardcover) ... Book Thomas Dunne, 2018. New Copy ... $8.99 29.99
Drummer Kenney Jones finally gets his time in the spotlight – a fantastic force on the drumkit, and maybe one of the few who could replace the late Keith Moon in The Who – not to mention a core element in the great sound of both The Faces and Small Faces, plus some of the early Rod ... read more Book
(Spine has a small remainder mark.)
Peter Guralnick —
Sam Phillips – The Man Who Invented Rock N Roll ... Book Little Brown, 2015. New Copy ... Just Sold Out!
The story of one of the all-time greats – told by one of the all-time greats – the full tale of Sun Records founder Sam Phillips, told by southern music giant Peter Guaralnick! Long before he rose to fame as the man who discovered Elvis Presley, Sam Phillips was already humming strong ... read more Book
(Spine has a small remainder mark.)
Robert E Steele/David C Driskell Center, 2012. New Copy ... $6.99 25.00
A well-done monograph for a show that ran at the University Of Maryland – and one that stands well enough on its own, given the amount of history and information included with the images! The book follows the spirit of the exhibition – and not only includes a timeline of creative ... read more Book
Robert Gordon —
Memphis Rent Party – The Blues, Rock & Soul In Music's Hometown (hardcover) ... Book Bloomsbury, 2018. New Copy ... $6.99 28.00
One of the best writers on Memphis gives us a journey through his musical hometown – portrayed through chapters that focus on some of the city's most legendary figures – including James Carr, Sam Phillips, Jim Dickenson, Robert Johnson, Charlie Feathers, Jeff Buckley, Tav Falco, Bobby ... read more Book
(Spine has a small remainder mark.)
Marty Baumann —
Toybox Time Machine – A Catalog Of The Coolest Toys Never Made (hardcover) ... Book IDW Publishing, 2017. New Copy ... $8.99 29.99
A beautiful book of graphic imagination – a book that features 60s-styled ads for toys that never existed – but which take us back to the glory days of Matchbox, Big Daddy Roth, and Aurora Monster Models! The artwork is all by Marty Bauman – who would have made a heck of a toy ... read more Book
(Spine has a small remainder mark.)
Stanley Crouch —
Kansas City Lightning – The Rise & Times Of Charlie Parker ... Book Harper Perennial, 2013. New Copy ... $4.99 16.99
The story of Charlie Parker is often draped in hyperbole and exaggeration – which is why it's extra great that this biography is handled by Stanley Crouch – one of the few writers we could trust to get past the hype and really find a way to link Parker's life and music! As you might ... read more Book
(Spine has a remainder mark.)
David Treece —
Brazilian Jive – From Samba To Bossa & Rap ... Book Reaktion (UK), 2013. New Copy ... $4.99 25.00
That's Brazilian jive, instead of Brazilian music – as the author here shows just how much the larger Brazilian culture helps shape the sound of it's songs – a wonderful interplay between urban and rural, modern and ancient, popular and intellectual – forces that have come ... read more Book
Various —
90 Degrees Of Shade – Image & Identity In The West Indies – Over 100 Years Of Photography In The Caribbean (hardcover) ... Book Soul Jazz (UK), 2014. New Copy ... $5.99 49.95
Images of the Caribbean in many styles – from the striking color image on the front, to vintage black and white shots throughout the book – all at a level that really illuminates the criss-crossing cultures of the island scene! The book's got a wonderfully sharp sensibility – as ... read more Book
Andrea Caputo, ed —
All City Writers – The Graffiti Diaspora ... Book Kitchen 93, 2012. New Copy ... $12.99 49.95
Maybe the most amazing graffiti book you'll ever hope to own – an amazingly heavy, oversized volume that tells the tale of the birth of the format and its global spread – served up in dozens of articles brought together in the space of an imaginary newspaper! The pages are huge, and ... read more Book
Gene Deitch —
Cat On A Hot Thin Groove – 78rpm Artwork From Record Changer Magazine (softcover) ... Book Fantagraphics, 2013. New Copy ... $4.99 35.00
An amazing collection of 40s and 50s jazz drawings by Gene Deitch – the complete anthology of his work for legendary jazz magazine Record Changer! Gene was an amazing artist and cartoonist, whose work helped solidify the legacies of some of the most famous cartoon characters in the American ... read more Book
Peter Wever —
Inside Le Corbusier's Philips Pavilion – A Multimedial Space At The 1958 Brussels World's Fair (hardcover) ... Book nai 010 (Belgium), 2014. New Copy ... $8.99 55.00
A beautiful document of an equally beautiful architectural triumph – the Le Courbusier-designed pavillion for Philips electronics at the 1958 Brussels World's Fair – not just a corporate showpiece, but also home to the stunning experimental film Le Poeme Electronique, which featured ... read more Book
Shundana Yusaf —
Broadcasting Buildings – Architecture On The Wireless 1927 to 1945 (hardcover) ... Book MIT Press, 2014. New Copy ... $8.99 32.99
That's a pretty crazy image on the cover, and there's some pretty crazy images within – as this well-done book looks at the way the BBC conceived of presenting a public, permanent face to its ephmeral broadcast identity in the early 20th century – through the creation of the modernist ... read more Book
Nate Chinen —
Playing Changes – Jazz For The New Century (hardcover) ... Book Pantheon Books, 2018. New Copy ... $5.99 27.95
A refreshing look at jazz in the early years of the 21st Century – served up by Nate Chinen, who spent most of that time working as a jazz critic for the New York Times, and contributing to NPR! Chinen's been at the grass roots level, and does a great job here of noting key changes in the ... read more Book
(The spine has a small remainder mark.)
Michael Tisserand —
Krazy – George Herriman, A Life In Black & White (hardcover) ... Book Harper, 2016. New Copy ... $8.99 35.00
There have been a number of art books over the years about George Herriman – groundbreaking cartoonist and animator, and the creator of Krazy Kat – but this may be the first really well-done historical look at his live and creations – presented in a beautiful format that still ... read more Book
(Small remainder mark on spine.)
Man Ray/Tate (UK), 2016. New Copy ... $15.99 45.00
The first full edition of the writings of Man Ray – an artist who's best known for his important contributions to the worlds of Dada and Surrealism in the 20th Century – but also a surprisingly sensitive theoretician, one whose comments on his work and his world offer up a very ... read more Book
Shawn Levy —
Dolce Vita Confidential – Fellini, Loren, Pucci, Paparazzi & The Swinging High Life Of 1950s Rome (hardcover) ... Book Norton, 2016. New Copy ... $6.99 27.95
Italy was hit hard in the postwar years – as you've no doubt seen in the urban landscapes of neo-realist directors from the time – but the city of Rome was one of the first places to really bounce back, and was ablaze with new cultural activity during the 50s! The story of that scene ... read more Book
Joel Selvin —
Altamont – The Rolling Stones, The Hells Angels & The Inside Story Of Rock's Darkest Day (hardcover) ... Book Dey St, 2016. New Copy ... $4.99 27.99
A detailed look at one of the most famous rock and roll concerts of all time – the ill-fated Rolling Stones 1969 performance at Altamont race track, in which the group made the mistake of inviting Hells Angels to handle security! The Angels were bullies, and famously stabbed a concert-goer ... read more Book
(The spine has a small remainder mark.)
Martin Popoff —
Time & A Word – The Yes Story ... Book Sound Check (UK), 2016. New Copy ... Just Sold Out!
Maybe not the most exhaustive book on prog genius supergroup Yes – but a volume that does a great job of tracing the evolutions that led to their groundbreaking music at the end of the 60s, and all the many changes it went through in years to come! Author Martin Popoff sets the whole thing ... read more Book
Chuck Eddy —
Terminated For Reasons Of Taste – Other Ways To Hear Essential & Inessential Music ... Book Duke University Press, 2016. New Copy ... $4.99 26.59
A collection of essays on a great range of musical topics from Chuck Eddy – a writer whose work you might know from Creem or The Village Voice – and who covered a surprising amount of music in his decades in publication! The book brings together columns from a four decade stretch that ... read more Book
Paul Lester —
Gang Of Four – Damaged Gods ... Book Omnibus (UK), 2008. New Copy ... $5.99 20.99
The first-ever book on Gang Of Four – one of our favorite groups of all time – served up by the writer who also gave us an important book on The Wire! Paul Lester's writing style is maybe a bit loose here – different than a completely in-depth look at the group and its influence ... read more Book
Ellin Stein —
That's Not Funny, That's Sick – The National Lampoon & The Comedy Insurgents Who Captured The Mainstream (hardcover) ... Book WW Norton, 2013. New Copy ... $4.99 27.95
Not the first book on the groundbreaking comedy of the National Lampoon – but a very detailed document of the fantastic story of the magazine – a publication that not only shaped our sensibilities in the 70s, but also had a pretty big impact on radio, recording, and film as well! The ... read more Book
Natalie Y Moore —
South Side – A Portrait Of Chicago & American Segregation (hardcover) ... Book St Martins, 2016. New Copy ... $6.99 28.99
A personal look at the south side of our hometown of Chicago – one that traces historical patterns of growth and segregation, and looks at the area as both one of the city's dark secrets and its overlooked strengths! Author Natalie Y Moore grew up on the south side, and spent years reporting ... read more Book
Lloyd Ziff —
New York – Photographs 1965 to 2015 (hardcover) ... Book KMW, 2016. New Copy ... $8.99 50.00
Lloyd Ziff has a great eye for the city of New York – one that's presented here in dozens of photographs from the late 60s onward, all offering up a vision for the city that's surprising unified over the decade! At some points, Ziff is a "moment" photographer – capturing a ... read more Book
Lloyd Ziff —
Los Angeles – Photographs 1967 to 2015 (hardcover) ... Book KMW, 2016. New Copy ... $8.99 50.00
Los Angeles looks completely wonderful here – represented in images that really get at the diverse landscapes in the city, and partly at the vibrant community within! These photographs are maybe more open and spacious than the images that Lloyd Ziff shot in New York city at the same time ... read more Book
William Meyers —
Outer Boroughs – New York Beyond Manhattan (hardcover) ... Book Damiani (Italy), 2015. New Copy ... $6.99 50.00
New York far beyond Times Square and tourist sites – served up here in a beautiful book of black and white photographs from the other four boroughs of the city! Over the course of decades, photographer William Meyers took random subways to Queens, The Bronx, and Brooklyn – and the ... read more Book
Margo Jefferson —
Negroland – A Memoir ... Book Vintage, 2015. New Copy ... $4.99 16.00
A fascinating memoir from Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Margo Jefferson – her story of growing up black on the Chicago south side of the 50s and 60s – a world that's far richer and more complicated than most stereotypes of the city usually represent! Jefferson's father was a doctor, ... read more Book
(Spine has a small remainder mark.)
Will Friedwald —
Great Jazz & Pop Vocal Albums (hardcover) ... Book Pantheon, 2017. New Copy ... $5.99 40.00
One of the greatest writers on singers presents his essential collection of albums from the 20th century – all served up with the kind of loving detail that's always made the prose of Will Friedwald so great! Will's written the book on Frank Sinatra – literally – and on Tony ... read more Book
(Spine has a small remainder mark.)
Ben Watson —
Derek Bailey & The Story Of Free Improvisation ... Book Verso, 2013. New Copy ... $6.99 26.95
An incredibly deep book on the life and music of Derek Bailey – the British guitarist who really helped push the sound of free improvisation forward in the 60s and 70s, then continued with a legacy of creative music for decades more! Ben Watson knocks it out of the park with this one – ... read more Book
Ajay Heble & Rob Wallace —
People Get Ready – The Future Of Jazz Is Now ... Book Duke, 2013. New Copy ... $5.99 26.95
The future of jazz is now, even if it's in the past – as the editors here bring together a selection of essays that document the forward-thinking movements in jazz from the mid 60s onwards – some of which are only getting full appreciation all these many years later! There's a nice ... read more Book
Tony Wilson —
24 Hour Party People ... Book Channel 4 (UK), 2001. New Copy ... $5.99 16.99
If the cover image here looks familiar, it once graced an early 7" single on Factory Records – the legendary label started by the book's author, Tony Wilson! Wilson was not only a musical genius, he was sharper than most – and although his star had fallen a bit by the time of the ... read more Book
Patricia Smith & Michael Abramson —
Gotta Go Gotta Flow – Life Love & Lust From Chicago's South Side (hardcover) ... Book City Files, 2015. New Copy ... Just Sold Out!
A beautiful combination of words and image – as the poetry of Patricia Smith is combined with vintage 70s photographs by Michael Abramson – the same sort of material that was featured in the Light On The Southside book/album from the Numero Group! This presentation is quite different ... read more Book
Bruno MacDonald —
Greatest Albums You'll Never Hear – Unreleased Records By The World's Greatest Musicians (hardcover) ... Book Aurum (UK), 2014. New Copy ... $8.99 28.00
A really cool look at albums that never happened – planned projects that were almost produced, but which fell apart at some point in the creative process – leading to a surprisingly large legacy of lost albums by some of rock music's biggest stars! Sure, everyone knows a few of these ... read more Book
Steven Blush —
New York Rock – From The Rise Of The Velvet Underground To The Fall Of CBGB ... Book St Martins, 2016. New Copy ... $7.99 34.99
That's quite a cover photo on the book – and the interweaving of key talents in the image really gets at the style of the narrative within! Author Steven Blush delivers a decidedly one-sided document of the New York scene from the late 60s onward – a picture of countless creative ... read more Book
(Spine has a small remainder mark.)
Rob Chapman —
Psychedelia & Other Colours (hardcover) ... Book Faber & Faber (UK), 2015. New Copy ... $6.99 36.00
An incredibly dense book on the psychedelic scene of the 60s – a huge volume that not only looks at an impressive array of music, but also the wider trippy culture, too – but all with a level of text that goes far beyond most of the thinner volumes on the period! Many of the chapter ... read more Book
Todd Stadtman —
Funky Bollywood – The Wild World Of 1970s Indian Action Cinema ... Book Fab (UK), 2015. New Copy ... $4.99 24.95
The sounds of Bollywood are nothing new to the racks at Dusty Groove – but this may be the first book we've ever seen that does a good job of opening up the actual films for the laymen like us! The book's a non-academic, visually-stunning look at the fantastic Indian film culture of the 70s ... read more Book
Ethan Michaeli —
Defender – How The Legendary Black Newspaper Changed America (hardcover) ... Book Houghton Mifflin, 2016. New Copy ... $8.99 32.00
We're ultra-proud to be Chicagoans – and one of the many things that makes is proud is The Chicago Defender – our city's famous African-American newspaper, easily one of the best and most important in a long legacy of progressive 20th Century publications! This very hefty book tells ... read more Book
(Spine has a small remainder mark.)
Mark Ribowsky —
Dreams To Remember – Otis Redding, Stax Records & The Transformation Of Southern Soul (hardcover) ... Book Liveright, 2015. New Copy ... $4.99 27.95
A hefty book on the great Otis Redding – one of the best soul singers of all time, even though he left this planet all too soon! Redding's career on record was less than a decade long, but marked by a huge amount of work – not just time in the studio, with the legendary Stax Records ... read more Book
(Spine has a small remainder mark.)
Barry Miles —
Zapple Diaries – The Rise & Fall Of The Last Beatles Label (hardcover) ... Book Peter Owens (UK), 2015. New Copy ... $4.99 26.95
A really cool look at a label that was maybe one of the hippest things the Beatles ever did – the short-lived Zapple imprint – which was part of their main Apple label, but dedicated to more experimental work from a variety of musicians and writers! The imprint is perhaps best ... read more Book
Tim J Anderson —
Making Easy Listening – Material Culture & Postwar American Recording ... Book University Of Minnesota Press, 2006. New Copy ... $3.99 25.00
A very deep look at the rise of easy listening in the postwar years – the transformation of instrumental styles to a particular kind of mood music that had a huge rise in sales during the 50s and 60s! Author Tim Anderson looks at a wide number of factors here – including workings of ... read more Book
Dempsey Travis —
Autobiography Of Black Chicago ... Book Bolden, 1981. New Copy ... $3.99 17.00
A well-known book around these parts – and a very important piece of Chicago history! The playful title is no mistake – as Dempsey Travis tells the story of black Chicago through his own history – his youth on the south side, rise as an important African-American businessman, and ... read more Book
Albert D Patterson —
Beats To The Rhyme – A Collection Of Instrumental Hip Hop Records For The Beat Connoisseur (hardcover – with bonus CD) ... Book Gingko Press, 2013. New Copy ... $6.99 24.95
Think you know hip hop records? Think again – because if you only know the commercially released and vocal versions of the material, then you only know half the story – because among true collectors, the instrumental wax can be even more in-demand! This book opens up that secret world ... read more Book
(Includes bonus CD mixed by DJ Spair!)
Claus Schreiner —
Musica Brasileira – A History Of Popular Music & The People Of Brazil (paperback) ... Book Marion Boyars Publishers (UK), 2002. New Copy ... $3.99 16.95
A history of popular Brazilian music from Claus Schriener – a nice and very far reaching reference as well as a more personal view of the diverse, amazing wealth of great music to come from the country over many years! Schriener blends portraits of Brazil's most iconic musical figures as ... read more Book
Al Green & Davin Seay —
Take Me To The River – An Autobiography (paperback) ... Book Chicago Review Press, 2000/2009. New Copy Book ... $4.99 14.95
The story of one of greatest soul singers of all time, and also one who is living a fascinating journey, to say the very least – the great Al Green! The Arkansas born, Memphis soul legend tells his story to music writer Davin Seay, from his years reinventing southern soul music through his ... read more Book
(2009 Chicago Review Press reprint.)
Alan Clayson —
Serge Gainsbourg – A View From The Exterior ... Book Sanctuary (UK), 1998. New Copy Book ... $2.99 12.95
One of the few English language looks we've ever seen at the music of Serge Gainsbourg – a well-penned biography that covers all of his classic years in a fair bit of detail! Author Alan Clayson does a good job of paying as much attention to the music as he does to Serge's celebrity – ... read more Book
Scott Yanow —
Jazz On Film – The Complete Story Of The Musicians & Music On Screen ... Book Back Beat, 2004. New Copy ... $3.99 19.95
Dig jazz on the screen? Here's a great book to help you spend your jazz video dollars wisely – filled with reviews by All Music Guide essential writer Scott Yanow! Reviews are Yanow's life, and he really does a great job here of summing up jazz performances both on music-specific videos and ... read more Book
(Items 1 – 57 of 57)
