A second great dip into the world of "flop" albums from the past – records that maybe didn't dent the charts or make anyone a fortune at the time – but which have gone on to become the stuff of legend over the years! These aren't crappy records or total dreck – and instead, many are musical masterpieces that weren't appreciated when they were released, but which have grown to gain huge respect as the decades have moved on – albums by The Kinks, Lee Dorsey, Fred Neil, Dead Boys, Gang Of Four, Roxy Music, Willie Nelson, and dozens of others – each summed up here in an essay that runs a few pages for each record – along with images of the covers in black and white, and other pertinent details as well! The book is arranged chronologically – records from 1963 through 1989 – and this edition is 392 pages, with mostly black and white images, and a few color ones as well. Book

No words, and plenty of pictures – a massive set of photos from decades worth of rock shows – more than enough to fill in the gaps for all those concerts you were too tired or busy to attend! Marty Perez was certainly the man on the spot from the mid 70s onward – and this massive volume features hundreds of photos, in both color and black and white – of shows that feature huge names right down to some obscure small club performances – all served up side by side, page after page, without almost anything else in the way of framing! The book is divided into chronological chapters, so does progress forward over the space of the volume – and each shot is identified with the band, the date, and the city – which helps if you're trying to figure out if you were at a particular gig – or if the show was one that all your friends raved about while you stayed home. There's a huge amount of images from our Chicago hometown – filled with bands, shows, and venues we experienced well back in the day – and the book also features Marty's photographs from other cities too. Book

A really great idea for a book on records – and one that's completely different than most that we've seen before! Unlike other books of this nature, which are filled with "essential" or "classic" records – this book is full of flops, or records that never really hit the heights, but which are pretty darn great overall! In the eyes of the authors – and our eyes too – all of these records are under-acknowledged gems – some by big names, others by more obscure artists – lots of which never got their full due at the time. The book is filled with some of our favorite records of all time – which is a big hats off to the long list of contributors, who include Miriam Linna, Steve Shelly, Peter Holsapple, Russ Titelman, Marshall Crenshaw, Bob Irwin, Lenny Kaye, and many others – who've come up with a set of essays on titles that include The Living Legend by Baby Huey, Gene Clark & The Gosdin Brothers, Continued by Tony Joe White, Delta Sweete by Bobby Gentry, Entertainment by Family, Desertshore by Nico, Young Mod's Forgotten Story by The Impressions, Roots by The Everly Brothers, Rock Bottom by Robert Wyatt, and lots lots more! The book is filled with records that we love, and that we'd now call classic – served up in a hefty softcover edition that's almost 400 pages in length, with black and white images throughout. Book

A vital couple of early cuts from the Electric Eels – raw Ohio proto punk who we'd put right up the with best of that fertile midwestern scene – just as explosive and important as the Rocket From The Tombs, The Dead Boys and the rest. For real! Includes "Accident" and "Wreck & Roll", recorded in the spring of '75, making them seriously genuine punk progenitors. Amazing stuff! 7-inch, Vinyl record

A tremendous look at a very cool label – one that was a key part of the San Francisco scene during the start of the 80s – and one of the city's few indies, in comparison to the wealth of record companies down in LA! The story of the label is as much the story of its founder Howie Klein – and both are told here in beautiful detail, alongside an image-heavy presentation that mixes color and black and white pictures throughout the very long book. Things begin with a look at Klein and the changing SF scene in the years when punk rock was chasing away some of the hippies – and the book then moves into a group-by-group look at all the acts who recorded for 415 Records – a few of whom broke big on the mainstream, many more who are best remembered for their records on the label. Book is softcover, 360 pages, and filled with images throughout! Book