Next Week in Music | July 13-19 • 6 New Books

Iggy, Beck, Bowie and Gillan. It sounds like a rock ’n’ roll law firm — ‘Have you been injured in a circle pit, moshing or stage-diving mishap? We’ll fight to get your cover charge back! Call today!’ But no. Thankfully, it’s the next best thing: The lineup of artists headlining the new release shelf at your local bookstore. Read all about ’em:

Death Trip: Iggy And The Stooges, 1972-74
By Michael S. Begnal

THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Raw Power by Iggy And The Stooges is arguably the most aggressive, dynamic album in rock history, and inarguably one of the most influential. Looking past the myths and into the true story of The Stooges, Michael S. Begnal illuminates the creation of this recording in the context of the cultural zeitgeist of the early 1970s, the American War in Vietnam, and the ways in which punk rock came snarling into existence. Death Trip uncovers lost archives and stories, drawing on new interviews with Stooges guitarist James Williamson and pianist Scott Thurston, and sheds fresh light on the band’s creative process. This is an in-depth, definitive account that will challenge the assumptions of even the most knowledgeable Stooges fan.”

Blow By Blow: The Jeff Beck Story
By Brad Tolinski & Chris Gill

THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “With his shag haircut and white Stratocaster, Jeff Beck was an icon known and loved by millions. Yet somehow, he maintained the ineffable low profile cool of a cult hero as he glided through six decades of musical trends with nary a lapse in taste. Not to say he ever played it safe. What other guitarist can lay claim to performing with opera star Luciano Pavarotti, mainstream television personality Kelly Clarkson, and professional degenerates like Guns N’ Roses with equal grace and wit? Or as Beck himself once quipped, “I’m an awkward son of a bitch when it comes to doing the expected.” In Blow By Blow: The Jeff Beck Story​, Brad Tolinski and Chris Gill return to chart the unexplored life of rock’s greatest and perhaps most enigmatic instrumentalist. Culled from approximately 30 hours of interviews with the late guitarist himself, numerous conversations with those closest to him, and extensive research, the book sheds new light on the genius that Jimmy Page once said, “shifted the whole sound and face of electric guitar music.”

Unchain Your Brain! The Gillan Story
By Martin Popoff

THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Between 1978 and 1982, Ian Gillan didn’t so much reinvent himself as return to his rock ‘n’ roll roots with his revitalised band, simply called Gillan. Aided by Colin Towns from the previous outfit, The Ian Gillan Band, and the rock-solid John McCoy, Gillan started off running where Deep Purple had left off. With a settled lineup that included Mick Underwood and Bernie Torme, Gillan had numerous hit albums and even singles, with regular appearances on the U.K.’s leading TV music show Top Of The Pops. But the usual frictions that dog most bands from time to time led to the departure of the wild and flamboyant Torme and the introduction of Janick Gers for the final chapter that culminated with the band’s last show at London’s Wembley Arena. Having interviewed most of the band members, Martin Popoff takes us on a detailed ride, documenting the band’s remarkable but frantic five-year-journey.”

Bowie Odyssey 76
By Simon Goddard

THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Book by book, year by year, the ultimate literary trip through Bowie’s greatest decade continues. The year is 1976, and in England the heat is rising. Immigration protests, racist murders, the rise of the National Front and the return of David Bowie, now the Thin White Duke, crowing to the papers how Britain “could benefit from a fascist leader.” But with his incorrigible best buddy Iggy Pop in tow, as he gravitates towards the divided city of Berlin, his wake-up call is coming — and with it a brave new musical direction that will cement Bowie’s place as the most innovative artist of the decade.”

Aminata: Abbey Lincoln’s Song Of Faith
By Ada C.M. Thomas

THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Abbey Lincoln (1930-2010), one of the greatest jazz vocalists of the 20th century, was also an acclaimed composer, poet, playwright, actress, and activist and a towering figure within the African American intellectual tradition. Through constant reinvention, she resisted easy stereotyping and helped open a space for Black women artists to invoke their whole selves. Here, with meticulous research and insightful analysis, Ada C. M. Thomas contemplates Lincoln’s music alongside her poetry, plays, and reflections, revealing a multifaceted artist whose philosophical inquiries resonate deeply with the Black experience. Thomas places Lincoln’s albums in the context of both the female jazz and blues singers who influenced her and the male composers she collaborated with, including John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk and Max Roach. Highlighting Lincoln’s central position within a vibrant global community of Black artists, activists, and writers, it also puts her work into conversation with that of contemporaries and close friends like Maya Angelou, Miriam Makeba and Toni Morrison. Above all, it traces Lincoln’s extraordinary spiritual and intellectual journey, from her early life in Michigan to her rebirth in the 1970s as Aminata Moseka, meaning ‘faithful goddess of love,’ and her ultimate resurgence in the 1990s as a critically acclaimed jazz artist and composer. With reverence and rigor, Thomas invites readers to rediscover Lincoln and embrace her transformative power.”

The Fun Lovin’ Criminal
By Huey Morgan

THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “When Fun Lovin’ Criminals released their debut album Come Find Yourself in 1996, its fusion of hip-hop, funk, blues and rock quickly became one of the most iconic and influential records of the decade. Now, in this fascinating memoir, frontman Huey Morgan describes his remarkable journey from journeyman to rock star. This is a story that begins in the early 1990s with a young man who, after returning to New York City from his time in the Marines, is struggling to cope with normal life. Huey begins his quest to become a rock star only to be sidetracked by his association with the New York criminal underworld. But as his band begins to take off, can he extract himself before his chance of stardom goes begging? Written in Huey’s indomitable and distinctive style, this is a book that brings the grit and glamour of ’90s New York brilliantly to life.”