It still feels like winter around here. But believe it or not, we are only a few weeks away from summer book season. Get a head start on the proceedings — or just hunker down against the endless cold — with these new numbers. Read all about ’em:
Stevie Nicks in 50 Songs
By Annie Zaleski
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “This is a visually stunning, definitive tribute to rock’s most enigmatic, enduring, and stylish icon, Stevie Nicks, written by New York Times bestselling music journalist Annie Zaleski. This beautifully illustrated book goes beyond the glitter and shawls to explore the raw artistry, resilience, and magic that define Nicks’s five-decade career. From singing Are You Mine with her grandfather in Phoenix to becoming the first woman inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame twice, Stevie’s story is as sweeping and bold as her stage presence. Stevie Nicks in 50 Songs covers it all: Her early musical roots, folk and country influences, first guitar at 16, and fateful harmony with Lindsey Buckingham on California Dreamin’ — a moment that launched one of rock’s most complicated partnerships.”
Black Ark
By Lee “Scratch” Perry & John Corbett
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “A 600-page tribute to one of the most famous locales in music history, Black Ark is a detailed inventory of photographs and writings from the Black Ark Studios in Kingston, Jamaica, where producer Lee “Scratch” Perry created music from 1973 onward. The eclectic and constantly evolving decoration of the studio provides an enduring visual counterpart to Perry’s expansive musical catalog. From mural paintings to shape-shifting assemblages of records, instruments, found objects, posters and newspaper clippings, the artworks layer upon one another as they intertwine with the studio building itself. Perry created his own dense and diverse world in which to work: memorialized in this volume before the Black Ark disappears for good. The photographic documentation of the studio in the spring of 2021 was supplemented by efforts to secure and preserve Perry’s works, objects and recordings as part of a joint project with the Smithsonian Institution in D.C. Black Ark reflects the rhythm and layering effects of collage both in its content and the materials used to craft the book. Perry was involved in the development of this publication until his death in August 2021. The book closes with memorial essays from Ishion Hutchinson, David Katz, Kodwo Eshun and John Corbett.”
Better Do It Now before You Die Later
By Sonny Simmons & Marc Chaloin
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Though his years in the New York free-jazz scene of the ’60s cemented his reputation as one of the most forceful and convincing composers and soloists in his field, saxophonist Sonny Simmons (1933–2021) was nearly forgotten by the ’80s, which found him broke, heavily dependent on drugs and alcohol, and separated from his wife and kids. “I played on the streets from 1980 to 1994, 365 days a year,” Simmons tells jazz historian and biographer Marc Chaloin. “I would go to North Beach, and I’d sleep in the park. The word got around town that Sonny is a junkie, really strung out.” The resurrection of Simmons’ career — upon the release of his critically acclaimed Ancient Ritual in 1994 — has become a modern legend of the genre. In the last two decades of his musical career, Simmons broke through to a new echelon of recognition, joining the pantheon of great innovators and masters of the music. But to this day he remains an undersung figure. Here, in the first book dedicated to his life, Simmons recounts his childhood in the backwoods of Louisiana, his adolescence in the burgeoning Bay Area jazz scene and his star-studded life in New York playing alongside the greats.”
I Speak Music: Stories From My Improbable Life
By Howard Levy
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Two-time Grammy winner Howard Levy delivers a musical memoir that will stop you in your tracks — bold, unpredictable, and as soulful as his playing. Having spent his life moving effortlessly through classical, blues, jazz, world music, rock, and pop, Howard tells his story from the rare vantage point of a musician who never fit into one category-and never wanted to. Across 88 richly detailed stories told with warmth, humor, and cinematic clarity, Howard traces his improbable journey from Brooklyn to Chicago and onto the world stage-encompassing a lifetime of relentless curiosity, thousands of recording sessions, and collaborations with icons like Dolly Parton, Donald Fagen, John Prine, Kenny Loggins, Jack Bruce and many more. In a captivating writing style, Howard captures the full sweep of his musical life. Prepare to be entertained, inspired, and surprised by a memoir that illuminates the world of music from the inside out-and invites you to come along on the serendipitous journey of a life devoted to sound.”
Blood, Guts, And No Glory!
By Larry R. McNeny
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Blood, Guts, And No Glory is a raw, behind-the-scenes look at chasing rock ’n’ roll dreams in the 1960s and 1970s. Larry McNeny began as a teenage musician in Dallas, building a regional band that shared stages with legends like The Troggs, Mitch Ryder, Iron Butterfly and The Who. But when stardom slipped away and his bandmates scattered, Larry discovered his true calling: The business side of music. From booking gigs and negotiating deals to rubbing shoulders with rock’s elite, Larry’s relentless drive eventually led him to Los Angeles and then Tulsa, where he landed in the orbit of Eric Clapton and bassist Carl Radle. Immersed in the whirlwind of tours, trades, and backstage chaos, Larry learned that success in the music industry often came with sacrifice — and that the pursuit of glory was as grueling as it was electrifying. Part memoir, part music history, Blood, Guts, And No Glory! captures the grit, heartbreak, and unexpected turns of a life lived at the heart of rock ’n’ roll.”
Punk: The Last Word
By Stephen Colegrave & Chris Sullivan
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The triumphant last word on the radical movement that shook the world — Stephen Colegrave and Chris Sullivan’s deliciously cacophonous and comprehensive oral history of punk, told by those who lived it. Punk: The Last Word is a powerful reimagining of punk — not just as a sound or style, but as a radical, DIY philosophy rooted in defiance, truth, and individuality. Cultural insider and Wag Club founder Sullivan and Byline Times editor Colegrave bring together over 150 original interviews with punk’s most iconic figures — Iggy Pop, The Sex Pistols, The Clash, Siouxsie Sioux, Vivienne Westwood and many others. From musicians and designers to promoters and provocateurs, they paint a vivid portrait of the movement’s chaotic rise and lasting impact on both sides of the Atlantic. Tracing punk’s rebellious spirit from 19th-century bohemia to the explosion of Kings Road and Coventry in the late ’70s, this is, without a doubt, the most in-depth, insider account of punk’s evolution and legacy. As the movement approaches its 50th anniversary, its core values — authenticity, resistance, and creative freedom — feel more urgent than ever. Punk isn’t just music. It’s a way of life.”
Eurythmics: Song By Song
By Ross Larkin
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “A song-by-song exploration of Eurythmics‘ innovative catalogue. When Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart attempted to rise from the ashes of their brief post-punk glory as members of The Tourists, the odds seemed drastically stacked against them. However, initial setbacks were not enough to stop their transformation into the powerhouse that became Eurythmics, one of the most successful pop duos of all time. In a career spanning several decades, always at the vanguard of evolving musical trends, they recorded over 100 original tracks including many experimental rarities and B-sides, constantly changing and progressing their sound. From cold electronics to soulful R&B and rock, the music of this dynamic pair lives on in the psyche of popular culture and sounds as fresh today as it did thirty years ago. A catalogue as diverse, innovative and impactful as that of Eurythmics absolutely deserves to be unpacked, celebrated and savoured-song by song.”
Groovy, Laidback And Nasty: A History OF Independent Music In Sheffield
By Daniel Dylan Wray
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “From dazzling electronic futurism to pioneering post-punk, via pop, metal, bassline, bleep techno and generation-defining indie rock, Sheffield has long been a crucible for world-leading music. Some artists have excelled on the fringes, others have achieved global success, but all remain connected through a fervently independent ethos. In Sheffield, creativity flourished in the face of isolation, economic decline and bleak political circumstances, resulting in some of Britain’s most groundbreaking and singular music. But the region’s ingrained humility and dogged stoicism means it has never been documented or celebrated to the level of more hubristic cities. In Groovy, Laidback And Nasty, acclaimed Sheffield journalist Daniel Dylan Wray sets out to remedy this, telling the story of the city’s DIY spirit and the musical visionaries and innovators who helped build its inimitable legacy. Exhaustively researched and spanning almost seven decades, it features over 150 interviews with the likes of Pulp, Arctic Monkeys, The Human League, Cabaret Voltaire, Self Esteem and Richard Hawley, along with countless others. Both a compelling cultural study and an unapologetic love letter to the city, this — finally — is the definitive musical history Sheffield so richly deserves.”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source tinnitist.com ’
