Gong Every Album, Every Song (On Track )
Gong Every Album, Every Song (On Track )

Author: Kevan Furbank

Publisher: On Track

Published: 2020-10-29

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13: 9781789520828

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Every now and then a band comes along that defies convention, refuses to be pigeon-holed, thumbs its nose at comfy predictability and blows raspberries at commercial wisdom. That band is Gong. From 1970 to the present day, Gong have ploughed a unique musical furrow - part progressive rock, part spacey psychedelia, part proto-punk, ambient trance, drum 'n' bass and absurdist political performance art. With a cup of tea in hand (and a revolving propellor on his head) long-time fan Kevan Furbank examines all the Gong albums from Magick Brother in 1970 to 2019's The Universe Also Collapses, chronicles the stories behind each recording and examines the songwriting, arrangements and mythology that inspired each track - with new insights from Gong bassist Mike Howlett and synth wizard Tim Blake. In doing so, he also looks at the contributions made by the many great musicians who have passed through Gong in the last 50-odd years, including guitar hero Steve Hillage, mercurial drummer Pierre Moerlen, flute and sax maestro Didier Malherbe and, of course, hippy foole, whimsical visionary and Gong founder Daevid Allen. He also attempts to gather together the branches and off-shoots of the Gong family tree - including Mother Gong, Gongmaison and Pierre Moerlen's Gong - and the important solo recordings.If you have never heard any Gong, this book is the perfect introduction. If you have, you will want to go back and revisit the glorious music this band has made. In the words of the Pot Head Pixies, why don't you try...

Gong - Revised and Updated
Gong - Revised and Updated

Author: Kevan Furbank

Publisher:

Published: 2024-12-20

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781789523409

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Every now and then, a band comes along that defies convention, refuses to be pigeon-holed, thumbs its nose at comfy predictability and blows raspberries at commercial wisdom. That band is Gong. From 1970 to the present day, Gong have ploughed a unique musical furrow - part progressive rock, part spacey psychedelia, part proto-punk, ambient trance, drum 'n' bass and absurdist political performance art. In this revised and updated edition, long-time fan Kevan Furbank examines all the Gong albums from Magick Brother in 1970 to 2023's Unending Ascending and chronicles the stories behind each recording. He examines the songwriting, arrangements and mythology that inspired each track - with new insights from, amongst others, the current fantastic Gong line-up, bassist Mike Howlett, violinist Graham Clark and guitarist Josh Pollock. He salutes the many great musicians who have passed through Gong in the last 50-odd years, including guitar hero Steve Hillage, drummer Pierre Moerlen, flute and sax maestro Didier Malherbe and, of course, whimsical visionary and Gong founder Daevid Allen. The author also discusses the off-shoots of the Gong family tree - including Mother Gong, Gongmaison and Pierre Moerlen's Gong. If you have never heard any Gong, this book is the perfect introduction. If you have, you will want to go back and revisit the glorious music this band has made.

Hawkwind On Track
Hawkwind On Track

Author: Duncan Harris

Publisher: Sonicbond Publishing Ltd

Published: 2020-06-02

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 1789520843

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Always enigmatic and outside of the mainstream, most people associate Hawkwind with 'whoosh' noises, ‘Silver Machine’, Lemmy and 'Space Rock' music. From the beginning, Hawkwind have been trailblazers, even when they have explored blind alleys and cul-de-sac’s, and have never been afraid to innovate and mutate into strikingly different musical arenas. The band have a unique history in the world of rock music and have inspired not just other bands but also an entire sub-genre of music: Stoner Rock. Hawkwind's stated aim was to be a substitute for mind-expanding drugs. Instead, they used music, poetry, lights, projections, theatre and dance in an assault on the senses. Albums such as X In Search Of Space and Warrior At The Edge Of Time as well as classic live album Space Ritual set a template for their astonishing take on rock music. This book is a track-by-track analysis of every studio album and major live release to date. Beginning with the highly-regarded early albums of the 1970s, it continues through the hard rock hardships of the 1980s and the sometimes awkward musical dalliances of the 1990s, finishing on the unexpectedly triumphant return of the band in the 2010s. It presents an illuminating companion to the extraordinary recorded works of a band no-one thought would achieve any longevity. Duncan Harris started as a music journalist and interviewer in the 1980s, writing for fanzines and magazines. He contributed to the Rough Guides to Music series and, until recently, maintained a long series of reviews for the website The Dreaded Press. One of his proudest achievements is to have interviewed graphic novel guru Alan Moore in the late 1980s, just after the rise of Watchmen. Amongst other subjects, Alan and Duncan had a long talk about Hawkwind. Duncan lives in Wiltshire with his adorable wife, dog Willow and two cats named Loki and Lilith.

Metallica on track
Metallica on track

Author: Barry Wood

Publisher: Sonicbond Publishing Ltd

Published: 2024-04-03

Total Pages: 194

ISBN-13: 1789523362

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From humble beginnings, as they emerged pimple-popped and sweaty out of a global New Wave of British Heavy Metal scene infiltrating California in the early 80s, through to almost complete world domination, sell-out tours and Billboard chart success, Metallica’s story is like few others. With an insatiable hunger and hell-for-leather attitude, they helped to forge a new direction for metal music across the world, combining progressive anger with, at times, sweeping ballads. In the space of just a few albums, they went from thrashing wannabes (Kill ‘Em All) to real heavy rock contenders (...And Justice for All), before unleashing a new blend of chart-topping heavy metal on the masses (Black Album). Through a succinct and detailed song-by-song analysis, this book charts every twist and turn, heartbreak and line-up change peppered throughout their more than 40-year career. As well as studio albums, an all-encompassing round-up of live, cover, collaboration and compilation albums solidifies this comprehensive study. If they aren’t on the road, it seems they’re in the recording studio, with an incessant hunt for the next loudest, ground-breaking sound spurring them on. They rode a wave, then started a tsunami, so prepare to be blown away. Metallica give you ‘heavy baby!’. Barry Wood, born in Ely, Cambridgeshire in 1977, grew up in Lincolnshire, studied drums at music college and graduated with a degree in Journalism from the University of Lincoln in 2005. Cutting his teeth as a news reporter at a local daily paper for a few years, he then moved into communications for the NHS. A lover of all things musical, he’s drummed in various bands (covers and original) since school and completed an MA in Creative Writing while writing his first novel. A dad of four living in Lincolnshire, Metallica has always been a passion.

Queen All the Songs
Queen All the Songs

Author: Benoît Clerc

Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal

Published: 2020-10-20

Total Pages: 600

ISBN-13: 0762471239

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Filled with fascinating photographs and juicy behind-the-scenes details, Queen All the Songs illuminates the unique recording history of a mega-bestselling and hugely influential rock band—album-by-album and track-by-track. A lovingly thorough dissection of every album and every song ever released by the beloved rock group, Queen All the Songs follows Freddie, Brian, Roger, and John from their self-titled debut album in 1973 through the untimely passing of Freddie, all the way up to their latest releases and the Oscar-winning film, Bohemian Rhapsody. The writing and recording process of each track is discussed and analyzed by author Benoît Clerc, and page-after-page features captivating and sometimes rarely seen images of the band. ​Queen All the Songs delves deep into the history and origins of the band and their music. This one-of-a-kind book draws upon decades of research and is a must-have for any true fan of classic rock.

Thin Lizzy On Track
Thin Lizzy On Track

Author: Graeme Stroud

Publisher: Sonicbond Publishing Ltd

Published: 2020-12-10

Total Pages: 134

ISBN-13: 178952119X

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Thin Lizzy emerged as a four-piece in Dublin as the 1960s drew to a close, when guitarist Eric Bell and keyboard player Eric Wrixon, both from Belfast, encountered a band named Orphanage, which included Dubliners Brian Downey on drums and charismatic frontman Philip Lynott. The band evolved through a number of incarnations, through psychedelic power trio of the early years via classic four-piece guitar-toting rockers of the Live And Dangerous era, and ending with their incarnation as heavy metal heroes. With the ever-present Lynott and Downey at its core, Thin Lizzy rose to become one of the most powerful and iconic rock bands in Europe, before the erosive effects of the rock ’n’ roll lifestyle took their toll. This book presents a history of the band through its music. It covers every song released through official channels, presented in context. From the difficult early years of the early 1970s, which did produce the surprise hit single 'Whisky In The Jar', via their breakthrough album Jailbreak and the heavy rock excesses of the early 1980s, this book follows the evolution of Thin Lizzy and its stellar cast of guitarists, from start to finish, through their music, track by glorious track. Graeme Stroud is a musician and writer, having played lead guitar in bands and also solo projects since the 1970s. He has written on websites and blogs on many subjects, both musical and non-musical, for several years. He was a reviewer, interviewer and feature writer for Rock Society magazine for five years, specialising in the blues and rock genres. Since 2019, he has performed interviews and written feature articles, gig and album reviews for the rock website VelvetThunder.com. His first book, Status Quo – Song By Song was published in 2017. He lives in Kent, UK.

Carpenters On Track
Carpenters On Track

Author: Paul Tornbohm

Publisher: Sonicbond Publishing Ltd

Published: 2024-05-15

Total Pages: 196

ISBN-13: 178952220X

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The brother and sister team of Karen and Richard Carpenter rank as one of the most successful acts in pop music history. Between the first Carpenters’ album released in 1969 and their final studio album together in 1981, they achieved three Grammy awards, 18 hits in the US Top 20 (and ten in the UK) and multiple platinum discs, leading to eventual sales of over 100 million copies worldwide. Although the group’s career was brought to a tragic and premature end by the untimely death of Karen Carpenter in 1983, they remain a much-loved band. The Carpenters crafted their own distinctive sound with multi-part harmonies and lush arrangements. A unique singer and gifted interpreter of songs, Karen was also passionate about playing the drums, with Richard’s talents extending to keyboards, singing, composing, arranging and producing. This book explores the background to each of their studio albums and classic singles, as well as their solo recordings, live albums and compilations of rare tracks. From their earliest recordings in a jazz trio through to Richard’s reinterpretations of their best-known songs with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and as a solo pianist, this appraisal looks at over 55 years of Carpenters material. Paul Tornbohm is a songwriter and musician. As befits a Carpenters fan, he has recorded an album of his songs, August Afternoons, with his sister Cathy on lead vocals. A former member of the ‘ghost-rock’ group Piano Magic, Paul has also released the solo EP Down an English Lane. Additionally, he composes for Spontaneous Productions, a theatre company in Sydenham, London. Paul has a Masters in music production from Kingston University, teaches music qualifications at a sixth-form college in Surrey and lives in Crystal Palace, London, with his wife, the composer Yumi Mashiki. This is his first book.

Eagles on track
Eagles on track

Author: John Van der Kiste

Publisher: Sonicbond Publishing Ltd

Published: 2023-05-12

Total Pages: 189

ISBN-13: 1789522951

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Eagles began as a backing group for vocalist Linda Ronstadt before striking out on their own. All being accomplished vocalists, musicians and songwriters, they jointly set themselves the goal of ‘number one singles and albums, great music, and a lot of money’. With guitarist Glenn Frey and drummer Don Henley as the combined driving force, by 1975 they had topped the singles and album charts at home and found major success in Britain and across the world, while establishing themselves as America’s foremost band. The global success of Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 and Hotel California, to this day the first and third best-selling albums in America of all time, proved impossible to surpass, and after several line-up changes, they disbanded in 1980. A resumption in 1994 was cemented with the live/studio album Hell Freezes Over, followed in 2007 by Long Road out of Eden, their first studio album for 28 years. After Frey’s death in 2016, they recruited new members maintaining a live schedule that continues to this day. This book recounts the band’s rise, fall and rise again, with a detailed look at every track on each studio and live album, plus an overview of original songs and cover versions recorded but never officially released. John Van der Kiste has published over ninety books, mostly historical biography and music, including 1970: A Year in Rock, and titles on Mott the Hoople and Ian Hunter, Free and Bad Company, and Manfred Mann’s Earth Band in the 1970s for Sonicbond’s Decades series. He has reviewed books and records for the local and national press and fanzines co-founded and edited the 70s fanzine Keep on Rockin, and written booklet notes for CD reissues from EMI and other labels. A former DJ and performer with various groups, he also co-wrote one track on Riff Regan’s Milestones (2015), and played harmonica on London’s The Hell for Leather Mob (2020). He lives in Devon, U.K.

Led Zeppelin All the Songs
Led Zeppelin All the Songs

Author: Jean-Michel Guesdon

Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal

Published: 2018-10-23

Total Pages: 544

ISBN-13: 031641803X

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Take a deep dive into the innovative recording history of Led Zeppelin, in this newest addition to the fan-favorite All the Songs series. Fifty years after their first practice in a Soho basement, Led Zeppelin continues to fascinate new generations of listeners. While their legendary back-stage debauchery has been written about extensively in other books, All the Songs is all about the music, detailing the studio magic and inspiration that made all nine albums go platinum, including Led Zeppelin IV which was certified x23 platinum and has sold more than 37 million copies worldwide. Studio stories will include their productive time at Headley Grange in Wales, a poorly-heated former poorhouse where they recorded parts of Led Zeppelin III, Led Zeppelin IV, Houses of the Holy and Physical Graffiti. And how the first album was recorded in three weeks but their second took six months, done while the band was on a world tour. They carried the masters of the recording session in a steamer trunk wherever they went. Out of these chaotic sessions came the "Whole Lotta Love," which was finished in New York with Hendrix engineer Eddie Kramer helping create the psychedelic middle part, as well as "The Lemon Song," which was cut live in the studio. Page worked feverishly with Kramer to mix the LP on a primitive 12-channel Altec board in a two-day span. Fans will also learn the genesis of their lyrics, the inspiration for their album covers, the instruments used, and the contributions of engineers such as Andy Johns, who helped create the iconic drum sound on "When the Levee Breaks" by recording Bonham at the bottom of a stairwell.

All Music Guide to Rock
All Music Guide to Rock

Author: Vladimir Bogdanov

Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 1430

ISBN-13: 9780879306533

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This fun-to-read, easy-to-use reference has been completely updated, expanded, and revised with reviews of over 12,000 great albums by over 2,000 artists and groups in all rock genres. 50 charts.