Rock Classics – serie

Released in 1969, Let it Bleed was The Rolling Stones’ eighth studio album (tenth in the USA). The second in a sequence of four consecutive records that comprised their creative peak, it is considered by many to be their best. After a period of turmoil culminating in drug busts, the enforced departure and sudden death of founding member Brian Jones, they delivered a powerful set of nine tracks that encompassed hard rock, blues, country, folk, gospel and even funk. From the eerie ‘Gimme Shelter’ to the epic ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’, with Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and the band plus an array of guests including Al Kooper, Ry Cooder and The London Bach Choir, it was a set that captured the uncertain prevailing mood at the end of the 1960s and the era that produced the Woodstock and Altamont festivals. Number one in Britain and number two in America, it still sounds just as fresh, urgent and challenging more than half a century later. This account examines in detail the background, inspiration and recording of the songs, the reception of the work as a whole, and its legacy and influence on subsequent generations of bands and performers to this day.

One of the most pivotal albums in the evolution of rock music, no other recording has had more impact than the 1965 classic Bob Dylan, Bringing It All Back Home.In the mid-sixties, Rock Music was about to explode into psychedelia, prog and jazz fusion. Meanwhile, Bob Dylan had made an enormous impact on songwriting with his first four acoustic albums. He had created a different way of writing songs with themes such as civil rights, anti-war protests and social issues that lifted rock music from teenage love songs to serious poetic works of art full of symbolism.But with Bringing It All Back Home, Dylan shot his lyrics through with surreal hard-edged Beat poetry and charged the music from acoustic to blues-based loud electric rock. It alienated him from many of his peers in the folk community but contains classic cuts like ‘Mr Tambourine Man’ ‘Maggie’s Farm’ and ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’.Dylan had opened the door on experimentation. The Beatles, Stones, Who, Doors, Hendrix, Pink Floyd and Cream all listened and responded. Songwriting rose to new heights with few boundaries

In a year containing groundbreaking releases from the likes of Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Metallica, and Van Halen, 1984 also saw Prince return bigger and bolder than ever. Not content with solely focusing on the lead acting role in his semi-autobiographical movie, Prince worked overtime on a set of songs for the accompanying soundtrack album, and the results were there for all to see upon the unveiling of the masterpiece that was Purple Rain.Arriving at a time of significant world change, and with his eccentric and talented backing band - The Revolution - in tow, Prince's rise to superstardom was cemented with a set of delicious dancefloor hymns. These included the power ballad of all power ballads, a lead single void of customary songwriting traditions; and a track so controversial that it brought about the establishment of the PMRC, and the creation of the 'Parental Advisory' label.Purple Rain celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2024, and this book digs deeper into the writing and recording process of the diamond-certified album. Also discussing the stories behind the songs, and the host of B-sides to have followed over the years, this book also pays tribute to Prince - the inimitable mastermind behind the entire Purple Rain project.

Some albums are simply undeniable watersheds in an artist’s career. Artistic or commercial triumphs (or sometimes both), but most importantly seen by both the fanbase and, to a greater or lesser degree the wider world, as a defining statement in their catalogue. Such was undoubtedly the case when Supertramp released Crime Of The Century in 1974.Up to that point, the band had released two albums which searched for a direction almost as much as Supertramp themselves searched for a stable line-up. So few copies were sold as to leave the band almost entirely unknown by the time 1973 came along, when everything changed.Like some serendipitous alchemy, the perfect five-piece line-up coalesced around the creative hub of Roger Hodgson and Rick Davies, and there was a tangible belief and confidence which had simply not been present before. They took time away from playing live and meticulously crafted the Crime Of The Century album, which immediately put them into theatres and into the charts.This book examines the making of the album, and looks into the music and lyrical content with some depth. It also looks at the wider story of the band as it revolves around this crucial point in 1974, and the lasting legacy of the masterpiece which was Crime Of The Century.

Against the odds, 90125, released towards the end of 1983, was Yes' best-selling album. Yet it was never intended to be a recording by one of the 1970s rock dinosaurs, but a combination of commercial expediency and luck saw an album by a new band called Cinema – featuring Yes stalwarts Chris Squire, Alan White and Tony Kaye alongside talented multi-instrumentalist Trevor Rabin – become Yes following the last-minute recruitment of vocalist Jon Anderson. A US number one hit single, 'Owner Of A Lonely Heart,' led to a triple platinum record and a massive world tour, giving this band a new lease of life in the 1980s.Featuring new interviews with several of the main protagonists, including Jon Anderson and Trevor Rabin, this book traces the story of the album from its rudimentary demos in 1981, right up to the end of the world tour in early 1985. 90125 is reviewed in full, and the book also includes a detailed look at the somewhat complex and contrived process that created it, followed by an examination of the album's legacy and remarkable afterlife.The 90125 story is possibly the most astonishing in this legendary group's nearly six-decade history. This is how it happened.

Arguably the greatest album by the best rock band ever, The Beatles - also known as The White Album - proved to be a watershed recording. Coming as it did, after manager Brian Epstein's death; after the disillusionment with the Maharishi; in the middle of the break-up of long-term relationships, and following on from the psychedelic masterpiece Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, it heralded changes of style and the marked the start of the falling apart of the previously tight-knit group.The album's diversity and creation are analysed and its background and dynamics revealed. This extraordinary double album reflects a remarkable time and period. As the sixties came to an end, so too did the band. They mirrored the times they lived in. The album also followed on from their first highly criticised TV flop Magical Mystery Tour, the success of the first global satellite triumph of 'All You Need Is Love', and the highly ambitious Apple business venture. George Martin ducked out and ructions broke out between band members. But, among all the pressures and stress they found time to write and record an incredible array of songs; songs that synergised into a spectacularly successful album with a fascinating story. This is the tale of every track and every facet of this remarkable record.

You couldconsider Kate Bush's The Dreaming to be her finest moment, depending on whetheryou value the rejection of compromise and see that as a sign of authenticity.Or, you may see her Hounds of Love - equal-parts artful and accessible - as thebenchmark for artistic integrity meeting commercial success: a slippery andcompletely unpredictable schizoid beast at the best of times.  As much as The Dreaming seems to be viewedas Bush's most difficult record to consume, it's easy to forget that it was atop 20 album in multiple countries. In reality, it has a beautiful simplicity,if only for its intention to exist for its own sake - as they say, 'It is whatit is', and the rest is up to the listener. And what it is, is perhaps one ofrock's most pure examples of a musician doing their thing, simultaneously (andconveniently) operating at the top of their game, and not sweating the resultingviews of others. That recipe transcends genre, and even field itself.  Ultimately, The Dreaming is just art -music, yes, but I suggest it crosses the line into sculpture. You can walkaround it, try to decipher it, and still be stumped. Isn't that how art issupposed to be.