Bøger i 33 1/3 serien

Voodoo, D'Angelo's much-anticipated 2000 release, set the standard for the musical cycle ordained as "neo-soul," a label the singer and songwriter would reject more than a decade later. The album is a product of heightened emotions and fused sensibilities; an amalgam of soul, rock, jazz, gospel, hip-hop, and Afrobeats. D'Angelo sets to music his own pleasures and insecurities as a man-child in the promised land. It was both a tribute to his musical heroes: Prince, Sly Stone, Marvin Gaye, J Dilla ... and a deconstruction of rhythm and blues itself. Despite nearly universal acclaim, the sonic expansiveness of Voodoo proved too nebulous for airplay on many radio stations, seeping outside the accepted lines of commercial R&B music. Voodoo was Black, it was definitely magic, and it was nearly overshadowed by a four-minute music video featuring D'Angelo's sweat-glistened six-pack abs. "The Video" created an accentuated moment when the shaman lost control of the spell he cast.

Tells the story behind the making of the album that signaled the descent of Sylvester Sly Stone Stewart into a haze of drug addiction and delirium. In the spacious attic of a Beverly Hills mansion belonging to John and Michelle Phillips during the fall of 1970, Sly Stone began recording his follow-up to 1969's "Stand!".

Despite Warner Brothers Records' conviction that it had mid-wifed the American equivalent of Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, "Song Cycle" wasn't rock music, and it didn't sell like rock music. This title offers an intelligent take on a classic left-field album.

The band's remarkable story has never been told in any substantial journalistic detail. Focuses on the larger issue of sampling, and involves successful rap and hip-hop acts including Kendrick Lamar, JAY-Z, Eric B & Rakim, and Digable Planets--all of whom have sampled Ghetto, and some of whom will be interviewed for this book. Primarily a work of original narrative journalism. The author has gained the trust and familiarity of most of the surviving members of 24-Carat Black through prior reporting on the band.

Derided as one-hit wonders, estranged from their original producer and record label, and in self-imposed exile in Los Angeles, the Beastie Boys were written off by most observers before even beginning to record their second album. But, "Paul's Boutique" eventually transformed the Beasties from a fratboy novelty to hiphop giants.

A study of a pivotal moment in Ween's development, as they became one of the world's most endearing, and enduring, cult bands.

Finally, a brilliant exploration of the German rock band Can's 1971 album Tago Mago. This hugely unique and influential album deserves close analysis from a fan, rather than a musicologist. Novelist Alan Warner details the concrete music we hear on the album, how it was composed, executed and recorded--including the history of the album in terms of its release, promotion and art work. This tale of Tago Mago is also the tale of a young man obsessed with record collecting in the dark and mysterious period of pop music before Google. Warner includes a backtracking of the history of the band up to that point and also some description of Can's unique recording approach taking into account their home studio set up.Interviews with the two surviving members: drummer Jaki Liebezeit, keyboardist Irmin Schmidt and bassist Holger Czukay make this a hilariously personal and illuminating picture of Can.

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins carefully retraces Hamilton's origins as the musical that brought politicians "from both sides of the aisle," from Michelle Obama calling it "the best work of art [she's] ever seen in any medium" to Hillary Clinton's quoting it at the end of her 2016 speech at the Democratic National Convention. This book squares the emergence of Hamilton as a cultural darling of the American leftist political classes with its portraits of a morally-questionable political figures in history told through the merging of two forms with notoriously radical roots. It parses how and why this Broadway musical reached the height of visibility that it has and what this communicates about the American sociopolitical climate and culture at the beginning of the 21st century - especially after one of the most discordant and alarming sociopolitical showdowns since the 19th century. And ultimately, though Hamilton is a perfectly enjoyable and impressively crafty piece of musical theater, it argues that it in many ways is not, in fact, revolutionary. Does Hamilton engage seriously with politics? Or is politics merely the backdrop for the same-old show business?

Features psychological warfare, bedroom drama, Catholic guilt, deception and the shame that coincide with relationships gone wrong. This story explores what happens when intellectual sophistication is star-crossed with outspoken braggadocio, a charismatic mixture that managed to alienate the mainstream horde and arms-folded indie scenesters.

The band that took US college rock across the world and turned it into stadium rock. This is their first album that kicked off their journey to stardom and remains a cult obsession to the legions of dedicated fans. Features their classic song Radio Free Europe.

The band to introduce the blues to the British mainstream and who continue to sell millions of records 40 years on. This bleak album is now regarded as their finest hour. Includes Rocks Off.

A caustic wit and the knack for great pop, this is Costello's classic mixture of soul and new wave. Features Accidents Will Happen, Oliver's Army and What's So Funny 'bout Peace Love and Understanding.

Focusing on one album rather than an artist's entire output, the books dispense with the standard biographical background that fans know already, and cut to the heart of the music on each album.

What binds this series together, and what brings it to life, is that all of the authors - musicians, scholars, and writers - are deeply in love with the album they have chosen.

"Dusty in Memphis", Dusty Springfield's beautiful and bizarre magnum opus, remains as fine a hybrid of pop and rhythm and blues as has ever been made. In this book, Zanes explores his own love affair with the record.

This title is one of a series of books which focus on epic albums of our time. Here, Andrew Hultkrans looks at Love's album "Forever Changes".

This title is one of many in a series of books which focus on epic albums of our time. Here, Joe Pernice looks at The Smith's album "Meat is Murder".

Neil Young's "Harvest" is one of those strange albums that has achieved lasting success without ever winning the full approval of rock critics or hardcore fans. Inglis here explores the creation of the album and its lasting appeal.

33 1/3 is a new series of short books about critically acclaimed and much-loved albums of the last 40 years. Focusing on one album rather than an artist's entire output, the books dispense with the standard biographical background that fans know already, and cut to the heart of the music on each album.

33 1/3 is a new series of short books about critically acclaimed and much-loved albums of the last 40 years. Focusing on one album rather than an artist's entire output, the books cut to the heart of the music on each album. Joy Division only released two albums but they led the way out of punk rock and towards Madchester.

This epoch-making record of the late '80s effortlessly combines dense swathes of guitar noise and dance music. This turned out to be their last record, guitarist and studio maestro Kevin Shields having set their standards so high it was impossible to surpass them. Shields is now playing with Primal Scream.

When the Motor City 5 stormed the stage, the band combined the kinetic flash of James Brown with the raw musical dynamics of the Who gone berserk. Frequently ridiculed, they've been hailed as a primal influence on everything from punk to metal to Rage Against the Machine to the Detroit populist resurgence of the White Stripes, Kid Rock and Eminem.

Bruce Springsteen goes back on the road in 1984. Weinberg hits his drums with a two-fisted physicality that cut through the swelling chords. Springsteen sings with the throat-scraping desperation of a man with his back against the wall. When he reaches the crucial lines, the guitars and bass dropped out and Weinberg switches to just the hi-hat.

Talks about Josh Davis's (DJ Shadow) early years in California, the friends and mentors who helped him along the way, his relationship with Mo'Wax and James Lavelle, and the genesis and creation of his masterpiece, "Endtroducing" (released in 1996). This book includes several long conversations with him.

"Court and Spark" is Joni Mitchell's attempt at making a hit record, full of glossy production, catchy choruses, and even guest stars from every stratum of rock culture. The record was a smash, reaching number two on the charts in March of 1974, spawning three hit singles.

Since its release, "Sell Out", though still not the best selling release in "The Who's" catalog, has been embraced by a growing number of fans. As much as it is an expression of the band's expanding sonic palette, this work also functions as a critique of the rock and roll lifestyle.

"Songs in the Key of Life" is different from the four albums that preceded it; it's a maddeningly ambitious encapsulation of all the progress Stevie Wonder had made in that short space of time. This work covers Stevie Wonder's excessive work habits and recording methodology, his reliance on synthesizers, and other aspects.

Though "Nevermind" was Nirvana's most commercially successful album, and the record that broke them - and the grunge phenomenon - internationally, "In Utero" has increasingly become regarded as the band's best album, both by the critics and the band members themselves. This work tells the story behind the creation of "In Utero".

A collection of short stories - each one a cover version of a song on "Rid of Me".

"Aja" was the album that made Steely Dan a commercial force on the order of contemporaries like Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles and Chicago. A double-platinum, Grammy-winning bestseller, it lingered on the Billboard charts for more than a year and spawned three hit singles. This book paints a detailed picture of the making of a masterpiece.