Rock The Books

Great photos of The Great Man Himself. Full page photos showing Jimi in London from when he first arrived here. He always seems to appear larger than life - really happy to add this book to my Jimi collection.

What do you want in a photo book of Jimi Hendrix? You want lots of high quality photos that are not tiny, that are big and all over the book where there's minimal written word and the photos just keep comin'. From the back cover: "Over 130 iconic, rare, and previously unpublished images of the Jimi Hendrix Experience from the archive of Rex Features, Britain's leading picture library." Published 2005. Almost half the photos take up the full size of a page. If it's Jimi photos with and without the band, that you're lookin' for, do not pass up this book. I own about 12 Jimi books and this is the best photo one, no question. My copy has a cover photo that I think is a better photo than the one shown here. He's got a cool coat, a rose pattern shirt and red pants and leaning on a staircase wall with a cigarette.

In 1965 guitarist Hendrix signed with former Animals bassist Chandler and went to England, making a name for himself with his Jimi Hendrix Experience and returning to the U.S. several years later to become a star. REX COLLECTIONS: THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE gathers color photos to follow his career form his earliest London shows and 1967 tours to later years. Many of these photos are new to this book, most are full-page presentations, and the commentary provides a fine survey of Hendrix's life. A top pick for any dedicated Hendrix fan.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

We bought this to have for a trip to the beach, playing on the front porch of the beach house. It was perfect, nice layout, good selection, this is a good purchase.

he eats, he sleeps, and he sings, what more could you expect from a guy form "Margaritaville?"

i thought that this book takes you to a place called margaritaville that you find in your heart. it had many great storys and i really enjoyed reading it. i also love the author!

This book is THE go to book to learn about jimmy's mindset and his music. It is not about his lifestyle, but rather about his music and his inspirations. Definitely worth the price.

it probably went out of print because of the stupid title!

The previous reviewer probably didn't understand the title, that's all. This book is fascinating! It's about the music of Jimmy Page...where he got his ideas from and how he put it all together. The book also lets the reader learn about the tangents he would go off on during concerts but he always kept it within the framework of the song he was playing. He and Led Zeppelin were best known for their improvisational skills on stage. This book tells it all and has a ton of great pictures in it!! Well worth the price of admission on this book!!

Just like the book is titled, Joe Satriani: Surfing With The Alien is a note for note transcription for guitarists looking to add to their repertoire, or just wanting to practice some challenging material.

The book itself has some amazing insight into the complexities behind Joe Satriani's guitar technique and musicianship. There's a 4-page intro that reveals secrets such as which modes, scales and chord progressions each song is built upon. As if that wasn't enough, the reader is again brought "up close and personal" with all 10 tracks having their inner workings revealed through thorough explanations.

The rest of the book is like any other tablature: a note-for-note transcription with easy-to-read tabs underneath. If you're like me, you don't have time (or patience) to guess which notes you're playing. After purchasing this book, you're well on your way to practicing some of the best (and most challenging) rock guitar music of our day.

Joe Satriani has a variety of different instrumentals with great melodies and skill. I think he is superior to most of his competition. This is an album that has something for everyone.

This book is very awesome. It has all the tabs for the "Surfing with the Alien" Joe Satriani album. While some of the notes may be a little off in a song or two, it's very well transcribed and tabbed. A lot of the stuff here is a little difficult, so I'd recommend it to a serious player who wants to do some serious shredding & rhytmn guitar. It's even better once you learn a whole song, pop the cd in the player, and play along with Joe.
The feeling it's great, but you'll need to spend some time practicing. Remember, practice makes perfect.

This is a great reference book to use when trying to determine where particular songs on the mainstream rock and modern rock charts topped out at. It's also a great browse to see what songs you haven't heard in a long, long time.

There is not too much to say other than this is a comprehensive book that covers those two Billboard charts in their entirety for the time period listed.

I had bought Whitburn's Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits 1955-2000 and while it's a fantastic book charting all the pop hits of the last 1/2 century, it was lacking in the representation of the album rock I grew up listening to. For example, AC/DC has only 3 tracks listed in the Top 40 Hits book, but there's 28 tracks listed in the Mainstream/Modern Rock book. In the more modern era, Pearl Jam has 7 tracks in the pop book but 33 tracks in the rock book. I highly recommend this book to all the head-bangers, grungers, and new wavers looking for a little history of the music they love.

I stumbled onto the original version of this book and almost didn't buy it. I didn't buy it at first, but after finding myself spending 30 minutes or more paging through it on two subsequent occasions, I decided that it might be a worthy addition to my library after all. Boy, was I right. My original copy, now a tattered paperback, is in dire need of replacement. This is an invaluable reference if you grew up listening to the album rock stations in the 80's. I've found several obscure songs that I couldn't track down through the traditional Top 40 or Hot 100 books, which made the book pay for itself in my estimation.

This book does a good job of covering John Lennon's life from his youth in Liverpool to his meteoric rise to fame as an artist and later as a political activist.

John Lennon was a very complex man. Brilliant and high-spirited, the "Chief Beatle," the man who founded the world's greatest band and who made the world listen by the time he was 23 has commanded the world's attention once again. Readers will come away Imagining the world through John's works.

I read this book "In His Own Words" last summer and I really enjoyed it. I keep it on the nightstand by my bed and look at every now and again. The book isn't one he wrote but a complilation of things he's said and his opinions. The book is funny in some places and well...not funny in others. I recomend this book for anyone who likes John Lennon, or wants to learn a bit about him.

This book can teach you a lot about John Lennon, from his childhood to his political views. Even if you don't like John Lennon as a person, you can't help but to be moved by his views. He was right in everything he said and is truly missed.

If anything the importance and influence Mr. Lennon have been underestimated. This fatherless, motherless working-class boy wandered Liverpool as a near street urchin in care of his Aunt Mimi. his longings for what we would call boring middle class familial comfort ar palpable in such songs as "Mother" ans "Julia." His first son was named for his "bolter" of a mother. after 8 years of heroin addition ensconsed in the Dakota with Yoko he emerged, produced "Double Fantasy" and was gunned down by Mark David Chapman, probably a brainwashed agent of the US government. These pictures are among our relics and can be treasured.

So many Beatles-related books trot out the same photos, again and again. You all know the ones I'm talking about. But this book is decidedly and refreshingly different. I have many Lennon biographies in my library and this book contains many previously unpublished photos of John, especially ones from his childhood and in the period 1975-1980. The paper quality in the book is exceptional and is thick, glossy material which results in a stunning display of black and white vibrancy. The text is incidental but adds flavor and gives you the year each photo was taken.

The photos of the Beatles are a little weaker, and contain many previously known shots. But the individual pictures of John are outstanding. Consider the beautiful profile view on the cover of the book, taken in 1967. This is just a sampling of what this treasure trove has to offer. There are many other such nuggets within the covers. Any serious fan of John Lennon will adore this book and get many hours of pleasure perusing these photos of a great cultural and musical icon. John himself would scoff at such a description, but it's oh so true.

This book is sure to delight any reader from inveterate Beatles fan to interested learner. This book chronicles the life of John Lennon from his boyhood days in Liverpool up to his tragic death in 1980.

The photographs capture John at all phases of his life. One can imagine the high spirited young boy who declared to all and sundry that he was a genius and special (and he was right), to the founder of the world's number one band. I like the way this book captures John as more than the artist he was. I like the pictures of John with his sons, with his first wife Cynthia and with his soulmate and wife, Yoko. One feels that they are taking a Magical Mystery Tour with the man who literally made the world listen.

This book is such a treat. I can't recommend it highly enough.

Paul Burke is some fantastic, talented writer. His adventure takes you through the soul of life and you find yourself reflecting on your own path, questioning the purpose of where you are going and even to the depths of how to make change in one self and for the world. It is an eye-opener to the trials of life. It is down to earth and so humanly raw! I loved this book and highly recommend it as a must read!!

I've been reading a book called "The Celestine Prophesy." It reminded me some of Journey Home in that it contains a philosophy wrapped in an adventure story. I also just read "The DaVinci Code." A great story, but not really all that well written. Burke's writing is much better!

I just finished this book. Wow! Any words I could say here would seem pale,but suffice to say it doesn't disappoint! I thoroughly enjoyed it. My first descriptive thought beginning the book was this is a vivid book of poetry; I felt like I could almost hear natures relaxing soothing sounds. It is a very interesting story, and the author posses a notably fearless use of stream of consciousness.

Burke is not afraid to go for a ride through the tangential thoughts of the characters. As a big James Joyce fan, I love that! There are a nice array of characters involved in an interesting story. I would definitely be interested in reading a sequel... (or a prequel!) I thought, "I just want to find out what happens!"

It is a wonderful book - a very enjoyable read. The writing is very evocative and inspiring.

Here are the latest reviews from readers posted on the Journey Home Web Page:

"When I first started reading Journey Home I couldn't put it down! Each person and situation became vivid in my mind. I could feel the book. It became one with me and the sounds of the bullfrogs and crickets here on Big River as I read it in the late of the night. Very rarely with a book can I feel each character and their situations as the story moves along. The unexpected twists and turns, continued to peak my interest, and the first night I read till I could see no more. Then, as I awoke I read till I was done. A book of this quality is an Amazing Gift for all to read....and Understand! All the Best!!!" -- Dusty

"I just a little while ago finished reading Journey Home and I can't tell you how bowled over I am. It is so insightful and powerful and it emanates such wonderment of reality and critically important truths. You wistfully command the conscious reader up a couple of notches with your impact of imagery, strength of characters, methods and messages, and provoke in us even more virtue and fervor in our continued examination of this world and universe around us. Phenomenal on so many levels!" -- Aimee'

this book is amazing... reflections on life, love, loss and highways. as lee says, you cant always call [sonic youth] music, but you can usually call it sound. well i cant always call this book poetry, but anyone who reads it will see the power of lees words. 5 stars!

this book is really cool. lee is an excellent writer and anyone interested in his, or sonic youth's work should read it. the photography is great too.

fans of lee and fans of leah alike will always remember those rocket screaming, headcase creaming, psycho reaming, and convulsion dreaming days of volcanic glory. hey, don't we all? even still, lee's acounts easily rile old ghosts thought long dead and trampled on. go lee! (goalie! heh-heh.)

so anyway. any fan of lee, leah, or SONIC YOUTH will enjoy this book gluttonously. lee's writing style is jacked up, true, but usually in the best way. the very pages come to life and strangle and intimidate the reader with ruthless efficiency, rendering them stunned and confused and feeling momentarily adrift in their surroundings. a truly thrilling congregation of words and pictures.

a minor drawback would be the book's tendency to cause temporary consentration disruptions, and temporary short-term memory loss. that, and it's super harsh.

in closing i highly recommend this literature. it, frankly, is perfect.

FOR ME TO POOP ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Elijah Jimerson

I really liked this book. From the early days to now. He really kept it interesting.
I,of course, was not crazy about the indivial critisism of each and every album at length. Sometimes it just seemed tooooo long.
I felt he did a good job of the bands history without their consent.
The day they consent to a full history; that's the one I realy want to see. Until then, this is pretty good.
Visit Judas Priest INFO pages if you want to know more and remember to take it with grain of salt.
sp

"Judas Priest: Heavy Metal Painkillers" is a very good chronicling of the band's 35-year history by Martin Popoff. The book is 380 pages and full of colored photos and illustrations of band members, album covers, magazine covers, etc.

Popoff devotes 25 chapters to tell Priest's story, one chapter per each official studio & live album, as well as chapters devoted to "the early years" and all side projects of band members, such as Fight, Halford, Glenn Tipton and Two.

Martin rightly stresses Priest's most innovative and prolific years from 1976-1979 wherein they released four incredible albums that pulsate with creativity: SAD WINGS OF DESTINY (1976), SIN AFTER SIN (1977), STAINED CLASS (1978) and HELL BENT FOR LEATHER (1979). Popoff states that, if Priest did nothing else significant in the rest of their entire career, they are worthy of eternal respect and awe for these works alone.

It has been said that Black Sabbath created heavy music, but Judas Priest created metal. The above four albums testify to this with songs like "Tyrant," "Dreamer Deceiver," "The Sinner," "Let Us Prey," "Dissident Aggressor," "Exciter," "Stained Class," "Beyond the realms of Death," "Saints in Hell," "Burning Up" and "Delivering the Goods." Sabbath may have given birth to doom, gothic and stoner metal, but Priest gave birth to power, speed, progressive and epic metal.

In 1980 the Priest boys dumbed everything down to create the first and greatest kindergarten metal album -- BRITISH STEEL. Okay, I'm joking a bit so don't get your tail-feathers ruffled, but ya gotta admit that, compared to the four incredibly innovative albums that preceded it, BRITISH STEEL is a very simple and juvenile piece. But, you know what? It WORKS. Priest were ready for something new at this point and wanted to expand their creative parameters by working LESS hard (!) and making an album full of simpler, more pop-friendly numbers. Priest proved that they can create and perform power pop metal better than anyone.

In the decade following BRITISH STEEL Priest was all over the place: 1981's POINT OF ENTRY was an interesting experiment with pop rock mixed with power metal, but it failed. 1982 featured Priest's all-time best selling album and certainly one of the best power metal albums of all-time SCREAMING FOR VENGEANCE. 1984 showed the band resting on their laurels with DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH, essentially SCREAMING II. 1986 brought forth their worst album ever -- TURBO -- which isn't even metal, more like new wave pop rock. The album went platinum so it wasn't a financial failure, and it did prove that Priest could write really good 80's pop rock, but in hindsight the majority of Priest fans qualify it as their darkest, most embarrassing hour. 1988 issued forth TURBO's heavier brother RAM IT DOWN. Popoff decries the album as lifeless, but nothing could be further from the truth. RAM IT DOWN proved that Priest could write and perform 80's hair metal better than any glam band. I stayed clear of the album for many years because I don't particularly like hair metal, but I recently bought RAM IT DOWN and, I gotta admit, it WORKS for what it is. And it's anything but lifeless. The disk is full of pizzazz with quality cuts like "Hard as Iron," "Blood Red Skies," "Heavy Metal," "I'm a Rocker" and "Monsters of Rock," not to mention the blazing lead solos on "Ram it Down." I was genuinely surprised. RAM IT DOWN is mandatory Priest.

In 1990 Priest returned to their 1982-84 style with PAINKILLER, adding a thrashier edge. It's a fine disk with quality cuts like "Touch of Evil," "Nightcrawler," "Between the Hammer and the Anvil" and the titular cut, but a tad overrated IMHO. Singer Rob Halford left after the PAINKILLER tour and would not record with the band again for fifteen long years.

1996-2003 gave us two studio albums and two live disks with young new singer Ripper Owens. Popoff generally writes off this era in the band's history, but nothing could be further from the truth. Metal was supposedly no longer 'hip' during these years (who cares?) but Priest flew the flag high with 1997's JUGULATOR and 2001's DEMOLITION. JUGULATOR is the band's most brutal album ever (even though it has an undeniable cartooney and colorful air), proving that they can out-riff, out-write and out-perform any thrash, speed or death metal band out there. Take my word for it, JUGULATOR kicks total axe and the songs are ultra-catchy. As for DEMOLITION, it's the band's heaviest, most modern-sounding moment with stellar and innovative cuts like "Subterfuge," "Hell is Home," "Metal Messiah," "Machine Man" and "Feed on Me." Say what you want, but JUGULATOR and DEMOLITION are two red-hot smokin' albums that utterly blow Halford's by-the-numbers RESURRECTION (2000) out of the water. In other words, Priest did anything but rest on their laurels while Halford was absent.

Lastly, the book chronicles 2005's ANGEL OF RETRIBUTION which is highlighted by the return of the "metal god" on vocals. ANGEL reverts to the style of PAINKILLER but is more mature and arguably better. Unfortunately Popoff wrongly disses one of Priest's better mellow tunes "Angel" and ridiculously lambastes "Lochness," which is actually one of the album's highlights, a highly creative epic doom metal masterpiece, in fact. To his credit Martin cites numerous other peoples' more positive take on the song. (Give the song another listen, Martin, it's a great piece).

Popoff interestingly observes the numerous "er" songs in the Priest catalog -- songs about some sci-fi/horror character ending with the "er" sound. For example, "Ripper," "Deceiver," "The Sinner," "Starbreaker," "Exciter," "Invader," "Grinder," "Steeler," "Jawbreaker," "Painkiller," "Nightcrawler," "Abductors," "Demonizer" and "Hellrider." It's so obvious but it never occured to me before.

I should close by pointing out that Popoff has progressed as a writer in the last decade. With his first "Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal" he had a tendency to occasionally go off on brief rants of nonsensical prattle. You'll see little of this with "Judas Priest: Heavy Metal Painkillers." It's highly readable, full of quotes from the band members, as well as those connected to the band, and is valuable, even mandatory, to any Priest fan.

Very well done mate... and THANK YOU! A ton of memorabalia, photos, and informed writing make this a MUST for every Priest and Metal fan on the the planet! Martin does a wonderful job chronicling the Priest's career album by album and remains subjective throughout, as every REAL fan can appreciate.

Of course, Priest are the world's second and purest Metal band there has ever been! After Sabbath..it was Rob Halford and this slicing Heavy Metal that really defined the genre better than any other band, including Black Sabbath!

Simply...a real feast of Priest is served here.