Rock Books

Ian Hunter's self-titled solo debut is one of the best British rock albums to come from a glam-rocker in 1975. The former Mott The Hoople vocalist attempts to attack the whole rock & roll scenemaking machine, as well as anything honoring false gods, on this CD, and he succeeds magnificently, starting with the opening track, "Once Bitten Twice Shy." Even if the Bethany Hamilton shark attack hadn't happened, I'd still prefer Hunter's original version of this great song to Great White's (named after a man-eating shark) wimpy, Top-Ten-selling remake. Another song here, "It Ain't Easy When You Fall", which excoriates the dangers of excessive self-indulgence, is making me think twice about using wine to toast my grandfather on his 95th birthday, or my grandparents on their 75th wedding anniversary, as well as inspiring me to keep myself looking well in all ways for a young woman whom I met in September, 2007, and for any number of pretty actresses. It's unfortunate that this cautionary recording wasn't a bigger hit here in the U.S.

Ian Hunter makes meat and potatoes rock'n'roll with more than usual head and heart. King of the midtempo rocker, he's turned in some mean ballads as well. The man who penned DIARY OF A ROCK STAR has always been his own best subject, so it stands to reason this deeply personal record would stand among his finest. It also rocks like a #&@*%$! Hunter swings from swagger to intropection while the great Mick Ronson backs him up with articulate arrangements and explosive guitar solos. Ronno's lead on "Lounge Lizard" is one of the nastiest slow burns ever, all drama, attitude and corrosive texture. The album's self reflective core peaks with the remarkably naked "It Ain't Easy When You Fall/Shades Off" before closing with the jubilant "I Get So Excited". When this record (back in '75, remember) came out it was Rolling Stone's album of the month. their headline nailed it: "Ian Hunter professes faith: Rock Saves".

Those who like their Hunter more personal than political should seek out his 2001 indie "comeback" RANT on Fuel Records. It's great.

And for those who like macho rockers dragged kicking and screaming into self awareness, you should check out Bob Mould, Richard Thompson and Graham Parker if you haven't already.

I concur with all the other reviews. This is a below-the-radar masterpiece. If you like classic rock, you'll like this.
"3,000 Miles From Here" is not one of my favorites, but everything else is top-notch. "Once Bitten Twice Shy" is a classic and the collage of "It Ain't Easy When You Fall"/"Shades Off"/"I Get So Excited" is just amazing. I dare you to erase "I Get So Excited" from your brain. Later solo albums from Ian Hunter were spotty and not this consistent.

Ian Hunter's debut solo disk remains, 30 years after the fact, one the the finest albums released during the seventies. Fresh from the breakup of Mott the Hoople and alledgedly, a nervous breakdown, Hunter teamed with Mick Ronson to record some Hoople leftovers and some new tracks.

The album kicks off with three undisputable hard rockers, ONCE BITTEN TWICE SHY (the most famous song from this set), WHO DO YOU LOVE and LOUNGE LIZARD. The ballad BOY is supposedly about former pal David Bowie, and depicts a tale a star who loses touch via fame and drugs. The heavy rocker THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH... marries a Lennonesque theme to a crunching rock tune. Ronson solos with a venegence on this one. The album winds down with a triolgy of songs, the poignant IT'S NOT EASY (WHEN YOU FALL), a poem, the touching autobiography SHADES OFF and finally another searing rocker, I GET SO EXCITED.

To me, this was the apex of Hunter's career. Though he had a number of notable albums with Mott the Hoople and a long successful solo career, nothing matches the power, emotions and consistancy of this record. It sounds as fresh in 2006 as it did in 1975!

Ian Hunter by Ian Hunter and featuring Mick Ronson is one of the finest albums to come out of the seventies. Not only are the songs tight, spirited, and well played, but they seem to have stood the test of time. Listening to them now they sound as good as they did back in 1975 when I first bought the lp and wore it out. Though Hunter may not be a 70's rock and roll poetic genius like Bob Dylan or Bruce Springsteen or even Paul Simon, he can still write a genuinely captivating song, as can be heard with "Once Bitten, Twice Shy," "Lounge Lizard," or "Boy."

I absolutely love this album, and I would put it in my list of top ten albums from the seventies, which is a difficult task. I think what makes it so great is the combination of Ian Hunter's songwriting and vocals mixed with Mick Ronson's guitar and production work. Ronson is easily one of the most over looked talents from the seventies, and his work with Ian Hunter is simply devine rock and roll. By all means buy this album.

I came home from a production of The Lion King staged in Appleton, Wisconsin, and was so enthralled I immediately set out to find out "How did they do that?" This book met and exceeded by expectations. I am an amateur costumer and puppeteer and this just the stuff to bring a smile to my face. Before this book I was not aware of Julie Taymor by name (Sorry, from a small town, don't get out much) but I will be looking for her work from now on.

...is seeing the show live. From intellectual concept, to extensive and authentic research, to development with constant referral to the physical, metaphysical, intrinsic, to the workshop...to the stage. One will see that Julie Taymor was THE RIGHT visionary to not only help in the translating an animated film to live theater, but to also retain the human moral behavior and lessons that are paramount for the existence of all people.

This book shows the "creation story" of the Lion King musical. Photos of the workshopping teams in their studio/s, sketches of early ideas, through to finished costuming displayed on the artists themselves.

A pity this book was not available in Australia, but thanks to Amazon I received it in about 3 weeks total.

I have seen the stage production of the Lion King twice--in Toronto and East Lansing, MI. Vendors offered a souvenir photo brochure for $20. For only a few dollars more, I purchased Julie Taymor's book from Amazon describing one of the most amazing creative achievements I have ever seen. Get the book! See the show!

The Lion King on broadway is by far the best most amzing show ever created. Whats so amazing is that the book is as good as the musical. Without Julie Taymor the lion king would not be such a huge success as it is and you find all about this in the book. Some of the pictures of the show itself and the costumes are just wonderful which makes the presentation of the book even more wonderful. I dont even read books but am findin it very hard to put this down and read it over and over again. If you require any info, or are just curious email me simba262626@yahoo.com to discuss this amazing book.

I did things a little backward and read Crosby's second book first, and when I read Long Time Gone it ended up being an irresistible forensic study of Crosby's life. It was a fabulous read. It made you wonder how any person could do that to himself and live to right about it. Make sure you buy both of Crosby's books. If you are a child of the 60's or 70's, it will transport you back to Woodstock and all of those confused feelings of your youth.

Whenever I may be asked to recount books I have enjoyed / lives I've enjoyed reading about - THIS book and THIS life will forever be upon that list.

David Crosby - the genuine article.

Long time gone provides an insight into one of the great survivors, nay legends, of the 65-75 era as well as entertaining observations on the culture of the times. fascinating reading for anyone of a certain age.

I am reading a first edition used hard-cover of this book and it sure brings back some memories! Like the one reviewer said,if you lived in those times,came of age in those times,this book will flood your mind with a-hankering for the good old days of mellow music,mellow weed and mellow and friendly girls. what an age of innocence!
i miss it very bad...gottlieb i think got it right,the "60's" were actually the decade of 1965-1975...a fantastic time that will never be back.i think the times we're in now could use some of the attitudes of the 65-75 era.good golden and red marijuana included. too bad human nature took it all and trashed it.thanks,david crosby for making me think about my youth as it developed into adulthood.
god bless you.
i was on the edge of the CSN and CSNY,Byrds,Springfield music...i was into the British groups and was gone on the Beatles and Who especially.
alot of my amigos were heavy into CSNY,much more than i was and i should've been myself-just never got around to them...(except for the Deja Vu LP- a top 10 classic.)i was also involved w/ the grateful dead and jazz and pink floyd.i liked the electric attitude of hendrix,too.
CSNY,CSN were too acoustic for my tastes at that time.it was a stroke of genius to get neil young-he made all the difference for me.
anyway,i am ranging...the book is great.read it and be prepared to go down Memory Lane.

This book is an amazing document about an amazing performer, born at the right time, in the right place, with the right set of talents needed to succeed (and fail, spectacularly).

If you are interested at all in American culture from the sixties to now, this is essential reading. Basically, David was born in Santa Barbara, grew up in the 50s loving sailing, cars, and women, later to be joined by music. He fell into the folk scenes then emerging in the early 60s, and by dint of personality and talent, worked his way into the Byrds, then CSN, then a sybaritic lifestyle that broke the mold.

Holy cow -- this is a highly entertaining, engrossing story of the American Dream gone good, gone bad, then gone good again. You will not put it down.

Hooray for the survivors, the dreamers, the lovers, the music-makers.

Okay, so you like Blondie, which by the way is a group. Making tracks reflects the band in ways that the fans and the public do not often see. Mostly Debbie is doing the writing here expressing her thoughts on everything from Peter Leeds to touring throughout the world. It is quite a tale especailly in the early days when the group was struggling. The book itself is what I would deem to be a work of art, it describes more than just the rock and roll business it describes on how Debbie and the band actually felt throughout. I as a huge Blondie fan would suggest that you add this gem to your collection.

Debbie's writing style (as ingested and regurgitated by Victor Bockris) is attractrively candid, humorously intimate, and appealingly self-effacing. Debbie tells her story simply and with no frills and no excuses. She lovingly describes details of the CBGB's music scene of the late '70's down to the last detail, with a touching respect for her peers and nary a bad word to say about anyone. includes exerpts from diaries Debbie wrote on the road as well as reformatted material from various obscure magazine interviews circa 1977-1981, but editor Bockris blends it all so well it reads like one coherent monologue. In actuality, Bockris has morfed Harry and Stein's voice into one here, so it's impossible in some areas to know who is speaking. In interviews, Debbie has made reference to a "third" person that she and Stein create when they're together. You might say that person is the true author of "Making Tracks". Travelogue-style photos by Stein skimp on glamour-Debbie but compensate by invoking the environment from which she and the band sprung!

This book consists of photos by Chris Stein-a fair to good amateur photographer-and text by Victor Bockris (a somewhat pedantic writer) of Deborah Harry's ongoing commentary, essentially, of her and her band's history from her childhood to the current state of the band when it was first published circa 1982. I can remember buying a copy when it was first introduced at a mall bookstore which is now a storefront church: I can even remember that the counter clerk's name was Lillian, the name of Debbie's character in the fine film "Union City". (She was less than impressed, commenting that Blondie was a terrible band and that no woman except for Janis Joplin should be allowed in the rock section in record stores. They were very much _record_ stores in those days-I had at that point never seen a CD.)

It's remarkable in that Debbie was as close to a major league rock star as she was ever to be in the United States at that point, and her observations-recorded when Madonna had yet to achieve any success-on fame and media attention are even more notable for the timeframe in which they were written.

The photos are the reason most fans, particularly males, bought the book. Debbie shows off her pert, teenlike assets (at well over 30 she had the body of a high school cheerleader, boyish compared to Jayne, Marilyn or Brigitte but very desirable nonetheless and far more feminine than, say, Jamie Lee Curtis, who was appearing in the altogether in films in that timeframe) brazenly, investigates the world (particularly Europe and the Far East) with curiosity and is shown with many of the rock and film icons of the past and then-present, including Chuck Berry (whom, Deb told this writer, attempted to finger her then), Robert Fripp, Ellie Greenwich, and others. Chris is with Pierre Salinger, Debbie-who never did get to meet her own primary idol Marilyn Monroe-wears a MM dress from "Some Like It Hot", which she bought at the time she and Chris lived in penury. (Sadly it was involved in a fire, it would now likely be worth tens of thousands of dollars-the gown Marilyn wore to serenade JFK sold for a seven figure (US$) sum.)

This book in short is a delightful piece of fluff from the era which still will fascinate fans of Blondie and the New York scene in those years. It's not a serious work and won't change anyone's life but anyone who likes the tasty rock music of Blondie, the underrated vocal and acting talents of Deborah Harry, or is fascinated by that place and time for edgy popular culture will enjoy this.

I purchased this book when it first came out in 1982 and am glad to see it's still in print. It was very hard to find back then. "The Rise of Blondie" gives an fascinating history of Debbie Harry-her childhood, what her high school years were like, how she moved to NY and began her music career, then meeting Chris Stein and getting together with the other band members. There are many unknown, humorous and interesting facts about the group's early years. The pictures are great, also. If you are a diehard fan, like me, this will become one of your favorite books. I highly recommend it!

"Making Tracks: The Rise of Blondie" is a unique book -- part road diary, part band memoir. Rock biographer Victor Bockris teamed with Debbie Harry and Chris Stein to produce this book, a quirky and enlightening view of Blondie's rise to fame. Good anecdotes, wonderful pictures, and an intimate look into what it was like.

Stein and Harry first give us a glimpse of their early lives and childhoods, and then the events that propelled them to the music biz, including early band stuff (like the Stillettoes). They lived in cold apartments run by very strange people (sometimes smoking even weirder stuff), were saved by the cats, performed in the legendary CBGB's, and swirled around the music scene with the Ramones, Television, the Kinks, and now-extinct punk journalists. Then they hit the big time, jetting across the world and clinging to their rough edges.

Harry and Stein have not a single bad thing to say about their musical peers, only pleasant camaraderie. Harry's quirky wit is an easily-acquired taste; she's straightforward and dryly humorous. The parts that are more clearly Stein are a little less vivid to read. At times it's easy to get lost in the prose and forget which is which, however. What's more, the stories are less focused on the perks of fame than on the day-to-day life in a band.

The only problem is that at times, it's necessary to skip back to figure out who the heck so-and-so is, and what connection he had to Stein and Harry. However, Bockris does an excellent job of slipping in articles and written anecdotes by Harry. While the result gets a little bumpy at times, it's overall a smooth ride through the years.

The pictures are a mix of stylized publicity shots (like the pouty "Punkmate" picture) and candids. The candids are wonderful, ranging from Harry wielding a hammer in Japan to a window riddled with bullet holes to makeup for a Giger-inspired music video (truly eerie). The pictures seem spontaneous and natural, and the grubbiness of some of them gives a better idea of what it was like to live there. (Not to mention posing with the Ramones, Nancy Spungeon, Bill Murray, Joan Jett and others)

"Making Tracks: The Rise of Blondie" is not merely for Blondie fans, but for fans of now-classic rock and good music. Witty and humorous, with dozens of great photographs, this is a treasure.

Well collected thoughts and words that flow from the page in a language that a reader understands.

As a former resident of Ft Collins, Colorado now living in California, this book really brought me home. The author paints a vivid picture, not only of the beautiful scenery surrounding him, but also the internal landscape created by being in such a magical place. Reading this book is almost like a meditation, allowing us to connect with the solitude of nature, and the stillness within us. If you read it in a very quiet place, it can transport you there, where the only sound is the wind in the trees.

This book made we want to go to Medicine Rock. Only a few pages into the book and I found my mind wandering to all the wonderful wild places to which I traveled, especially in my childhood (parents were rock hounds). Kyle's book brought all of this back, and even a month after reading Medicine Rock Reflections I find myself "reflecting" on my time in the wonderful remote places in this land.

If we're lucky we have something like a Medicine Rock in all of our lives. To have it on the scale of Kyle Gardner would be quite a coo.

During his time L.W., Kyle's grandfather, no doubt raised a few eyebrows as he lived the rather unconventional lifestyle of a wanderer, working a variety of jobs, gathering untold wisdom along the way. His life became the beginning of a legacy.

That legacy was carried on when Kyle's parents purchased Medicine Rock, a wild and rambling 80 acres northwest of Ft Collins, Colorado. While raising their family they couldn't quite pull off the reknown wanderings of L.W., so they chose a place where they and their children could move about with the freedom of L.W. but on a somewhat smaller and safer scale.

But, oh, the opportunities to commune with all that came to be their world at Medicine Rock. Kyle's reflections on their visits will have half of you grabbing your pack and heading for the trail while the other half sit spellbound by his descriptions that leave the air intense with scent and nearby colors heightened.

A heart that comes into contact with nature becomes a heart that sees more then just the surface shades we glimpse as we speed by in today's suburban world. Offered the chance to view things from the ground up and the treetops down, Kyle's heart seems to have expanded with each visit. Sharing all of this with his family in their truly off-the-grid cabin made him yearn for more then just the occasional ramble around the yard.

Kyle Gardner's foray into "nature writing" is exceptional. If you have a love for the outdoors, you will find something to relate to in "Medicine Rock Reflections". Kyle puts a new spin on some of those ageless questions, and the "journey" to Medicine Rock is inspiring.

This is a must-have item. It is an incredible beautiful book. If you are a pethead, you must have it. But, if you will buy this item, you must have in mind that is a catalogue of items, pictures and comments, the name is literal, not a book as "PSB vs America" or "Literally".

With 14 reviews already written, I doubt I can say anything that hasn't already been said. But I will give a short review of my impression of Catalogue.

This book is more like Pet Shop Boys history in pictures. While it's true this is a catalogue of all the album and CD covers. It is also the history of Pet Shop Boys in a brief chronology near the back of the book. It gives a time line of what they were doing on particular dates.

There's also an interview from April 2006 with Neil and Chris by Chris Heath. It also includes a complete in depth discography of all their singles and albums they released.

The silver cover of the book makes a great coffee table attraction. It's a must for any Pethead's collection. It's also a great reference book for new fans of the boys. For those who never subscribed to the fan club will enjoy looking at the various Christmas Cards and cover art of the fan club magazine Literally.

I purchased multiple copies so I could have one on display and to thumb through and one is kept sealed. At this great price, who could resist?

Pet Shop Boys Catalogue

El libro es excelente [casi una obra de arte] en el cual se repasa la historia gráfica del dúo a través de sus primeros 20 años de carrera. Un verdadero must para cualquier fan de los PSB.

This book is beautifully packed and chronicles the product of the pet shop boys for the first 20 years. It includes album/single covers, tours, costumes, videos, etc. It is worth every penny and a true companion for any psb fan!

You can easily forget that Chris and Neil, Pet Shop Boys have been making fantastic music together for close to 30 years now. This large volume is an authoritative visual representation of what the PSB have done throughout their career. If there is one problem (not really) it would be that since they Boys are still active, the book will be outdated nearly immediately following its publication.

Its fun to see all the international releases, versions, one-off items that have come from their musical output, from singles to albums to videos to other books. Catalogue is comprehensive to say the least. And the photos are many, and all relatively great quality.

This is a true gift to the real PSB fans. It is sort of like your own personal scrapbook if you've been following the Boys through the years or a wonderful collection to introduce newer fans to the career that Neil and Chris have enjoyed. Price seems more than reasonable for the quality of the book. The cover is stunning and makes a great conversation piece for your coffee table. It just sort of begs to be opened with its silvery cover image.

Pet Shop Boys fans should be thrilled that such a volume exists and that the artists have seen fit to offer something of this scale. So many bands, defunct or ongoing seem to spurn their fans requests for such items. In this case, no matter what the intent of the artist--whether purely self indulgence or wanting to give back, the fans who purchase this book are the winners.

Love this book. Love the Boys. And most importantly, Love the music they continue to release. Left to your own devices, you probably will buy this book.

The reviews of this book do not do justice to this book. The pictures alone are spectacular. Neil Zlozower took nearly every famous and infamous picture of Van Halen during the DLR years. They are all here along with a plethora of never seen before photos of the band and quotes and anecdotes from a broad spectrum of the music industry ranging from Jimmy Page to Slash. The book itself is well done also, the cover beneath the dust jacket has a nice glossy finish on it and the pages themselves are nicely bound, sewn in instead of just glued in so that the book can be laid flat when open without damaging the binding. This book is a must for any true Van Halen fan or collector.

WOW, WHAT A WONDERFUL WAY TO GO BACK IN TIME W/ THE VAN HALEN BOYS...ESPECIALLY DAVE, CUZ W/O HIM THERE IS NO VAN HALEN!!!!! IF YOU LOVE VAN HALEN, YOU NUST MUST MUST BUY THIS BOOK!!!!

I remember hearing the first track of VH 1 when it was released,
bringing with it chills up the spine and jaw dropped.
This book brings you in a time warp to witness rock history, and
realize - in case you didn't - that Van Halen dropped a bomb on
the music scene. Not only a revolutionary guitar god, but songs
and live performances that rose light years beyond what was coming out
of the U.S.A. at the time. The kind we won't see again, either.

The photos, by a master of R&R photography, look like they were taken
yesterday. Crisp, clear and a great mix of group shots and live. The
backstage pics of Eddie preparing his axe arsenal, for example, are priceless; Alex behind one of his monster drum kits.

And yes, it appropriately culminates with 1984 - got a problem with that?

Felt like I was back in high school, as I flipped through this book about the Rock God's -- Van Halen. Finally a Van Halen book worth looking at. Beautiful book about the Greatest Rock Band and Guitarist of all time.

This is a big, good quality hardcover book. Mostly full of pictures, hence the title. The pictures are excellent quality, and I couldn't stop from looking through them. There are also many quotes and stories from other musicians and coworkers. Very interesting. I bought this book as a gift for a huge Eddie fan, and I'm sure he'll display it proudly on his coffee table... I know I would.

I got this book back when I was in love with youngest group member, Zac, when we were 12 yrs old. It has lots and lots o' facts on this pint sized drummer, but now hes about 15 yrs old, and has changed a lot! so hopefully theyll make another Zac attack! besides all of the great info, this has a 16 page (front & Back) color photo insert and black and white photos throughout!

Like I said you gotta love him!! I bought this book and finished it in one day because I couldn't put it down. I just loved all the tests,Quzzies, and all the facts. I would reccomend this book to human Beings not Aliens O.K

Hey there Hanson fans! This book is totally awesome! I love the pix in it! The info is also a little bit different too! There are 16, yes 16 pix inside!!!! Is that cool or what? This author is AWESOME for a unautherized writer!

~Soni

P.S. This book rocked!!!! It also had funny stories about Zac and his bros!

I want to say thank you to everyone who brought this book. And I expecally want to thank the Scream Squad. Without your support we would never of gotten this far. So I just want to say thank you to all of the fans, and the fans parnents who have gotten dragged to our concerts. Thanks once more to the Scream Squad. We love you all.

Hey there Hanson fanz! This book rocked! I'm surprised that the author didn't even interview Zac herself! I love the pix and the quiz in it to see if you're the type for Zac. Very well written! There may be a tinie tiny bit of false info, but still cool!

As Zac once Said: "'Peace, Love, Happiness, and Bullet-Proof Marshmellows!!"

This is a big book, full of candid photographs of some of the rawest moments in punk rock history in DC. Anyone who is interested in the history of the scene, especially Dischord, should be able to appreciate how extensive this collection of words and images is, and will enjoy the sense of urgency and life it conveys.

Without a doubt, this book is the best around on punk and hardcore. Banned in DC was put out long ago, about at the height of the infatuation with Dischord, just as that DC scene was beginning to shun itself and others, in a way.

But this collection of b/w photos is amazing. Simple and smart, the pix capture the essence of the scene, including the bands and the people. Because this music is best experienced live, the photos do it justice unlike words can.

Anyone into punk, hardcore or indie music needs to have this book. Unlike many British and 70's NY or LA punk books, Banned in DC means something to anyone who grew up on 80's and 9's underground music.

This book rocks! I feel so lucky to have grown up in the area during this time skating and listening to these legendary bands that helped pioneer and shape the domestic punk rock scene. That time in my life had such a great influence on who I am today. In what was normally a stuffy conservative area, the DC punk scene was a culture of it's own that forced me to think outside the box. I have long since left the area for the west coast, but I will never forget that time and all the great shows I saw at the 9:30. This book really helps bring those memories back to life.

I've had this book for years! I even found three pictures that have me in them!

It's a collection of photos that could be submitted after the fact - because of that, the photos were of people and bands that were around the photographer/submitter - thus the limited perspective that some reviewers commented on.

I don't think that the people taking the pictures had planned to publish something of this magnitude, and try to make a documentary of it, but the stories and pictures of people that I remember make it worthwhile. Some of these people are still very influential in the music scene.

If you want to get a feel for what it was like during the late 70's and into the 80's in the DC punk scene, this book is invaluable.

These rare photos are amazing. Cynthia Connelly's simple high-contrast black-and-whites were ubiquitous while growing up in the DC area, and for good reason--she is an awe-inspiring artist and master of her craft. The only thing that's disappointing about this book is that it features her boyfriend Ian's record label and both of their dischord-scene friends a little TOO prominently. There were (and still are)so many other bands and people doing things in DC--NOT just Dischord--many of the other small labels, promoters, and bands who maybe weren't accepted by the 'Dischordites' are ignored and as such, dismissed here. Too bad. This is a one-sided view of a very multi-dimensional, thriving musical scene.

For the completest. Bruce Spizers' second Beatles Apple publication dissects and represents the many international incarnations of the individual output of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr whilst they were still associated with Apple Records. Sadly much of this output was merely associated with Apple due to contractractual obligations. In some cases under protest. But in those heady days beginning just prior to the saddest breakup in Rock history.. all up to the late seventies, the solo Beatles material from the four ex Beatles are among some of the most popular albums in musical history. McCartney, John Lennon & The Plastic Ono Band, Ram, Imagine, Band On The Run, All Things Must Pass, Venus & Mars and Ringo, all contain a wealth of popular hits, that were less conspicuous in the later solo Apple years. There are a few omissions, such as the Australian release of J.L. & The Plastic Ono Band (which had a unique Black & White label on Apple), but generally the material collected and presented by Mr Spizer presents an unbelieveable array of variable releases of the same albums throughout the world. It's a fascinating look at a unique era in music & memorabilia. If you love the detailed background of Beatles history, as I do. You'll read this book over and over again.

The followup to Spizer's book on The Beatles' group efforts on Apple, this goes through all of the band's solo Apple releases. Again, there's so much information here! And again, if you're not interested in all of the deep information on the various pressings, label copy, etc., you can skip it. Although you'll find that the Beatles had a lot of fun with what they did with Apple on their solo releases, and there's plenty of photos of various labels, album and singles covers, etc. I don't know where Spizer got the energy to do this 5 times (he's got 4 other similar books on Beatles releases), but I'm glad he did.

The Beatles 2nd UK lp (that became America's 1st) was released Nov. 22, 1963. The White album was released on Nov. 22, 1968. What tremendous growth in 5 years! They grew together and apart...this book will clue you in on every nuance of the solo years. Keep saying over and over, "it was only a band..."

Avid Beatles collectors who already have all the collector's guides to Apple Records may imagine they already have all they need - until they confront The Beatles Solo On Apple Records: The Stories Behind The Entire Beatles Solo Catalog On Apple Records Including Imagine, Band On The Run, All Things Must Pass And Ringo. Packed with black and white and color photos of records, vintage posters, ad illustrations and more, The Beatles Solo On Apple Records supplements extensive illustrations with meticulous background details for each recording's origins. In using the recordings to ground background history, The Beatles Solo produces a depth unequalled by competing, lighter Beatles coverage's - and insights simply unavailable in price guides alone. Not for the casual readers who seeks a light history, but perfect for the avid Beatles fan who needs to know everything about the group, it's individual members, and their recordings.

Bruce Spizer has now put together five books in this series of looks at the Beatles (and with this latest volume, the solo years on Apple in the early-mid 70's) and their relationships with record labels Vee-Jay, Capitol, and Apple.

As fans of these books know, much of each book covers very detailed, minute bits of information about the release of each LP, Single, EP, etc. The cost of the books is probably due in large part to each book being printed in complete full color on every page. A large percentage of the pages are covered with every label variation of every release. If you're not a hardcore collector intensely interested in what are usually very, very minute label differences (mostly different fonts, different perimenter print on the labels), then I have to say that some of the wow factor is missing.

What has made the other entries in this series must-have books for any Beatles scholar, even if they are not interested in label variations, is the detailed history Spizer uncovers behind the Beatles' relationship with their labels. Spizer uncovers long-forgotten or never-known stories behind how the labels devised albums or singles, and many other interesting details. His book on the Vee-Jay label's relationship with the Beatles was a complete revelation that completely changed scholars' perception of the relationship between the group and Vee-Jay, and would have been a must-have for Beatles scholars even without any pictures or illustrations of any kind.

There are interesting pictures in all of the volumes, including the "Solo Beatles on Apple" other than label variations. Pictures of alternate album covers and other artwork, as well as promotional items all adorn the pages.

"The Solo Beatles on Apple..." is perhaps a tiny bit less indispensable as compared to Spizer's other books only because it doesn't have as much revelatory information as the previous entries (particularly the Vee-Jay book and the Capitol books). All of the books contain Spizer's own reviews of the music itself, as well as basic information on the background of the songs and albums. This is the only information in Spizer's books which isn't indispensible. It's all well-written, it just doesn't offer any new information. Because the "Solo Beatles" book has a bit less of the new, wow-factor type of facts that made the Vee-Jay and Capitol books so interesting, the "Solo Beatles" book doesn't have quite as much to offer in terms of the text. Spizer admits that he came into writing the book with the opinion that the Beatles' solo work doesn't hold up well to the group's output. Listening to the albums apparently did change is mind to some degree, but I do see just a bit less enthusiasm behind the writing of this book as compared to the other group entries.

Still, between the ample color artwork and still plenty of interesting details uncovered by Spizer, this book is still a must-own for Beatles scholars and record collectors. I would give it 4 1/2 stars if I could.