Книги о музыке

Maybe I’m Amazed. A personal portrait of Paul McCartney by Harry Benson

Harry Benson began photographing Paul McCartney in 1964, when the Beatles took America by storm, toured the world, and made their movie debut with A Hard Day’s Night. The legendary photojournalist was on hand to document it all. When the Fab Four came to an end, it was Benson who had intimate access to Paul and his wife Linda, as Paul forged a new path, creatively and personally.

Featuring more than 100 color and black-and-white images, this collection is a window into the life of one of the world’s best-known recording artists, one who has remained enigmatic despite a lifetime in the limelight.

Through Benson’s lens, Paul traces the evolution of its namesake from performer to icon, father and husband. We see the young musician at the height of his fame with the Beatles, in the recording studio with Linda and their band Wings, with the family, behind the scenes and on stage during the 1975–76 “Wings Over America” tour, partying with the stars, and at the couple’s quiet farm in the UK in the early 1990s.

On the occasion of Sir Paul's 80th birthday, Paul gives an all-access look at a life spent making the world’s most popular music. A must for any music fan.

The photographer:

Glasgow-born Harry Benson has photographed every US President since Eisenhower, the Civil Rights movement, and was next to Robert Kennedy when he was assassinated. As well as The Beatles, he has shot some of the biggest personalities of the last 50 years, including Michael Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor and Her Majesty The Queen. In 2009, he was made Commander of the British Empire (CBE).

The editor:

Reuel Golden is the former editor of the British Journal of Photography and the Photography editor at TASCHEN. His TASCHEN titles include: Mick Rock: The Rise of David Bowie, both London and New York Portrait of a City books, The Rolling Stones, Her Majesty, Football in the 1970s, the National Geographic editions, the David Bailey SUMO and Andy Warhol. Polaroids.

The Fab Five. Behind Beatlemania

“These photos convey a really happy period for them and for me. It all comes down to music, they were without a doubt the greatest band of the 20th century, and that’s why these photographs are so important.” – Harry Benson, 2012

In early 1964, Harry Benson was getting on a plane for a foreign assignment in Africa, when he got a call from the photo editor of London newspaper The Daily Express. He was now going with The Beatles to Paris to document French Beatlemania and what followed was the biggest (ticket to) ride of his life.

Benson was warmly welcomed into The Beatles’ inner sanctum, resulting in some of the most intimate photographs ever taken of the band, then on the cusp of world domination. In Paris, he took the famous photograph of the Fab Four having a pillow fight at the George V Hotel; he shot their groundbreaking first visit to the United States, the full impact of New York hysteria, their famous appearance on The Ed Sullivan show, the band in Florida, including their surprising encounter with Cassius Clay; as well as on the set of A Hard Day’s Night. The relationship continued in 1966, including George’s honeymoon in Barbados and their notorious US tour, under the shadow cast by Lennon’s comment that the Beatles were “bigger than Jesus Christ.”

Benson’s luminous black and white photographs show at close quarters The Beatles composing, performing, encountering their fans, relaxing, and engaging with each other, while trying to cope with their increasingly isolating fame. In addition to hundreds of photographs, many previously unseen, there is an introductory essay by Benson as well as quotes and newspaper clippings from the period.

The photographer:

Glasgow-born Harry Benson has photographed every US President since Eisenhower, the Civil Rights movement, and was next to Robert Kennedy when he was assassinated. As well as The Beatles, he has shot some of the biggest personalities of the last 50 years, including Michael Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor and Her Majesty The Queen. In 2009, he was made Commander of the British Empire (CBE).

Behind Beatlemania. Privileged access to the Fab Four

The best of Harry Benson’s era-defining Beatles portfolio, capturing the Liverpudlian quartet on the road, performing, and coming to terms with skyrocketing fame. From a pillow fight in Paris to their first U.S. tour, shot in luminous black and white, Benson’s pictures show intimate glimpses of George, John, Paul, and Ringo composing, relaxing, and engaging with euphoric fans.

In early 1964, photographer Harry Benson received a call from the photo editor of London’s Daily Express, who asked him to cover the Beatles’ trip to Paris. It was the beginning of a career-defining relationship, which would both make Benson’s name and produce some of the most intimate photographs ever taken of the Beatles.

In Paris, Benson captured the Fab Four in the midst of a pillow fight at the George V Hotel, a spontaneous moment which came to epitomize the spirit of the band — Benson himself has called it the best shot of his career. Later that year, he followed the group on the road for their debut U.S. tour, documenting their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, their surprising encounter with Cassius Clay, and the hysteria of New York Beatlemania. Benson also photographed George Harrison’s honeymoon in Barbados, documented the Beatles on the set of their debut movie A Hard Day’s Night, and was present on the now infamous 1966 tour when John Lennon said that the Beatles were “more popular than Jesus.”

Previously out-of-print, this re-edition brings back the best of Benson’s luminous black-and-white Beatles portfolio. Complemented by quotes and newspaper clippings from the period, an introduction by the photographer himself adds exciting personal testimony to these iconic images of the greatest band in musical history.

The photographer:

Glasgow-born Harry Benson has photographed every US President since Eisenhower, the Civil Rights movement, and was next to Robert Kennedy when he was assassinated. As well as The Beatles, he has shot some of the biggest personalities of the last 50 years, including Michael Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor and Her Majesty The Queen. In 2009, he was made Commander of the British Empire (CBE).

Книга является данью культуре и образу жизни, утвержденным фанатами хард-рока и хэви-металл. Потому что, если бы не эти люди, то группы, перечисленные на этих страницах, не только не сделали бы свои легендарные музыкальные карьеры, но и не смогли бы избежать ответственности за свои выходки вне сцены. Она является данью соблазнительной силе электрогитары, которая, будучи объединенной с мощным вокалом бесподобного певца, нацелена на создание самого громкого, самого исключительного звука. Это – чествование индивидуальности и жизни в настоящем.

In just fifteen years, Hipgnosis (Storm Thorgerson, Aubrey Po Powell and Peter Christopherson) established themselves as the most important design collective in music history.

Their innovative cover art defines the albums of the biggest names of the late 1960s, 70s and early 80s: AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Peter Gabriel, The Police, Genesis, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, T. Rex, Wings, Yes and XTC, to name just a few.

Their iconic designs including Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon and Led Zeppelin's Houses of the Holy grace a staggering number of major releases.

Their boundary-breaking conceptual approach earned them five Grammy nominations for package design, and their influence today can be seen in all creative fields from advertising to fashion.

This book is divided into two main sections:

Part I, 'Imagination', tells the story behind the cover artwork from germination through to the final sleeve design, supported by a wide array of archival materials and text from Aubrey Powell.
Part II, 'Realization', showcases the band portraits themselves, whether album covers or otherwise, in beautiful, large-scale reproductions. Both sections are arranged alphabetically and cross-referenced throughout.

Graham Nash, geb. 1942 in Blackpool, war zunächst Gitarrist, Songwriter und Sänger bei den Hollies, bevor er England 1969 verließ und in New York die Gruppe Crosby, Stills & Nash mitbegründete. Nash ist aber nicht nur als Musiker bekannt geworden, er war immer auch als Photograph in der Szene dabei und ist ein ausgewiesener Kenner und leidenschaftlicher Sammler von Photographien. Für unser Buch hat er nun seine Lieblingsphotos aus der inzwischen 50-jährigen Geschichte des Rock und Pop zusammengetragen und mit persönlichen Anmerkungen kommentiert. Hier sind sie alle versammelt – neben Annie Leibovitz’ unvergesslichen Bildern aus ihrer Zeit beim Rolling Stone Magazine natürlich Anton Corbijn, Richard Avedon, Jim Marshall, Mick Rock und Dennis Hopper. In seiner Auswahl gelingt es Nash, auch den Sound der Musikphotographie zum Klingen zu bringen: mit Portraits von Joan Baez und Bob Dylan, Elvis on stage, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison und Kurt Cobain, einer Momentaufnahme seiner früheren Freundin Joni Mitchell, John Lee Hookers Hand und Bob Dylans Händen ... Es sind Bilder, die am Rand von Konzerten entstanden und die Konzentration backstage oder das Abhängen im Hotelzimmer einfangen – alles in allem Rock-Ikonen vom Feinsten.

Formed in east London in 1975, Iron Maiden went on to become one of the most successful rock acts in history. With more than 85 million album sales to their credit, the legendary metal band remains hugely popular worldwide: Their 2010 album, The Final Frontier, debuted at No. 1 in 30 countries and received unanimous critical praise.

In this, the first complete illustrated treatment of Iron Maiden, a roster of respected heavy metal journalists including Ian Christe, Martin Popoff, Mick Wall, Daniel Bukszpan, and more relate the band’s history, analyze their recordings, and provide a complete discography. The stories behind the band’s formation, recordings, and tours, are complemented with more than 400 images, including live performance and candid off-stage photographs, as well as memorabilia, gig posters, T-shirts, backstage passes, buttons, and tickets. Exclusive cover art was created by Derek Riggs, the man behind Iron Maiden's iconic mascot, Eddie.

Vinyl mania. Jazz LP covers from the 1940s to 1990s

This volume features a broad selection of jazz record covers, from the 1940s through the decline of LP production in the early 1990s. Each cover is accompanied by with a fact sheet listing performer and album name, art director, photographer, illustrator, year, label, and more. Special features for jazz lovers include a top-10 favourite records list by leading jazz DJs King Britt, Michael McFadden, Gilles Peterson, Andre Torres, and Rainer Trüby, as well as interviews with legendary jazz personalities Rudy Van Gelder (sound engineer that recorded for many labels such as Blue Note, Impulse!, and Prestige), Creed Taylor (founder of many labels and one of the best jazz producers ever, credited also for bringing bossa nova to the US and fusing it with jazz), Michael Cuscuna (Blue Note jazz producer and catalogue researcher, responsible for its most successful re-editions), Bob Ciano (designer at the CTI Label, founded in the ’70s by Creed Taylor, and one of the greatest cover designers ever), and Ashley Kahn (writer, critic, and journalist for jazz whose books include A Love Supreme, Kind of Blue, and The House That Trane Built).

Vinyl mania. Jazz LP covers from the 1940s to 1990s

This volume features a broad selection of jazz record covers, from the 1940s through the decline of LP production in the early 1990s. Each cover is accompanied by a fact sheet listing performer and album name, art director, photographer, illustrator, year, label, and more.

Special features for jazz lovers include a top-10 favorite records list by leading jazz DJs such as King Britt, Michael McFadden, Gilles Peterson, Andre Torres, and Rainer Trüby, as well as interviews with legendary jazz personalities Rudy Van Gelder (sound engineer who recorded for many labels such as Blue Note, Impulse!, and Prestige), Creed Taylor (founder of many labels and one of the best jazz producers ever, credited also for bringing bossa nova to the US and fusing it with jazz), Michael Cuscuna (Blue Note jazz producer and catalog researcher, responsible for its most successful re-editions), Bob Ciano (designer at the CTI Label, founded in the 70s by Creed Taylor, and one of the greatest cover designers ever), Fred Cohen, (the owner of New York’s Jazz Record Center store with an encyclopedic knowledge of jazz music), and Ashley Kahn (writer, critic, and journalist for jazz whose books include A Love Supreme, Kind of Blue, and The House That Trane Built).

This new edition features 2 volumes in a slipcase.

The author:
Joaquim Paulo is a consultant for major labels and directs a number of radio stations in Portugal. He started collecting vinyl at 15, and flies to London, Paris, New York and São Paulo to enrich his collection of over 25,000 LPs. He lives and works in Lisbon and dedicates his free time to recovering old and rare recordings.

Vinyl mania. The greatest in Jazz LP art

Part design history, part trip down musical memory lane, this anthology of Jazz album artwork is above all a treasure trove of creative and cultural inspiration. Spanning half a century, it assembles the most daring and dynamic Jazz cover designs that helped make and shape not only a musical genre but also a particular way of experiencing life.

From the 1940s through to the decline of LP production in the early 1990s, each chosen cover design is distinct in the way it compliments the energy of the album's music with its own visual rhythms of frame, line, text, and form. To satisfy even the most demanding of music geeks, each record is accompanied by a fact sheet listing performer and album name, art director, photographer, illustrator, year, label, and more.

About the series:

Bibliotheca Universalis — Compact cultural companions celebrating the eclectic TASCHEN universe at an unbeatable, democratic price!

Since we started our work as cultural archaeologists in 1980, TASCHEN has become synonymous with accessible, open-minded publishing. Bibliotheca Universalis brings together more than 100 of our all-time favourite titles in a neat new format so you can curate your own affordable library of art, anthropology, and aphrodisia.

Bookworm’s delight — never bore, always excite!

"Jazz Icons" presents eight of the most successful jazz artists who have characterised the musical genre so decisively: Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins, Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck and John Coltrane. The author guides us through the musicians’ lives with eight enjoyable portraits and illuminates the complex interactions within the jazz scene.

An impressive array of photographs and eight CDs featuring a representative cross section of the artists portrayed complete the musical experience of Jazz Icons.

Swinging Gotham. Big City, big bands: New York’s jazz scene of the 1920s

It’s the Roaring Twenties, and New York is exploding with jazz fever. Crowds flock to the nightclubs and dance halls in Harlem to see the likes of Louis Armstrong with the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra playing at the Kentucky Club, or Duke Ellington at the Roseland Ballroom or the world-famous Cotton Club. Designed, illustrated, and edited by Robert Nippoldt, this award-winning book pays homage to this exceptional era, via an entertaining blend of illustrations, facts, and amusing anecdotes presenting 24 leading lights of New York’s jazz scene in the 1920s, complete with a CD containing some of their best tunes. The texts, contributed by Hans-Jürgen Schaal, give a vivid account of the club scene and the “band battles,” as well as the legendary recording sessions. A splendid read, a groovy CD — and not strictly for jazz fans only!

The illustrator:

Robert Nippoldt is a German graphic designer, illustrator, and book artist. He is best known for his award-winning books Gangster, Jazz and Hollywood about America in the 1920s and 1930s. His studio is located at the very hip old depot of Muenster.

The author:

Hans-Jürgen Schaal, born in 1958, studied German philology, sociology, and dramatics. He works as a freelance music journalist for various magazines and has published numerous books about jazz.

Awards for the original German edition:

 - European Design Award, 2008, Stockholm
 - Institute for Book Arts: "The Most Beautiful Book of Germany" 2008, Frankfurt
 - Illustrative: "One of the Most Beautiful Books of Europe" 2007, Berlin

Raised on the blues, James Marshall Hendrix exploded onto the international stage in 1967 fronting the Jimi Hendrix Experience trio. The world had seen nothing like him before: a wild-haired, blues-rocking, singer-songwriter whose virtuoso psychedelic guitar style and showmanship captivated audiences on both sides of the Atlantic. Wowing fans and critics alike, Hendrix took blues-rock as the basis for a unique sound filled with amplified distortions, wild feedback and liquid solo riffs. His live performances became legendary, hallmarked with teeth-playing antics and guitar-burning rituals, while his personal life followed an equally fascinating and destructive path. Dead at just 27, Hendrix became the poster boy for the psychedelic era's sex, drugs and rock'n'roll lifestyle. Transforming the landscape of rock music forever, the seminal recordings from his four studio albums broke new ground and his unrivaled southpaw fret-work has influenced successive generations of musicians. Hendrix's music and legacy burn as brightly today as they did 40 years ago.

The Music Icons series:
Each title contains a painstaking selection of approximately 150 portraits, colorful posters and record covers, rare concert photos, and previously unpublished candid photos. These images—each matching an important biographical event—are accompanied by text tracing the progression of each subject’s life and career and are complemented by a section containing lists of essential recordings and selected chart rankings.

John Cage. Imaginary Landscapes, Concerts and Musicircus, are the contents of the catalogue that documents the exhibition, of the same title, realized in the Espai d'Art Contemporani de Castello. Apart from having a section of theoretical texts developed by Joan Cerveró, Francisco Ramos, Carmen Pardo, Vicente Carretón Cano and Richard Kostelanetz, the catalogue also reflects on each of the activities that were realized during the exhibition, (concerts, operas, dance, auditions and pedagogic concerts, workshops, lectures, conferences, meetings and round table discussions). Lastly, the publication contains a biography on Cage, a chronology, including a chronologic list of his work, discography, bibliography and filmography about the composer. The idea that founded both the exhibition and the publication was to pay homage to one of the most important artists and musicians of our time, while at the same time disseminating and promoting his core body of work. To this end, the art centre was transformed into a concert hall, a stage and a meeting place for a plethora of events where the connection with John Cage was made not just as a mere spectator but also as an active participant. One of the main ideas of the project is to stage various scenarios, like his Imaginary Landscapes , where Cage s works were performed. These spaces were designed specifically for the EACC as several little installations that transform the exhibition hall into one huge sound installation.

One quarter of the world's most famous group, one half of the most successful songwriting team of all time and one voice for world peace - all achieved in one tragically shortened career. John Lennon's remarkable talent and uncompromising character gave him a unique and extraordinary life, achieving a level of success and public adoration that few can imagine. Never far in his mind from his working-class roots, his lifestyle was conversely rich and free, his celebrity affording him a musical and political soapbox few have attained. Music Icons: Lennon takes a look at both his personal and professional life before, during and after the Beatles: the progression of his creative genius as a solo artist and songwriter, his battles with the US government, his devotion to his wife and their mutual goal for a peaceful revolution. Having become a controversial and outspoken idealist and a mercurial music legend, Lennon's senseless murder in 1980 shook the world. While his widow has continued to keep his cause and ideals alive, it is Lennon's music - both as a Beatle and as an iconic solo artist - which continues to inspire and move music lovers around the globe.

The Music Icons series:
Each title contains a painstaking selection of approximately 150 portraits, colorful posters and record covers, rare concert photos, and previously unpublished candid photos. These images—each matching an important biographical event—are accompanied by text tracing the progression of each subject’s life and career and are complemented by a section containing lists of essential recordings and selected chart rankings.