Entertainment - Music

Whether they played to 80,000 in a stadium or festival, or for a few dozen people in a pub, the world's greatest musical performers have helped change forever our concept of live entertainment. This beautifully-crafted book brings together the best-ever collection of photographs and stories from New Zealand concerts over the past half century, from the legendary Johnny Cash in 1959 to today's high-tech extravaganzas. Almost 600 photographs, many of them rare and previously unpublished, show how we sang, screamed and danced to acts ... read more

In this comprehensive guide to the evolution of the electric guitar, Jonathan Lister introduces 103 designers, from Anderson to Zemaitis, with photographs of their guitars, including some unconventional instruments such as Daisy Rock's guitars for girls and bespoke designs by Johnson Guitars, and some famous models in the hands of guitarists such as Jimi Hendrix, Mark Knopfler and Jeff Beck. Plus a timeline history of the guitar since 1857 and a glossary of basic terms.

No Description

"The Illustrated Directory of Guitars "is the most ambitious and lavishly illustrated history of guitars for the collector and musician. It shows in clear, detailed photographs and text over 360 landmark instruments of all kinds, from acoustic to solid, including base guitars and multi-stringed variants. Each entry has a double-page spread showing the guitar from different angles and features close-ups of details special to that particular instrument. Each guitar has been specially studio photographed for this extraordinary book. T... read more

No Description

The Rolling Stones were around when the Beatles were topping the charts throughout the 1960s, they survived metal's and then punk's popularity in the 1970s and 1980s and they kept on rockin' through the turn of the century. "Treasures of the Rolling Stones", an unofficial publication, tells the story of one of the biggest acts in popular music history in words, photographs and in beautifully reproduced facsimile memorabilia.

From personal blogs to end of year critic polls; from the films of Quentin Tarantino to the books of Nick Hornby; music fans have always loved to compile and to indulge, to collect and to hoard. Mixing anecdote, humour, reference and quality anorak behaviour, "Hang the DJ" is a collection of lists about musical loves and hates, dreams and nightmares. Including contributions from bloggers, journalists, novelists, poets and musicians, it will be the literary equivalent of a great pub jukebox - inspiring, provocative and irresistible ... read more

The Rolling Stones are the longest surviving rock 'n' roll band in history, and probably the greatest. Formed in 1961 and originally inspired by the blues, rhythm and blues and rock 'n' roll, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards went on to become one of the greatest song-writing teams in the history of popular music and the band continues to fill stadiums worldwide. This comprehensive book lists every recording made by The Stones and gives full background details and complete musical credits. It also features album sleeves, CD and tape i... read more

No Description

From Dinah Lee and The Chicks to Bic and Boh Runga, from Sharon O'Neill to Ladi6, kiwi rock chicks have never taken a back seat. Strong sheilas with big, soulful voices and even bigger stage personalities have long been a feature of our local music scene, and for the first time we celebrate their contribution to the jukebox in our heads, or the i-tunes on our phones, depending on our age. Sassy, talented, tragic and triumphant, the girls are here to strut their stuff through the pages of their own piece of recording history. Ian Ch... read more

"Bon Jovi: When We Were Beautiful" is an intimate look at one of America's most enduringly popular bands after 25 years of hits, fame, tours, and troubles. It is the companion to a major documentary of the same title released in Fall 2009, which coincided with the band's silver anniversary. Filmmaker and photographer Phil Griffin followed the band on their 2008 Lost Highway tour and at home, capturing everything from life on the road and onstage to band members' own personal crises. The book is illustrated with gorgeous new photos ... read more

No Description

Whether you want to make a living from music or play for fun, this is the essential guide to the New Zealand music industry. I'm With The Band explains everything you need to know from recording demos to signing contracts, from hiring a manager to protecting your music. Key figures in the New Zealand industry - names like Neil Finn - share their inside knowledge and experiences to help everyone from the hobby band to the performer on the brink of discovery. The talented Chunn family, led by Split Enz founding member Mike, combines... read more

Learning to play rock guitar is a thrilling experience... but getting started can be a challenge. Here at last is a book that really helps you understand the basics of rock guitar and gets you playing – fast. Full-colour pictures, clear diagrams and genuinely practical advice combine to make Start-Up Rock Guitar do exactly what it says on the cover. You'll start off on the right track and that makes everything else come more easily. Contents include: - Choosing equipment - Tuning - Playing chords - The 12-bar Blues ... read more

No Description

Queen: one of the biggest bands ever. Sell-out tours, chart-topping records and stunning success for 40 years. Hundreds of millions of albums, singles and videos sold all over the world. They have broken records constantly: biggest ever paying crowd, longest number of weeks in the charts, headliners at the biggest festival ever and more. They have received accolades too numerous to list in full, but suffice to say 'Best Band', 'Best Album', 'Best Single', 'Best Video' and 'Best Live Act' feature again and again. They were inducted ... read more

Robert Crumb first began drawing record covers in 1968 when Janis Joplin asked him to provide a cover for her album Cheap Thrills. It was an invitation that the budding artist couldn't resist, especially since he had been fascinated with record covers since he was a teenager. This early collaboration proved so successful that Crumb went on to draw hundreds of record covers for both new artists and forgotten masters. So remarkable were Crumb's artistic interpretations of these old 78 rpm singles that the art itself proved influentia... read more

The incredible international success story of Mâori showbands comes to life here through the experiences of Mahora Peters and the Mâori Volcanics. This engaging recollection of the glitz and glamour of life on the road in the 60s and 70s captures the heyday of the showband phenomenon. Add to the story a wonderful collection of photos and a bonus CD: Showband! is sure to be a big hit!

Perhaps the most original artist of his generation, Bowie, born David Robert Jones in 1947, has reinvented himself many times over a career spanning five decades. Over 200 photographs with authoritative captions tell the story of his life as an international star.

Bob Dylan's impact on popular music has been incalculable. Having transformed staid folk music into a vehicle for coruscating social commentary, he then swept away the romantic platitudes of rock 'n' roll with his searing intellect. From the zeitgeist-encapsulating protest of "Blowin' in the Wind" to the streetwise venom of "Like a Rolling Stone", and from the stunning mid-sixties trilogy of albums - "Bringing It All Back Home", "Highway 61 Revisited" and "Blonde on Blonde" - "to Time Out of Mind", his stunning if world-weary comeb... read more