Music

This is the most in-depth exploration of Metallica’s songs ever written.

From their widely circulated demo, No Life ’til Leather, all the way to their 10th studio album Hardwired… to Self-Destruct – Metallica have earned the title of the biggest heavy metal band on the planet. Their albums, including the hugely influential Master of Puppets, are now considered classics of rock and metal, while singles such as Enter Sandman, Fade to Black and For Whom the Bell Tolls have stood the test of time. Follow the epic journey of the godfathers of thrash metal, song-by-song, and see how they became one of the biggest selling bands in the world.

No stone is left unturned across more than 500 pages, illustrated with incredible photography throughout, from the inspiration behind the lyrics and melodies to the recording process and even the musicians and producers who worked on each track.

Uncover the stories behind the music in this truly definitive book – a must-have for every Metallica fan.

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“DAVID BOWIE WAS ON A CREATIVE JOURNEY THROUGH MUSIC,
FASHION AND ART. A JOURNEY UNPARALLELED IN POPULAR CULTURE.
WHAT A PRIVILEGE IT IS FOR US THAT KEVIN CUMMINS WAS THERE TO
CAPTURE THIS JOURNEY. HIS WONDERFUL BOOK SHOWS US EXACTLY
WHY BOWIE WAS SO UNIQUE.” -NOEL GALLAGHER

“KEVIN BRILLIANTLY CAPTURES THE ESSENCE OF THE GREAT MAN IN
THESE REMARKABLE PHOTOGRAPHS. CUMMINS IS SO ADEPT AT BREAKING
DOWN THE BARRIER OF THE CAMERA, YOU SENSE BOWIE IS COMPLETELY
AT EASE WHEN THEY WORKED TOGETHER” -GOLDIE

‘Whether you know him as Ziggy Stardust, Major Tom, or just David Jones, there is a David Bowie for everyone. Through Cummins’s photos, each of these iconic personas is brought before our eyes.’ DAILY MAIL

The career of celebrated photographer Kevin Cummins began on 29th June 1973 when, as a nineteen-year-old photography student, he photographed David Bowie. That image is now in the renowned photography collection of the V&A Museum and marked the beginning of Kevin Cummins’ four-decade-long visual chronicle of David Bowie’s remarkable career. David Bowie: Mixing Memory & Desire includes some of the best portraits of Bowie ever taken, the majority of which have never been published until now. From those legendary Bowie gigs in the early 1970s, through to a poignant image taken outside his apartment in New York in 2016, Cummins has captured the many faces of Bowie and created a book that is essential for Bowie fans everywhere.

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Get set to party with 70 great records-organized by theme, from Rockin’ to Beats, Mellow to Jazzy & Bluesy-spanning the 1950s to today. Each entry features liner notes on the album and two accompanying boozy beverage recipes that complement the music.

Among the featured albums are: Are You Experienced? (The Jimi Hendrix Experience), Toys in the Attic (Aerosmith), Synchronicity (The Police), Jagged Little Pill (Alanis Morisette), The B52s (The B52s ), Gipsy Kings (The Gipsy Kings), Violator (Depeche Mode), Ready to Die (The Notorious B.I.G.), Play (Moby), Lemonade (Beyoncé), Coat of Many Colors (Dolly Parton), Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (Elton John), So (Peter Gabriel), Whitney Houston (Whitney Houston), Oops!…I Did it Again (Britney Spears), Getz/Gilberto (Stan Getz and João Gilberto), A Love Supreme (John Coltrane).

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Desmond Child is the ultimate hitmaker, contributing to some of the biggest smash global hits that helped ignite the success of music icons KISS, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Ricky Martin, Katy Perry, and countless others. In Livin’ On A Prayer, he reveals how he climbed his way to the top and beyond amid extraordinary circumstances and shares his very personal and unbelievable journey that shaped him into an artist of international renown.

For over half a century, Desmond Child has collaborated with the world’s most celebrated artists creating timeless hits, such as Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On A Prayer” and “You Give Love A Bad Name” as well as Ricky Martin’s “Livin’ La Vida Loca” and “The Cup Of Life” amongst his vast catalog. But in Livin’ On A Prayer, Desmond himself takes center stage to share his transformational story from misfit outsider to cultural pacesetter.

In collaboration with legendary music biographer David Ritz, Child recounts his unconventional upbringing as his colorful family fled Cuba in the 1960s and fell into poverty. He details his shocking discovery at age 18 that the man he called “dad” was not his biological father after all, and he courageously bares his soul about navigating the trials of being a Latino gay man in the macho world of rock and roll. His is a story of willing himself to succeed and overcome impossible odds to establish himself as one of the most influential composers and lyricists of all time.

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MOJO BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023
A ROUGH TRADE BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023
AN UNCUT BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023

One of the few indisputable geniuses of pop music, Sly Stone is a trailblazer who created a new kind of music, mixing Black and white, male and female, funk and rock; penned some of the most iconic anthems of the 1960s and 70s, from “Everyday People” to “Family Affair”; and electrified audiences with a persona and stage presence that set a lasting standard for pop culture performance. Yet he has also been a cautionary tale, known as much for how he dropped out of sight as for what put him in the spotlight in the first place. As much as people know the music, the man remains a mystery.

In Thank You, his much-anticipated memoir, he’s finally ready to share his story – a story that many thought he’d never have the chance to tell. Written with Ben Greenman, who has written memoirs with George Clinton and Brian Wilson among others, Thank You will include a foreword by Questlove. The book was created in collaboration with Sly Stone’s manager Arlene Hirschkowitz.

“For as long as I can remember folks have been asking me to tell my story,” says Stone. “I wasn’t ready. I had to be in a new frame of mind to become Sylvester Stewart again to tell the true story of Sly Stone. It’s been a wild ride and hopefully my fans enjoy it too.”

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From the Electra OGV that defined his style, sound and attitude to the mythical MX guitars, the first in a series of iconic collaborations with ESP, and from his signature Snakebytes through his ambitious projects with renowned luthier Ken Lawrence, James Hetfield shares the emotional and technical elements of the chosen tools that have shaped his singular musical journey, including exotic instruments, vintage Gibsons, and custom one-offs. He also reveals many studio secrets, including the key amplifiers and gear that sculpt his tone and create his sound.

Each featured guitar is accompanied by lush museum-quality portraits by acclaimed photographer Scott Williamson, exhibiting intimate details one can only see if holding it in their own hands, alongside Hetfield’s deeply personal reminiscence. Spanning more than forty guitars, ranging from the original battle-scarred road warriors to the trusted studio stalwarts and enduring tour favourites, Messengers: The Guitars of James Hetfield is a meticulously crafted coffee table book and a mesmerizing window into the mind and soul of one of rock’s greatest front men. These invaluable guitars have forged over four decades of music history.

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LL COOL J Presents The Streets Win commemorates the birth, rise, and progression of Hip-Hop’s culture and its indisputable impact on American music over the past fifty years. LL COOL J presents the journey of this music genre through rarely seen photographs of Hip-Hop from its inception, from block party performances to street shots, parties, sessions at recording studios, and more. The imagery is accompanied by first-person recollections from Hip-Hop’s MCs, B-Boys, graffiti artists, and DJs who share how they fell in love with Hip-Hop, broke into the business, their artistic and personal style inspiration, and their views on Hip-Hop’s culture and music. Stories are told by icons DJ Kool Herc, Salt-N-Pepa, MC Lyte, KRS-One, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Grandmaster Flash, Run-D.M.C., Beastie Boys, De La Soul, Slick Rick, Public Enemy, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Nas, A Tribe Called Quest, Big Daddy Kane, Fat Joe, DJ Khaled and more.
Each page features a treasure trove of images by celebrated Hip-Hop photographers including Joe Conzo Jr., Ernie “Brother Ernie” Paniccioli, Jonathan Mannion, Janette Beckman, Estevan Oriol, Jamel Shabazz, Mike Miller, Clay Patrick McBride, and others who documented the growth; ephemera such as album covers, notebook drawings, and lyrics; party announcements; street scenes; clothing; and graffiti art. This definitive volume of the most important origin stories from the last fifty years of Hip-Hop is the perfect gift for music and photography fans.

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“As someone who has spent his life telling made-up stories that are obliged to sound somewhat plausible, I am deeply envious of Geddy Lee. And it’s not only the improbable, absurd, wondrous and at times heartbreaking true story that life has gifted him that envy, but also the warmth, care, artfulness, hard-earned wisdom and—always—the gently skewed humor with which he tells it. He’s one of my musical heroes, for reasons that are there on record, but with this book everyone can see why for so long he has also been one of my heroes as a man.”—Michael Chabon

The long-awaited memoir, generously illustrated with never-before-seen photos, from the iconic Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Rush bassist, and bestselling author of Geddy Lee’s Big Beautiful Book of Bass.

Geddy Lee is one of rock and roll’s most respected bassists. For nearly five decades, his playing and work as co-writer, vocalist and keyboardist has been an essential part of the success story of Canadian progressive rock trio Rush. Here for the first time is his account of life inside and outside the band.

Long before Rush accumulated more consecutive gold and platinum records than any rock band after the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, before the seven Grammy nominations or the countless electrifying live performances across the globe, Geddy Lee was Gershon Eliezer Weinrib, after his grandfather was murdered in the Holocaust.

As he recounts the transformation, Lee looks back on his family, in particular his loving parents and their horrific experiences as teenagers during World War II.

He talks candidly about his childhood and the pursuit of music that led him to drop out of high school.

He tracks the history of Rush which, after early struggles, exploded into one of the most beloved bands of all time.

He shares intimate stories of his lifelong friendships with bandmates Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart—deeply mourning Peart’s recent passing—and reveals his obsessions in music and beyond.

This rich brew of honesty, humor, and loss makes for a uniquely poignant memoir.

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