Discographies & buyer’s guides – The Bell Bookshop

Everything under the sun

Emma — Thu, 08 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Pink Floyd are one of the most iconic and influential rock bands in the world: their sonic ambition, lyrical dexterity and structural ability are unparalleled in rock music. Since their formation in 1965, they have released 15 studio albums and sold over 250 million records. Their eighth album, Dark Side of the Moon, is one of the highest-selling British albums in the world.

Mike Cormack takes a deep dive into the music of Pink Floyd, resulting in the first serious appraisal of the band’s immense achievements, whilst also giving an overview of the UK’s concurrent social and political history as seen through the prism of the band. In addition to a song-by-song analysis, Mike also shares exclusive band interviews, a full chronology and gig guide, and a full bootleg guide.

Everything Under the Sun is the definitive account of the career of rock’s most devastatingly emotional and articulate band.

Why Beethoven

Emma — Thu, 01 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Without Beethoven, music as we know it wouldn’t exist. Who was this titan of world culture?

‘You want to build a Beethoven library? There can be no better starting point… Brilliant.’ John Suchet, Classic FM presenter

Through 100 recordings, Lebrecht brings to life the composer as we’ve never seen him before. Unruly, offensive and hopeless in so much of his life, yes, but driven to a fault and devoted to his art, conquering deafness to compose some of the towering works of our culture.

Along the way, we encounter the great musicians who have taken on the challenge of Beethoven, in all their glories and foibles. In this revealing, unique biography, Beethoven emerges as a cornerstone of the modern world.

All recordings are freely available on Idagio and YouTube.

Elton John – all the songs

Emma — Thu, 06 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This first-of-its-kind catalog of Elton John’s decades-long career tells the story of one of rock’s all-time greatest artists, album-by-album and track-by-track.Organized chronologically and covering every album and song that Sir Elton Hercules John has ever released, Elton John All the Songs draws upon years of research to tell the behind-the-scenes stories of how each song was written, composed, and recorded, down to the instruments used and the people who played them. Spanning more than fifty-years of work from Elton and his longtime collaborator, Bernie Taupin, this book details the creative processes that resulted in seminal albums like Goodbye Yellowbrick Road, Madman Across the Water, and Tumbleweed Connection, as well as Academy Award wins for 1995’s Lion King and 2020’s Rocketman. Newer work like The Lockdown Sessions, which released in 2021, is also featured alongside Billboard stats, tour dates, producing and mixing credits, and other insider details that will keep fans turning pages. Starting with the artist’s early days working as a studio musician in London, and featuring interviews with actors, musicians, collaborators, and confidantes, Elton John All the Songs offers readers the most detailed portrait of the artist and his creative process that has ever been produced. Featuring hundreds of vivid photographs that celebrate one of music’s most visually arresting performers, Elton John All the Songs is the authoritative guide to one of rock’n’roll’s greatest stars.