Five Books for the Classic Rock Fan

If you’re looking for a new book to read and enjoy classic rock, here are five books you might want to consider.

1) Rocking the Classics – Edward Macan

If you’re into progressive rock, this book tells you all about the history and the counterculture around it. From the genre’s beginnings in the 1960s and its extension through the 1970s. Learn all about album art, concerts, and lyrical themes along with the importance of combining music, visual motif, and verbal expression to create a complete artistic vision.

2) Inside Classic Rock Tracks – Rikky Rooksby

This book looks at 100 different songs from vintage rock ‘n’ roll to current dance music and analyzes their writing and recording techniques. It combines critical appreciation and hands-on insight of the selected singles and album cuts to see what exactly makes a great track.

3) Are We Still Rolling? – Phill Brown

We often read autobiographies of our favourite musicians, but what about the producers that make their music sound great? Phill Brown tells his story as a music producer, beginning in the mid-60s when he had his first glimpse of a recording studio. He learned his trade from experienced producers and went on to work with artists such as Mott the Hoople, David Bowie, and Led Zeppelin.

4) 1000 Songs That Rock Your World – Dave Thompson

Described as the ultimate visual guide to the best rock music ever produced, this book showcases songs by close to 500 musicians from all genres of rock. The book includes hundreds of colour photos from concerts, album covers, posters, and more. Go behind the scenes and learn the stories of the creation, cultural significance, and popularity of each song.

5) 1965 – Andrew Grant Jackson

1965 was a huge year in music. The Beatles made their first major artistic statement with Rubber Soul, the Rolling Stones topped the American charts for the first time with “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction)”, and Bob Dylan went electric at the Newport Folk Festival. Popular music found a diversity that it never had before. Soul and funk became popular, country music began to expand, and Bob Marley released his first album. Music historian Andrew Grant Jackson chronicles this important and groundbreaking year in music.