The writings in this book are extracted from volumes 1 through 20 of our 33 1/3 series - short books about individual albums. In here you'll find a wide variety of authors, albums, and approaches to writing about those albums. So sit back, put on your headphones, cue up your favourite songs, and let our writers transport you to a time when: Dusty Springfield headed south to Memphis to record a pop/soul classic; The Kinks almost fell to pieces, and managed to make their best album while doing so; Joy Division and their mad, brilliant producer created a debut record that still sounds painfully hip today; James Brown mesmerized a sell-out crowd at the Apollo, in the midst of the Cuban Missile Crisis; The Rolling Stones shacked up in the South of France and emerged with one of the best double-albums ever; The Ramones distilled punk rock into its purest, most enduring essence... 33 1/3 Greatest Hits, Volume 1: it's like a compilation album, without the filler. Adult/High School—This volume includes selections from the ongoing series that pays tribute to pop-music albums. Some contributors discuss the production values and personnel on specific albums, such as Neil Young's Harvest . Others examine individual song structure and songwriting. Michaelangelo Matos's chapter on Prince's Sign 'O' The Times picks the album apart song by song. Still others describe personal experiences during which an album seemed to serve as the soundtrack. The authors are unabashed music geeks who take their obsessions seriously, and most chapters display journalistic rigor and flair. Musicians, journalists, professors, and others contribute their varied perspectives to the enrichment of the collection. Pop music is worthy of serious consideration, a welcomed revelation to many teens. There are plenty of books on rock music, but this anthology's focus on individual albums is unique. The music expands beyond the personality cults of rock superstars, and readers see all of the other people who contributed to the final masterpiece and the greater cultural and historical context from which it emerged. This is a collection of excerpts from longer works, and many pieces needed some rewriting to make them stand alone. The book includes this year's winning essay from the "Under 21" contest, a nice way of encouraging young writers to join the conversation.— Emma Coleman, Berkeley Public Library, CA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. “The series standouts capture the tone and energy of the discs they're exploring. Devoid of photos, averaging 120 pages and printed as pocket sized, 6 ½-inch-by-4-inch paperbacks-handy for filing next to your favorite CD's-the books tend to be exceedingly brief in recapping the subjects' life and work before and after the album references in the title, keeping the focus squarely on the masterpiece. One of the best aspects of the 33 1/3 books may be that they don't intend to be the final work on these albums, only the ultimate conversation starters.” ― Chicago Sun-Times “Continuum Publishing's quirky 33 1/3 series is a modest success with more than 30 books already published. All of these books are packed with details ranging from the personal to the technical and sociological, covering everything from the author's reaction to the music to the kind of equipment used in the studio. What each one has in common is a loving look at an album that made a difference in someone's life and they're all written with a passion that is a reminder of 30 years ago when music magazines like Creem, Circus and Rolling Stone featured long essays and think-pieces that were more about music than personality profiles. Most of the books work as behind-the-scenes glimpse at artistic creations that often are shrouded in mystery. The charm of the books is that their lack of immediacy-it's hard to find any of them about an album that's not at least 5 years old-creates a sort of nostalgic vibe that goes beyond the music.” ― Toledoblade.com “Essentially religious tracts for the rock n' roll faithful.” ― Boldtype Magazine “Passionate and astutely written, and, in several instances, lend real insight.” ― Amplifier Magazine “[The series] is the sort of great idea you can't believe hasn't been done before: enlist critics and musicians to write chapbook-length meditations on their favorite albums.” ― The Boston Phoenix “Brilliantly researched and written... [these books] are compact enough to carry in a pocket (or guitar case) while you wait for friends or troll for tickets.” ― LA City Beat “The nobility-and fun-of the project has never been questioned... a winning mix of tastes and writing styles.” ― Philadelphia Weekly “Reading about rock isn't quite the same as listening to it, but this series comes pretty damn close.” ― Neon NYC “A brilliant series... each one a work of real love.” ― NME “Passionate, obsessive, and smart.” ― Nylon “[A] consistently excellent