33 1/3 (continued)

I blogged once before about this collection of short books about classic records.

I started out with Let It Be, by Colin Meloy, written about one of The Replacements' greatest records.

I got two more last week and polished them off this weekend.

The Velvet Underground and Nico is an amazing record. 

I still listen to it often, almost 40 years after it was made.

Joe Harvard does a great job of describing the people involved, how the record got made, and how the band's sound came together.

If you are a VU fan, I recommend this book.

Another 60s record that gets too little credit is The Kinks' Village Green Preservation Society.

My friend Pete VanVoast turned me onto the Kinks when we were in college and I've been a fan ever since.

This is their best record and this book by Andy Miller does a great job of describing how it got made.

I am going to get some more of these 33 1/3 books.  Amazon has them all.

Comments

[jackson]

After SGT. Pepper and Pet Sounds, VU w/ Nico is probably the most documented record of that era. Every book I've ever read on the subject of Punk Rock begins with that band and that record. I'd disagree that Village Green Preservation Society is the Kinks best record, I have been, and always will be a Low Budget man.

[Joe Harvard]

Thanks for the kind words, A VC ... Working on the book was a blast, it gave me license to learn about a fantastic record by a truly great band. Tho' due to my natural verbosity I had to "unwrite" it by half once the first draft was done, so a lot of personal anecdotes got left on the word processor floor. I'm working on another book right now, a series of "war stories" dealing with my experiences working in and around the 70's thru early 90's Boston Rock scene, hopefully it'll have a lot more of that "local color". Soon I'll start looking for a publisher, but I'm optimistic. When it comes out I hope you dig it as much as my first. Re: the Kinks, 2 records [that I inherited from my sisters as an 12-yr. old' in '71] vied on my turntable for most-loved Kinks records: 65's 'Kinkdom' and 70's 'Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround' - as a producer and gtr. player I especially dig the raw power of the former, and the cream-o'-fuzzbox sound and conceptual continuity of the latter. I do think Villlage Green introduced a new-found sophistication in terms of Davies' songwriting, and 'Kinks Kontrovery' is right up there for sheer mod muscle. What a brilliant band. I recommend 'Kinks Kronicles', the dbl LP, to anyone who wants a well-thought out collection including some hard to find older and out of print stuff.