Review:
Elvis, Michael, Patti, Bruce--icons all. The Rolling Stone portraits assembled in this book depict five decades worth of musical sensations and idols. The juxtaposition of the shots heightens the fun of flipping through the photos: A young Mick Jagger sitting under a hairdryer faces Snoop Doggy Dog, his curls caught up in a hairdresser's clips; David Bowie in a loincloth counterbalances Björk in a fig leaf; Chris Isaak and John Lee Hooker stand opposite one another, each in a polka-dot shirt; Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley, side by side and enveloped in clouds of smoke. These alignments of musicians from different eras and different genres make a simple, visual statement about the transcendent power of music. Every page reveals another familiar image that transports the readers to the moment they first saw the musicians on the cover of the magazine or heard their music. The undiscovered pictures are a treat as well. Individually, these portraits expose the essence of their subjects and speak volumes about the characters that created and sustain rock and roll.
From Library Journal:
Each of these 177 photographs contains an idea of rock'n'roll. There is the innocence of a wide-eyed Paul McCartney in Germany in 1961 and the spent, tormented Sid Vicious, his chest rent with self-inflicted wounds, sneering on a Dallas stage in 1978. The wild creativity of Frank Zappa is captured, as is the brooding of the artist formerly known as Prince, the unleashed fury of Jerry Lee Lewis, the defiance of Courtney Love, and the in-your-face sexuality of Kiss. The pictures are grouped loosely by theme: concert photos, artists preparing to perform, trappings of celebrity, and the like. Photographers include Robert Mapplethorpe, Annie Leibovitz, Dennis Hopper, and Norman Seeff. Many have appeared in Rolling Stone, but some have never before been published. The pages are free of text, and an excellent index features a miniature of each photo, the artist depicted, photographer, year, location, and a brief description of the circumstances of the shoot. Recommended for music, photography, and popular culture collections in public, and academic libraries.?Adam Mazmanian, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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