Entertainment > music

Music-lovers love lists, and this Top 100 from Radio New Zealand's highly respected music guru Nick Bollinger will not disappoint. As his legions of fans know, Bollinger's taste is eclectic: he's as likely to give space to the Axemen as to Bic Runga. His choices come accompanied by some of the most entertaining writing about music and musicians you're ever likely to read.

Andrew Zuckerman now turns his unique photographic perspective to music. Fifty eminent individuals - artists, composers, producers and performers from rock, rap, dance, soul, R&B, classical, country, reggae, pop, jazz, world and more - are all subjected to Zuckerman's democratic style, hyperreal photography to create an inspiring and brilliant perspective of music and musicians.

360 chords, organised as a chord per page, this is a flexible, comprehensive solution for anyone learning or playing the guitar at any level. This no-nonsense, easy to carry, wiro book will fit into a gig bag, flight case or hand bag with the minimum of fuss.

Love Me Tender tells the remarkable stories behind 40 popular and traditional songs. Some evolved from folksongs, some are from musical theatre, while others hit the mark because a particular recording appeared at just the right time. First published September 2008.

Whether they played to 80,000 in a stadium or festival, or for a few dozen people in a pub, the world's greatest musical performers have helped change forever our concept of live entertainment. This beautifully-crafted book brings together the best-ever collection of photographs and stories from New Zealand concerts over the past half century, from the legendary Johnny Cash in 1959 to today's high-tech extravaganzas. Almost 600 photographs, many of them rare and previously unpublished, show how we sang, screamed and danced to acts ... read more

Ted Gioia's History of Jazz has been universally hailed as a classic acclaimed by jazz critics and fans around the world. Now Gioia brings his magnificent work completely up-to-date, drawing on the latest research and revisiting virtually every aspect of the music, past and present. Gioia tells the story of jazz as it had never been told before, in a book that brilliantly portrays the legendary jazz players, the breakthrough styles, and the world in which it evolved. Here are the giants of jazz and the great moments of jazz history... read more

This is superstar Justin Bieber's illustrated life story - his amazing journey from life as an ordinary kid in Canada to his rise to stardom as a worldwide singing sensation. Fans can take a behind-the-scenes tour of his personal life and career and discover what Justin is up to, on stage and off. Packed with gorgeous photos, personal facts about Justin's favourite things, cool quotes and test-yourself quizzes, this is the book for anyone with Bieber Fever.

In this small, luminous memoir, the National Book Award-winner Patti Smith revisits the most sacred experiences of her early years, with truths so vivid they border on the surreal. The author entwines her childhood self - and its 'clear, unspeakable joy' - with memories both real and envisioned from her twenties on New York's MacDougal Street, the street of cafes. Woolgathering was completed in Michigan, on Patti Smith's 45th birthday and originally published in a slim volume from Raymond Foye's Hanuman Books. Twenty years later, B... read more

By the end of 1968 The Beatles were far too busy squabbling with each other, while The Stones had simply stopped making music; English Rock was coming to an end. "All the Mad Men" tells the story of six stars that travelled to edge of sanity in the years following the summer of love: Pete Townshend, Ray Davies, Peter Green, Syd Barrett, Nick Drake, and David Bowie. The book charts how they made some of the most seminal rock music ever recorded: "Pink Moon"; "Ziggy Stardust"; "Quadrophenia"; "Dark Side of the Moon"; "Muswell Hillbil... read more

For over 30 years Sammy Hagar has been a fixture in heavy metal music. Beginning with his successful solo career where he churned out hits such as I Can’t Drive 55, and stretching into his decade long stint as the frontman for Van Halen, Hagar has sold millions of albums all over the world. Taking over for Van Halen’s original singer David Lee Roth in 1985, Hagar kept that monumentally successful band going stronger than ever during their biggest years before being unceremoniously fired in 1996. A decade later, he returned triump... read more

Absolute Beginners has been designed to tell you everything you need to know from the very first time you pick up your Bass Guitar. In one great book you get: A look-and-learn course that uses clear pictures instead of long explanations Practical advice and tips covering everything you need to know about setting up, playing and maintenance 2 CDs show you how things should sound, plus... Full-length accompaniment tracks to play along with! It's simply everything you need. An "owner's manual" approach to your Bass Guitar that makes l... read more

Gig Book Traditional Songs contains 109 traditional favourites in melody line arrangements, with complete lyrics, chord symbols and guitar chord boxes. Plus the story behind the songs complete with photos and Sheet Music. These handy books are an ideal size for stuffing in your gig bag. Glance inside and you'll see they're super-sized packages of hit after hit for all musicians. With a hard-wearing PVC cover, each book in the series is designed to be carried around and used... over and over again. Songs Include Amazing Grace, Auld ... read more

From the smoke-filled coffeehouse of the 1950s folk scene, where she first performed, to the racially tense South of the early sixties, bringing support to terrorized African-Americans with Martin Luther King, Jr. Joan has been involved with some of the most important political movements including the 2008 Presidential elections. Joan always took her social and political beliefs on-stage with her. The Woodstock performance where she sang to thousands in the middle of the night while six months pregnant became one of the stand-out ... read more

This book includes simplified arrangements of over 50 piano classics from composers such as Beethoven and Mozart. Each piece has been carefully graded to develop the skills of young pianists throughout the book. Useful musical and historical facts put the pieces in context and help learners to understand more about the music they play. It is Internet-linked to allow learners to listen to the tunes online.

Author Martin Roach reveals how the band members met, played their early gigs, financed their own early EPs and how, with four hit albums under their belt; they still continue to maintain a tight degree of control over their output. Featuring insights into Coldplay's professional insecurities and anxieties and the notoriously angst-ridden personality of lead vocalist Chris Martin, this is an in-depth portrait of one of Britain's most successful bands of the new millennium. Fully illustrated and including a comprehensive discography.

Extensively illustrated with many never-before-published archival images, this handsome slipcased volume, complete with two CDs, makes an ideal gift or perfect self-indulgence for classical music lovers. Founded over a century ago, Deutsche Grammophon has come to define excellence in recorded classical music. With contributions from a star-studded roster of celebrated artists, this lavishly produced volume contains two CDs featuring the firm's most seminal recordings, past and present. With unprecedented access to the archives, thi... read more

In the late 1950’s black American music started to fuse the spiritual passion of gospel singing with the gritty sexual drive of rhythm ‘n’ blues. The result was called soul, Ray Charles was its early pioneer, and so this year-by-year soul collection kicks off with his classic 1959 call-and-response song, ‘What’d I Say’. James Brown, Otis Redding, Solomon Burke and Aretha Franklin all carried soul into the golden period of the 1960’s and from then on the genre would be a permanent fixture i... read more

This is an authorized visual history of one of the biggest bands in hard rock by photographer Ross Halfin, who has documented them from 1978 through to today.

Stephen Davis's brilliantly written personal account of criss-crossing America with Led Zeppelin on their 1975 tour. A warts-and-all snapshot of the world's biggest hard-rock band at their peak. As a young rock writer Stephen Davis landed the ultimate commission - touring America with Led Zeppelin. This is a personal account by Davis of his journey, which saw him crossing the country with the band on board the Starship, their famous Boeing passenger jet, complete with deep shag purple carpet, electric pianos, girlfriends and star-... read more