Songwriting Guitar
Guitar Tricks 21: Guitar Songwriting Tips – Easy Guitar Lesson
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Tom Petty – Classic Albums: Damn the Torpedoes $3.99 … |
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Two Pictures $12.50 Two Pictures: James Bryan & Carl Jones CD recording Re-released due to popular demand. Two Pictures is an inspired recording of old and new songs and tunes performed by Alabama fiddler, James Bryan and Georgia songwriter, Carl Jones. 1. Kicking Up the Devil on a Holiday / |
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Alone With Everybody $4.42 The bad news: Alone with Everybody, the first solo venture by the Verve’s ex-lead singer Richard Ashcroft, is not as good as the Verve’s pinnacle departure album, Urban Hymns. The good news: it’s really, really close. Urban Hymns’s elongated, psychedelic space jams and reflective, occasionally plaintive themes seeped osmotically into the listener’s every cell, becoming gloriously inescapable. The … |
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Esteban’s Instructional Method for the Guitar Volume 5 $10.00 A great instructional DVD by Esteban…. |
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Tom Petty – Classic Albums: Damn the Torpedoes $14.99 … |
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Finale SongWriter 2010 $38.99 Software. With DVD-ROM. 5.25×7.5 inches. Published by Makemusic.SongWriter lets you enter notes with a mouse or your MIDI keyboard and print great-looking sheet music. Explore musical options with tools like Drum Groove and Band-in-a-Box Auto-Harmonizing, and hear your music play with hundreds of built-in sounds and a powerful new mixer. Plus you can share your music with the free downloadable Fin… |
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Chorducopia Audible Chord Library Software $9.98 Chorducopia is like the PC or Mac version of that trusty tattered chordbook in your guitar case, only better. When you are writing and you have that perfect sound in your head, but can’t quite translate it to your fingers, Chorducopia can help. With over nine-hundred chords hand-diagrammed and recorded in every key, Chorducopia offers the songwriter or student access to the essential elements of… |
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Lyricist V3 – The Songwriter’s Best Friend – Songwriting and Chord Charting Software $54.95 Lyricist… “the Songwriter’s Best Friend” is the first-of-its-kind, easy to use, wordprocessor designed specifically for musicians and songwriters. The software combines everything you need for lyric writing, chord charting, and archiving into one package. The end result is Professional Quality Lyric Sheets and Chord Charts. Whether you are an aspiring songwriter or just need lyric sheets for … |
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Presonus AudioBox 22vsl USB Audio Interface Singer/Songwriter & YouTube Recording Package $359.00 This specially designed package includes: the Presonus AudioBox 22vsl USB Audio Interface, one Samson C01 Microphone, one Audix F9 Instrument Mic, Samson SR850 headphones and all of the included cables as well as the Ultimate Support JS-MCFB100 andn JS-MCTB50 mic stands and a pop filter and extra XLR cables. This package comes complete with everything you need to record vocals and guitar or any o… |
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Fretboard Theory $19.95 Fretboard Theory by Desi Serna teaches music theory for guitar including scales, chords, progressions, modes, and details to hundreds of popular songs. Hands-on approach to guitar theory gives you total command of the fretboard and music’s most critical elements by visualizing shapes, patterns and how they connect. Content includes: What scales to learn and how including pentatonic and major scale… |
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Alfred 0014840 Songwriting for Beginners Music Book $23.4 Alfred Music Publishing is the world s largest educational music publisher. Alfred produces educational’ reference’ pop’ and performance materials for teachers’ students’ professionals’ and hobbyists spanning every musical instrument’ style’ and difficulty level. Anyone can get started learning how to write a song with this userfriendly basic method. You will learn how to write a melody’ write an interesting chord progression’ develop ideas’ write lyrics and more. This book teaches the basics of reading music and provides both guitar and keyboard diagrams of the basic chords. You will even learn how to copyright and protect your songs. No matter what style of music you enjoy’ get ready to develop your creativity with the firstever’ fun’ basic method for songwriting. |
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The Complete Idiots Guide to the Art of Songwriting By Kelly, Casey/ Hodge, David $27 The cowriter of several Grammynominated songs and a guitar teacher provide beginning composers with the basics of songwriting including how to create melodies and harmonies, rhythm techniques and how to deal with songwriters block. Original. 12,000 first printing. Author: Kelly, Casey/ Hodge, David Series Title: Complete Idiots Guide to Publication Date: 2011/08/02 Number of Pages: 222 Binding Type: Paperback Language: English Depth: 0.75 Width: 8.50 Height: 11.00 |
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The Guitar Players Songwriting Bible By Coulter, Leo/ Jones, Richard $24.73 Author: Coulter, Leo/ Jones, Richard Publication Date: 2010/06/01 Number of Pages: 256 Binding Type: Hardcover Language: English Depth: 1.00 Width: 6.50 Height: 8.00 |
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Songwriting for Dummies $8.99 Now you can write the songs! Using well-known tunes as examples, this easy-to-follow guide walks you through every aspect of writing lyrics and publishing a song, from choosing a musical style and recording to hiring business players. You’ll see how to use rhyme and rhythm in all kinds of music, from blues to rock to commercial jingles. |
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Melody in Songwriting $24.95 (Tools and Techniques for Writing Hit Songs). Berklee Guide. Softcover. 182 pages. Published by Berklee Press |
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The Craft of Christian Songwriting $24.99 “Born from eight years of teaching songwriting for the Academy of Gospel Music Arts, Robert Sterling’s The Craft of Christian Songwriting deftly tackles the much-overlooked subject of craft in the Christian songwriter’s creative process. The book challenges its readers to aspire to the highest level of excellence, providing chapter after chapter of practical insights into the Christian songwriting experience. All the way from “Getting Started” to “Building a Demo,” The Craft of Christian Songwriting shows beginning writers how to make their next song their “best song ever,” all from the unique perspective of the Christian songwriter. Practical and realistic, The Craft of Christian Songwriting is a smart read for anyone with aspirations of becoming a Christian songwriter. Highlights: * Hundreds of examples from hit songs * Concise and practical instruction on all the essential elements of the songwriting process * Writing exercises to help you improve your craft * Learn the ins and outs of collaboration * Examine 10 full lyric reprints, complete with the author’s analysis * Discover how to produce a proper demo recording” |
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Alfred’s Teach Yourself Songwriting $19.95 “(Everything You Need to Know to Start Writing Songs Now!). For piano (or keyboard). Reference Textbooks; Textbook – Choral / Vocal. Teach Yourself Series. Song Writing, General Theory and Composition. Instructional book and examples CD. Instructional text, black & white photos, musical examples and lyrical examples. 95 pages. Published by Alfred Music Publishing” |
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Bruce Springsteen – Songwriting Secrets $19.95 By Bruce Springsteen. Book. Softcover. 128 pages. Backbeat Books #0879308362. Published by Backbeat Books |
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Songwriting: Essential Guide to Rhyming $14.95 (A Step-by-Step Guide to Better Rhyming and Lyrics). Berklee Press. Softcover. 80 pages. Published by Berklee Press |
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Songwriting By Citron, Stephen $27.03 Author: Citron, Stephen Subtitle: A Complete Guide to the Craft Publication Date: 2008/06/01 Number of Pages: 334 Binding Type: Paperback Language: English Depth: 1.00 Width: 6.00 Height: 9.00 |
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The Songwriting Sourcebook By Rooksby, Rikky $30.86 Author: Rooksby, Rikky/ Fogg, Rod (CON)/ Roberts, Jim (EDT) Series Title: Fastforward Subtitle: How to Turn Chords into Great Songs Publication Date: 2011/04/15 Number of Pages: 240 Binding Type: Paperback Language: English Depth: 0.50 Width: 8.75 Height: 11.00 |
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Melody in Songwriting By Perricone, Jack $30.84 Author: Perricone, Jack Series Title: Berklee Guide Subtitle: Tools and Techniques for Writing Hit Songs Publication Date: 2000/04/01 Number of Pages: 180 Binding Type: Paperback Language: English Depth: 0.50 Width: 9.00 Height: 12.00 |
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Songwriting By Gillette, Steve $24.7 Author: Gillette, Steve Subtitle: And the Creative Process : Suggestions and Starting Points for Songwriters Publication Date: 1995/07/01 Binding Type: Paperbound Language: English Depth: 0.75 Width: 7.25 Height: 10.00 |
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The Craft of Christian Songwriting By Sterling, Robert $30.86 Author: Sterling, Robert Publication Date: 2009/05/01 Number of Pages: 198 Binding Type: Paperback Language: English Depth: 0.75 Width: 8.50 Height: 11.00 |
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Tascam iXZ – Microphone and Guitar Interface for iPad, iPod, iPhone $49 TASCAM?s pocket-sized iXZ turns your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch into a recording studio. Plug in a microphone, guitar or bass to interact with the latest guitar amp, sampling, recording and DJ apps. The iXZ even supplies phantom power for condenser microphones. An input setting sets the gain and there?s aheadphone output to monitor from your iOS device. To turn an iPhone into a portable practice, songwriting or live recording rig, it?s tough to beat the TASCAM iXZ. |
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Guitar $124.99 Guitar – Dimensional Product |
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John Mayer – Songwriting is not a Crime T-Shirt $45 Part of the JMltd line, each component of this high-quality, limited edition tee was designed by John.Each shirt was custom made, start to finish, and is one of 250 limited pieces of its design. Click here for larger image. |
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Songwriting: Essential Guide to Lyric Form and Structure $16.95 (Tools and Techniques for Writing Better Lyrics). Berklee Guide. Softcover. 112 pages. Published by Berklee Press |
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6 Steps to Songwriting Success By Blume, Jason $24.7 Author: Blume, Jason Subtitle: The Comprehensive Guide to Writing and Marketing Hit Songs Publication Date: 2008/09/02 Number of Pages: 282 Binding Type: Paperback Language: English Depth: 0.75 Width: 7.00 Height: 9.25 |
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The Absolute Essentials of Songwriting Success By Bishop, Rand $27.03 Author: Bishop, Rand Subtitle: From Song Dog to Top Dog: Making It in the Music Business Publication Date: 2010/10/24 Number of Pages: 252 Binding Type: Paperback Language: English Depth: 0.75 Width: 8.50 Height: 11.00 |
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Songwriting By Baker, Felicity (EDT)/ Wigram, Tony (EDT) $49.4 Author: Baker, Felicity (EDT)/ Wigram, Tony (EDT) Subtitle: Methods, Techniques And Clinical Applications For Music Therapy Clinicians, Educators And Students Publication Date: 2005/06/15 Number of Pages: 285 Binding Type: Paperback Language: English Depth: 1.00 Width: 7.00 Height: 9.50 |
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Teach Yourself Get Started in Songwriting By Inglis, Sam $29.34 Author: Inglis, Sam Series Title: Teach Yourself Publication Date: 2010/10/18 Number of Pages: 235 Binding Type: Paperback Language: English Depth: 1.00 Width: 5.25 Height: 7.75 |
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Songwriting Essential Guide to Rhyming By Pattison, Pat $21.87 Author: Pattison, Pat Subtitle: A Stepbystep Guide to Better Rhyming and Lyrics Publication Date: 1991/11/01 Binding Type: Paperback Language: English Depth: 0.25 Width: 8.75 Height: 11.25 |
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Alfred 0022857 Teach Yourself Songwriting Music Book $34.25 Alfred Music Publishing is the world’s largest educational music publisher. Alfred produces educational reference pop and performance materials for teachers students professionals and hobbyists spanning every musical instrument style and difficulty level. This book is packed with useful tips on how to harness creativity in both lyric writing and music composition and is sure to inspire any aspiring songwriter |
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Alfred 39IR4630 All Stars of Rock Guitar Music Book $43.29 Alfred Music Publishing is the world s largest educational music publisher. Alfred produces educational’ reference’ pop’ and performance materials for teachers’ students’ professionals’ and hobbyists spanning every musical instrument’ style’ and difficulty level. All Stars of Rock Guitar features over 3 hours of lessons from 4 guitar masters: George Lynch (of Dokken and Lynch Mob)’ Bruce Kulick (of KISS and Grand Funk Railroad)’ Jennifer Batten (of Michael Jackson Band’ Jeff Beck Band’ and a solo artist)’ and Darrell Roberts (of W.A.S.P. and Five Finger Death Punch). Each artist discusses their influences and demonstrates some of their signature techniques along with cool lead and songwriting methods. Learn advanced chord structures and tapping with Jennifer’ lead guitar and song structures with Bruce’ and metal licks and rhythm techniques with Darrell. Plus’ watch George lay down lead tracks for his upcoming solo release. This 2disc DVD set is packed with exciting bonus features including appearances by Dario Lorina’ Jack Ripper’ and Yayo Sanchez. |
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ZAGGskins (Guitar) $19.99 ZAGGskins (Guitar) |
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Songwriting Essential Guide to Lyric Form and Structure By Pattison, Pat $24.7 Author: Pattison, Pat Subtitle: Tools and Techniques for Writing Better Lyrics Publication Date: 1991/12/01 Binding Type: Paperback Language: English Depth: 0.50 Width: 8.75 Height: 11.00 |
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Alfred 000183B Ultimate Beginner Series Songwriting Made Easy Music Book $29.73 Alfred Music Publishing is the world s largest educational music publisher. Alfred produces educational’ reference’ pop’ and performance materials for teachers’ students’ professionals’ and hobbyists spanning every musical instrument’ style’ and difficulty level. This is a great howto book for all songwriters. Russ has carefully presented stepbystep directions and guidelines for putting creative musical ideas on paper. The material is presented in a workbook style’ allowing the reader to compose as they read’ creating a very practical approach to a complicated process. This book is perfect for classroom instruction’ amateur use’ or professionals who want to sharpen their skills. It’s easy |
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Guitar in Flames $20.97 Wall Mural – Guitar in Flames; |
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Guitar Heaven $9.99 Guitar Heaven – Poster |
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Guitar Girl $6.99 Guitar Girl – Poster |
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Psychedelic Guitar $59.99 Psychedelic Guitar – Wall Decal |
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Guitar Cords $6.99 Guitar Cords – Poster |
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Slash – Guitar $24.99 Slash – Guitar – T-Shirt |
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The Guitar, 1906 $49.99 The Guitar, 1906 – Giclee Print |
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Graphic Guitar $19.99 Graphic Guitar – Premium Poster |
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Senorita with Guitar $24.99 Senorita with Guitar – Premium Poster |
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The Rizzio Guitar $19.99 The Rizzio Guitar – Premium Poster |
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Bone Guitar $21.99 Bone Guitar – T-Shirt |
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Wooden Guitar $29.99 Wooden Guitar – Photographic Print |
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Playing Guitar $24.99 Playing Guitar – Photographic Print |
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Lady with Guitar $14.99 Lady with Guitar – Premium Poster |
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Red Guitar $19.99 Red Guitar – T-Shirt |
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Guitar Skulls $24.99 Guitar Skulls – Wall Decal |
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Winged Guitar $21.99 Winged Guitar – T-Shirt |
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Guitar Presents Classical Guitar $9.95 “By Various. For guitar solo. Guitar Collection. Baroque, Classical Period and Impressionistic. Difficulty: medium. Guitar tablature songbook. Guitar tablature and standard notation. 64 pages. Published by Cherry Lane Music” |
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Innovations for Guitar $19.99 (Guitar Sherpa Presents). By Muriel Anderson. For acoustic guitar (Guitar). Music Sales America. Instructional. DVD. Guitar tablature. Guitar Sherpa #TF10000. Published by Guitar Sherpa |
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Guitar Collection – Easy Guitar $9.95 “By Stevie Wonder. For easy guitar and voice. Easy Guitar. Smooth Soul, Classic Soul and Pop Rock. Difficulty: easy-medium. Easy guitar tablature songbook. Guitar tablature, standard notation, vocal melody, lyrics, chord names, guitar chord diagrams and strum and pick patterns. 64 pages. Published by Hal Leonard” |
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The Doors For Guitar – Easy Guitar $12.99 “By The Doors. For easy guitar and voice. Easy Guitar. Classic Rock and Psychedelic Rock. Difficulty: easy-medium. Easy guitar tablature songbook. Guitar tablature, standard notation, vocal melody, lyrics, chord names, guitar chord diagrams and strum and pick patterns. 63 pages. Published by Hal Leonard” |
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Fingerstyle Guitar $24.95 (Guitar Technique). By Ken Perlman. Guitar. 256 pages. Published by Centerstream Publications |
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Guitar Poster $9.95 For Guitar. Guitar Poster; Posters/Charts. Poster. Published by Alfred Music Publishing |
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Guitar Instrumentals $9.95 By Various. Easy Guitar. Guitar tablature. 56 pages. Published by Hal Leonard |
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GUITAR $19.5 SOLID 3D, Sterling Silver, 1/4 x 3/4 in |
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Guitar Chords $49.99 Guitar Chords – Lamina Framed Poster |
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The Scottish Guitar $19.99 (40 Scottish Tunes for Fingerstyle Guitar). Guitar. Softcover with CD. Guitar tablature. 68 pages. Published by Hal Leonard |
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Celtic Guitar $19.99 (An Approach to Playing Traditional Dance Music on the Guitar). Guitar. Softcover with CD. Guitar tablature. 80 pages. Published by Centerstream Publications |
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Motley Crue Motley Guitar Hero Guitar Bag $44.95 Motley Crue Motley Guitar Hero Guitar Bag |
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Guitar Standards $14.95 “By Various. For guitar. Guitar Collection. Jazz, Bebop and Latin Jazz. Difficulty: medium. Guitar tablature songbook. Guitar tablature, standard notation, chord names and guitar notation legend. 120 pages. Published by Hal Leonard” |
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Ska Guitar $14.95 “For guitar. Guitar Educational. Ska. Difficulty: easy-medium. Instructional book and examples CD. Standard guitar notation, guitar tablature, guitar chord diagrams and instructional text. 46 pages. Published by Hal Leonard” |
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Guitar Anthology $21.95 “(Authentic Guitar TAB). By The Black Crowes. For guitar and voice. This edition: Authentic Guitar TAB. Artist/Personality; Authentic Guitar TAB; Guitar Personality; Guitar TAB. Authentic Guitar-Tab Editions. Hard Rock and Rock. Guitar tablature songbook. Guitar tablature, standard notation, vocal melody, lyrics, chord names and guitar chord diagrams. 112 pages. Published by Alfred Music Publishing” |
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Hits – Guitar $17.95 “By Stevie Wonder. For guitar and voice. Hal Leonard Guitar Recorded Versions. Smooth Soul, Classic Soul and Pop Rock. Difficulty: medium. Guitar tablature songbook. Guitar tablature, standard notation, vocal melody, lyrics, chord names, guitar chord diagrams and guitar notation legend. 72 pages. Published by Hal Leonard” |
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Guitar Collection $19.95 “By John Mellencamp. For guitar and voice. Hal Leonard Guitar Recorded Versions. Pop Rock and Rock ‘n’ Roll. Difficulty: medium-difficult. Guitar tablature songbook. Guitar tablature, standard notation, vocal melody, lyrics, chord names, guitar chord diagrams and guitar notation legend. 142 pages. Published by Hal Leonard” |
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Ragtime Guitar $19.95 (14 Songs Arranged for Solo Guitar). Arranged by Allan Jaffe. Guitar Solo. Softcover with CD. Guitar tablature. 80 pages. Published by Hal Leonard |
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Guitar Classics $11.99 (Guitar Play-Along DVD Volume 22). By Various. Guitar Play-Along DVD. DVD. Guitar tablature. Published by Hal Leonard |
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Approaching The Guitar $14.95 General/guitar. For guitar. Technique. Technique. Difficulty: medium. Instructional book (no tablature). Standard guitar notation. 88 pages. Published by Neil A. Kjos Music Company |
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Czerny for Guitar $9.99 (12 Scale Studies for Classical Guitar). By Carl Czerny (1791-1857). Guitar Book. Softcover. Guitar tablature. 40 pages. Published by Hal Leonard |
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A Guitar for ElvisÎÂ $16.99 (The Kings of Acoustic Guitar Salute the King of Rock’N'Roll). By Elvis Presley. Guitar Solo. Softcover. Guitar tablature. 96 pages. Published by Hal Leonard |
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Guitar Themes $11.99 (Guitar Play-Along Volume 136). By Various. Guitar Play-Along. Softcover with CD. Guitar tablature. 48 pages. Published by Hal Leonard |
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Gospel Favorites For Guitar – Easy Guitar $14.95 “By Various. For easy guitar and voice. E-Z guitar. Difficulty: easy to easy-medium. Easy guitar tablature songbook. Guitar tablature, standard notation, guitar/vocal melody, lyrics, chord names and guitar chord diagrams. 96 pages. Published by Hal Leonard” |
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Guitar Tabsongs $12.95 (Popular Country for Fingerstyle). For Guitar. This edition: Guitar TAB. Guitar Method or Supplement; Guitar TAB. Country; Fingerstyle. Book. 48 pages. Published by Alfred Music Publishing |
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Rockabilly Guitar $11.96 Instructional/Guitar/DVD. DVD. Published by Hal Leonard |
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A Guitar For Christmas $9.95 “(Guitar Solo). By Liona Boyd. Arranged by Liona Boyd. For acoustic guitar. Guitar Book. Christmas. Difficulty: medium. Instrumental solo songbook. Standard guitar notation, fingerings and positions. 48 pages. Published by Hal Leonard” |
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The Guitar Wheel $11.24 For Guitar. Accessories. Accessory. Published by Alfred Music Publishing |
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Guitar Hero $16.99 M.J. Lew Guitar Hero – Art Print |
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Guitar I $14.99 Steve Cole Guitar I – Art Print |
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Love Guitar $29.99 Erin Clark Love Guitar – Giclee Print |
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Guitar II $74.99 Steve Cole Guitar II – Framed Art Print |
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Spotlight on Guitar $49.99 Alfred Gockel Spotlight on Guitar – Framed Art Print |
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Abstract Guitar $12.99 Paul Brent Abstract Guitar – Art Print |
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Piano and Guitar $179.99 Marsha Hammel Piano and Guitar – Framed Art Print |
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Guitar and Amplifier $29.99 Chris Minerva Guitar and Amplifier – Photographic Print |
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Guitar on a Table $19.99 Juan Gris Guitar on a Table – Giclee Print |
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Rock Guitar $114.99 Sam Appleman Rock Guitar – Framed Art Print |
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Guitar Player $19.99 Pietro Simonetti Guitar Player – Premium Poster |
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Air Guitar $64.99 Ed Heck Air Guitar – Framed Art Print |
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Guitar 2 $29.99 John Gusky Guitar 2 – Photographic Print |
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Guitar Crush $39.99 Jerry Clovis Guitar Crush – Giclee Print |
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Wired Guitar $29.99 Janet Carr Wired Guitar – Photographic Print |
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The Guitar Player $29.99 Cuitlahuac Meza The Guitar Player – Photographic Print |
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Guitar and Newspaper $19.99 Juan Gris Guitar and Newspaper – Giclee Print |
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Tinted Guitar $29.99 Susan Lipschutz Tinted Guitar – Photographic Print |
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Guitar Man $39.99 Anthony Dunphy Guitar Man – Giclee Print |
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Couple with Guitar $24.99 Dennis Hallinan Couple with Guitar – Photographic Print |
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Girl with Guitar $19.99 Harry Briggs Girl with Guitar – Giclee Print |
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#1 Record/Radio City [Bonus Tracks] $18.98 A two-fer combining Big Star’s first and second albums, #1 Record/Radio City remains a definitive document of early-’70s American power pop and a virtual blueprint for much of the finest alternative rock that came after it. The lone Big Star record to merit the full participation of founder Chris Bell, the brightly produced #1 Record splits the songwriting credits evenly between him and Alex Chilton (in the tradition of Lennon-McCartney). But from the beginning, the group is tearing apart at the seams: Bell and Chilton’s relationship seems less a working partnership than a battle of wills, and each possesses his own distinctive vision. The purist, Bell crafts electrifying and melodic classic pop like “Feel” and “In the Street,” while Chilton, the malcontent, pens luminous, melancholy ballads like “The Ballad of El Goodo” and “Thirteen.” Ultimately, their tension makes #1 Record brilliant. However, Radio City shifts gears dramatically: Bell is largely absent (though he guests, uncredited, on a few tracks, including the wonderful “Back of a Car”), allowing Chilton’s darker impulses free reign. From the raucous opener “O My Soul” onward, the new Big Star is noisier, edgier, and even more potent. Erratic mixing, spotty production, shaky performances — by all rights, Radio City should be a failure, yet Chilton is at his best when poised on the brink of disaster, and the songs hang together seemingly on faith and conviction alone. Each track recalls pop’s glory days, from the Kinks-ish snarl of “Mod Lang” to the Byrds-like guitar glow that adorns “Way Out West.” The much-celebrated “September Gurls” is indeed a classic — everything right and good about pop music distilled down to three minutes of pure genius. [Fantasy's 2009 #1 Record/Radio City two-fer included bonus tracks.] ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi |
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#3 [Bonus Tracks] $12.99 Like Beck in his ’90s prime, Suburban Kids with Biblical Names have no respect for musical boundaries. If they think a mixture of African-styled highlife-guitars, electronic beats, and ukuleles is a good idea for an indie pop song, they won’t hesitate to put it on record. The result? Wonderful. #3 includes former EP A-side “Funeral Face,” and just listen to the opening of “Peter’s Dream”: within mere seconds they combine Kraftwerk-styled percussion with a guitar that sounds exactly like Hank Marvin anno 1960, and it could hardly have sounded more right. On “Seems to Be on My Mind,” the distorted vocals and shuffly beat almost make them sound classic rock cool, before it breaks into a singalong chorus echoing the kind of pop like they used to make between the world wars. And so it goes on and on, genres and styles meet and ultimately converge through the unusually strong pop songwriting that always lies at the core of the album. No song gets boring, ever. Suburban Kids with Biblical Names sure do possess the geeky charm so beloved in indie and lo-fi circles. Classic one-liners like “there’s a Falcon Crest side to everything” and “I wanna turn all their dancefloors into a burning inferno of ba ba ba” are the stuff dreams are made of for any indie pop aficionado. But don’t let the spectacles and the wit fool you. There’s nothing amateurish about the kids’ performance at any point; in fact, the instrumental performances and the creative and crystal clear production are among the most impressive things about this album. Seldom do debut albums come as truly wonderful as this one. [The U.S. edition of the album adds two extra tracks: Love Will" and "Trumpets and Violins".] ~ Anders Kaasen, Rovi |
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127 Rose Avenue $14.99 Released in June of 2009, the first single from Hank Williams, Jr.’s 127 Rose Avenue is called “Red, White & Pink Slip Blues,” a paean to the economic uncertainty of 21st century recession America. It’s like a lot of contemporary country singles these days, anthemic truth tales reflecting the concerns of the common (wo)man, who is struggling to find his/her place in a country that seems to have packed itself up and left them behind. The single was a hit and may carry the album to the higher rungs of the charts with it. That said, this has nothing to do with the actual quality of the music. In many ways, Williams has been remaking the same record since the early 1980s. It has his seamless blend of loud Southern rock-style guitars, rowdy, rebellious lyrics, hell-raising drums, and fist-pumping choruses, with a ballad or two thrown in for good measure. It’s a formula, but one that has worked to keep Williams with Curb Records and on the charts for nearly 30 years. No matter what the trend in the music itself, from the Urban Cowboy days on, Williams has remained in style remarkably enough because his songwriting reflects the timeless concerns of country fans. He first took up the heady electric guitar sound in the late ’70s and perfected it in the early ’80s. 127 Rose Avenue changes the production style to reflect what’s going on in contemporary country — big compressed guitars, melds of fiddles and banjos, and rock & roll drum kits. The other notable tracks on this set are the loud and proud, self-penned, “Farm Song” with a guest appearance by pedal steel guitar icon Robert Randolph; “All the Roads,” a duet with the Grascals, and, as is usual on a Hank Jr. record, an homage to his father called the “The Last Driftin’ Cowboy,” with a sample from “Honky Tonk Blues,.” If you dig Bocephus’ countless previous albums and/or are a fan of the new brand of Nashville rock that calls itself “contemporary country,” you’ll dig this. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi |
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22 Jacks – Uncle Bob CD $12.69 Vocalist Joe Sib (WAX) and Steve Soto (guitar and vocals, Adolescents) prove an impressive and effective songwriting team, here. Helping are some other veterans; Sandy Hansen (Adolescents), Scott S… |
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29Ten – 29ten CD $17.79 29Ten is guitar driven rock music at its best! Built around the songwriting and vocal talent of Chuck Bailey and the guitar pyrotechnics of Edward Dyk, this band is ready to prove that the best mu… |
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44 Love – Road To Alabama CD $12.35 44 Love is a quartet combining influences of folk, rock, country, & blues. The band’s use of relentless hooks, heady lyrics, tight rhythm, full on guitar rock, and witty songwriting provide an expe… |
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61 and 49 $16.98 The sophomore release from guitarist Eldred along with Blasters members John Bazz on bass and drummer Jerry Angel is a rock ? em, sock ? em mix of high-octane rockabilly and rollicking blues drenched in Memphis soul. High-profile guests range from the late Ike Turner (on piano!) in one of his last recorded performances (Turner’s final album was also on the Zoho Roots label), Elvis guitarist Scotty Moore, Los Lobos co-founder Cesar Rosas, and ex-Fabulous Thunderbirds guitar wildman Kid Ramos. They make impressive contributions but this is Eldred’s show as he shifts from the sweet, Hendrix-inspired tone of the instrumental ballad “Ruby’s Blues” to the Chuck Berry/Stones rave-up of “Jimmy, Jimmy,” with Turner’s piano pounding like Jerry Lee Lewis in his prime. Rosas adds Latin flavor to the gospel strains of “This Old Train,” but “I Ain’t Comin’ Back” channels Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Cold Shot” a little too closely for comfort. The recording is crisp, live sounding, and generally filled with sharp, original songwriting that takes some edgy, even extreme chances, such as on “Mr. Newman,” a song about a pedophile from his victim’s point of view. Not exactly the kind of subject matter you’d expect from a roots-rocking guitarist. That lyrical intensity is tempered by some straight-ahead Texas shuffling in the comparatively simplistic “Lookie Here” and the Ramos-enhanced “Louise.” Eldred unplugs and goes solo country-Delta for the Robert Johnson-styled title track, another change of pace in an eclectic album filled with them. The guitarist is a more than adequate singer too, and the fact that he penned all of these tunes, even as derivative as many of them are, shows he’s a triple talent as a player, vocalist, and songwriter. The two backing members create a palpable groove throughout, especially on the Booker T.-influenced instrumental “Ms. Gayle’s Chicken House,” making it obvious why they are given somewhat equal billing as a trio. Eldred’s articulat… |
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A Death-Grip On Yesterday $5.78 Atreyu have firmly established themselves on the side of solid songwriting, tight arrangements and musicianship with their previous albums, Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses and The Curse. A Death-Grip on Yesterday takes their dedication to new heights with great metallic rock songs, mind-boggling guitar runs and the dynamic brutality they are known for. The album was produced in collaboration with Josh Abraham, known for his work with Velvet Revolver, Korn and Staind. |
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A Decade Of Hits 1969-1979 $39.99 High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! A Decade of Hits 1969-1979 is a compilation album of The Allman Brothers Band, released in 1991. The album features songs released on The Allman Brothers Band, Idlewild South, At Fillmore East, Eat a Peach, Brothers and Sisters, and Enlightened Rogues. It is the band’s best-selling album in the U.S., being certified double platinum in 1997. The Allman Brothers Band is an American rock band once based in Macon, Georgia. The band was formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman (slide guitar and lead guitar) and Gregg Allman (vocals, organ, songwriting), who were supported by Dickey Betts (lead guitar, vocals, songwriting), Berry Oakley (bass guitar), Butch Trucks (drums), and Jai Johanny “Jaimoe” Johanson (drums). While the band has been called the principal architects of Southern rock, they also incorporate elements of blues, jazz, and country music, and their live shows have jam band-style improvisation and instrumental songs. |
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A Good Thing Lost: 1968-1973 $15.98 A Good Thing Lost: 1968-1973 is an excellent best-of collection from the Poppy Family, a great, if largely forgotten, late-’60s Canadian soft rock/psychedelic group. The meticulous songwriting, production, and arranging skills of guitarist/mastermind Terry Jacks (who later had a huge solo hit with the classic pop single “Seasons in the Sun”) lift these recordings above the work of many of the group’s better-known contemporaries. Singer Susan Jacks has a beautiful voice that sometimes sounds like (but predates) Karen Carpenter, but is eminently more soulful. Although characterized in the liner notes as a “soft pop” band, the Poppy Family was also capable of a somewhat tougher sound that sometimes recalled Surrealistic Pillow-era Jefferson Airplane and folkier material in the Kenny Rogers & the First Edition/Roger McGuinn vein. Throughout, Jacks frames the songs with creative, if often dated, arrangements that compare favorably to his obvious influences, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and Phil Spector. In addition to “Which Way You Goin’ Billy,” the group’s biggest hit (number two in 1970) and a generous helping of singles and high-quality album tracks, the disc includes an alternate, wildly psychedelic mix of “There’s No Blood in Bone” and two different versions of “That’s Where I Went Wrong” (the second of which features some cool country guitar leads). Overall, A Good Thing Lost: 1968-1973 is a fantastic find — one of those hidden gems that record fanatics always hope to discover. ~ Pemberton Roach, Rovi |
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A Hard Day’s Night (Album) $76.99 High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! A Hard Day’s Night is the third studio album by The Beatles, released on 10 July 1964 as the soundtrack to their film A Hard Day’s Night. The American version of the album was released on 26 June 1964 by United Artists Records with a different track listing. It was eventually replaced by the original UK version with its first release on CD, 26 February 1987. While showcasing the development of the band’s songwriting talents, the album sticks to the basic rock and roll instrumentation and song format. The album contains some of their most famous songs, including the title track and its distinct, instantly recognizable opening chord; and “Can’t Buy Me Love”, both were transatlantic number one singles for the band. The album and film are said to portray the classic image of the Beatles, as it was released at the height of Beatlemania. According to music critic Richie Unterberger, “George Harrison’s resonant 12-string electric guitar leads were hugely influential; the movie helped persuade the Byrds, then folksingers, to plunge all out into rock & roll, and the Beatles would be hugely influential on the folk-rock explosion of 1965. |
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A Place to Land [Bonus Tracks] $18.99 Little Big Town scored big with its second album, 2005’s The Road to Here, thanks to the chart topping single “Gone.” Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Roads Schlapman, Jimi Westbrook, and Phillip Sweet’s meld rootsy contemporary country with acoustic and electric instruments and vocal harmonies inspired by Fleetwood Mac proved irresistible. A Place to Land is superior to its predecessor in every way: production feels more organic, the music is more sophisticated, and the lyrics more poignant. Perhaps the real secret to the success of this quartet is its secret weapon in behind-the-boards fifth member Wayne Kirkpatrick. Kirkpatrick is the band’s producer and songwriting partner. He’s chief guitar picker, and plays just about anything with strings, as well as the clavinet and B-3. If the sound on The Road to Here is reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac’s glory years, A Place to Land drinks deeply from the well of the entire Southern California scene from the mid- to late ’70s. It’s not all regurgitation either. Little Big Town’s sound is rooted deeply in traditional, organic country music. Their songs meld seamlessly with the vocal harmonies that evoke vintage Crosby, Stills & Nash and the Eagles earliest records. While the album’s opener, “Fine Line,” literally rings with Lindsey Buckingham’s chord progressions, choruses, and arranged vocals (? la “Go Your Own Way”); it’s open rock & roll territory with one exception: the verse structure has enough hard country to rise above that influence. They distinguish themselves a bit more on the album’s road-weary first single, “I’m with the Band.” Its beautifully paced B-3, electric guitars, and big cracking drums, Dobro, banjos, and mandolin are woven into a beautiful road song. The Eagles get melody-checked in “That’s Where I’ll Be,” but the harmonies here could only be better if Bernie Leadon and Timothy B. Schmit joined in for six-part harmony. The acoustic guitars rise and fall, keeping a steady rhythmic chatter that serv… |
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A Retrospective 1995-2000 $6.75 Encompassing two-thirds of the original lineup of Americana roots-rock trailblazers Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt arrived in 1995 with the stellar debut album Trace. Powered by the songwriting, guitar and evocative vocals of group leader Jay Farrar, it launched them as icons of the emerging alt-country movement championed by the then-fledgling mazazing No Depression, who featured Son Volt on the cover of their very first issue. The band issued two more acclaimed albums before Farrar took a hiatus for solo work…this, their first-ever compilation, pulls from the Son Volt catalog and also features rarities, unreleased tracks, demo tracks, and more! |
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A Rush of Blood to the Head $58.99 High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! A Rush of Blood to the Head is the second studio album by English rock band Coldplay. Released on 26 August 2002 through the label Parlophone in the UK, the album was produced by the band and British record producer Ken Nelson. Attitudes to songwriting were affected by the September 11 attacks in the United States, which occurred the week before recording started. The songs featured in the album have a greater use of piano and guitar than Coldplay’s debut album, Parachutes. In 2003, it was ranked number 473 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The album was a huge commercial success, debuting at number one in the United Kingdom and later placing at number seven of the country’s 20 biggest-selling albums in the 21st century. The British Phonographic Industry has since certified the album eight-times platinum for its accumulated sales of over 2.6 million units in Britain and over 11 million worldwide. The album spawned the hit singles “In My Place”, “The Scientist”, “Clocks”, and “God Put a Smile upon Your Face”. |
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A Rush of Blood to the Head $58.66 New – High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! A Rush of Blood to the Head is the second studio album by English rock band Coldplay. Released on 26 August 2002 through the label Parlophone in the UK, the album was produced by the band and British record producer Ken Nelson. Attitudes to songwriting were affected by the September 11 attacks in the United States, which occurred the week before recording started. The songs featured in the album have a greater use of piano and guitar than Coldpla |
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A Rush of Blood to the Head $70.8 Used – High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! A Rush of Blood to the Head is the second studio album by English rock band Coldplay. Released on 26 August 2002 through the label Parlophone in the UK, the album was produced by the band and British record producer Ken Nelson. Attitudes to songwriting were affected by the September 11 attacks in the United States, which occurred the week before recording started. The songs featured in the album have a greater use of piano and guitar than Coldpl |
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A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean $9.99 While it still lies much closer to Nashville than Key West (like in the boisterous slide guitar solo that lights up “The Great Filling Station Holdup”), Jimmy Buffett’s A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean does begin to delineate the blowsy, good-timin’ Key West persona that would lead him to summer tour stardom and the adoration of millions of drinking buddies everywhere. “Why Don’t We Get Drunk,” “Railroad Lady,” and “Grapefruit — Juicy Fruit” rightly became crowd pleasers. But Buffett reveals himself a storyteller with the touching sigh of “He Went to Paris,” where a slide guitar appears again to lend a subtle gleam to the arrangement, or in the gorgeous, sweetly sad tale of a passed-away poet’s unlikely posthumous success. It’s in this wide-eyed honesty, as well as the winking sarcasm of the scrambling honky tonker “Peanut Butter Conspiracy” — “We never took more than we could eat/And we always swore if we ever got rich, we’d pay the mini mart back” — that Buffett’s flair for easygoing accessibility really emerges. White Sport Coat has to be considered country and western music; its rambling acoustic guitars, twinges of harmonica, fiddle, and peddle steel will do that. But Buffett himself was a Nashville outcast almost from the beginning, and his southward migration began with this album. “I don’t want fame that brings confusion,” he sings in “My Lovely Lady,” and declares his desire to get out of the Music City rat race for the more temperate climes and crab meat of the Florida Keys. Once there, the songwriting ingredients drifting through White Sport Coat and other early LPs caught the Caribbean breeze and really took off. This is highly recommended for Buffett completists and those interested in his more introspective side. ~ Johnny Loftus, Rovi |
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A World Without Divide – The Night Sarah Came Home $1.99 THIS IS HOW OUR WORLD WILL END: Nobody from the old world was supposed to survive following a cataclysmic event that destroyed the vast majority of Earth’s population in year 2032. Behind this merciless destruction was a multi-national, governmental social-conditioning experiment called the “Utopia Project” whose leaders intend to re-populate and inhabit Earth with perfectly-conditioned members of their utopian society. When leaders of the Utopia Project discover that a small number of individuals has managed to survive the cataclysm, they are determined to eradicate them along with all remaining vestiges of the old world culture. These survivors hang by a thread as they face horrific tragedies, relentless pursuit, intense confrontations and even their own deep feelings for each other within the group. Mysteries surrounding the limited areas of the world left unscathed start to unravel. Through it all, the struggle intensifies as the survivors come to realize that what is at stake is not just their own lives, but the fate of humanity itself. ABOUT THE AUTHOR William Joseph spent the first eighteen years of his life growing up on the New Jersey shore. After high school, his life took him on a path through South Carolina, Louisiana and finally back home to Ocean County, New Jersey, where he currently resides. This geographic area (the part of New Jersey not enough people really see), with the splendor of the Atlantic Ocean, Barnegat Bay and the forests of the Pinelands National Reserve, serves as the primary backdrop for this first book in a series. A school administrator by profession, the author still remains an avid reader and writer. Joseph also enjoys outdoor recreation, songwriting, guitar playing, sports and the soul-soothing ambiance of the sea (especially when the beach and boardwalk are deserted). |
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Aberdeen Mississippi Blues $16.98 Booker White (his name was misspelled on the label for “Shake ‘Em on Down” when it was issued on Vocalion in 1937, and it stuck) turned his vigorous guitar style, heavy voice, and considerable songwriting abilities into 20 classic blues tracks between 1930 and 1940, all of which are collected here on this absolutely essential release from England’s Document Records. White was not a delicate player or singer, falling into the Charley Patton/Son House school of Delta blues, slashing and pounding on his guitar (usually a National Steel, which could cut through any juke joint din) while he growled out ragged, raspy vocals. What set White apart, though, was his skill as a songwriter. His themes were fairly standard in the blues field (spiritual crisis, relationship troubles, trains, prison time, death), but he tackled each from such a personal direction that he is that rarity (along with Patton, Sleepy John Estes, and very few others) in the prewar country blues field, an artist whose blues are both personal and specific to time and place. White first recorded for Victor Records in 1930, cutting four tracks, including two spirituals, “I Am in the Heavenly Way” and “The Promise True and Grand.” He recorded two more pieces in 1937 for Vocalion, most notably the influential “Shake ‘Em on Down,” before he ran afoul of the law (he supposedly shot a man in the leg) and ended up in the notorious prison Parchman Farm. There he recorded two songs (“Sic ‘Em Dogs On” and “Po’ Boy”) for folklorist Alan Lomax in 1939. The following year, immediately after his release from Parchman, White did a second session for Vocalion, recording the striking and passionate group of songs on which his reputation rests. With Washboard Sam providing percussion, White stormed through a set of prison-related material that must have served as an exorcism. “When Can I Change My Clothes,” “Parchman Farm Blues,” “High Fever Blues,” “Fixin’ to Die Blues,” and “Aberdeen Mississippi Bl… |
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Abilene Trail: Traildrive Series $13.84 New – Ralph Compton’s life had more hardships and switchbacks than the most arduous Texas cattle drive. Born into poverty in Depression-era Alabama, he left home at age 20 to join the military, and then embarked on an itinerant life of guitar-playing, songwriting, ad sales, and newspapering, interspersed with roughly 500 menial jobs that might have broken the spirit of a lesser man. Through it all, Compton knew that he wanted to write, but it wasn’t until 1990 that he took a stab at the genre th |
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Ace of Spades [Bonus Tracks] $13.98 With the 1980 release of Ace of Spaces, Mot? rhead had their anthem of anthems — that is, the title track — the one trademark song that would summarize everything that made this early incarnation of the band so legendary, a song that would be blasted by legions of metalheads for generations on end. It’s a legendary song, for sure, all two minutes and 49 bracing seconds of it. And the album of the same name is legendary as well, among Mot? rhead’s all-time best, often considered their single best, in fact, along with Overkill. Ace of Spades was Mot? rhead’s third great album in a row, following the 1979 releases of Overkill and Bomber, respectively. Those two albums have a lot in common with Ace of Spaces. The classic lineup — Lemmy (bass and vocals), “Fast” Eddie Clarke (guitar), and “Philthy Animal” Taylor (drums) — is still in place and sounding as alive and crazed as ever. The album is still rock-solid, boasting several superlative standouts. Actually, besides the especially high number of standouts on Ace of Spades — at least relative to Bomber, which wasn’t quite as strong overall as Overkill had been — the only key difference between this 1980 album and its two 1979 predecessors is the producer, in this case Vic Maile. The result of his work isn’t all that different from that of Jimmy Miller, the longtime Rolling Stones producer who had worked on Overkill and Bomber, but it’s enough to give Ace of Spaces a feeling distinct from its two very similar-sounding predecessors. This singular sound (still loud and in your face, rest assured), along with the exceptionally strong songwriting and the legendary stature of the title track, makes Ace of Spades the ideal Mot? rhead album if one were to choose one and only one studio album. It’s highly debatable whether Ace of Spaces is tops over the breakthrough Overkill, as the latter is more landmark because of its earlier release, and is somewhat rougher around the edges, too. Either way, Ace of Spades rightl… |
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Ace of Spades [Bonus Tracks] $18.99 With the 1980 release of Ace of Spaces, Mot? rhead had their anthem of anthems — that is, the title track — the one trademark song that would summarize everything that made this early incarnation of the band so legendary, a song that would be blasted by legions of metalheads for generations on end. It’s a legendary song, for sure, all two minutes and 49 bracing seconds of it. And the album of the same name is legendary as well, among Mot? rhead’s all-time best, often considered their single best, in fact, along with Overkill. Ace of Spades was Mot? rhead’s third great album in a row, following the 1979 releases of Overkill and Bomber, respectively. Those two albums have a lot in common with Ace of Spaces. The classic lineup — Lemmy (bass and vocals), “Fast” Eddie Clarke (guitar), and “Philthy Animal” Taylor (drums) — is still in place and sounding as alive and crazed as ever. The album is still rock-solid, boasting several superlative standouts. Actually, besides the especially high number of standouts on Ace of Spades — at least relative to Bomber, which wasn’t quite as strong overall as Overkill had been — the only key difference between this 1980 album and its two 1979 predecessors is the producer, in this case Vic Maile. The result of his work isn’t all that different from that of Jimmy Miller, the longtime Rolling Stones producer who had worked on Overkill and Bomber, but it’s enough to give Ace of Spaces a feeling distinct from its two very similar-sounding predecessors. This singular sound (still loud and in your face, rest assured), along with the exceptionally strong songwriting and the legendary stature of the title track, makes Ace of Spades the ideal Mot? rhead album if one were to choose one and only one studio album. It’s highly debatable whether Ace of Spaces is tops over the breakthrough Overkill, as the latter is more landmark because of its earlier release, and is somewhat rougher around the edges, too. Either way, Ace of Spades rightl… |
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Acoustic Gold $15.98 Although this 14-song collection features Strawbs recordings done with acoustic arrangements, it’s not an album made specifically with writing and recording (or re-recording) acoustic material in mind. It’s an anthology of acoustic recordings, all but two done between 2001 and 2011, and just three of which were previously unreleased (though a couple of others had only been available on DVD). As a source of possible confusion, some of these are early 21st century re-recordings of songs that had first been recorded or issued decades earlier, such as “Josephine, For Better or Worse” and “The Man Who Called Himself Jesus.” Two previously unreleased bonus tracks, dubbed “Heritage Gold” on the back cover, were recorded in 1979 and 1980 with just Dave Cousins on guitar and vocals and Brian Willoughby on guitar. Despite the rather patchy assemblage around the acoustic concept, it does hang together pretty well as a portrait of the Strawbs’ lower-key side. The arrangements aren’t overdone or self-conscious, and combined with the moody-to-the-point-of-somber folk-rock songwriting (mostly by Cousins), a consistently reflective mood is created in tasteful settings. A couple of contributors of note are Rick Wakeman (on “A Glimpse of Heaven”) and Robert Kirby (who did the string arrangement for “Evergreen”). ~ Richie Unterberger, Rovi |
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Acoustic Vagabonds $9.99 The title tells the story on this EP — here former Jayhawks leader Gary Louris performs six songs from his solo debut Vagabonds, accompanied only by his acoustic guitar. These solo performances don’t bring much that’s new to these songs, but given how good Louris’ songwriting was on Vagabonds, that’s no insult; accompanied by a full band, they were compelling stuff, and Louris makes them work nearly as well with just his voice and a six-string. The emotional intimacy of “We’ll Get By,” “To Die a Happy Man,” and “She Only Calls Me on Sunday” suits the spare interpretations on this EP just fine, and while these tracks often sound as if they’re little more than demos, they’re good demos of very good songs, and Louris’ strength as a vocalist truly shines on this disc. Acoustic Vagabonds is a casual but pleasing set that will certainly satisfy anyone who has a taste for Louris’ music, though they ought to give Vagabonds a spin before moving on to this supplement. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi |
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Acquiring the Taste $23.98 The band’s second album is a major advance on its first, featuring superior singing, playing, and songwriting, as well as a more unified sound, without sacrificing the element of surprise in the first record. Many of the melodies and even the riffs here (check out Gary Green’s first guitar flourish on “Pantagruel’s Nativity”) have a pretty high haunt count, and all of the musicianship displays an elegance seldom heard even in progressive circles — but the record also, amazingly enough, rocks really hard as well. Elements of hard rock and Gregorian chants mix freely and, amazingly enough, well throughout this album. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi |
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Adele $17.99 Adele’’s sophomore CD 21 has enjoyed enormous critical acclaim, with reviewers lauding this British, multi-Grammy-winner’’s vocal performance and introspective songwriting. The Hal Leonard songbook matches the CD, with piano/vocal/guitar arrangements of the smash hits Rolling in the Deep and Someone like You, plus: Don”t You Remember * He Won”t Go * I”ll Be Waiting * Lovesong * One and Only * Rumour Has It * Set Fire to the Rain * Take It All * Turning Tables. |
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Adele – 21 $11.31 New – Adele’s sophomore CD 21 has enjoyed enormous critical acclaim, with reviewers lauding this British, multi-Grammy-winner’s vocal performance and introspective songwriting. The Hal Leonard songbook matches the CD, with piano/vocal/guitar arrangements of the smash hits “Rolling in the Deep” and “Someone like You,” plus: Don’t You Remember * He Won’t Go * I’ll Be Waiting * Lovesong * One and Only * Rumour Has It * Set Fire to the Rain * Take It All * Turning Tables. |
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Adele – 21 $11.15 Used – Adele’s sophomore CD 21 has enjoyed enormous critical acclaim, with reviewers lauding this British, multi-Grammy-winner’s vocal performance and introspective songwriting. The Hal Leonard songbook matches the CD, with piano/vocal/guitar arrangements of the smash hits “Rolling in the Deep” and “Someone like You,” plus: Don’t You Remember * He Won’t Go * I’ll Be Waiting * Lovesong * One and Only * Rumour Has It * Set Fire to the Rain * Take It All * Turning Tables. |
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Adele – 21 (P/V/G) $16.14 Adele's sophomore CD 21 has enjoyed enormous critical acclaim, with reviewers lauding this British, multi-Grammy-winner's vocal performance and introspective songwriting. The Hal Leonard songbook matches the CD, with piano/vocal/guitar arrangements of the smash hits Rolling in the Deep and Someone like You, plus: Don't You Remember He Won't Go I'll Be Waiting Lovesong One and Only Rumour Has It Set Fire to the Rain Take It All Turning Tables. |
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Adele – 21 – Piano/ Vocal/ Guitar Artist Songbook $16.99 Adele’s sophomore CD 21 has enjoyed enormous critical acclaim, with reviewers lauding this British, multi-Grammy-winner’s vocal performance and introspective songwriting. The Hal Leonard songbook matches the CD, with piano/vocal/guitar arrangements of the smash hits Rolling in the Deep and Someone like You, plus: Don’t You Remember He Won’t Go I’ll Be Waiting Lovesong One and Only Rumour Has It Set Fire to the Rain Take It All Turning Tables. |
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Aeon $13.98 Aeon is Zyklon’s second album and proves them to be more than a mere all-star, side-project band. (Guitarist Samoth and drummer Trym are better known as ex-members of Emperor, while lead guitarist Destructhor was in Myrkskog.) This album refines and builds on the sound laid out on World OV Worms, with futuristic/apocalyptic lyrics and an overall blasting death metal approach that’s closer to Morbid Angel or later Behemoth than to Emperor. One improvement on this album is the production. On World OV Worms, it seemed like every instrument (including the vocals) was competing to be the loudest one in the mix, but it was still hard to tell what was going on. Here, the sound is much clearer, though without sacrificing any heaviness, and, thankfully, there are still none of the phony-sounding drums or over-processed guitar tones that marred so many other contemporary death metal CDs. And it’s nice to be able to hear them better, because this band can really play — Trym’s drumming is fast and powerful and Destructhor and Samoth’s guitar interplay is cruel and surgically precise. Songwriting-wise, there’s a lot of Morbid Angel worship going on — the churning main riff on “Core Solution” is pure Formulas Fatal to the Flesh material — but Zyklon adds their own slant with cold, black metal-ish guitar harmonies, occasional, (mostly) tasteful keyboard layerings, and electronic accents. This album starts out strong, including highlights such as the title track and “Subtle Manipulation,” before trailing off toward the end and closing anti-climactically with “An Eclectic Manner.” That song includes attempts at semi-melodic singing similar to that on World OV Worms’ closing track, “Transcendental War — Battle Between Gods,” only here they’re not as successful. On a peripheral note, the cyber-themed artwork is a nice contrast to death metal’s clich? s, as are the thoughtful explanations (written by Emperor drummer and convicted murderer B? rd “Faust” Eithun) that acc… |
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Agents of Fortune [Bonus Tracks] $16.98 If ever there were a manifesto for 1970s rock, one that prefigured both the decadence of the decade’s burgeoning heavy metal and prog rock excesses and the rage of punk rock, “This Ain’t the Summer of Love,” the opening track from Agents of Fortune, Blue ? yster Cult’s fourth album, was it. The irony was that while the cut itself came down firmly on the hard rock side of the fence, most of the rest of the album didn’t. Agents of Fortune was co-produced by longtime Cult record boss Sandy Pearlman, Murray Krugman, and newcomer David Lucas, and in addition, the band’s lyric writing was being done internally with help from poet-cum-rocker Patti Smith (who also sings on “The Revenge of Vera Gemini”). Pearlman, a major contributor to the band’s songwriting output, received a solitary credit while critic Richard Meltzer, whose words were prevalent on the Cult’s previous outings, was absent. The album yielded the band’s biggest single with “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper,” a multitextured, deeply melodic soft rock song with psychedelic overtones, written by guitarist Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser. The rest of the album is ambitious in that it all but tosses aside the Cult’s proto-metal stance and instead recontextualizes their entire stance. It’s still dark, mysterious, and creepy, and perhaps even more so, it’s still rooted in rock posturing and excess, but gone is the nihilistic biker boogie in favor of a more tempered — indeed, nearly pop arena rock — sound that gave Allen Lanier’s keyboards parity with Dharma’s guitar roar, as evidenced by “E.T.I.,” “Debbie Denise,” and “True Confessions.” This is not to say that the Cult abandoned their adrenaline rock sound entirely. Cuts like “Tattoo Vampire” and “Sinful Love” have plenty of feral wail in them. The 2001 remastered edition contains four bonus cuts: an early version of “Fire of Unknown Origin” and unreleased demo versions of “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper,” “Sally,” and “Dance the Night Away.” Ultimatel… |
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Al Hilgendorf – Let Heaven Come Down CD $8.09 Al Hilgendorf’s release Let Heaven Come Down is a guitar driven collection of original praise and worship songs in the style of Paul Baloche, Chris Tomlin, or Michael W. Smith. His songwriting ref… |
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Alastair Moock $59.01 Used – Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Alastair Moock (born 1973 in New York, NY) is an American folk singer-songwriter based out of Boston. He is known for his gruff voice, thoughtful lyrics, and fingerpicking guitar style. His songs have won awards at many of the country’s most prestigious competitions, including songwriting contests at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, Sisters Folk Festival, and the |
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Alastair Moock $59.01 New – Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Alastair Moock (born 1973 in New York, NY) is an American folk singer-songwriter based out of Boston. He is known for his gruff voice, thoughtful lyrics, and fingerpicking guitar style. His songs have won awards at many of the country’s most prestigious competitions, including songwriting contests at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, Sisters Folk Festival, and the G |
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Alfred 00-30733 Vampire Weekend – Music Book $33.06 Alfred Music Publishing is the world s largest educational music publisher. Alfred produces educational #44; reference #44; pop #44; and performance materials for teachers #44; students #44; professionals #44; and hobbyists spanning every musical instrument #44; style #44; and difficulty level. Indie superstars Vampire Weekend blend Afro-pop guitar styles #44; indie-pop songwriting #44; and adventurous orchestration to create some of the most fun and groundbreaking new pop the world has heard in years! Musician-fans will be excited to get their hands of the scores and tabs in this first-ever unique guide to this amazing music.Titles: Mansard Roof * Oxford Comma * A-Punk * Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa * M79 * Campus * Bryn * One (Blake apos;s Got a New Face) * I Stand Corrected * Walcott * The Kids Don apos;t Stand a Chance. |
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Alfred’s Pro-Audio Series: Beginning GarageBand ‘09 (Alfred’s Pro-Audio Series) $19.95 This in-depth, step-by-step video shows you how to produce amazing recordings from start to finish with GarageBand ‘09. Open up a new project, set up your audio interface, create audio and virtual-instrument tracks, and record each part until your song is finished and ready for final mixdown. Learn everything about the virtual instruments, guitar amp modelers, and musical loops, and maximize all the effects and signal processor plug-ins included with the program.GarageBand ‘09 is ideal for songwriters, musicians, and bands of all levels—from hobbyists to professionals. Once you learn to take control of GarageBand, you’ll find out why millions of people use it for audio production, songwriting, podcasting, soundtracks, and more. |
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Alibi – Misdemeanours CD (Import) $8.75 Import – Alibi plays classic British melodic rock, with pumping guitar chords and powerful rhythms, rounded off with great lead vocals and strong songwriting. Indeed an album well worth checking ou… |
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Almost Here $14.99 The Academy Is… blends the yearning vocals and tense slivers of guitar common to groups like Sleeping at Last, Hidden in Plain View, and labelmates/pals Fall Out Boy. However, the Chicago combo isn’t as concerned about causing a racket as some of its peers, as the huge hooks of “Attention” and “Phrase That Pays” prove. William Beckett carries the latter’s melody with his velvety, bordering on histrionic vocals, and though the electric guitars crash behind him, they never tread into roaring post-hardcore territory. No screaming alternate vocals, no jarring instrumental breaks or squalls of feedback. “Black Mamba”’s underlying urgency takes a turn for the jaunty in the chorus, and an acoustic guitar rattles in there, too. “Classifieds” and “Slow Down” are equally strong, switching up the tempos and mixing in harmonies so their edges stay soft even when the guitars get loud. This doesn’t mean that the Academy Is… is somehow soft — no more so than similar, lyrics-as-confessional acts like Early November. It’s clear that the songwriting team of vocalist Beckett and guitarist Michael Carden wants to keep Almost Here melodic and very accessible, and the pair succeeds throughout the record. “Checkmarks” features another powerful singalong chorus, “Skeptics and True Believers” moves along at a faster pace, and “Down and Out” kicks in on robust Midwestern power chords. The Academy Is… would benefit from more of this Weezer-derived bottom end. But the band’s slick pop yen is impressive enough throughout Almost Here to make it a strong debut. ~ Johnny Loftus, Rovi |
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An Evening With The Allman Brothers Band $39.99 High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! An Evening with the Allman Brothers Band: 2nd Set is a live album by the American rock group the Allman Brothers Band. It was recorded in 1992 and 1994, and released in 1995. The Allman Brothers Band is an American rock band once based in Macon, Georgia. The band was formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman (slide guitar and lead guitar) and Gregg Allman (vocals, organ, songwriting), who were supported by Dickey Betts (lead guitar, vocals, songwriting), Berry Oakley (bass guitar), Butch Trucks (drums), and Jai Johanny “Jaimoe” Johanson (drums). While the band has been called the principal architects of Southern rock, they also incorporate elements of blues, jazz, and country music, and their live shows have jam band-style improvisation and instrumental songs. |
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And I Know You Wanna Dance/Whisky a Go-Go Revisited $22.98 At a time when the British Invasion was taking over the charts in America and the first flashes of psychedelia were appearing on the horizon of rock music, Johnny Rivers was a guy who had no problem carrying the flag for simple, meat-and-potatoes rock & roll. He was also good enough at it that he didn’t sound reactionary, but like someone who loved the classic styles of rock and R&B and gave them the respect they deserved, not unlike John Fogerty and Creedence Clearwater Revival a few years down the road (though Rivers didn’t have the songwriting knack that was Fogerty’s strongest asset). Rivers cut several strong live albums at his favorite stomping grounds, the Whisky a Go-Go in Los Angeles, and this two-fer CD from Beat Goes On records pairs up two of the later LPs in the series, 1966’s And I Know You Wanna Dance and 1967’s Whisky a Go-Go Revisited. Both albums play to Rivers’ strengths as a tough, no-nonsense guitar player and passionate blue-eyed soul singer who knew how to rock the house and get the crowd up on its feet, though the 12 months that separated the two sets proved significant. And I Know You Wanna Dance is dominated by covers of R&B hits of the day, ranging from Arthur Alexander’s “Every Day I Have to Cry” to Stevie Wonder’s “Uptight (Everything’s Alright),” with Rivers and his band (including session greats Mickey Jones and Larry Knetchel) locked in tight on the tunes. The first half of Whisky a Go-Go Revisited follows a similar form, but side two was devoted to a 15-minute jam on “John Lee Hooker,” and the stretched-out length of the performance and the call-and-response interplay between Rivers and Knetchel suggests they were aware of what was going on in the rock ballrooms in San Francisco, and if it wasn’t quite Johnny’s thing, it was certainly having its influence (and would also make its presence felt on his next few studio albums, though the guy never developed much of a taste for the trippy stuff). Fine listening, and good rockin’… |
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Andrew Crayford $68.92 New – Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Andrew Crayford is a British singer-songwriter leader of rock band The Kosmos. Andrew Crayford was born in Islington, London, England. He formed his first band Summer Buzz as vocalist rhythm guitar with best friends Ken Yeomans, Michael Fraser and Kurt Ferdinand. The band played a handful of gigs before Crayford and Yeomans left to become a songwriting and product |
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Andrew Crayford $68.92 Used – Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Andrew Crayford is a British singer-songwriter leader of rock band The Kosmos. Andrew Crayford was born in Islington, London, England. He formed his first band Summer Buzz as vocalist rhythm guitar with best friends Ken Yeomans, Michael Fraser and Kurt Ferdinand. The band played a handful of gigs before Crayford and Yeomans left to become a songwriting and produc |
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Andy Bell (Singer) $48 Used – High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Andrew Piran “Andy” Bell (born 11 August 1970 in Cardiff, Wales) is a British musician, songwriter, singer, producer, DJ and former member of the early 1990s shoegazing band, Ride, and later, Hurricane #1. He is also well known for playing bass guitar (and contributing songwriting) for British rock band Oasis. On Oasis’ last albums, the band took less clearly defined roles and Bell was able to contribute guitar on his own songs. He is currently |
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Andy Bell (Singer) $46.67 Used – High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Andrew Piran “Andy” Bell (born 11 August 1970 in Cardiff, Wales) is a British musician, songwriter, singer, producer, DJ and former member of the early 1990s shoegazing band, Ride, and later, Hurricane #1. He is also well known for playing bass guitar (and contributing songwriting) for British rock band Oasis. On Oasis’ last albums, the band took less clearly defined roles and Bell was able to contribute guitar on his own songs. He is currently |
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Andy Bell (Singer) $39.34 New – High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Andrew Piran “Andy” Bell (born 11 August 1970 in Cardiff, Wales) is a British musician, songwriter, singer, producer, DJ and former member of the early 1990s shoegazing band, Ride, and later, Hurricane #1. He is also well known for playing bass guitar (and contributing songwriting) for British rock band Oasis. On Oasis’ last albums, the band took less clearly defined roles and Bell was able to contribute guitar on his own songs. He is currently r |
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Andy Bell (Singer) $46.67 New – High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Andrew Piran “Andy” Bell (born 11 August 1970 in Cardiff, Wales) is a British musician, songwriter, singer, producer, DJ and former member of the early 1990s shoegazing band, Ride, and later, Hurricane #1. He is also well known for playing bass guitar (and contributing songwriting) for British rock band Oasis. On Oasis’ last albums, the band took less clearly defined roles and Bell was able to contribute guitar on his own songs. He is currently r |
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Andy Bell (Singer) $38.96 Used – High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Andrew Piran “Andy” Bell (born 11 August 1970 in Cardiff, Wales) is a British musician, songwriter, singer, producer, DJ and former member of the early 1990s shoegazing band, Ride, and later, Hurricane #1. He is also well known for playing bass guitar (and contributing songwriting) for British rock band Oasis. On Oasis’ last albums, the band took less clearly defined roles and Bell was able to contribute guitar on his own songs. He is currently |
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Andy Bell (Singer) $56.4 Used – High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Andrew Piran “Andy” Bell (born 11 August 1970 in Cardiff, Wales) is a British musician, songwriter, singer, producer, DJ and former member of the early 1990s shoegazing band, Ride, and later, Hurricane #1. He is also well known for playing bass guitar (and contributing songwriting) for British rock band Oasis. On Oasis’ last albums, the band took less clearly defined roles and Bell was able to contribute guitar on his own songs. He is currently |
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Arctic Monkeys Members: Alex Turner, Matt Helders, Andy Nicholson, Jamie Cook, Nick O’malley $8.69 Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher’s book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Alexander David Turner (born 6 January 1986, Sheffield, England) is an English musician and member of Arctic Monkeys and The Last Shadow Puppets. He is the vocalist and lead guitarist in both bands. He is the main songwriter in the Arctic Monkeys and shares writing duties in side-project The Last Shadow Puppets with Miles Kane. Along with Andy Nicholson and Matthew Helders, Turner attended Stocksbridge High School, and together with his neighbour Jamie Cook, formed Arctic Monkeys in 2002. Turner is believed to have started learning guitar because of the band that was one of his main influences, Oasis. Turner has always been the band’s main songwriter, and his observations of inner city England have drawn comparisons to The Streets’ frontman Mike Skinner. However, Turner has admitted that during the early days of the band “nobody wanted to admit they wrote so we kept trying other singers so they’d do it for us.” Despite enjoying songwriting, Turner shied away from acknowledgment because he “didn’t want to have piss took out of !” However, he has suggested that he has always enjoyed songwriting and that since getting his guitar, has spent most of his spare moments penning new lyrics, as “thats what ‘d feel comfortable doing. Describing the manner in which he constructs his lyrics, Turner says “I’ll think about something and I’ll be writing, penning something down and I’ll keep building on that. The best stuff comes when Ive got a melody and a rhythm so I know how many syllables each line is going to have and then build it up from there, and make it a whole thing, and try and pay attention to every aspect.” They recorded their smash hit album in August 2005 (Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not) shortly after securing their first recor… More: |
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Are You Experienced [CD/DVD] $14.99 On Are You Experienced — one of the most stunning debuts in rock history and one of the definitive albums of the psychedelic era — Jimi Hendrix synthesized various elements of the cutting edge of 1967 rock into music that sounded both futuristic and rooted in the best traditions of rock, blues, pop, and soul. It was his mind-boggling guitar work, of course, that got most of the ink, building upon the experiments of British innovators like Jeff Beck and Pete Townshend to chart new sonic territories in feedback, distortion, and sheer volume. It wouldn’t have meant much, however, without his excellent material, whether psychedelic frenzy (“Foxey Lady,” “Manic Depression,” “Purple Haze”), instrumental freak-out jams (“Third Stone from the Sun”), blues (“Red House,” “Hey Joe”), or tender, poetic compositions (“The Wind Cries Mary”) that demonstrated the breadth of his songwriting talents. Not to be underestimated were the contributions of drummer Mitch Mitchell and bassist Noel Redding, who gave the music a rhythmic pulse that fused parts of rock and improvised jazz. Many of these songs are among Hendrix’s very finest; it may be true that he would continue to develop at a rapid pace throughout the rest of his brief career, but he would never surpass his first LP in terms of consistently high quality. The British and American versions of the album differed substantially when they were initially released in 1967; a subsequent reissue does everyone a favor by gathering all of the material from the two records in one place, adding a few B-sides from early singles as well. And the 2010 Legacy Edition adds a short documentary DVD featuring interviews with Chas Chandler, Mitch Mitchell, and Noel Redding as well as Eddie Kramer in the studio with the multi-track masters. The footage with Kramer and the multi-tracks is absolutely fascinating as he isolates different parts of “Purple Haze,” “May This Be Love,” “The Wind Cries Mary,” and “Are You Experienc… |
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Are You Experienced [LP] $19.98 On Are You Experienced — one of the most stunning debuts in rock history and one of the definitive albums of the psychedelic era — Jimi Hendrix synthesized various elements of the cutting edge of 1967 rock into music that sounded both futuristic and rooted in the best traditions of rock, blues, pop, and soul. It was his mind-boggling guitar work, of course, that got most of the ink, building upon the experiments of British innovators like Jeff Beck and Pete Townshend to chart new sonic territories in feedback, distortion, and sheer volume. It wouldn’t have meant much, however, without his excellent material, whether psychedelic frenzy (“Foxey Lady,” “Manic Depression,” “Purple Haze”), instrumental freak-out jams (“Third Stone from the Sun”), blues (“Red House,” “Hey Joe”), or tender, poetic compositions (“The Wind Cries Mary”) that demonstrated the breadth of his songwriting talents. Not to be underestimated were the contributions of drummer Mitch Mitchell and bassist Noel Redding, who gave the music a rhythmic pulse that fused parts of rock and improvised jazz. Many of these songs are among Hendrix’s very finest; it may be true that he would continue to develop at a rapid pace throughout the rest of his brief career, but he would never surpass his first LP in terms of consistently high quality. The British and American versions of the album differed substantially when they were initially released in 1967; MCA’s 17-song CD reissue does everyone a favor by gathering all of the material from the two records in one place, adding a few B-sides from early singles as well. [A vinyl version of the reissue was also released.] ~ Richie Unterberger, Rovi |
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Atlas Solo C350/CRE Acoustic Electric Guitar with Hardshell Case $899 The all new Breedlove Solo C350/CR is a serious acoustic electric concert optimized for both solo song-writing and performing live. And the L.R. Baggs Stage Pro pickup features a stealthy chromatic tuner, notch, filter, EQ, volume controls and sets a new amplified acoustic guitar standard.With the Breedlove Monitor Side Sound Hole, enjoy listening yourself play in an entirely new dimension. Sonic subtleties and intricate techniques are amplified directly toward your ear, taking your songwriting to a whole new level. A new experience only from Breedlove. Includes hardshell case. |
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Ato Records Artists $23.6 Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher’s book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Radiohead, Crowded House, Liz Phair, Gomez, Jem, My Morning Jacket, David Gray, Ben Kweller, Patty Griffin, Gov’t Mule, Mike Doughty, the Whigs, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, My Morning Jacket Discography, Vusi Mahlasela. Excerpt: Ben Kweller Ben Kweller (born June 16, 1981, San Francisco , California ) is an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist . Biography Early life Ben Kweller was born in San Francisco, CA in 1981. In 1982, his family relocated to Emory, Texas , where his father, Howard Kweller, became the town’s first doctor. In 1986, the Kwellers moved to a much larger city, Greenville, TX . Kweller was exposed to music at a very early age. Howard taught Ben how to play the drums when he was seven years old. For the next year, the father and son pair would play together almost every night after Howard got home from work. With Howard singing and playing guitar and Ben keeping the beat, the duo would play songs by The Beatles , The Hollies , Jimi Hendrix , and other artists of the 1960s. Howard is also a longtime friend of Nils Lofgren , a neighbor with whom he went to high school. Kweller has mentioned in interviews that meeting Lofgren greatly helped his exposure to music. When Kweller turned eight, someone showed him how to play “Heart and Soul” on the piano and the youngster immediately began to create his own songs using the same chords. He still uses the same technique to write his songs today. By the time he was nine he had a dozen original compositions under his belt and entered a songwriting contest sponsored by Billboard magazine magazine . Kweller won an honorable mention. Adult Years Kweller married his girlfriend Liz (the subject of the song “Lizzy”) and they have two sons, named Dorian Zev Kweller, born in May 2006, and Judah Evan Kweller, born |
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Attention Deficit $17.98 Attention Deficit is another progressive supergroup that records for the Magna Carta label (i.e., Liquid Tension Experiment, Explorers Club, etc.). Comprised of new age bassist Michael Manring, ex-Primus drummer Tim Alexander, and ex-Testament guitarist (and one-time student of Joe Satriani) Alex Skolnick, Attention Deficit is more about atmospheric songwriting than technical shredding. For those who have lost track of Skolnick since his days with thrash metallists Testament, his playing with Attention Deficit is more akin to King Crimson’s Fripp and Belew than Metallica’s Hetfield and Hammett. He is also quite an accomplished acoustic guitar player — most of the rhythm guitar tracks on Attention Deficit are acoustic-based. Highlights include the bouncy “Scapula,” the vast sound of album opener “ATM,” and the hard rocker “Febrile.” Although the combination of these three instrumentalists may sound peculiar on paper, they somehow make it all work extremely well. ~ Greg Prato, Rovi |
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AudioWarrior Acoustic Dreadnought Kontakt Library $49 AudioWarrior’s Acoustic Dreadnought KONTAKT 2 Library features the first strummable premium 6-string acoustic guitar for NI’s KONTAKT 2, which gives you warm, vibrant, resonating, and stunningly beautiful sounds, each with their own character. It’s an indispensable songwriting tool with more than 3,400 Automatic-Chord-Strummming possibilities using the included patterns. Acoustic Dreadnought is a special featured virtual rhythm guitar that can be manually strummed from the C3 position, or, will Auto-Strum in any key and any tempo with a wide variety of songwriting chords that can be used to build complete rhythm guitar tracks via AudioWarrior’s exclusive iStrum MIDI Patterns and AudioWarrior’s G-Mapped chords. Using a standard nylon guitar-pick, you can strum the individual guitar chords on your keyboard choosing from any chord in the G-Mapped CHORD-BANK or choose AUTO-STRUM using the included dedicated 4-bar iStrum MIDI patterns. Use the included collection or create your own patterns and export them to build an infinite library. Simply type in the BPM of your song of your sequencer’s transport and the chords will lock into that tempo but will play back at the original pitch, perfectly tuned, perfectly strummed. Using your favorite sequencer such as Pro Tools or Cubase, you can also layer two different iStrum MIDI patterns in MIDI tracks to instantly create ear-catching strumming techniques.3,400 automatic, chord, strumming possibilities Large KONTAKT 2 Multi Chord bank plus chromatic patchesStrum or pick chords directly on your keyboard (from C3) any way you chooseNatively programmed as a playable performance instrument in KONTAKT 2Lock in tempos that match your songs BPM |
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Aurandt / Liszt – Flirting With The Dragon CD $16.79 Chris Orrock has been writing songs, singing and playing guitar since age 14. Under the early tutelage of rockabilly pioneer, Link Wray, Chris Orrock developed his own songwriting and instrumental … |
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Australian Crawl Members $9.25 Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher’s book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Simon John Binks (born 27 November 1956, Mount Eliza, Melbourne) is an Australian rock musician who was a guitarist and singer-songwriter for Australian Crawl from founding in 1978 to disbanding in 1986. Binks was raised in the Mornington Peninsula suburb of Mount Eliza on the outskirts of Melbourne and educated at The Peninsula School. Spiff Rouch was a band formed in 1976, it included Binks and fellow locals James Reyne, Bill McDonough, Guy McDonough, Paul Williams, and Robert Walker. By early 1978, Spiff Rouch had separated and Australian Crawl was formed with Binks (lead guitar), Reyne (lead vocals, piano, harmonica), and Williams (bass guitar), they were joined by James Reyne’s younger brother David Reyne (drums) and schoolmate Brad Robinson (rhythm guitar, backing vocals). Australian Crawl performed their first live gig in October 1978. Bill McDonough (drums) replaced David Reyne within the first year. Binks wrote or co-wrote four tracks for Australian Crawl’s 1980 debut album The Boys Light Up as well as guitars (lead, slide, acoustic) and vocals. Bill’s brother, Guy McDonough (guitars, singer-songwriting) joined Australian Crawl later that year. For their second album Sirocco in 1981, Binks supplied two tracks, and guitar work; the third album, Sons of Beaches in 1982, had Binks providing guitars but no songwriting credits. Drummer Bill McDonough left early in 1983, the Crawl recorded an EP Semantics with Graham Bidstrup on drums. Of the four tracks, Binks wrote “White Limbo” which was also the B-side of the European single release “Reckless”. Mountain climber, Lincoln Hall, quotes lyrics from Binks’ song in his book, White Limbo: The first Australian climb of Mt Everest (1985). The EP Semantics charted on the Australian Singles Char… More: |
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Bacharach & David: Gold Classics $7.75 Used – Seventeen great songs spanning twenty-five years of songwriting by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, arranged for piano/vocal and guitar, with full lyrics. Songs include: Do You Know The Way To San Jose, I Say A Little Prayer, Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head, (They Long To Be) Close To You, Walk On By, and many more solid gold standards. |
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Bacharach & David: Gold Classics $12.61 New – Seventeen great songs spanning twenty-five years of songwriting by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, arranged for piano/vocal and guitar, with full lyrics. Songs include: Do You Know The Way To San Jose, I Say A Little Prayer, Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head, (They Long To Be) Close To You, Walk On By, and many more solid gold standards. |
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Back in the Circus $16.98 Jonatha Brooke’s perseverance has paid off. Like Aimee Mann, she’s maneuvered a broken staircase of fluctuating acceptance, band breakups, and record label shakeups with nimble feet and a consistent songwriting vision. Now, she’s arrived on the top floor landing with Back in the Circus, a typically audacious effort that showcases her singing and writing even as it flirts with new musical directions. Good timing — Circus is the third release for her Bad Dog imprint, but the first to benefit from Verve’s distribution, suggesting that its nods to accessibility will find plenty of willing ears. Another first — Brooke served as her own producer. Who better to know just when — or when not to — accentuate Back in the Circus’ expressive vocals, pointed lyrics, and intriguing story arc with subtle programming or bits of modernist instrumental sampling? Sure, Brooke and principal collaborators Eric Bazilian and Ryan Freeland get a bit carried away sometimes. “Less Than Love Is Nothing”’s push-button percussion stippling and synth washes sidle too closely to being simply satisfactory in the electronic-organic world of 21st century adult alternative music. Likewise, the breezy keys and treated, three-prong glitches of her run through “Fire and Rain” make it pleasant but tentative — too preoccupied with converting the casual fan searching for a gimmick. Covers of “God Only Knows” and Alan Parsons’ “Eye in the Sky” fare much better. The scratchy electronics and acoustic tatters of the former are a cool exercise in deconstruction, while the latter is remade as a classic Jonatha Brooke folk song, full of gorgeously wavering vocal phrasing and tasteful twinges of mandolin over its melancholy piano rhythms. Brooke’s originals overwhelmingly benefit from Circus’ digital organics. The title track is an unbalanced and dizzying cocktail, with accordion, keys, guitar, and laptops all joining in the fray. “Back in the circus/But at least I know the routine,” she sings. “… |
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Bad Moon Rising: The Unofficial History of Creedence Clearwater Revival $11.19 Used – CCR captured the imagination of a generation with leader John Fogerty’s catchy songwriting, vibrant guitar playing, and strong vocals. It was not an easy ride to fame- In addition to the problems the group had with their management and record company, Fogerty’s creative leadership was resented by the other band members. This book tells it all through interviews with the surviving band members, their managers, producers, and families. |
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Baja Oklahoma $9.73 Dan Jenkins’ second best-known novel, Baja Oklahoma, features protagonist Juanita Hutchins, who can cuss and politically commentate with the best of Jenkins’ male protagonists. Still convincingly female, though in no way dumb and girly, fortyish Juanita serves drinks to the colorful crew patronizing Herb’s Cafe in South Fort Worth, worries herself sick over a hot-to-trot daughter proving too fond of drugs and the dealers who sell them, endures a hypochondriac mother whose whinings would justify murder, dates a fellow middle-ager whose connections with the oil industry are limited to dipstick duty at his filling station—and, by the way, she also hopes to become a singer-songwriter in the real country tradition of Bob Wills and Willie Nelson. That Juanita is way too old to remain a kid with a crazy dream doesn’t matter much to her. In between handing out longneck beers to customer-acquaintances battling hot flashes and deciding when boyfriend Slick is finally going to get lucky, Juanita keeps jotting down lyrics reflective of hard-won wisdom and setting them to music composed on her beloved Martin guitar. Too many of her early songwriting results are one-dimensional or derivative, but finally she hits on something both original and heartfelt: a tribute to her beloved home state, warts and all. |
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Bare Stripped Naked [CD/DVD] $18.98 Bettie Serveert has been at it for a long time. Since the release of 1992’s indie rock classic Palomine, the band’s career has been a series of ups and downs, missed opportunities, fading fortunes, misguided reviews, and strong comebacks. Basically, it’s been the story of any indie rock band that never gave up in the face of adversity and kept their hearts and souls in the music as the chance to make it “big” becomes increasingly remote. You have to admire a band like that, especially one that can still deliver an album as good as 2006’s Bare Stripped Naked after 15 years plus of struggling. As the title indicates, most of the record features spare instrumentation and restrained performances as the band settles into a mood of introspection and heartache. Peter Visser’s guitar work is heroic as he fills the tunes with achingly melodic lines and dramatic effects-laden smears of sound, but as ever, Carol van Dyk is the focal point of the band. Her vocals are as sweet and intimate as usual, but time has given her voice a ragged vibrato that she uses to stunning effect on the more heartfelt ballads like “Roadmovies” and “The Rope.” The album’s highlights are new versions of an old classic (an atmospheric take on “Brain-Tag,” one of the best songs on Palomine) and a more recent gem (a ripping, Neil Young-inspired version of Log 22’s “Certainlie”), but the group’s new songs display the usual level of high-quality songwriting and performance. Only the cabaret-style ballad “Painted Word” is a letdown (too quirky by half); the rest of the record features devastatingly heartbroken ballads (especially “2nd Time” and “What They Call Love”) and what could have been a huge hit in 1992, “Hell = Other People.” Sporting classic indie rock chord progressions, an instantly familiar melody, and van Dyk’s most charming vocal ever, the song appears twice on the album and you might find yourself wishing it appeared more because it’s just that good! Bettie Serveert is a… |
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Battlecry Under a Winter Sun $14.98 Canada’s Three Inches of Blood throw their lot into the “shameless heavy metal retread” sweepstakes with the suitably titled Battlecry Under a Winter Sun and a simple motto: “Let metal be your master!” With song titles like “Ride Darkhorse, Ride,” “Destroy the Orcs,” and “Heir to the Chaos Throne,” there’s no disguising the group’s humongous debt to Ronnie James Dio’s school of sword and sorcery lyrics. And with their piles and piles of galloping, staccato riffs, these and album highlights such as “Headwaters of the River Blood,” “Curse of the Lighthouse Keeper,” and the absolutely hysterical “Balls of Ice” also drink liberally from the fountain of Iron Maiden — even if they avoid the metal legends’ epic approach to songwriting in order to wrap up in two or three minutes. This, as it turns out, works to Three Inches of Blood’s advantage, as the absence of excess clutter allows for a fresh feeling of renewal throughout. Conversely, the band’s heartfelt dedication to this often maligned and ridiculed genre might rub some listeners as being facetious, requiring a very open mind to stomach the likes of “Journey to the Promisedland” — a dramatic interlude composed of acoustic guitar and chanted “ooh”s and “aah”s. Speaking of vocals, if there’s anything truly unique about Three Inches of Blood, it’s their use of not one, but two vocalists — one singing piercing semioperatic melodies ? la Rob Halford, the other shrieking like a death metal demon. Duetting on virtually every track, they do become a little hard to distinguish at times, but the overall effect is quite a bonus in the end. Purely from a metal purist’s respective, two key items still missing if the band’s commitment is to be complete: long hair and more guitar solos. Indeed, the latter prove surprisingly scarce throughout the album. Finally, one can’t help but wonder if Three Inches of Blood are aware of how much they sound like Canadian proto-thrashers Exciter, albeit with far bette… |
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Beat $16.98 Beat is not as good as its predecessor (1981’s Discipline), but it’s not too shabby, either. The ’80s version of King Crimson (Robert Fripp, guitar; Adrian Belew, vocals/guitar; Tony Levin, bass; and Bill Bruford, drums) retains the then-modern new wave sound introduced on Discipline. The band’s performances are still inspired, but the songwriting isn’t as catchy or strong. The moody love song “Heartbeat” has become a concert favorite for the band, and contains a Jimi Hendrix-like backward guitar solo. Other worthwhile tracks include “Waiting Man,” which features world music sounds (thanks to some stunning bass/percussion interplay), and “Neurotica” does an excellent job of painting an unwavering picture of a large U.S. city, with its jerky rhythms and tense vocals. With lots of different guitar textures, bass explorations, and uncommon drum rhythms present, King Crimson’s Beat will automatically appeal to other musicians. But since they’re fantastic songwriters as well, you don’t have to be a virtuoso to feel the passion of their music. ~ Greg Prato, Rovi |
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Beatles For Sale (No. 2) $49.17 High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Beatles for Sale (No 2) is an EP released by The Beatles on 4 June 1965. The EP was only released in mono and never released in stereo. Its catalogue number is Parlophone GEP 8938. The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. From 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon (rhythm guitar, vocals), Paul McCartney (bass guitar, vocals), George Harrison (lead guitar, vocals) and Ringo Starr (drums, vocals). Rooted in skiffle and 1950s rock and roll, the group later worked in many genres ranging from pop ballads to psychedelic rock, often incorporating classical and other elements in innovative ways. The nature of their enormous popularity, which first emerged as the “Beatlemania” fad, transformed as their songwriting grew in sophistication. |
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Before the Dream Faded $18.98 One of the great lost ’60s albums. Side one includes all six of the tracks the Misunderstood recorded in England in 1966, with magnificent guitar work and nervy, ambitious (if a bit overtly cosmic) songwriting that combines some of the best aspects of the Jeff Beck-era Yardbirds and Syd Barrett’s Pink Floyd. Remember that Pink Floyd and Hendrix had yet to record when these sides were waxed; they aren’t derivations, but genuinely innovative and groundbreaking performances. Side two contains seven pre-psychedelic demos from their U.S. garage days in the mid-’60s that, while not nearly as important as their 1966 work, are solid, crunching R&B-soaked rock in the tradition of their chief British influences. ~ Richie Unterberger, Rovi |
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Beginnings (The Allman Brothers Band Album) $39.99 High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Beginnings was a 1973 reissue of the Allman Brothers Band’s first two albums, The Allman Brothers Band and Idlewild South, made to capitalize on the band’s popularity since those records had first come out. Beginnings also included extensive liner notes by writer Jean-Charles Costa that gave many fans their first coherent view of the band’s history, as well as useful guidelines for how to tell Duane Allman’s guitar parts from Dickey Betts’. The front cover depicts them at one of their many famous performances at the Fillmore East. The Allman Brothers Band is an American rock band once based in Macon, Georgia. The band was formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman (slide guitar and lead guitar) and Gregg Allman (vocals, organ, songwriting), who were supported by Dickey Betts (lead guitar, vocals, songwriting), Berry Oakley (bass guitar), Butch Trucks (drums), and Jai Johanny “Jaimoe” Johanson (drums). |
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Behind the Parade $16.98 Tommy Keene has been making records for well over 25 years, but the vagaries of the music business have forced his career to run in bursts — a couple albums for Geffen here, a few releases on Matador there — which have had more to do with commercial considerations than the quality of his music or his desire to present it to his audience. Behind the Parade is Keene’s third album since 2006, an impressive flow of material by his standards, and like its two immediate predecessors, it ranks with the best music of his career; this is tough, wiry, and passionate guitar-based rock & roll with a glorious pop melodic sense, built around the framework of Keene’s excellent songwriting, his forceful and emotionally resonant vocals, and his heady electric guitar work, as exciting as anyone playing classic pop today. The fact that Keene’s music is just as strong, engaging, and beautifully crafted today as it was in the late ’80s says plenty in his favor, but it also reveals a great deal about his ideas and approach; at the risk of sounding pretentious, Keene’s best music is timeless, and one of the reasons Behind the Parade is as powerful in 2011 as Songs from the Film was in 1986 is, because he’s never stopped writing songs that deal with love, loss, and the universal building blocks of human emotions, and he plays them with sincerity and emotional force that have little do to with changing musical tides. When he first burst on the music scene, Tommy Keene’s music sounded like great, poppy, rock & roll with a large side order of passion and smarts, and he hasn’t lost any of those strengths over the years; Behind the Parade is another superior album from one of rock’s true unsung heroes, and chances are it will sound just as vital and exciting two decades hence as it does today. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi |
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Ben Sollee $43.84 Used – Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Ben Sollee (b. ca. 1984) is a cellist and vocalist known for his percussive playing style, genre hopping songwriting, wide appeal, and political activism. His music incorporates banjo, guitar, percussion and unusual cello techniques to create a unique mix of folk, bluegrass, jazz and R&B. Raised in Lexington, Kentucky, Sollee began playing the cello in elementary |
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Ben Sollee $45.05 Used – Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Ben Sollee (b. ca. 1984) is a cellist and vocalist known for his percussive playing style, genre hopping songwriting, wide appeal, and political activism. His music incorporates banjo, guitar, percussion and unusual cello techniques to create a unique mix of folk, bluegrass, jazz and R&B. Raised in Lexington, Kentucky, Sollee began playing the cello in elementary |
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Ben Sollee $45.05 New – Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Ben Sollee (b. ca. 1984) is a cellist and vocalist known for his percussive playing style, genre hopping songwriting, wide appeal, and political activism. His music incorporates banjo, guitar, percussion and unusual cello techniques to create a unique mix of folk, bluegrass, jazz and R&B. Raised in Lexington, Kentucky, Sollee began playing the cello in elementary |
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Berklee In The Pocket Essential Songwriter $9.49 The Berklee in the Pocket Essential Songwriter is an accessible reference guide that will quickly lead songwriters to ideas that are at the heart of countless hit songs. The tips and strategies jam-packed into this concise guide will help you tackle writer’s block and gain fresh insight into the songwriting process. Includes: the 17 chord progressions that are at the heart of the most popular hit songs, guitar charts and keyboard chords showing how to play progressions in all 12 keys, tips to customize essential chord progressions to suit your own songs, contact info for businesses and organizations most important to the working songwriter, and more! |
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Bert Jansch – Fresh as a Sweet Sunday Morning-DVD $16.99 This fantastic performance filmed at Sheffield Memorial Hall (UK) on April 22, 2006 features Bert Jansch, one of the key figures in modern British folk music. Here he brings his trademark virtuosity and eclectic edge to the folk guitar. His ground-breaking guitar playing, deeply affecting songwriting and dark, passionate voice have held audiences spellbound since the mid-sixties. As Neil Young once stated, As much of a great guitar player as Jimi Hendrix was, Bert Jansch is the same thing for acoustic guitar…and my favorite. This DVD brilliantly showcases Jansch’s awesome talent. Songs performed include: It Don’t Bother Me Strolling Down the Highway Oh My Father Blues Run the Game Carnival Trouble in Mind She Moved Through the Fair Down Under Poison October Song and more. 1 hour, 41 min. |
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Best Of Lennon and McCartney For Electric Guitar Signature Licks DVD $18.95 This outstanding DVD teaches the trademark electric guitar riffs and solos behind rock’s most influential songwriting duo. Features in-depth instruction and close-up demos professionally presented by Musicians Institute instructor and Guitar One columnist Tom Kolb. Featured Beatles songs: Birthday Day Tripper Drive My Car Get Back A Hard Day’s Night I Feel Fine Paperback Writer Ticket to Ride. |
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Between a Rock and the Blues $16.98 San Francisco blues guitar king Joe Louis Walker has been purveying his biting brand of West Coast blues since the ’60s, with time off for good behavior (literally — he spent years going “straight” attending school and playing gospel). On Between a Rock and the Blues he manages to keep one foot in the L.A. blues he grew up on (T-Bone Walker, Lowell Fulson, et al.) and the other in a more modern sound, both in his songwriting and his impassioned fretwork. On the likes of “Eyes Like a Cat” and “Way Too Expensive,” Walker’s seasoned band whips up a sassy, swinging, old-school jump blues feel, while “Tell Me Why” leans into a classic-sounding Chicago-style shuffle. Walker’s voice, still lithe and clear at 58, rings out authoritatively over it all, and his concise, stinging guitar makes no apologies for asserting its dominion over all it surveys. An unplugged stab at Delta blues on “Send You Back” feels less convincing, but other cuts, such as album-opening “I’m Tide” [sic] and “If There’s a Heaven” show off a crunchier, grittier, more rock-inflected guitar tone and a compositional sensibility to match. When Walker taps into this more modern-sounding mode, though, it’s important to realize there’s no pandering involved. Even though his roots go back way further, he didn’t begin establishing his own sound as a solo recording artist until the ’80s, so it’s entirely natural for his style to have picked up some rock & roll attack along the way. Crucially, he never overdoes it, maintaining just the right balance between the understated and the in-your-face. He hasn’t stopped growing as a songwriter either — Walker’s original tunes dominate the album, and they reveal both a strict avoidance of lyrical blues tropes and a knack for deftly inserting thoughtful observations in between burning riffs and gut-level grooves. ~ J. Allen, Rovi |
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Between the Concrete & Clouds $13.98 Since launching his solo career with the release of 2002? s Circle Gets the Square, alternative singer/songwriter Kevin Devine has cultivated a following thanks to his introspective songwriting and heartfelt melodies. With Between the Concrete & Clouds, Devine stays true to those conventions but expands his horizons by inviting his Goddamn Band — keyboardist Brian Bonz, bassist/keyboardist Chris Bracco, drummer/percussionist Mike Fadem, guitarist Russell Smith, and guitarist/mandolinist Mike Strandberg — to the party, lending a renewed energy and flow to Devine? s sound. The addition of the band also allows Devine to explore a wider musical palette, channeling power pop swagger with “The First Hit” and using instrumentation to mirror the narrative of “11-17″ — one guitar strums as he opens the song with thoughts of love, slowly building to distortion as the full story of love gone wrong unfolds. In contrast to his previous efforts, Between strays from Devine? s sociopolitical-leaning lyrics, shifting the focus to more abstract concepts with more wordplay, well illustrated with the title track (“And every single time that you opened your mouth/Someone else? s lies came tumbling out/Parading as the truth in a cap and a gown/A graduated curse that you cast to the ground”). While the transition from acoustic to electric may take veteran listeners by surprise, Between the Concrete & Clouds succeeds in walking the fine line of capturing the intimacy and charm of Devine? s previous efforts while allowing him to continue developing as an artist. ~ Chrysta Cherrie, Rovi |
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Big Blue Sky $14.99 Norman’s second label recording employs his cool sandpaper voice (very similar to Bob Carlisle, as far as CCM genre comparisons go) on a mix of up-tempo pop/rock anthems, inspirational reflections, and gentle ballads. The power pop hook of “I Am” is a singalong reminder of what God told Moses: “I am that I am” (i.e., God is in everything). Taking the point of view back to the human level, Norman asks the Lord to “Cover Me,” a tune that begins quietly and atmospherically, then dives into another anthemic plea. Norman sets aside the power approach a bit on the folksy “Sons and Daughters,” giving the listener a better feeling for his low-toned vocals. The following song, “Perhaps She’ll Wait,” is a plaintive ballad featuring a simple acoustic guitar accompaniment. One of the more interesting tracks is “Break Me Through,” less for its decent songwriting than for its ambient, new agey atmospheres. Mostly this is straightforward pop, but there’s a bit of a blues influence throughout, most prominently on the title track, which features the Hammond B-3 of Mark Stallings. ~ Jonathan Widran, Rovi |
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Big Swing Face $3.31 Bruce Hornsby notes that when he’s been playing his eighth album, Big Swing Face for people, the general reaction is Who the hell is this? Simply put, it’s an album that doesn’t sound quite like anything Hornsby has done before. There’s less piano–far less piano–this time out, and more guitar. There are loops, samples and other technological chicanery (in Bruce’s words) to create an assortment of moods and textures. And there’s a spirited lightness of tone and irreverence with the language that forms a nice complement to the detailed narratives and character studies that have been the stock in trade of Hornsby’s previous efforts. What it does retain, however, is the rich melodicism that’s always inherent in Hornsby’s music–even his most avant-garde pieces. My whole approach is I just want to like it, Hornsby explains. This is generally a very different, sort of quirkier record. Songwriting-wise, I did have more fun. I didn’t drive myself crazy; I just wanted to write some funny s**t. So it was liberating. It just took me to a different place musically, which led me to a different lyrical space as well. The tracks are fortified by members of Hornsby’s touring band and by guest guitarist Steve Kimock, who worked with Hornsby in the ad hoc Grateful Dead group The Other Ones. Also popping up on Big Swing Face is Floyd Hill, Jr., a 70-year-old Hornsby family friend in Williamsburg who co-wrote and raps on the song No Home Training . |