Which is your favourite book from the Continuum 33 1/3 series?

I've read about 14.

Paul's Boutique is the far and away winner

Though Live At The Apollo is so great that I'm sure it'll win this poll easy.

The one for Zeppelin IV was hilarious.

I voted for Erik Davis. funniest, densest, amazingly written, impossible to put down. runners up, in series order: Kinks by Andy Miller, Vincentelli on ABBA, Wolk, Bruno, Low, Beasties, Pixies, Riot, Weisbard.

Yeah, Bruno and Lewis on the Costello and Sly books seconded.

Poll is a hair premature since a new batch just came out this week.

sorry but i guess nobody has read those yet. i copied and pasted from wikipedia.

David Bowie's Low

After reading the first two chapters I want to pre-vote for the Carl Wilson Celine Dion book. The Unknown Pleasures was one of the few I haven't bought, but I haven't read all the ones I own yet. The ones you might expect to be somewhat of a rehash generally are. Live at the Apollo and Armed Forces are outstanding, but I gotta vote for ABBA Gold.

P.S. I liked the fictional Music from Big Pink almost despite myself, found the Colin Meloy Replacements memoir kinda dull, and thought Dai Griffith's take on OK Computer was pretty good (to round up the ones that I've read that stray furthest from the average in approach).

I've read a few of these, but the problem with this series is that there aren't really that many albums you can write a whole book about without a whole lot of filler material or fanboy waffle. The most successful ones (that I've read) tend to have some sort of conceptual framework rather than just be clippings jobs. The James Brown/Live At The Apollo one is good from that perspective. The best one I've read though is Bowie/Low.

my top ten albums in book release order:

- Harvest Neil Young
- The Piper at the Gates of Dawn Pink Floyd
- Electric Ladyland The Jimi Hendrix Experience
- Unknown Pleasures Joy Division
- The Velvet Underground and Nico The Velvet Underground
- Low David Bowie
- Doolittle Pixies
- Highway 61 Revisited Bob Dylan
- Loveless My Bloody Valentine
- Court and Spark Joni Mitchell

I've read a handful but I liked ABBA Gold followed by Neutral Milk.

I've only read Matos' book, A+

Which ones were the worst? That's what I want to hear.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

#10.

Really didn't like the OK Computer one.

matos's SoTT book is very good, the abba one is TERRIBLE!

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

I liked the Bee Thousand one a lot. It is stored in the box with my 'director's cut' LP - makes a nice companion when that title gets spun...

Really didn't like the OK Computer one.
-- the next grozart, Wednesday, October 10, 2007 10:58 AM (2 days ago) Bookmark Link

OTM, unfortunately.

I didn't get much out of the ABBA book, unfortunately. I thought the Bee Thousand book was suprisingly good. Especially Pollard's interview/essay, which is just so awesome. And I'm superexcited about the Celine, Tom Waits, and Throbbing Gristle books.

OK now that I've read it, the Celine Dion book is awesomely good, one of the most thoughtful, entertaining books I've read in years. One criticism: Wilson doesn't really reach too mch of a conclusion by the book's finish, but still...wow!

http://nymag.com/arts/books/reviews/42082/

Just finished Drew Daniel's book on 20 Jazz Funk Greats and it's tremendously great. My fave in the series so far.

Least favorite so far is the Murmur one. Surprising because it's full of recording details, Mitch Easter memories, etc., but the writing is duller than dirt.

My new fave is the Ric Menck book about The Notorious Byrds Brothers. Might be my #4 or #5 in the whole series, and I've never heard the album.

i love the drew daniels entry also. i think i've liked most everything i've read by him.

come to think of it, most everything i've heard from him as well.

Damn I missed this poll. I would have voted for the GnR book. The memory criticism is highly entertaining. And I don't think the author even likes the record. It's a great read!

Worst I've read so far is the Jethro Tull. Talk about making a difficult record seem boring...

Have to agree the Throbbing Gristle book is really well done, a real fine balance.

Unlike say, the U2 or Radiohead books which are hard to appreciate.

Who submitted this year? Just sent mine off, about two hours before the deadline.

didn't happen

i'm in, again. i'm not putting a lot of money on my chances.

My pitch was definitely a real long shot. I'm curious if they got significantly more submissions this round...

i wd like to do one someday abt Madvillainy but the task right now seems so staggering I wouldn't know where to begin (well, yes send in the proposal...slim chances it wd even get accepted...but even THAT seems like a task of Herculean proportions...)

I would totally buy a Madvilliany 33 1/3.

Ned submitted a proposal for Kid A, says so on his blog...

i really really wanted to pitch this time around, but ultimately i was so busy and never 100% sure about which idea to settle on that it was just too easy to blow it off.

of the 5 i've read so far, i think The Who Sell Out is my favorite.