Publisher's Synopsis
The Island Book of Records brings the early years of this iconic record label to life. A fifteen-year labour of love, the volumes will fully document the analogue era of Island. Offering a comprehensive archive of album cover design and photography, together with the voices of the musicians, designers, photographers, producers, studio engineers and record company personnel that worked on each project, the volumes show in unique depth the workings of the label, covering every LP.
Featuring material from recent interviews and from media interviews of the time, and each including a comprehensive discography of 45s, the books are lavishly illustrated with gig adverts (very many at venues which no longer exist), concert tickets, flyers, international LP variants, labels, LP and 45 adverts and other ephemera.
These LP-sized editions are a collector's dream, offering a truly unparalleled resource for those interested in music history and a perfect gift for any music lover.
CONTENTS
Preface - Genesis & Revelations
Escaping Torquemada & Harrow on the Hill - tracing Island founder Chris Blackwell's roots
Boogie in my Bones via Half Moon Bay - Chris Blackwell's first productions and the first Jamaica-only LPs
Underneath the Mango Tree - Chris Blackwell and Jamaican music's role in the first James Bond movie, Dr. No
London Calling, from Rutland Gate Mews to Cambridge Road - the early growth of the label Did you ever wonder why all those early 45s were faded at 2'50"? Graeme Goodall on engineering early recordings
Too Much, Too Young - the Spencer Davis Group's split and the formation of Traffic
Miles From Nowhere - Traffic's famed Berkshire Cottage
How's yer arse since the pig bit ya? - Albert Heaton, Island's first super-roadie by Spooky Tooth's drummer
Going Up, Second Floor - 155 Oxford Street and the creative hub which ushers in the pink (label) revolution
There are only two Phil Spectors and I'm one of them - Guy Stevens, from the Scene Club to the Sue label and beyond
North London to the world - the move to the scout hut on Neasden Lane
Season of the Witch - the formation of Joe Boyd's production company
Withering Tree - Traffic grinds to a halt
Prefix and suffix - the most comprehensive listing of all Island and sub-label 45s and EPs from this era.
El Pea - every Island album issued between 1959/1968 as well as those known and/or scheduled but not released including subsidiary labels (Surprise, Big Shot, Studio One etc)
