Thirty-Three-and-a-Third

I’m finally getting around to 33 1/3, the series of books about pop/rock/soul records.  A different writer covers each album in the series, and there’s apparently no standard for continuity of style, and the quality varies quite a bit.  Here’s an Amazon list of volumes 1-40: http://www.amazon.com/33-3-Books-%23-1-40/lm/RGSF3HQ66R2MO/ref=cm_lmt_srch_f_1_rsrsrs0

The only one I have is There’s a Riot Goin’ On and I’ve just started it.  This one’s fine so far; I imagine that when I love a record as much as I do Sly & the Family Stone’s There’s a Riot Goin’ On, I’ll be more tolerant of pedestrian writing, maybe even of flighty experiments.  We’ll see how it goes.

 

James Brown’s Live at the Apollo 

Here’s my list, in order of preference, of the series books I’d like to find next, starting with the two my pal MC Goober recommended (which got me going on this):

1. #13 in the series, Live at the Apollo (James Brown)
2. #44, Trout Mask Replica (Captain Beefheart)–gotta be a strange book to go with this strange album
3. #4, The Village Green Preservation Society (The Kinks)
4. #19, Pet Sounds (Beach Boys)–already heard and read alot about this record, but, eh, there’s always room for a little more
5. #8, Electric Ladyland (Jimi Hendrix)
6. #40, Court and Spark (Joni Mitchell)
7. #20, The Ramones
8. #35, Highway 61 Revisited (Bob Dylan)–although I’d prefer a volume on Blood on the Tracks
9. #10, Sign o’ the Times (Prince)
10. #46, Aja (Steely Dan)

Close runners-up (and, really, I’ll read any book in the series, but in a few cases I’ll hafta find the record before I start it): The Notorious Byrd Brothers, Exile on Main Street, Forever Changes, The Who Sell Out