A01=Chris O'Leary
Author_Chris O'Leary
autobiographies
autobiography
biographies
biographies of famous people
biography
books about music
books about musicians
books on music
Category=AVP
Category=DNBF
comedy
composing music
composition
conducting
drama
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film
gifts for musicians
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history of music
hollywood
movies
music
music biographies
music biographies and autobiographies
music biography
music book
music books
music history
music history book
music history books
musician biographies
musician biography books
Product details
- ISBN 9781915672834
- Dimensions: 153 x 234mm
- Publication Date: 08 Jul 2025
- Publisher: Watkins Media Limited
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Paperback
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The legacy of David Bowie is roughly 450
songs, which he recorded or performed over half a century. They range from
cabaret to psychedelia to folk rock to glam rock to Philadelphia soul, from
avant-garde instrumentals to stadium anthems. Cataloging Bowie’s songs from the
dawn of his career in 1963 to his Hollywood stardom in 1976, examining them in the
order of their composition and recording, and digging into what makes them work,
Rebel Rebel and its sequel Ashes to Ashes have become standard
references for Bowie fans.
The new
edition of Rebel Rebel is a fully-updated
revision, taking into account Bowie demos and alternate takes released in the
years after his death. It’s enhanced by a decade’s worth of new information
about Bowie’s recording process, his influences, his contemporaries, and his
live performances, all of which shed light onto the evolution of his
songwriting. It shows how Bowie exploited studio innovations, and delves into
the roles of his supporting musicians, particularly major collaborators like
Mick Ronson and Tony Visconti.
This book aligns Bowie’s music with his
times, planting his work in the context of its era. You’ll see what Bowie’s
work owes to novelists like Keith Waterhouse, Jack Kerouac, George Orwell, Ray
Bradbury, and William S. Burroughs. To films like Performance, 2001:
A Space Odyssey, and A Clockwork Orange. To rival songwriters and
performers like Marc Bolan, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Lou Reed, Scott
Walker, Elvis Presley, the Bee Gees, Isaac Hayes, James Brown, Pete Townshend,
and John Lennon. With guest appearances by everyone from Frank Sinatra to Cher.
Chris O’Leary is a writer and editor based in western Massachusetts. He has written for Pitchfork, Slate, New York, Mojo, Billboard, and the Los Angeles Review of Books, and is the author of a previous book on the music of David Bowie: Rebel Rebel (Zero, 2015). Both Rebel Rebel and Ashes to Ashes are based on the blog that he created in 2009, "Pushing Ahead of the Dame" (http://bowiesongs.wordpress.com)
