Publishers Continuum are adding more titles to their 33 1/3 series this year. Each 33 1/3 book is based around an influential album, with the writer having extended access to the artists and aiming to capture the ways the creators were influenced by the circumstances and ideas around them. The pocket sized tome then becomes a comprehensive documentation about the making of the album. Last June Coninuum released Illmatic, that elaborated on the NY State of Mind Nasir Jones was in when making his classic debut. Slated for this coming summer is PEs It Takes A Million, and I’d imagine that will make for a riveting holiday read.

Another 33 1/3 release worth checking is the Paul’s Boutique offering that demonstrates how the free-wheeling and madcap lives of the Beastie Boys penetrated what they put on wax. A highly entertaining, enjoyable and (rope-a-) dope accompaniment to the main event.

Filed under: Uncategorized by J.G.