Part two of the definitive biography of the rock 'n' roll kings of the North - covering Rush's most iconic and popular albums, Moving Pictures and Power Windows
Includes two full-color photo inserts, with 16 pages of the band on tour and in the studio
In the follow-up to Anthem: Rush in the '70s, Martin Popoff brings together canon analysis, cultural context, and extensive firsthand interviews to celebrate Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart at the peak of their persuasive power. Rush was one of the most celebrated hard rock acts of the '80s, and the second book of Popoff's staggeringly comprehensive three-part series takes readers from Permanent Waves to Presto, while bringing new insight to Moving Pictures, their crowning glory. Limelight: Rush in the '80s is a celebration of fame, of the pushback against that fame, of fortunes made - and spent ...
In the latter half of the decade, as Rush adopts keyboard technology and gets pert and poppy, there's an uproar amongst diehards, but the band finds a whole new crop of listeners. Limelight charts a dizzying period in the band's career, built of explosive excitement but also exhaustion, a state that would lead, as the '90s dawned, to the band questioning everything they previously believed, and each member eying the oncoming decade with trepidation and suspicion.
The definitive biography of the rock 'n' roll kings of the North
With extensive, first-hand reflections from Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart, as well as from family, friends, and fellow musicians, Anthem: Rush in the '70s is a detailed portrait of Canada's greatest rock ambassadors. The first of three volumes, Anthem puts the band's catalog, from their self-titled debut to 1978's Hemispheres (the next volume resumes with the release of Permanent Waves) into both Canadian and general pop culture context, and presents the trio of quintessentially dependable, courteous Canucks as generators of incendiary, groundbreaking rock 'n' roll.
Fighting complacency, provoking thought, and often enraging critics, Rush has been at war with the music industry since 1974, when they were first dismissed as the Led Zeppelin of the north. Anthem, like each volume in this series, celebrates the perseverance of Geddy, Alex, and Neil: three men who maintained their values while operating from a Canadian base, throughout lean years, personal tragedies, and the band's eventual worldwide success.
The conclusion to the definitive biography of the rock 'n' roll kings of the North.
Includes two full-color photo inserts, with unearthed photos of the band.
"A must for Rush fans." - Library Journal on Anthem, book one of the Rush Across the Decades trilogy
In this conclusion to his trilogy of authoritative books on Canada's most beloved and successful rock band, Martin Popoff takes us through three decades of "life at the top" for Rush's Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart. Though this era begins with the brisk-selling Roll the Bones and sees throngs of fans sell out international tours, there is also unimaginable tragedy, with Peart losing his daughter and his wife within the space of ten months and, two decades later, succumbing to cancer himself. In between, however, there is a gorgeous and heartbreaking album of reflection and bereavement, as well as a triumphant trip to Brazil, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, and - some say surprisingly - the band's first full-blown concept album to close an immense career marked by integrity and idealism.
Contents Under Pressure: 30 Years of Rush at Home & Away is a detailed history of the exhaustive road experience of Canadian rock icons Rush. Celebrating the band's 30th anniversary, By-Tour features in-depth original interviews with Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart. Together, history's loudest Order of Canada recipients conjure the sights and sounds of their strange journey: one that began in the microscopic, sometimes hostile clubs of Ontario and culminated in hockey barns, arenas, and stadiums all over the world. Rush have been headliners for over 20 years. The announcement of an impending Rush tour is major entertainment news all over the world, and a cause for celebration for the fanatical following the band has created with their grace, humour, intellect, focus, and spellbinding musicianship. A visitor to this book will be justly rewarded with fresh, exclusive insights about this enigmatic Canadian institution.
Isiah Lord Thomas has dedicated his life to professional basketball. He honed his skills in Chicago's South Side, went to college, signed an NBA contract, joined the Detroit Pistons, turned them into league champions in 1989 and 1990, and was named one of the NBA's 50 greatest players. Thomas became general manager and vice-president of the Toronto Raptors when they entered the NBA in 1995-96. In 1999, he bought the Continental Basketball Association, which went bankrupt in 2001. Now, he's back in the game as president of the New York Knicks, who compete every night in the sports-media center of the world. Here, writer Paul Challen examines Thomas's life in depth - as a terrific player, as the man who introduced professional basketball to Canadian fans, and as the often-controversial coach and executive.
The result of an extensive poll asking heavy metal fans to list their favourite high-octane albums, this compendium combines those survey results with Popoff's original interviews with world famous rockers who reveal recording session secrets in addition to their own heavy classics and ear-splitting faves. When all of this is melded with Popoff's unique and celebrated insights into the metal of yesterday and today, an essential resource becomes a rock-writing standard.
From AC/DC to ZZ Top and from Black Sabbath to Pantera, both headbanging chart-toppers and lesser-known gems are catalogued and critically appraised. With reviews of early metal albums of the 1960s, as well as the latest hits, The Top 500 Heavy Metal Albums of All Time blends praise with criticism to produce an honest assessment of the most influential and important heavy metal recordings. Also featured are photos and appendices that revel in mountains of metal minutiae.
"Martin Popoff has no doubt supplied the raw material for all manner of intense debates among the former denizens of basement bedrooms everywhere."
- The Toronto Sun
When the world thinks of heavy metal in its pure, potent, undiluted form, it is none other than the Metal Gods, Judas Priest, that instantly come to mind. Chrome and black leather, studs and whips and chains, a chopper on stage ? these are the tools of the trade for Rob Halford and his legendary band of Birmingham bashers. Back stronger than ever, Judas Priest, in 2005, issued their acclaimed Angel of Retribution album. It is long overdue that their story be told.
Published to coincide with a new album in fall 2007, Martin Popoff's book, Judas Priest: Heavy Metal Painkillers, examines the band's rich legacy album by album, anthem by anthem, recounting the band's shocking split with Halford in the mid '90s and his triumphant return in 2003. Having interviewed all the principals in the band repeatedly over the years, Popoff gives a firsthand account of the Priest's rocky, often comical ride through the '70s, through the gold and platinum records of the '80s, detailing the long road back to the status the band now enjoys as heavy metal's proudest ambassadors. Accompanying Popoff's lively text are more than 500 full-colour images, the band's gleaming steel imagery springing to life through a myriad of photos from the stage, memorabilia shots, cover graphics, and all manner of Priestly feast for the electric eye.
Kid Rex is the story of one woman's struggle to overcome anorexia. After knowing other friends with anorexia and being baffled by their behavior (often wondering, "Why doesn't she just eat?!") Moisin suddenly found herself prone to the same disease, not eating at all and going weeks at a time taking in nothing but water and the occasional black coffee. She learns how to deceive the therapists her worried family sends her to, giving them all of the symptoms of depression so they'll misdiagnose her and let her continue to be anorexic.
When she recognizes that she has a serious problem, though, she finally owns up to a therapist working at her university. She tells him that she's an anorexic who needs to go to some group meetings to work through her condition. He looks at her doubtfully and says, "No, I don't think you're an anorexic." All that runs through her mind is that she must be fat. Shortly after this devastating therapy visit, the Twin Towers fall in the September 11th attacks, and Moisin watches it happen from her apartment window. Her ensuing depression quickens her already dangerous downward spiral.
Kid Rex is a book about hope, and looking to oneself and to those around you to help get out from under the hold of such a dreadful and powerful disease. This book is written for people who are also suffering from anorexia to let them know they're not alone, but Moisin never takes on a know-it-all tone. Books on anorexia that are currently available are either preachy, or more commonly, clinical accounts written by doctors, not people suffering from the disease.
The book is also written for families and friends who find themselves unable to understand why their loved one won't just eat. When Moisin goes to a clinic and they plop down a tray of food in front of her, even the most sceptical reader will gasp and realize what an unsympathetic thing they've done to her. Moisin actually puts the reader into the head of someone suffering from anorexia, in beautiful and moving prose. The result is a book that is truly unforgettable.
Take the law into your own hands ? with Les Vandor's help. For the past 9 years, Ottawa lawyer Les Vandor has been dispensing legal advice to 400,000 listeners of CBC Radio's Ontario Today program. His monthly, hour-long segment fields calls about wills, landlord-tenant issues, liability, property, and lawsuits. Les offers anecdotes and advice in a way that explains the law in a clear, accessible, and understandable way.
In these three books, Les answers the 400 most frequently asked questions from real people. Legal Counsel proves that ordinary people can ask ordinary questions and get simple, straightforward answers. And these same people will now be able to ask better, more informed questions if they ever do start working with a lawyer.
These books are designed to cover everything from birth to death. Book I covers issues you will need to know as you begin a career and start a family. Book II looks at buying a house, or setting up a company, or splitting up a family. Book III covers retirement issues and estate planning, and includes a sample Last Will and Testament, Power of Attorney, and a Living Will.
"Martin has the most thorough knowledge of heavy metal of anybody I've ever met."
- Dee Snider
Jimi Hendrix, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, KISS, Mtley Crüe ? "Purple Haze," "Paranoid," "Smoke on the Water," "Rock and Roll All Night," "Shout at the Devil"? Who's number one? What's the greatest hard rockin' single ever? The Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs Of All Time is the end result of a massive poll asking the metal minions to list their favourite hard rock or heavy metal songs from the late '60s through to 2001. As 18,000 individual votes were tallied and entered into a database, Martin Popoff began interviewing the bands that made the final heavy grade, gathering their recollections of creating these classic tracks.
Dozens of top rockers have been polled, and some of their lists occur throughout the book, along with shots of rare single covers (from 7", 12", and CD single sources) for the songs in question. Finally, a set of appendices looks at the data, revealing trends, surprises and endless grist for arguments amongst the metal masses. Containing hundreds of quotes from dozens of multi-platinum artists (from AC/DC to ZZ Top, Poison to Iron Maiden, Ozzy Osbourne to Judas Priest, Metallica to Megadeth) as well as many respected underground artists, The Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs of All Time is sure to create a firestorm of discussion throughout all facets of the media.
"Excellent! It's one of the very few guides that gets under the skin of the music and interprets what was in the mind of its creators."
- Bruce Dickinson
