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Off The Record: Songwriters on Songwriting
Twenty-five songwriters share their thoughts and memories about the creation of their classic songs, including Grace Slick commenting on "White Rabbit" and Billy Steinberg's views on "True Colors."
224 pages, Hardcover
First published September 2, 2002
About the author
Graham Nash
50 books29 followersGraham William Nash, OBE is a British singer-songwriter known for his light tenor voice and for his songwriting contributions with the British pop group The Hollies, and with the folk-rock super group Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. A dual citizen of the United Kingdom and United States, Nash became an American citizen on 14 August 1978.
Nash is a photography collector and a published photographer. He was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Crosby, Stills & Nash in 1997 and as a member of The Hollies in 2010.
Nash was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2010 Birthday Honours List for services to music and to charity.
Nash holds four honorary doctorates, including one in Music from the University of Salford in 2011, and his latest Doctorate in Fine Arts from Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Nash is a photography collector and a published photographer. He was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Crosby, Stills & Nash in 1997 and as a member of The Hollies in 2010.
Nash was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2010 Birthday Honours List for services to music and to charity.
Nash holds four honorary doctorates, including one in Music from the University of Salford in 2011, and his latest Doctorate in Fine Arts from Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 11, 2022
Super stories about songwriters and songwriting and the CD's rival the sound tracks to Guardians of the Galaxies.
February 22, 2014
Large book, almost the size of an LP. The book consists of a page of intro, written by Nash. Then for 25 songs, it contains 4 pages of graphics and photos, and 4 pages of transcription of an interview with the songwriter interspersed with photos. Most of the interviews were similar, asking about inspiration, what the songwriter thought when he or she first heard his song on the radio, how difficult it was to write, and so on -- pretty unimaginative questions, but that is fine for this collection. Note that one page for each song is dedicated to a photo of a hand drawn lyric sheet illustrated and signed by the songwriter. Ends up this is a business that Nash is in -- this book is a catalog for the lyric sheets he sold. I didn't investigate to see if these are still available. Not sure how he got some from songwriters who were deceased to create and sign the lyric sheets, but there they are. Interesting in a general knowledge way, but I didn't read anything unexpected from such a set of stories. Good as a coffee table book. Note that I did not have the CDs of the interviews, but I believe they were the same ones transcribed in the book.
November 21, 2013
I've been looking for books which will help me to enhance my songwriting skills. This was a less technical book, but the comments provided by the songwriters did provide some useful information. More than that, it was just a fun read. The book features 25 songs. In each section, they interview the songwriter, or at least one of the songwriters in the case of collaborations, of the song being highlighted. There is also a list of lyrics.
The book also comes with two CDs which contain 5-minute interviews with each songwriter featured. They don't contain recordings of the songs themselves, unfortunately. Probably due to copyright restrictions, I suppose. Thanks to Spotify, that's not a big problem anymore.
The book also comes with two CDs which contain 5-minute interviews with each songwriter featured. They don't contain recordings of the songs themselves, unfortunately. Probably due to copyright restrictions, I suppose. Thanks to Spotify, that's not a big problem anymore.
January 16, 2016
hardcover
Off the Record. Graham Nash and Manuscript Originals Presents Songwriters on Songwriting.
25 of the Worlds' Most Celebrated Songs (2002)
Through the celebration of twenty-five classic songs, the volume (hosted and narrated by Graham Nash) contains individual audio interviews with each writer, highlighting the scenario surrounding the chosen classic song.
For someone loving a journey into musical archives, you'll find audio interviews (2 discs), commentary, photos and snippets of musical history.
You'll also see original, handwritten and signed lyrics of the featured song.
In my opinion, it's a trip worth taking.
5 ★ ♥
Off the Record. Graham Nash and Manuscript Originals Presents Songwriters on Songwriting.
25 of the Worlds' Most Celebrated Songs (2002)
Through the celebration of twenty-five classic songs, the volume (hosted and narrated by Graham Nash) contains individual audio interviews with each writer, highlighting the scenario surrounding the chosen classic song.
For someone loving a journey into musical archives, you'll find audio interviews (2 discs), commentary, photos and snippets of musical history.
You'll also see original, handwritten and signed lyrics of the featured song.
In my opinion, it's a trip worth taking.
5 ★ ♥
August 30, 2010
It was great to read the lyrics and history of many songs that I grew up with. Usually the writers don't get as much credit as the performers and it takes both to make a great record. This book is a tribute to songwriters. The enclosed CD is pretty bad but the book is great.
September 7, 2014
Fun look at great songwriters. Gets a bit repetitive. Most from the sixties, not that I'm disagreeing at all.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews