Tag Archives: Blues

Having fun

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Another of Brian Smith’s great images. But for once is NOT shown in the Brain Smith Blues Photo Book! Why you may ask? Well, when we first began investigating Brian’s material it quickly became clear that his archive fell into two distinct phases. There was the collection of black and white blues photographs made up to around 1966. Then there was his second phase of work which began after a period away from photography, when he moved into colour in the 1970s. This was also very extensive and covers a longer period as well. So we decided to tackle the mono work first and if there is enough interest, and we feel there might be, a follow up of the colour work might be on the cards. But in the meantime, Brian continues to work with blues labels on their reissues and this striking new CD sleeve is from JSP Records uses Brian’s colour photos on the front and back inlays, and the booklet inside. So we thought we’d show it off here anyway! It’s a scary thought that while we sort of looked upon this material as modern when deciding on the book contents, these shots are already over thirty years old. What was it Cher sang about turning back time? Thanks to Brian and JSP for the artwork scans.

Release dates

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There have been quite a few emails coming in this last week or so asking why, if another website is busy announcing a new release date for one of our next titles, do we not have that information here?  The answer is simple, we did not know about this!  The website did not bother to contact us to check.  So rest assured, as soon as we have a reliable production date for each of our next three titles it will appear here BEFORE anywhere else! Likewise if you order direct from us (once pre-orders go live) you will get the book BEFORE anyone else (that includes you know who) has stock.

Our next three titles are now close to production and will be the DEEP PURPLE BARRY PLUMMER PHOTO BOOK, The Deep Purple MACHINE HEAD biography FIRE IN THE SKY and the BOOM BOOM BRIAN SMITH BLUES PHOTO collection.

And just to prove things are happening, here’s a peek at a chunk of the Fire In The Sky page layouts (generated from within the layout software) which are being proofed and photo cleared at present. Our designer has added a colour coding to each section to make navigating what is becoming an increasingly complex document (there are over 700 images) a little easier!

page thumbnails.jpg

 

Bo Diddley…

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Again our apologies for a rather quiet spell at Easy On The Eye Books, with yet more illness affecting senior staff. I guess the clue is in the word senior!  As a result we’ve rejigged plans a little, and our next planned release now we’re running with the baton again will be the fabulous blues photograph book.  This is not far from final proofing, but got held up again when photographer Brian Smith found yet more negatives while clearing out his garage a while ago.  We have now scanned and cleaned this new batch of material and are sorting through, as some of the photographs deserve to go in the book. Brian had a few old prints of some of these but naturally we’ll be able to get much better reproduction from the negatives.  Here is one of the new found frames (BEFORE being cleaned!), which was actually taken by one of Brian’s friends, and shows him with Bo Diddley backstage at (I think) the Twisted Wheel Club in Manchester.  Bo is holding his trademark Gretsch ‘Jupiter Thunderbird’.

Brian Smith and Bo Diddley.jpg

Blues book preview

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We have added a Flipbook preview of Boom Boom, The Blues Photographs of Brian Smith.  This can be flicked through at :

http://online.fliphtml5.com/msya/onod/

It gives an idea of how the final book looks, although there may be text changes before this goes to press.

spread five

Chess Masters

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Nice to see some of Brian Smith’s photographs used properly and with permission on a new Blues CD. The disc in question is a compilation put together by Wilko Johnson from the Chess label archives, and is designed to present his fans with the sort of material which inspired him as a young guitarist. Titled The First Time I Met The Blues, it is out now on Chess – SPECXX2114.  Looking at the cover (below), I can see at least three of Brian’s photographs in there!  If you’re not up to speed, the material is from our upcoming book “Boom Boom Boom Boom : The Photographs of Brian Smith. American Rhythm & Blues in England 1962-1966“.  And there isn’t a time I type all that when I don’t wonder a] how we ended up with such a long title and b] how on earth I can fit it all on the spine…

Talking of “Boom Boom” I managed to screw up the newsletter subscription form for this title, so prior to the date of this posting, if you thought you had subscribed, the software did not capture your details.  I have corrected this and retested it, so if you go the the main page about the book, and hit the new button, it will all function properly. That way we can keep you fully up to date on the project and any special editions, etc.

I am meeting up with Brian in a few days to sort out the last of the hi-res scans for the book and caption them up properly.

Wilko Johnson Presents CD, Brain Smith cover photos

Vintage Rock

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Vintage Rock magazine is one of those fascinating niche music monthlies which make choosing at Smiths so hard these days. They cover the 50s and 60s in detail, with plenty of emphasis on the UK scene back then and so when they heard about Brian Smith’s Blues photo book were keen to interview him and show some of his photographs.  The magazine is out now, Issue 25 (April / June) and well worth a look, although it tends to be stocked only by the bigger magazine outlets (though you can buy it direct from the publishers.)  Thanks to Rik and Jack at Vintage Rock for permission to reproduce a couple of pages from the article. The shot here is one of a series Brian took from the side of the stage during a Rolling Stones concert… what an experience!

Boom Boom Brian Smith photos

 

Boom Boom update

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The book of Brian Smith’s fabulous Sixties Blues photographs – Boom Boom Boom Boom – is pushing along nicely, albeit a little behind schedule! But we’re pleased to be able to show the first page visuals at last.  Brian has also had some of his photographs selected for a really interesting new documentary on some of the Blues sidemen who perhaps never got the recognition of some of their peers.  Titled Sidemen : The Long Road To Glory, you can see an exclusive trailer for the project at the producer’s official Vimeo site. Universal have also requested a dozen of his images for an upcoming Chess blues box set. If you haven’t yet checked the book out, you can read the full details on the site.

montage

 

The list gets longer…

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Work on the Boom Boom book of rare Blues photographs is nearing completion and the final stage is to sit down with Brian and get his personal recollections of taking the pictures, the shows, the clubs and of course meeting all these amazing musicians (and whether they took him at cards or not!). Most of the photo selection has now been made so we can come up with a more complete list of artists who Brian photographed in the early sixties and appear in the book (though new images are still turning up, so this may get even longer.) If you want to get the latest on this title do please join our mailing list, which is linked from the book’s news page on this site.
In the meantime here is another of Brian’s treasured signed personal photos (which he had to get a friend to take!) meeting Bo Diddley backstage.

Bo-Diddley-and-Brian-Smith, American Blues photographs

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM FEATURING : Johnny Guitar Watson, Big Joe Turner, Chuck Berry, Sunny Terry, Brownie McGhee, Screaming Jay Hawkins, Little Richard, Bo Diddley, Jimmy Reed, Hubert Sumlin, Howlin Wolf, Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker, Carl Perkins, Fred Below, Gary US Bonds, Eddie Boyd, The Chants, Charlie and Inez Foxx, Clifton James, Rev. Gary Davis, Sugar Pie Desanto, Willie Dixon, Sleepy John Estes, Hammie Nixon, Lightning Hopkins, J B Lenoir, Jerry Lee Lewis, Larry Williams, Little Walter, Lonesome Jimmy Lee, Memphis Slim, Millie Small, Otis Span, Jimmy Reed, Doctor Ross, Joe Richardson, The Shirelles, Sunny Boy Williamson, Sunnyland Slim, Roosevelt Sykes, Eddie Playboy Taylor, Big Mamma Thornton, T-Bone Walker, Walter Horton, Muddy Waters. The Rolling Stones, Tony McPhee and The Groundhogs, Alex Harvey, Johnny Cash, Duane Eddy also feature and there is a special bonus section of images shot at Granada TV during musician’s rehearsals for the Scene At 6.30 news shows.

Blues Boom

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An early heads up on a work in progress, this visually fascinating collection of rare blues photographs taken in Manchester and area in the early sixties, capturing many visiting American Blues giants on stage and in more candid moments. Boom Boom Boom Boom is due later in 2014, and you can read more on the site.

Brian Smith American Blues photographs 1960sBo Diddley Manchester Boom Boom Easy On The Eye Books