‘A Sharp Shock To The System’ by Vernon Joynson (2019)
This book has just come to my attention and I thought it might be of interest to some who follow this site. RRP is £75 but currently selling on Ebay & Amazon for around £51.
Here is a review from the "It's Psychedelic Baby Magazine"
In a departure from his famous series of works on rock, pop, beat, garage, psych and prog rock recorded between 1963 and 1976 in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other countries, British musicologist Vernon Joynson has penned a new title covering punk, new wave, post punk, mod revival, neo-psychedelia, goth rock & electronic music in the UK between 1976 and 1986. In his new book Joynson focuses on the revolution the music business underwent in the UK during the decade following the period covered in his earlier two volume “Tapestry Of Delights” and analyses the bands and artists from the new genres of music that changed the face of music forever.
The new 1,452 page volume contains 1,682 entries and is profusely illustrated throughout, including 12 pages of full color album artwork. Each entry contains detailed artist discographies and line-up details for their 1976-1986 era, biographies, and in most cases, comments and critiques of their music, details of compilation appearances and an up to date rarity scale for all their album, EP and single releases during the time period covered. For artists whose careers continued beyond 1986, the biographies continue until the present or until the artist ceased performing and/or recording.
The period and genres covered in the book cover many exciting acts, from the long lasting and influential likes of The Clash and The Jam to name but two, to more obscure artists such as The Scabs and Sedition 81. “A Sharp Shock To The System” is chock full of valuable information in all cases. The entries for The Clash and The Jam are extensive, nearly ten pages in each case. Besides complete lineup information, every album released by the band is listed including the label released on and catalog number as well as the year of release and an up to date rarity scale which gives collectors an indication of the LP’s value. The same information is included for every EP and 45 issued by the artist. Reissues of the albums are detailed, including date, label and catalog number, as are appearances on various artists’ compilations. Descriptions of the band and its music are invaluable for collectors and inquiring minds alike. The entries are illustrated throughout with album artwork. For the more obscure artists entries are shorter, but as complete as possible, following the same format, and providing invaluable information unavailable in other reference works, making the book absolutely essential to fans of UK rock related music originally released between 1976 and 1986.