And the Roots of Rhythm Remain - (ZE) by Joe Boyd (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Winner of the ASCAP Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Book Award in Pop Music

From the legendary producer of Nick Drake, R.E.M., Toots and the Maytals, and Pink Floyd and author of White Bicycles: Making Music in the 1960s comes a riveting, world-spanning tour de force illuminating the artists, histories, controversies, and collaborations that shaped global music.

Paul Simon told Joe Boyd that when he first heard the accordion flourish that would open his multi-platinum album Graceland, it seemed to proclaim, "You haven't heard this before!" Yet the 1980s "world music" boom that Simon's album helped usher in had roots that extended back through the decades and across continents: tango on the eve of World War I, Latin dance across the '30s, '40s and '50s, reggae in the '70s, pre-War samba and pre-Beatles bossa nova, Eastern European ensembles filling capitalist concert halls during the Cold War, Indian ragas changing rock and roll in the 1960s, the folk music-inspired classical composers of the 19th and 20th centuries.

In this sweeping history compiled from more than a decade of travel, research, interviews, and deep listening, Boyd sets out to explore centuries of fascinating backstories to these sounds. He shows how personalities, events, and politics in places such as Havana, Lagos, Budapest, Kingston, and Rio are as colorful and momentous as anything that took place in New Orleans, Harlem, Laurel Canyon, or Liverpool. And, moreover, how jazz, rhythm and blues, and rock 'n' roll would never have happened if it weren't for the notes and rhythms emanating from over the horizon. The one-of-a-kind result is And the Roots of Rhythm Remain: a glorious, symphonic celebration of the music that shapes our world.

Review Quotes

"What an amazing book! Joe Boyd has distilled decades of experience and observation of how musical ideas interbreed, and how culture is formed, into a tumultuous, gripping and dramatic story. I doubt I'll ever read a better account of the history and sociology of popular music than this one."

--Brian Eno

"Joe Boyd [is] the Proust of music. The producer's epic account of global music's cross-pollination is an inspiring tale of seduction, expression and freedom from oppression . . . Having produced Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton, Fairport Convention, Nick Drake etc, Boyd had turned his attention to music from over the horizon, derived from the rites and roots of those who make it. The culmination of Boyd's lifelong journey in pursuit of such music is this vast volume, every paragraph packed with information and inspiration - but written with a refreshingly light touch... Boyd's book is, accordingly, the Proust of music history - à la recherche of much music lost, here regained and affirmed in our present."

--Ed Vulliamy, The Guardian

"Profound... and beyond."

--Robert Plant

"Love this book. Joe has a great love for all this music but more than that he gives us the wider and deeper contexts that shaped the music to be what it is. Why certain strains of music became popular, how did audiences feel about it at the time, who made it sound the way it does. And, in many cases, he was there. It's a big one, but it's a page turner!"

--David Byrne

"The War and Peace of world music."

--Jim Irvin, Mojo Magazine

"The noted record producer, sound engineer, and musicologist surveys the many sounds the world has to offer. Readers should prepare for a flood of disparate data that adds up to something more than trivia... much more. It's a marvelous, sometimes careening adventure, as Boyd darts from one musical obsession to another. A grand treat for musicophiles and an entertaining walk through world music, leading readers to countless sounds and styles."

--Kirkus, Starred Review

"Joe Boyd has an acute ear for music and an astute eye for talent that has led him around the world, recording and returning with music that has been and will be an indelible and fascinating part of our culture. Here he reveals the searching intellect, the generous spirit, and the deep heart beneath his extraordinary life's work."

--T Bone Burnett

"An in-depth social history of the genre of world music . . . Boyd's treasure trove of information about the global impact of world music (particularly on the United States) is a tour de force that will fascinate music lovers."

--Dr. Dave Szatmary, Library Journal, Starred Review

"One only hopes this can be taught in schools."

--Ry Cooder

"A blockbuster... and just the thing for music lovers."

--Gregory McNamee, Kirkus Reviews