Edited by Damon Murray, Stephen Sorrell. Foreword by Jerry Dammers. Text by Jonny Trunk.
"Aficionado and avid collector Jonny Trunk reveals the many and varied pleasures of Library Music.” –Grafik
The first edition of The Music Library, published in 2005 and now out of print, brought together the designs of more than 325 record sleeves and relevant information about these rare and elusive albums. Quickly becoming known as the music library "bible," The Music Library represented a valuable reference and also sparked a resurgence of interest in the subject over the last ten years, with many new library labels and recordings coming to light. Library music—also known as source or mood music—was made for use in film, TV, advertising and radio. It was given to TV channels and producers who needed cheap, signature music for animations, advertisements and television programs. Never commercially available for sale to the public, this music was pressed from the 1950s onwards in limited quantities, and then sent directly for use in production houses and radio stations. These LPs were intended for purpose and function, not for pop charts, and as a result they look and sound like nothing else. Without the usual music industry constraints, the record sleeve designers had almost complete freedom of expression, with unprecedented results. This new and expanded edition of The Music Library contains twice the content of the original book, featuring 625 rare sleeves from 230 music library companies of the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s. The amazing cover designs of over 100 newly discovered library albums are beautifully reproduced (alongside all the sleeves contained in the first book) and accompanied by exhaustive, updated captions.
"Waves 2" by Ralph Marco and Friends is reproduced from The Music Library.
PRAISE AND REVIEWS
The Wire
Aside from information on hundreds of library music labels, much of the book is given over to reproductions of over 600 sleeves, which makes for a wide-ranging survey of album design over the decades.
Grafik
Aficionado and avid collector Jonny Trunk reveals the many and varied pleasures of Library Music.
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Calling all record collectors, esotericists and students of vintage design: this week, we released FUEL's addictive revised and greatly expanded edition of the long out-of-print Music Library, a collection of more than 600 industrial mood music album covers. "To me it feels like a bizarre parallel world, a reflection of the styles and tropes of five hundred years of popular music," writes designer, musician and Ghost Box records proprietor Julian House. "Or like a journey through the mirror, in a sequence from a seventies Hammer film, to a place where nobody knows how to distinguish between the genres: rock, jazz, pop, avant-garde, electronics, baroque, folk… A sidereal arena to the contemporary world of pop chart positionings." continue to blog
In 2005, FUEL published a groundbreaking compilation of cover artwork from some of the most important—and beautiful—source music library LPs of the 50s, 60s and 70s. It quickly sold out and was declared out-of-print in 2010. This week, we released a new edition of the book, featuring twice as many vintage record covers—a whopping 630 rare sleeves from 230 music library companies spanning from the 60s to the early 80s. "This is not a buyer's guide, or by any means a completists' catalogue," English writer, broadcaster, DJ and Trunk Records founder Jonny Trunk writes. "It is a visual celebration of some of the greatest unseen sleeves and unheard music ever made." continue to blog
FORMAT: Hbk, 10 x 10 in. / 248 pgs / 635 color. LIST PRICE: U.S. $55.00 LIST PRICE: CANADA $72.5 ISBN: 9780993191138 PUBLISHER: FUEL Publishing AVAILABLE: 4/26/2016 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Active AVAILABILITY: In stock TERRITORY: NA ONLY
Published by FUEL Publishing. Edited by Damon Murray, Stephen Sorrell. Foreword by Jerry Dammers. Text by Jonny Trunk.
"Aficionado and avid collector Jonny Trunk reveals the many and varied pleasures of Library Music.” –Grafik
The first edition of The Music Library, published in 2005 and now out of print, brought together the designs of more than 325 record sleeves and relevant information about these rare and elusive albums. Quickly becoming known as the music library "bible," The Music Library represented a valuable reference and also sparked a resurgence of interest in the subject over the last ten years, with many new library labels and recordings coming to light. Library music—also known as source or mood music—was made for use in film, TV, advertising and radio. It was given to TV channels and producers who needed cheap, signature music for animations, advertisements and television programs. Never commercially available for sale to the public, this music was pressed from the 1950s onwards in limited quantities, and then sent directly for use in production houses and radio stations. These LPs were intended for purpose and function, not for pop charts, and as a result they look and sound like nothing else. Without the usual music industry constraints, the record sleeve designers had almost complete freedom of expression, with unprecedented results. This new and expanded edition of The Music Library contains twice the content of the original book, featuring 625 rare sleeves from 230 music library companies of the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s. The amazing cover designs of over 100 newly discovered library albums are beautifully reproduced (alongside all the sleeves contained in the first book) and accompanied by exhaustive, updated captions.
