33 1/3 is a new series of short books about critically acclaimed and much-loved albums of the last 40 years. Focusing on one album rather than an artist's entire output, the books dispense with the standard biographical background that fans know already, and cut to the heart of the music on each album. The authors provide fresh, original perspectives - often through their access to and relationships with the key figures involved in the recording of these albums. By turns obsessive, passionate, creative, and informed, the books in this series demonstrate many different ways of writing about music. (A task which can be, as Elvis Costello famously observed, as tricky as dancing about architecture.) What binds this series together, and what brings it to life, is that all of the authors - musicians, scholars, and writers - are deeply in love with the album they have chosen.

About the Author

Chris Ott tells the remarkable story of how Joy Division's debut album was made, and examines the legacy of this short lived band.

Reviews

"Though the recording of the album is naturally the centerpiece of the book, (Ott) delves enough into the evolution of the band and background events leading up to the recording of said album (as well as certain post-album events leading up to Ian's suicide) to properly provide context for said rekkid .you don't have to be a regular gear-rag reader to understand what he's talking about .overall recommended." David Hill, Shredded Paper Magazine, Fall 2004 issue