Thursday, December 04, 2025

Rock Music Gift Guide: Neil Young, Oasis, Record Plant Studios, Photographer Dennis Morris

In this column I highlight a notable deluxe reissue from Neil Young, as well as three outstanding coffee table hardcover books of interest to music fans.



Artist: Neil Young
Title: Tonight's The Night: 50th Anniversary Edition (Warner/Reprise Records)
You might like if you enjoy: Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Nils Lofgren
Tell me more: Fans of Neil Young, classic rock and modern-day Americana will all have a myriad of reasons to appreciate receiving a copy of the new remastered 50th Anniversary Edition of Young's 1975 album Tonight's The Night (the album was originally recorded on analog tape in 1973, and released two years later). To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the masterwork, six bonus tracks have been added to the title. The diverse range of material on the first half of the collection includes the haunting title track, bluesy "Speakin' Out," the deeply affecting piano- and harmonica-adorned "Borrowed Time," the gentle "Mellow My Mind," and countrified "Roll Another Number (For The Road)." The magic of the expanded set continues via stellar tracks including the dream-swept Americana folk rocker "Albuquerque," emotive "Tired Eyes," previously-unreleased original version of "Walk On," tender Gram Parsons-flavored "Wonderin'," and melodic Southern rock mining "Raised on Robbery (featuring Joni Mitchell the latter three cuts among the bonus tracks included on the collection. The 50th Anniversary Deluxe limited edition of Tonight's The Night is now available on vinyl, audio CD and digitally. Information: neilyoungarchives.com.


Rock 'n' Roll Reads


Title: 
Oasis: Trying To Find A Way Out Of Nowhere (1994-2009/2025)
Authors: Jill Furmanovsky and Noel Gallagher
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Hardcover: 304 pages
Tell me more: Oasis: Trying To Find A Way Out Of Nowhere chronicles the band Oasis through the skillful lens of photographer Jill Furmanovsky from the 1994 "Definitely Maybe" tour to the tumultuous 2009 "Dig Out Your Soul" tour and the band's triumphant 2025 return. The wonderful hardcover features more than 500 photographs, many of which appear in the volume for the very first time. In addition to Furmanovsky's signature images, Oasis singer-songwriter/guitarist Noel Gallagher penned the book foreword while Furmanovsky wrote an introduction; there are also three informative pieces by author Simon Spence, publicist and writer Johnny Hopkins, and music columnist Laura Barton that revisit Oasis' early, mid and late eras. Information
thamesandhudson.com.



Title: 
Buzz Me In: Inside the Record Plant Studios
Authors: Martin Porter and David Goggin
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Hardcover: 352 pages
Tell me more: Buzz Me In: Inside the Record Plant Studios offers a deep dive into the most notable and important recording studios of the 1970s. Authors Martin Porter and David Goggin 
 both veteran music journalists  used the memoirs and archives of studio cofounder Chris Stone, as well as interviews with more than 100 studio employees, music producers and recording artists to chronicle one of rock music's most seminal decades. From the Record Plant Studios' inception with the groundbreaking Jimi Hendrix recordings in the late 1960s to memorable '70s sessions with the celebrated likes of John Lennon, Stevie Wonder, David Bowiethe Eagles and Fleetwood Mac, the insightful writing and archival images brings album rock's golden era to life. Information
thamesandhudson.com.


Title:
Dennis Morris Music + Life

Authors: Photographer Dennis Morris; text contributions by Stuart Hall, Sean O'Hagan, and Simon Baker & Shear Mavlian
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Hardcover: 272 pages
Tell me more: A retrospective of the amazing career of celebrated British photographer Dennis Morris, Music + Life is the first ever volume that combines Morris' incredible portraits of countless music legends (Bob Marley, the Sex Pistols, Grace JonesOasis, the Stone Roses and many more) as well as documentary-styled images examining race, culture and identity in 1970s Great Britain. Information: thamesandhudson.com.



Robert Kinsler


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