The Black Chord Book Re-Released

Collaborators Vivien Goldman, David Corio and Isaac Haynes re-release the classic book The Black Chord.

This volume is a graphically improved re-edition and re-invention of a book that first appeared in 1999. The classic Corio portraits have been swapped in a few places, but the line-up of brilliance they represent is unchanged, as is the text itself, apart from a little polish here and there. All quotes are taken from either the lifetime of original interviews I have conducted as a music journalist, first published in the mid-1970s British rock press, or from the many months of interviews I conducted specifically for The Black Chord, unless otherwise noted.

My choice of additional subjects was dictated by David’s magnificent portrait gallery. I wanted to, if not directly quote, at least contextualize every artist. In the intervening decades, many have left us. Some shine even more brightly. Regarding others whose luster has been tarnished by scandal, it may be a poignant surprise to recall how they were viewed before the sad, sordid truth came out.

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