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For years, they’ve been sought after by fans and shrouded in mystery – legendary lost recordings by superstars like Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Seal, the Beastie Boys and Chicago. But few have heard these albums, and even fewer know the hidden stories behind the music. Now, for the first time, author Dan LeRoy shines a light into the darkened studio vaults and tells the strange-but-true tales of these mythical creations. The Greatest Music Never Sold (Backbeat/Hal Leonard) is a never-before-attempted look at more than a dozen of the world’s most famous unreleased albums. Through new interviews with artists, band members, producers, engineers and label executives, The Greatest Music Never Sold answers the questions music fans have been dying to have answered. How were these albums made? What do they sound like? Why were they shelved? And will they ever get a proper release? The Greatest Music Never Sold will provide the answers at last.
Latest Video
Dan LeRoy will be a guest on NPR's World Cafe this Thursday, Oct. 18, discussing The Greatest Music Never Sold with host David Dye and playing tracks from some of the great lost albums discussed in the book! Tune in to your local NPR station Thursday at 10 p.m. or stream the broadcast from the World Cafe site.
See some photos from the recent reading at Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center with featured speaker Stephen Catanzarite, author of the fantastic new 33 1/3 book about U2's Achtung Baby.
Album Review
A few reviews of Dan LeRoy's book about the Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique (from Continuum's 33 1/3 series):
"Everybody who loves hip-hop music, especially those who celebrate the sweat and love that goes into the production side, needs to check it. Very entertaining, and airtight on the journalism side. Fault-free and funky fresh."
-- Brian Coleman, author, Check the Technique and Rakim Told Me
"Drawing upon first hand interviews with Beastie Boys members and producers, Dan LeRoy mines the 1989 album that because of sample-clearance laws could not be legally released today. In-depth accounts of the trio's controversial split with Def Jam Recordings, juvenile antics and their relationship with Capitol Records lead up to a summary of why the sophomore effort initially bombed."
-- Bob Gershon, Chicago Tribune, March 18, 2007. (Paul’s Boutique was listed as one of ten “exemplary entries” in the 33 1/3 series.)
“LeRoy evokes the giddy anarchy of life within (the Beasties’) circle…a frequently illuminating and entertaining tale…”
-- Stevie Chick, Mojo, Feb. 2007
"From the late night brainstorming sessions to the egg tossing to the finished product, it's all in here. This is a great book about an amazing record."
-- Jake Haselman, indieworkshop.com
"When Paul's Boutique is remastered and re-released, Capitol Records needs to contract with Dan LeRoy to include this book with each album sold. Simply put, the book is the owners manual which should have come with the album."
-- beastiemania.com