Hi all, has anyone read any of these books and if so what do you think are the best ones. They seem to cater to the collector and I really want the nuts and bolts story of how the particular album came about. The reviews on Amazon and really mixed and I'd like to read a couple of these but don't know where to start. Thanks for any help.

These titles seem to vary wildly from the "nuts and bolts" you mention all the way to odd fictional stories. I'd suggest maybe trying the two "Best Of's" to get an idea, perhaps:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0826419038/?tag=imwan-20

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0826428762/?tag=imwan-20

I'm reading the Led Zep "zoso" one now and to be honest, the author seems more interested in Aleister Crowley than the album itself, so far at least.

I really liked the Steely Dan "Aja" and it was "nuts and bolts" for sure. A lot of it was over my head in terms of writing and playing music (which I don't - but my daughter does!), but I liked it a lot anyway.

The Beastie Boys Paul's Boutique edition is my favorite of the series so far.

The Aja one was pretty... technical.

I've read six. Of those, three are in the "N&B" variety Exile on Main Street, Highway 61 and Aja. Kym is right, some of the chapters in Aja involve a lot of music theory.

The Velvet Underground and Nico has both the details of the album and a lot of background on the group and the times.

Forever Changes is more of a meditation on Arthur Lee, Los Angeles and the paranoia of the 60s.

I'll go farther than DanO and say that the Led Zeppelin IV book was borderline unreadable. It put me off buying the books unless I can preview them first.

A few take a fictional, novella approach. I haven't read The Replacements Let It Be, but couldn't get fast the first few pages of The Band's Music From Big Pink.
However, one of my favorite books is Joe Pernice's book on The Smiths Meat is Murder. Again, it's a novella. But it's a captivating story that captures the angst of The Smiths lyrics with clever writing from Joe Pernice (one of my favorite songwriters).
And I hated the Love book, but loved Pet Sounds, the other Let it Be, Low, Live at the Apollo, Electric Ladyland and at least 2/3 of The Ramones, Murmur and OK Computer

The one about the Kinks' Village Green Preservation Society is pure gold -- wonderfully, informedly, lovingly written. A perfect companion to the album (particularly to the new three-CD deluxe edition of the album, which I think was deliberate because the book and the triple-set were released very close together, chronologically speaking).

It's a fantastic book, one of the best about pop music I've read, seriously.

thanks everybody!