Englishmen Adrian Boot & Chris Salewicz came of age in the 1960's - the glory days of classic British rock - but they have focused their talents instead on two types of music that irrevocably altered the British music scene during the 70's: reggae and punk. Their splashy, large-format collections of Boot's photography and Salewicz's text are arguably some of the most authoritative books ever published about these subjects. Moreover, they are among the most fun to read, and these gorgeous books should rightly grace the coffee tables of every hipster.

Both Adrian Boot and Chris Salewicz have strong ties to Jamaica. Fresh out of college in the early 70's, Boot moved to Jamaica and resided there for several years. The work he did (including a stint as Bob Marley's photographer) laid the groundwork for several books about Jamaican culture with Salewicz and other authors. Boot returned to England where he worked for Melody Maker (among other publications) and served as official photographer for such events as Live Aid, Roger Water's Berlin production of The Wall, and the Grateful Dead's concerts at the Pyramids in Egypt.

Much of the pair's published material orbits around work Adrian Boot has done developing exhibitions and archives. These included collections devoted to punk, reggae, Bob Marley, and Jimi Hendrix. Boot has recently expanded into multimedia with Chris Blackwell's studio, Palm Pictures, and he continues to work with Blackwell at Jamaica's ReggaeXplosion Archive. He maintains a website, www.AdrianBoot.com.

Chris Salewicz made his name as a stringer for the New Musical Express during the 70's, a period of English musical history when punk and reggae commingled in volatile, brilliant ways. He visited Jamaica in 1978 (and a number of times since), and his experiences and research culminated in Rude Boy: Once Upon A Time In Jamaica (2001), a personalized history of the always colorful, frequently violent nation.

Together, separately, and with other writers, Adrian Boot and Chris Salewicz have contributed to a number of books on a variety of subjects. Many of these, unfortunately, are hard to find (that is, out-of-print and/or not published in the United States). Besides the three volumes discussed below, their résumé includes:

• Babylon On A Thin Wire (Adrian Boot & Michael Thomas, 1977)
• Bob Marley: Soul Rebel - Natural Mystic (Adrian Boot & Vivian Goldman, 1981)
• Jah Revenge: Babylon Revisited (Adrian Boot & Michael Thomas, 1982)
• The Pretenders (Chris Salewicz, 1982)
• McCartney: The Definitive Biography (Chris Salewicz, 1987)
• Billy Bragg: Midnights in Moscow (Adrian Boot & Chris Salewicz, 1989)
• Jimi Hendrix: The Ultimate Experience (Adrian Boot & Chris Salewicz, 1995)
• Oliver Stone: Close Up - The Making Of His Movies (Chris Salewicz, 1997)
• George Lucas: Close Up - The Making Of His Movies (Chris Salewicz, 1999)
• Firefly: Noel Coward In Jamaica (Adrian Boot & Chris Salewicz, 1999)
• The Clash: A Photographic Documentary of the Only Band That Mattered 1977-1982 (Bob Gruen, edited by Chris Salewicz, 2001)
• Rude Boy: Once Upon A Time In Jamaica (Chris Salewicz, 2001)
• Mick & Keith (Chris Salewicz, 2002)
• Redemption Song: The Ballad Of Joe Strummer (Chris Salewicz, 2004)

Bob Marley: Songs of Freedom
by Adrian Boot & Chris Salewicz (1995)
I would argue (though many, including the authors of this book, would disagree) that reggae lost much (and eventually all) of its inspiration after Bob Marley died. It's an argument best left to another time, but I mention it to illustrate the importance of this book - the only authorized biography of this reggae giant. At one-time Bob Marley's official photographer, Adrian Boot had unparalleled access to the man and, after his death in 1981, to his family, estate, and associates. An essential biography (along with those of Stephen Davis and Timothy White), Songs Of Freedom features an introduction by Bob's wife, Rita, plus hundreds of photos and an informed, impassioned text on the life of this "Lion Of Zion." (The release of the book coincided with the an exhibition produced by Boot and the release of Natural Mystic, the followup to Marley's best-selling CD, Legend.) [top of page]

Punk: The Illustrated History Of A Music Revolution
by Adrian Boot & Chris Salewicz (1996)
Adrian Boot began his career as a photojournalist in Jamaica, but he made it back home to England in time to witness (and, with future partner Chris Salewicz, to help foment) the mid-70's revolution of anarchy known as punk rock. This entertaining volume reads almost like a scrapbook - and certainly looks like one - but it leaves the reader with a well-drawn sense of place and perspective. We learn, briefly stated, that the musical roots of punk are American; that punk readily crossed the pond to fill a cultural and political void in England; that it was imported back to the United States with a vengeance; and that, like all children of modern media, it imploded, a victim of competing forces - punk's own nihilism versus the voracious greed of the record industry. Virtually no punk superstars survived past the early 80's, doomed to premature obscurity or ignominious death. Worse yet, many of those who endured seemed locked into a career of perpetual rebellion, repeating the same three chords ad infinitum as their spiked hair thinned and their leather-clad paunches sagged. In the mid-90's, punk came roaring back to life - petrified, perhaps, but wildly popular - in the hands of revivalists like Green Day and the Offspring. Thus, the 1996 publication of Punk: The Illustrated History was both serendipitous and sorely needed. [top of page]

Reggae Explosion: The Story Of Jamaican Music
by Adrian Boot & Chris Salewicz (2001)
Throughout their long and busy careers, this is the book that Adrian Boot and Chris Salewicz seemed destined to produce. Coming when it did - at a time when Jamaican artists were scoring their biggest hits ever on record charts worldwide - Reggae Explosion served to remind us of the humble beginnings and unspeakable glories of the preceding four decades. From ska to rock steady to reggae, roots, and ragga, Jamaican music has come a long way. It has influenced Western culture so much (and vice versa) that its transmogrification is arguably complete: reggae is truly world music, no longer belonging to Jamaica alone and sounding not one bit like the quaint riddims of yesteryear. Your opinion of this evolution will depend on many things, but Reggae Explosion is inarguably a masterful book, a beautiful history of a simultaneously dark and joyful culture. [top of page]