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Immortal Axes: Guitars That Rock
Guitar International 's Guitar Book of the Year 2021
"What a beautiful book...a great presentation and wonderful insight into these historic guitars."—Nils Lofgren on 108 Rock Star Guitars
Foreword by Peter Frampton
Afterword by Suzi Quatro
From the photographer of the critically acclaimed 108 Rock Star Guitars comes a new collection of beautifully shot guitar photos, documenting the legendary instruments of B.B. King, Kurt Cobain, St. Vincent, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and more than one hundred and fifty icons of rock.
Armed with a macro lens, an incredible eye for detail, and a truly inspiring vision, Lisa S. Johnson is taking the world of fine art photography on a rock and roll ride. Johnson's work conjures the abstract yet possesses a sensual and ethereal aura, illustrating the intimate wear of each instrument featured.
Johnson's debut book, 108 Rock Star Guitars , received rave reviews, and in Immortal Axes , she raises the bar even further, capturing the imagination of music fans everywhere. Each intimate photograph is accompanied by a touch of musical history or an anecdote or personal storytelling moment. This stunning book is a must-have for guitar lovers and every reader who wants to know more about their favorite guitarists and the instruments they cherish.
Additional artists B.B. King, Metallica, Black Sabbath, Jimmy Page, Tom Petty, Lita Ford, Susanna Hoffs, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Dave Grohl, Nancy Wilson, and Michael Anthony, to name a few.
"What a beautiful book...a great presentation and wonderful insight into these historic guitars."—Nils Lofgren on 108 Rock Star Guitars
Foreword by Peter Frampton
Afterword by Suzi Quatro
From the photographer of the critically acclaimed 108 Rock Star Guitars comes a new collection of beautifully shot guitar photos, documenting the legendary instruments of B.B. King, Kurt Cobain, St. Vincent, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and more than one hundred and fifty icons of rock.
Armed with a macro lens, an incredible eye for detail, and a truly inspiring vision, Lisa S. Johnson is taking the world of fine art photography on a rock and roll ride. Johnson's work conjures the abstract yet possesses a sensual and ethereal aura, illustrating the intimate wear of each instrument featured.
Johnson's debut book, 108 Rock Star Guitars , received rave reviews, and in Immortal Axes , she raises the bar even further, capturing the imagination of music fans everywhere. Each intimate photograph is accompanied by a touch of musical history or an anecdote or personal storytelling moment. This stunning book is a must-have for guitar lovers and every reader who wants to know more about their favorite guitarists and the instruments they cherish.
Additional artists B.B. King, Metallica, Black Sabbath, Jimmy Page, Tom Petty, Lita Ford, Susanna Hoffs, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Dave Grohl, Nancy Wilson, and Michael Anthony, to name a few.
- GenresMusicNonfictionArt
388 pages, Hardcover
Published September 28, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 7, 2021
Metalheads and acoustics, rejoice. The arrival of Lisa Johnson’s new, image-driven book Immortal Axes: Guitars That Rock may prove to be something akin to your greatest, nerdiest fantasy. The book is a delightful, A to Z examination of the various iterations of electric guitars through the years - complete with extensive, HD photography and detailed descriptors and explanations. Johnson is smart enough to never let the book overstay its literary welcome, nor to tell the reader too much. Immortal Axes is a balancing act of sorts, the kind of reading experience where it’s not just about the text - it’s about the experiential value as a whole. Through this aesthetic, Johnson doesn’t just showcase the beauty and texture of the electric guitar models themselves, she also highlights the personal histories behind each of them respectively. This is only further enhanced by Johnson’s delving past just the electric guitar as a symbol of the traditionalist, anarchic rock scene. The electric guitar models used by greats in the pop and jazz industries as well (shout out to Glen Campbell and Chet Atkins) are featured, making the book not so much an actual love letter to rock, as it is a love letter to the electric guitar itself.
Immortal Axes is as much a reflection of its own literary and image-driven prowess, as it is a further cementation of the prowess of its author. Johnson’s noted presence through the years as a rock photographer gives the piece an automatic, hyped feel. You’re assuming that you’re going to be in good hands. What she never does with that, however, is shamelessly coast or become too complacent with her status. Each work Johnson releases captures that lightning-in-a-bottle feel and giddy, kinetic energy a first-time photographer has. Not in terms of quality, but in terms of intimacy. It’s all about what you don’t expect, and what you don’t immediately think of when the marquee name flashes across the screen or the televised stadium. There’s something shaved down and intimate about each of Johnson’s projects, a decidedly anti-starry, down-and-dirty vulnerability that has continued to make her one of the premier profiles in her field. It’s clear for Johnson, as is reinforced in Immortal Axes itself, that a photograph isn’t just about capturing a moment. It’s about enveloping an entire circumstantial scope, maybe even capturing something symbolic of an entire musician’s storyline from A to Z. There’s never a feeling of what happens before or after a Lisa S. Johnson picture. There’s an immediate quality to each of her photographs, and this is only shown time and again with the manner in which the book has been put together.
All in all, enthusiasm for aspects typically associated with the rock-and-roll scene proves to be an acquired taste. Despite the considerable influence of new bands like the Helsinki-based, Finnish rock group Santa Cruz, when we think about rock today - you can’t help but feel a nostalgic, rearview kind of feeling. The masters are a dying breed, which only adds to the poignancy and acuteness of work like Johnson’s.
Immortal Axes is as much a reflection of its own literary and image-driven prowess, as it is a further cementation of the prowess of its author. Johnson’s noted presence through the years as a rock photographer gives the piece an automatic, hyped feel. You’re assuming that you’re going to be in good hands. What she never does with that, however, is shamelessly coast or become too complacent with her status. Each work Johnson releases captures that lightning-in-a-bottle feel and giddy, kinetic energy a first-time photographer has. Not in terms of quality, but in terms of intimacy. It’s all about what you don’t expect, and what you don’t immediately think of when the marquee name flashes across the screen or the televised stadium. There’s something shaved down and intimate about each of Johnson’s projects, a decidedly anti-starry, down-and-dirty vulnerability that has continued to make her one of the premier profiles in her field. It’s clear for Johnson, as is reinforced in Immortal Axes itself, that a photograph isn’t just about capturing a moment. It’s about enveloping an entire circumstantial scope, maybe even capturing something symbolic of an entire musician’s storyline from A to Z. There’s never a feeling of what happens before or after a Lisa S. Johnson picture. There’s an immediate quality to each of her photographs, and this is only shown time and again with the manner in which the book has been put together.
All in all, enthusiasm for aspects typically associated with the rock-and-roll scene proves to be an acquired taste. Despite the considerable influence of new bands like the Helsinki-based, Finnish rock group Santa Cruz, when we think about rock today - you can’t help but feel a nostalgic, rearview kind of feeling. The masters are a dying breed, which only adds to the poignancy and acuteness of work like Johnson’s.
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January 24, 2022God damn, so many people with mother-of-pearl and abalone shell in their guitars...
December 22, 2024
Interesting anecdotes and beautiful detailed photos of very famous guitars.
December 13, 2021
Lost my first review, but did enjoy the array of guitars of both familiar and unfamiliar players.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews