Every wondered why the vocals sound so great on Fleetwood Mac's Rumours album? Or why Who's Next has the greatest-sounding guitars ever recorded? Pick up this enchanting little volume for the answers. The stories here are culled from the past 10 years from a variety of magazines including Electronic Musician, Remix and EQ.

If you want to know what kind of beer Dr. Dre was drinking in the studio or what kind of sneakers the Beastie Boys wore while recording To the 5 Boroughs, then this book is not for you. If you're keen on finding insights into the songwriting, production and mixing processes, then it is.

This array of albums--some more well-known, some pretty obscure--covers a range of styles. There are intriguing pieces on Aerosmith's Toys in the Attic and Rocks albums, the Foo Fighter's low-tech approach to the Wasted Light record, Pink Floyd's early psychedelic outing The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, and several others. On the more underground side are chapters on albums from Imogen Heap, M83, Royksopp and others.

It's a fun book. If want to find out the best microphones to record loud guitars and how to make your drum kit sound like Smashing Pumpkins records, pick this up.