McCadden is hotly tipped to take over the all-Ireland Murder Squad, but that's before an unholy mess lands on his own doorstep. The Irish Minister for Justice is about to re-form the Murder Squad, an elite unit with exclusive responsibility for investigating homicides throughout the Irish state. Its first investigation is expected to centre on a cluster of unsolved murders of women, and DI Carl McCadden, currently stationed at Waterford, is hotly tipped to lead the new unit. Unfortunately, in the weeks leading up to this prestigious assignment, an old acquaintance, an undercover cop named Rookie Wallace, turns up on McCadden's patch in a bad state and with a bizarre story. While on undercover work in a block of Dublin flats, Wallace and the small-time pusher he was cultivating stumbled on a body with the head stove in. Next day, Wallace saw a photograph of the dead man in the papers, along with a report that he had drowned in County Waterford, two hundred miles from where Wallace found him. The day after, Special Branch men tried to kill Wallace. It's obvious that Wallace has stumbled into some heavy stuff, particularly when the official line turns out to be that Wallace has gone rogue, and thrown his lot in with the villains he was supposed to be infiltrating. McCadden knows that the smart thing to do is stay out of it and keep his nose clean for a few weeks until he's landed the big job, especially when he realises that the Minister for Justice, his soon-to-be boss, is showing signs of misusing his privileged position. Crazy Man Michael is the fourth in Jim Lusby's complex, subtle and compulsive McCadden mysteries.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of Relationship Goals . . . Will you be remembered as a person who claimed to follow God but liked to play it safe? Or as a person who lived your life out on the limb and trusted God enough to live in crazy faith? Noah looked crazy when he started building the ark . . . until it started raining. It was crazy for Moses to lead a nation of people into the desert away from Egypt . . . until the Red Sea parted. It was crazy to believe that a fourteen-year-old virgin would give birth to the Son of God . . . until Mary held Jesus in her arms. There are many things that seem normal or average today that at one point in time seemed absolutely crazy. Smartphones, Wi-Fi, and even the electric light bulb were all groundbreaking, history-making inventions that started out as crazy ideas. Our see-it-to-believe-it generation tends to have a hard time exercising true faith—one that steps out, takes action, and sees mountain-moving results. Many of us would rather play it safe and stand on the sidelines, but it’s crazy faith that helps us see God move and reveals His promises. In Crazy Faith, Pastor Michael Todd shows us how to step out in faith and dive into the purposeful life of trusting God for the impossible. Even if you have to start with baby faith or maybe faith, you can become empowered to let go of your lazy faith, trust God through your hazy faith, and learn to live a lifestyle of crazy faith. With powerful stories of modern-day faith warriors who take their cues from biblical heroes, Michael Todd equips you to • believe for the impossible • choose hope over fear • be alert to the voice of God • cope with loss and doubt • develop a deeper level of trust in God • speak faith-filled declarations • inspire crazy faith in others God’s not looking for somebody to give Him all the reasons why His plans can’t happen. He’s looking for somebody to believe they will happen. In fact, He has so much He wants to do through you. The question is, Are you crazy enough to believe it?

"This isn't a book for the happily comfortable. This is a book for the restless Jesus lover, the longsuffering disciple, the openhearted believer. Be forewarned. The challenges inside are designed to unsettle you as well as provide practical suggestions for thriving on the narrow road even if trouble is your travel companion."--Page 4 of cover.

By the end of 1968 The Beatles were far too busy squabbling with each other, while The Stones had simply stopped making music; English Rock was coming to an end. All the Mad Men tells the story of six stars that travelled to edge of sanity in the years following the summer of love: Pete Townshend, Ray Davies, Peter Green, Syd Barrett, Nick Drake, and David Bowie. The book charts how they made some of the most seminal rock music ever recorded: Pink Moon; Ziggy Stardust; Quadrophenia; Dark Side of the Moon; Muswell Hillbillies - and how some of them could not make it back from the brink. The extraordinary story of how English Rock went mad and found itself

The original edition of Beyond and Before extends an understanding of “progressive rock” by providing a fuller definition of what progressive rock is, was and can be. Called by Record Collector “the most accomplished critical overview yet” of progressive rock and one of their 2011 books of the year, Beyond and Before moves away from the limited consensus that prog rock is exclusively English in origin and that it was destroyed by the advent of punk in 1976. Instead, by tracing its multiple origins and complex transitions, it argues for the integration of jazz and folk into progressive rock and the extension of prog in Kate Bush, Radiohead, Porcupine Tree and many more. This 10-year anniversary revised edition continues to further unpack definitions of progressive rock and includes a brand new chapter focusing on post-conceptual trends in the 2010s through to the contemporary moment. The new edition discusses the complex creativity of progressive metal and folk in greater depth, as well as new fusions of genre that move across global cultures and that rework the extended form and mission of progressive rock, including in recent pop concept albums. All chapters are revised to keep the process of rethinking progressive rock alive and vibrant as a hybrid, open form.

Eliza Carthy is the daughter of Martin Carthy and Norma Waterson. The clan has often been rightly described as folk's royal family. Martin was in Steeleye Span, Albion Dance band and the Watersons as well as holding down a successful solo career. Norma was a member of the Watersons folk group. Perhaps it was inevitable that Eliza would follow the family trade and become a folk musician. She is no pale imitator though, and can play just about any stringed instrument like a virtuoso, though amazingly she underrates herself. This self- doubt seems at odds with the public persona of a brassy northern lass, who has sometimes been described as 'difficult' (though not in our experience). Her albums are exceptional slices of traditional and new folk, but the stage is her natural home, enthralling audiences with a blend of folk, jazz, rock and music hall. 2011 saw her win two out of the three categories she was nominated for in the Radio 2 British Folk Awards, to swell an already bulging trophy cabinet. At 35 years of age it seems apt to chronicle the first half of an eventful life. In addition to extensive interviews with Eliza herself, the book contains interviews with her parents and other family members and also many of the people Eliza has worked with: Billy Bragg, comedian Stewart Lee, Richard Thompson Vandyke Parkes and many more were fulsome in their praise of Eliza when interviewed. She has toured America with Joan Baez. Eliza has an extensive collection of photographs that people have taken of her and she has been exceptionally generous in letting us use them.

This book looks at the role of popular music in constructing the myth of the First World War. Since the late 1950s over 1,500 popular songs from more than forty countries have been recorded that draw inspiration from the War. National Myth and the First World War in Modern Popular Music takes an inter-disciplinary approach that locates popular music within the framework of ‘memory studies’ and analyses how songwriters are influenced by their country’s ‘national myths’. How does popular music help form memory and remembrance of such an event? Why do some songwriters stick rigidly to culturally dominant forms of memory whereas others seek an oppositional or transnational perspective? The huge range of musical examples include the great chansonniers Jacques Brel and Georges Brassens; folk maestros including Al Stewart and Eric Bogle; the socially aware rock of The Kinks and Pink Floyd; metal legends Iron Maiden and Bolt Thrower and female iconoclasts Diamanda Galás and PJ Harvey.

Gathers mystery, suspense, and crime stories from around the world.

In the 1960s and 1970s, a number of British musicians rediscovered traditional folk ballads, fusing the old melodies with rock, jazz, and blues styles to create a new genre dubbed "electric folk" or "British folk rock." This revival featured groups such as Steeleye Span, Fairport Convention, and Pentangle and individual performers like Shirley & Dolly Collins, and Richard Thompson. While making music in multiple styles, they had one thing in common: they were all based on traditional English song and dance material. These new arrangements of an old repertoire created a unique musical voice within the popular mainstream. After reasonable commercial success, peaking with Steeleye Span's Top 10 album All Around My Hat, Electric Folk disappeared from mainstream notice in the late 1970s, yet performers continue to create today. In Electric Folk: The Changing Face of English Traditional Music, Britta Sweers provides an illuminating history and fascinating analysis of the unique features of the electric folk scene, exploring its musical styles and cultural implications. Drawing on rare historical sources, contemporary music journalism, and first-hand interviews with several of electric folk's most prominent artists, Sweers argues that electric folk is both a result of the American folk revival of the early 1960s and a reaction against the dominance of American pop music abroad. Young British "folk-rockers," such as Richard Thompson and Maddy Prior, turned to traditional musical material as a means of asserting their British cultural identity. Yet, unlike many American and British folk revivalists, they were not as interested in the "purity" of folk ballads as in the music's potential for lively interaction with modern styles, instruments, and media. The book also delves into the impact of the British folk rock movement on mainstream pop, American rock music, and neighboring European countries. Ultimately, Sweers creates a richly detailed portrait of the electric folk scene--as cultural phenomenon, commercial entity, and performance style.

Since the 1960s, British progressive rock band Jethro Tull has pushed the technical and compositional boundaries of rock music by infusing its musical output with traditions drawn from classical, folk, jazz, and world music. The release of Thick as a Brick (1972) and A Passion Play (1973) won the group legions of new followers and topped the Billboard charts in the United States, among the most unusual albums ever to do so. Tim Smolko explores the large-scale form, expansive instrumentation, and complex arrangements that characterize these two albums, each composed of one continuous song. Featuring insights from Ian Anderson and in-depth musical analysis, Smolko discusses the band's influence on popular culture and why many consider Thick as a Brick and A Passion Play to be two of the greatest concept albums in rock history.