“I’m both blessed and cursed to be a guitar player. I didn’t choose it, it chose me. The challenge was to find a way to weave my convictions into my music in a meaningful way.”
TOM MORELLO
Whatever it Takes
by Tom Morello
As the cofounder and guitarist of Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, and Prophets of Rage, and as a solo artist and collaborator with artists as diverse as Bruce Springsteen and Wu-Tang Clan, few musicians have been as groundbreaking as Tom Morello. Now, for the first time, Morello’s remarkable life as a guitarist, songwriter, singer, and political activist is captured in his signed limited edition book.
Morello’s commentary is accompanied by a wealth of photographs, handwritten notes, and set lists, many of which are previously unpublished and come from the author’s personal archives. Stunning images of Morello’s heavily customised guitars complete this jam-packed photographic memoir, and the result, like his incendiary guitar playing, is fascinating, honest, and completely unique.
Morello’s original commentary documents his late start in learning the guitar and early bands, through to forming Rage Against the Machine, his transition into working with the melodic vocals of Chris Cornell in Audioslave, his solo work and collaborations, and on to Prophets of Rage. Throughout the book Morello reflects on how his ‘calling’ of activism drives his work. He recounts the protests and controversies that he has encountered in his mission to use his guitar as a means to share ideas worth fighting for.
See inside
Whatever it Takes by Tom Morello is published in a limited edition of only 2,000, each numbered and hand signed by Tom Morello. It is also available in a Deluxe Edition.
Fully bound in black cloth with red and gold foil blocking and red page edging, the book is presented in a Solander box which features Tom Morello’s handwritten notes for Lock Up and Rage Against the Machine and setlists from his solo career.
Each copy includes a Little Red Songbook, a booklet of songs and chord charts from the Nightwatchman, and an exclusive 7″ vinyl disc featuring the title track, ‘Whatever It Takes’, plus a previously unreleased, live recording of ‘Vigilante Nocturno’ from the recent Atlas Underground Tour.
Whatever It Takes – Collector Edition
by Tom Morello
Contributors: Chuck D, Nora Guthrie, Michael Moore, Jann Wenner
NZ Publication Date: February 2021
Publisher: Genesis Publications
Signed by: Tom Morello
Limited Edition: 2,000 copies (1,850 Collector / 150 Deluxe)
Binding: Fully bound in black cloth with red and gold foil blocking and red page edging. Presented in a Solander box.
Extras: Little Red Songbook, 7″ vinyl disc (‘Whatever It Takes’, ‘Vigilante Nocturno Live in Los Angeles’). The deluxe edition also comes with a limited edition lyric print of ‘Let Freedom Ring’.
Specifications: Page size 245mm x 290mm, 208 pages, 300 images.
The Open Edition
by Tom Morello
A more affordable and accessible printing of Whatever it Takes by Tom Morello, presented in a smaller, hardcover format.
The Deluxe Edition
by Tom Morello
Just 150 copies of Whatever it Takes have been created in a Deluxe vegan leather binding and also include a Lyric Print of ‘Let Freedom Ring’.
