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Jan 11, 2010 Web Exclusive By Frank Valish

For the past 50 years, Jim Marshall has devoted himself to photographing musicians. But more than just taking pictures, Marshall had a knack for capturing moments, snapshots of when the music and the individual collided, which, in turn, revealed something special or private about the artist. His pictures were often windows into the souls of those who were so revered but not always understood. In many cases his pictures have become as famous as the artists themselves—Dylan rolling a tire down the street in Greenwich Village, Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison, Hendrix setting his guitar on fire at Monterey Pop, Janis Joplin atop her painted Porsche.

Trust is the first time Marshall has compiled images from his archive of color photographs in book form. The title refers to Marshall’s notion that having the artists’ trust is what led to his being able to take such revealing photos. And these pictures certainly could not have been taken without Marshall’s unfettered access to the artists he’s portraying. Dr. John sits backstage in full concert regalia, beside him a shrunken human head. Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash casually chat on the set of The Johnny Cash Show. John Coltrane looks contemplative in the backyard of his Queens, NY home. The vast majority of pictures in Trust are split among jazz, blues, and ‘60s rock and roll, with the odd (and out of place) later photos of Fred Durst, John Mayer, or the guys from Velvet Revolver inexplicably thrown in. The photographs are paired with short anecdotes about the artists or stories about the images, and in doing this, Marshall lends just enough of his own story to the pictures he presents. But largely, it is Marshall’s body of work that does the talking, and, in that, these photographs are revelatory. (www.marshallphoto.com)

Author rating: 7/10