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Title: All Music Guide to Rock: The Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul (3rd Edition) by Vladimir Bogdanov, Chris Woodstra, Stephen Thomas Erlewine ISBN: 0-87930-653-X Publisher: Backbeat Books Pub. Date: 16 April, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (11 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Great but not quite the book its father was
Comment: This is without a doubt the best rock reference book around today. However, it does not quite live up to the standard of of the original 1995 edition which was simply the best rock reference book ever.
The good news is that there is little overlap between this and the previous volumes. Nearly all of the reviews (maybe 90 percent) have been assigned to new writers and re-written. Besides the new and often fascinating reviews, the advantage this book has over its predecessor is more reviews per artist. And as in the previous edition nearly all of the albums featured receive an in-depth critical appraisal not the one or two tossed off lines you'll find in other music guides. Of course the book is also up to date featuring dozens of albums released since 1995 by both new and veteran artists.
That all being said, the original book was much better. The artists biographies are cut to the bare minimums this time around. And while this new edition contains individual essays on rock's various sub-genres, there are less of them in the new book. Further the first volume contained a number of book and bootleg reviews. In this edition there's none of the former and precious few of the latter. There are also less of the one-hit wonders and obscure bands that were present in the first book.
As usual, the criteria for inclusion is erratic and subjective. Like the first volume the editors draw the line at performers associated with a Country and Western audience excluding even performers with large pop and rock followings like Johnny Cash and Brenda Lee. There are similar oversights with current performers like the hugely popular Sugar Ray. The questionable selection criteria is also present in the albums that are reviewed. For example, the Temptations are represented only by greatest hits collections all essentially featuring the same songs. While a casual fan needs to know which of these to select, they also want to know where to go for more. Finally, though they are few and far between, there are a few factual errors. (The CD reissue of "Ray Charles and Betty Carter" does not contain "But on the Other Hand Baby". That's one example that jumps out at me.)
Still, the majority of these flaws are only noticeable in comparison with the stunning standards set by the previous book. Nowhere else are you going to find this much rock history in one volume. When you're done with this you'll know more about the music as music than you'd ever thought you would know. Just don't throw out the first volume.
Rating: 5
Summary: Finally updated: the best rock reference book, bar none
Comment: 5 years after the 2nd Edition, we finally receive the 3rd Edition of the All Music Guide to Rock: 1,399 (no, not 1,400!) pages of vital information on the best in rock music from yesterday and today. What sets this reference book apart from its competitors is the detailed album-by-album review (and rating) of the artists. A good example is how the editors treat Bob Dylan's career and its 40+ (and counting) albums.
The book cover albums issued before or no later than October 2001, so you will find reviews on albums such as Dylan's "Love & Theft" and Collective Soul's "7even Year Itch", but you won't find, say, Radiohead's "I Might Be Wrong--Live Recordings" or Natalie Merchant's "Motherland". Of course, as the editors note, this book is culled from the vastly more expansive on line version of All Music Guide, which obviously is also updated more frequently. The book has some curious omissions (what, no listing for Creed?) and out-of-proportion reviews (3+ pages on The Fall, about the same as for the Beatles!).
In the end, those are minor quibbles. While the on line version is more complete and up to date, I also want to have something I can physically leaf through (same reason why there are still actual newspapers, I guess). Let's just hope that it won't take another 5 years before the 4th Edition sees the day of light! Meanwhile, we will do with this. BUY IT!
Rating: 1
Summary: The truth about the song, Wipe Out
Comment: This review is in response to Mr. Bogdanov's book, with the featured Amazon link to p. 557 concerning the song, Wipe Out:
Excerpt from page 557 "... and arrangement stolen by the Surfaris, who had a huge hit ..."
Unfortunately, this is suggestive, and thus misleading information concerning the song, written and recorded by the Surfaris in 1962. The four members in the studio that December night were Ron Wilson, Pat Connolly, Jim Fuller and Bob Berryhill. This is a well-known fact, legally proven beyond any doubt. Anyone claiming that the Surfaris stole Wipe Out from them is sadly disillusioned. Check out this article written for the Wall Street Journal by staff writer, Phil Kuntz to read the story behind Wipe Out and the Surfaris at: http://www.polarity1.com/pcrr2.html. The article is also in a book titled, Floating Off the Page: The Best Stories From the Wall Street Journal's "Middle Column" by Ken Wells, also available on Amazon.
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