You'll soon be delirious with knowledge.
From folk to avant-garde to world music, All Music Guide to Popular Music is a fun-to-browse
book that easily guides readers to more than 20,000 great recordings by over 4,000 artists through thorough reviews and ratings.
Arranged by genre (the book covers 16 styles in all), each section provides informed essays on how the music evolved and its
various styles, intriguing artist biographies, and insightful reviews and ratings of the top recordings. The lives and work
of major artists are described in depth. Easy-to-read music maps chart the development of each genre, its key players, and
their influences. Now in its fourth edition, All Music Guide to Popular Music is an authoritative reference highlights
essential collection albums as well as first purchase recordings to help listeners buy CDs.
"Nearly 1,500 info-packed
pages! Makes you delirious with knowledge." - Entertainment Weekly
"The most useful single volume your money can
buy." - Mojo
From Library Journal:
Given the comprehensiveness, popularity, and timeliness of the free All Music Guide web site, one wonders whether an abridged
print version is needed. Still, it's hard to ignore the pleasures of browsing this highly entertaining tome, now in its fourth
edition, which provides guidance on the best music from virtually all popular (i.e., nonclassical) genres. Over 20,000 albums
and 4000 artists are represented from the worlds of rock, blues, country, jazz, rap, folk, gospel, reggae, avant-garde, and
more. The book is arranged into 16 genre chapters, each beginning with an overview of the genre and its various subgenres
or "styles." (Tabs on the page edges would have facilitated thumbing to a particular genre.) Artists are listed alphabetically
within each chapter, making the comprehensive index crucial for determining the genre under which an artist is listed. Unfortunately,
the index is off by a few pages for artists in the fourth chapter (Gospel) through the end. Each artist entry includes vital
statistics, styles played, a biographical sketch, and a selective list of albums. All albums are rated from one to five stars,
with additional symbols denoting recommended first purchases and albums that are essential representations of a genre. Signed
reviews from scores of contributors accompany the most significant titles. (Beware: an album's rating and review do not always
jibe. Also, ratings and reviews in the book may differ from those found on the web site for the same album.) Other features
include music maps (a sort of family tree outlining the history and key artists of a genre or style) and sidebar articles
on topics such as Caribbean music styles and English and Celtic folk instruments. While still selective, the All Music guides
(there are also separate volumes on rock, jazz, blues, country, and electronica) tend to provide more detail and analysis
of an artist's oeuvre than the MusicHound, Rough Guide, and Rolling Stone tomes. All in all, patrons are better off using
the truly comprehensive web site, but this is the best of the print sources. Recommended. Lloyd Jansen, Stockton-San Joaquin
Cty. P.L., CA
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Backbeat All Music Guide to Popular Music Book Features:
- 1496 pages
- Size: 9-1/4" x 7-3/8"
- ISBN: 879306270
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