All Music Guide to Rock: The Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul (3rd Edition) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 087930653X ISBN 13: 9780879306533

Publisher: Backbeat, 2002

Synopsis

(Book). Easy to use and fun to explore, this 1,400-page tome is the most complete guide ever published on the artists and recordings that really rock. Compiled by dozens of music critics, it reviews and rates more than 14,000 great albums by over 2,200 artists and groups in more than 400 styles both mainstream and alternative including bootlegs, import-only releases, important out-of-print recordings, and lesser-known cult artists. A brief profile details each performer's career, while insightful reviews of top recordings help define the musician's artistic development and impact on rock. Expanded biographies spotlight major figures, along with complete album discographies. Also features educational essays and "music maps" that chart the evolution of rock's diverse subgenres at a glance.

About this title

About the Author

Vladimir Bogdanov is president of All Media Guide (AMG); Chris Woodstra is AMG editor-in-chief; Stephen Thomas Erlewine is an AMG senior editor.

Reviews

As accurate and obsessively detailed as www.allmusic.com is, its print cousins can seem somewhat redundant. This well-established entry, now in its third edition, offers biographical and listener's advisory information on artists and recordings that All Music Guide (AMG) editors Bogdanov, Chris Woodstra, and Stephen Thomas Erlewine have deemed rock an all-encompassing term that includes pop, soul, R&B, rap, and easy listening. Since the last edition (1997), about 3000 album reviews and 400 artist profiles have been added. That makes for a total of 2200 alphabetically arranged artist entries and 14,000 reviews (rated on a scale of one to five stars), most of which are signed. While the contributors cover a remarkable range of new artists from Aaliyah to Weezer, they often give short shrift to those who recorded prior to the 1980s; sometimes, whole bodies of work are ignored in favor of "best of" compilations. Refreshingly, most reviews are free of rock elitism, so useful guidance is given for styles often reviled by critics (e.g., heavy metal). The closing section offers a series of introductory essays on various rock styles, some obvious ("British Invasion") and others obscure ("Jangle Pop"). Also included are dozens of "music maps," flow charts that illustrate the development of each style. The AMG provides more detail and analysis of an artist's career than the MusicHound, Rough Guide, and Rolling Stone books, so having circulating copies on hand may be most appropriate. Recommended, but keep the web site bookmarked. Lloyd Jansen, Stockton-San Joaquin Cty. P.L., CA
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Backbeat
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 087930653X
• ISBN 13: 9780879306533
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 1400
• Editor: Bogdanov Vladimir, Woodstra Chris, Erlewine Stephen Thomas, Thomas Stephen