The Great Rock Discography; Fully Revised and Expanded 5th Edition

Now in its fifth edition, this fully revised and expanded tome is simply the greatest music reference book around and, with over 150,000 copies already in print, The Great Rock Discography has established itself as THE music Bible for record collectors. Produced in collaboration with MOJO magazine--U.K.'s leading rock monthly--the book is organized alphabetically and covers more than 1,000 bands. This massive labor of love has it all-from Abba to ZZ Top, B. B. King to Queen, James Brown to Pink Floyd, Radiohead to Television. In short it contains everything you need to know about everyone you need to know about. Each band entry features complete discographies that detail every record released, full track listings for each album, B-sides for each single, expanded biographies and band histories, catalogue ordering numbers, top U.S. and U.K. chart positions, and recommendations of must-have recordings and essential listening.

Amply covering both the British and American rock scenes, Strong's fifth updating of his very successful reference work will find a warm reception. Although its wealth of data is presented in eyestrain-inducing small print, this book is still fun and worthwhile to read. Record collectors will especially delight in the myriad facts that Strong, an English rock writer, has unearthed. You may think, for instance, that you know everything about Aerosmith until you read the entry. The work's major feature and the main reason to buy it lies in its extensive chronological discographical listings in each entry. These can get complicated, what with the international coverage and various formats and other permutations that Strong does not shy away from covering. It's essential to read the short "How To Read the Book" section that follows the introduction. As in the past, a straight A-Z format serves as the massive tome's layout, with Strong having tucked in 250 new entries since the 1998 edition. Any library fielding rock music questions, particularly of the discographical bent, will find this a useful title to have on the shelf. David M. Turkalo, Suffolk Univ. Law Sch. Lib., Boston
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.