All Music Guide to the Blues: The Definitive Guide to the Blues [Paperback]

Hal Leonard Corp. (Creator)

Book Description

Series: Amg All Media Guide | Publication Date: April 1, 2003

Fully updated to reflect today's revitalized blues world, this guide is any blues fan's lifeline to the best blues past and present. It reviews and rates 7,000 recordings in all major styles across the blues map - from Delta blues to Louisiana, Memphis, Chicago, Texas, and beyond; from classic female singers to jump blues, blues slide guitar, blues in jazz, soul blues, blues-rock, modern acoustic and electric blues, and more. This fun and easy-to-use guide provides profiles of over 1,000 blues artists. Thirty historical essays plus supplemental "music maps" chart the roots and evolution of the blues, its various styles, instruments used, key artists, and more. The essays explore the blues from the Mississippi Delta to modern electric blues and everything in between.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Should be on every blues lover's list." -Blues Access "Easily the best blues guide...a real winner." -Real Blues

About the Author

Vladimir Bogdanov is president of All Media Guide (AMG); Chris Woodstra is AMG vice president of content development; Stephen Thomas Erlewine is AMG director of content, popular music.

Product Details

• Paperback: 754 pages
• Publisher: Backbeat Books; 3 edition (April 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879307366
• ISBN-13: 978-0879307363
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #809,798 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best on the market!, March 21, 2007

By 

KTD73 (Nampa, Idaho) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: All Music Guide to the Blues: The Definitive Guide to the Blues (Paperback)

The other reviews focus on the flaws in this book, and there certainly are some. (My biggest problem is that the number of stars given to rate a certain album sometimes don't match with the written reviews.) But overall there is so much wonderful and helpful information in this book that I can't recommend it highly enough.

One of the questions you have to ask in a review like this is "compared to what"? By comparison, the Music Hound Guide to the Blues costs a dollar more, reviews thousands (literally) fewer albums, and makes assessments that are just plain silly at time. And don't get me started on the latest version of the Rolling Stone Album Guide (which claims to be all you need for all genres). Actually, I panned that one pretty well elsewhere on Amazon.

I've used two editions of this book over the last six or seven years to build my blues library, and I've seldom been steered wrong. For one thing, they have a sophisticated rating system that not only tells you how good they think an album is, but how essential it is for a collector. For instance, they point out which are the best albums to start with if you are just coming to appreciate an artist.

Also, the extra writing is well worth the price. There are hundreds of worthwhile overviews of artists' lives and musical careers. They seem honest and insightful. And there are many essays about the history of the blues and the different genres of the blues that are extremely educational.

The bottom line: this is a great book for the home bookshelf and for packing into your favorite used CD shop. As for the stuff that shouldn't be there in some people's opinions: I've never complained about having too much information. Omissions are a much more serious issue, but those are easily overcome by consulting the excellent website run by this company which is obviously much more comprehensive than any book could ever be. (But there are some places you just can't pack a computer . . . ) This book is definitely number one in its field, and a bargain at the price. I doubt that any blues enthusiast will regret the money spent on this jewel.

34 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Don't let the thickness & fine-print make you think it's perfect., March 21, 2006

By 

Redgecko (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: All Music Guide to the Blues: The Definitive Guide to the Blues (Paperback)

When I first bought this book about 5 months ago, I was inclined to review it and give it 5 stars, based upon first impressions. But as I delved more deeply into the book I found glaring omissions both in the artists reviewed as well as missing titles. Also, several artists were included that are either rock or soul artists and have little to do with the blues. And, many of the reviews are badly written and inconsistent. For instance, a rave narrative will be written but then given only 2 stars, or a mediocre write-up will get 5 stars. And, one of my favorite inconsistencies is Bill Dahl's review of the album "Showdown!", co-authored by Albert Collins, Johnny Copeland and Robert Cray. Dahl gives this album (and, keep in mind that it is the album, not the artist being reviewed), 5 stars under Copeland and Cray, but 4 stars under Collins. Now, for some details:

Chuck Berry has been vary influential in blues-oriented rock music but his recordings are not reviewed. Chuck is mentioned about 30 times throughout the Guide but his autobiography nor discography is not related--a glaring omission.

Tom Principato whose origins are in the Washington, D.C. area, is a very well-known blues singer and guitarist who has been around for over 20 years and has a discography of over a dozen albums. Every modern bluesman knows Tom Principato and most have heard his scorching guitar solos. He's not even in The Guide's index!

Gary Smith hails from the San Francisco Bay area and began playing harmonica with Charlie Musselwhite in the late 1960's. Gary has recordings going back to the 1970's (his recordings on the album An Anthology of San Francisco Bay Blues, 1976), is exceptional.

Misleading reviews, e.g., Angola Prisoner's Blues has only 3 Robert Pete Williams songs out of 20 on the CD, yet the review implies that all 20 songs are by him!

missing artists
* Chuck Berry
* Tom Principato
* Gary Smith Blues Band
* James Montgomery Blues Band
* Alex Seward and partner Jellybelly
* Johnny "Big Moose" Walker
* Joe Bonamassa
* Charlie McCoy (the Music Guide covers Charlie McCoy, guitar player but not McCoy the harmonica player; Charlie has over 20 solo albums).
* Smoke Blues Band - Bald Eagle Moan

Missing titles
* Alligator 30th anniversary collection (released 2001)
* Blind Pig 30th anniversary collection (released 2002)
* "Malaguena" by Roy Buchanan
* 20th Century Blues -- Robin Trower
* Family Style -- Jimmie & Stevie Vaughan --mentioned but not reviewed
* Highway 61 Revisited - Bob Dylan
* Bloomfield Blues
* Red, Hot & Blues - Bloomfield
* The Essential Lonnie Johnson (Classic Blues 2001)
* Lightnin' Hopkins on Rykodisc: 2 CD set combines first 2 Hopkins albums on the Tradition label
* Autobiography of the Blues (Lightnin' Hopkins, 1960 - second album on the Tradition label)
* other excellent Lightnin' Hopkins compilations, e.g.,
* Hopkins: reviews Golden Classics Part 1 & 4 but not Parts 2 &3 !!! (Prison Blues & Mama & Papa Hopkins)
* Doesn't review Copeland's "Texas Twister".

Shouldn't include:
* James Brown
* Steve Miller Band (if Miller then why not Van Halen, Bad Co., Deep Purple and a zillion other blues-based rock groups?)
* Santana (playing an occasional blues song does not make you a blues artist)
* Hendrix (playing an occasional blues song does not make you a blues artist)

Probably three times more errors and omissions that I didn't find.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but lacking in some areas, September 30, 2006

By 

Bowiebuff "Paul" (SC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: All Music Guide to the Blues: The Definitive Guide to the Blues (Paperback)

As another reviewer pointed out, the omission of Chuck Berry is unbelievable, he is mentioned throughout repeatedly but does not have his own section (bio or discography). A few pretty well known recordings by artists included were omitted as well; the most glaring of these omissions would have to be Muddy "Mississippi" Waters Live, an album that many consider to be a blues classic. It is a very thorough book and I recommend it to any blues fan as its strong points far outweigh its weaker points, such as the aforementioned omissions.