All Music Guide to Rock 2nd Edition (Amg All Music Guide Series) [Paperback]

Michael Erlewine (Editor), Chris Woodstra (Editor), Vladimir Bogdanov (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Amg All Music Guide Series | Publication Date: September 1997

A guide to rock, pop and soul recordings. The book provides biographies, discographies, reviews, essays, charts and ratings on the 15,000 albums and 2500 artists featured. An alphabetical listing provides the biographical information, which is followed by a chronological listing of selected best albums. The guide includes bootleg recordings, important out of print albums, import only releases and lesser known cult artists. "Music maps" show the growth of rock trends ranging from rockabilly to Motown, folk rock, heavy metal, soul, punk, funk and so on.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The second edition of All Music's popular rock encyclopedia is a thorough and informed survey of thousands of CD titles currently on the market. While pop, soul, R&B, and rap titles are critiqued, the emphasis here is on rock with a capital "R." Indeed, it's not too hard to stump the book with indie titles and other offbeat recordings. (Try The Trouser Press Guide to '90s Rock for a fitting underground complement to this more mainstream reference.) That said, the genre's almost 2,000 musicians are placed under the microscope. Recommendations for first and essential purchases as well as biographies and other vital facts flesh out the entries. This isn't the only book you'll need for your pop-music reference library, but it is a key purchase for rabid CD buyers. --Steven Stolder

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 UpAThis title might appeal to casual music fans and trivia buffs, but is not an essential purchase for libraries. It consists mainly of an alphabetical listing of performers and bands. The entries include date of birth (date formed for bands), death (date disbanded for bands), and a sketchy biography (or group history). A detailed discography includes the relative merit of various albums and points out essential purchases for each artist. Unfortunately, the criticism is dismissive, offering descriptions such as "brief and angular punk rock" and "ponderous and overblown" with no real clue as to what qualities these phrases refer to. This is not an exhaustive resource. Groups such as Shakespeares Sister or The Crash Test Dummies are left out, while the one-hit wonder Blues Magoos is included. An ad in the front claims that the All Music Guide Web page is more comprehensive. The most interesting part of the book is a look at the history of rock genres, from rockabilly to girl groups to grunge. These essays are dry and dense, but informative. At best, this can be used as a supplement for libraries with large music collections.ALawrence Kapture, New York Public Library
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 1200 pages
• Publisher: Backbeat Books; 2nd Updtd edition (September 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879304944
• ISBN-13: 978-0879304942
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #748,414 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best single book on rock to date, December 13, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: All Music Guide to Rock 2nd Edition (Amg All Music Guide Series) (Paperback)

I read about this book in 'Mojo Magazine', where they stated that this guide was "the most useful single volume your money can buy." I ran right out and bought it and am glad I did. This is the best book on rock I have seen and I have read them all. Not only does it cover all major artists and albums, but there are dozens of essays, music maps, references, etc. What does not fit between the covers can be found on their web site at AllMusic.com.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not great, April 20, 2003

By 

Jerry Fry (Freeman, MO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: All Music Guide to Rock 2nd Edition (Amg All Music Guide Series) (Paperback)

I wish the word "comprehensive" wasn't used on the cover of this book because it isn't comprehensive. Some groups, that weren't obscure in their time at least, aren't here. And many of the groups that are here don't have all their albums reviewed. They may have a review of a group's "Greatest Hits CD" and that's it. This book has 5 star reviews of music I think sounds awful and 2 star reviews of music I think sounds good, so it's all in the ear of the listener. As a guide it's good, but I'll bet you haven't heard of half the groups here, so if you buy something by one of these groups based on the review, don't be shocked if it doesn't sound as good as you were led to believe. Also, if you hear something by a group you like but aren't familiar with and want to buy some of their music you may not see it all listed here. They could at least tell you all album titles a group had. Still, it's one of the best guides I've seen, I'm not sorry I got it, and actually recommend it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply the best...!, June 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: All Music Guide to Rock 2nd Edition (Amg All Music Guide Series) (Paperback)

It may not be all-encompassing as many would wish (with the tens of thousands of recorded pop music artists in the world, it would be impossible to catalog them all) but this is, by far, the most earnest and thorough attempt to compile reviews of the music which has moved three generations of young people. I've actually purchased music of many artists I'd never heard of before after thumbing through the pages of this guide. I eagerly anticipate the publication of the next edition (and am hopeful that the editors address some of the omissions complained about by others). This is not "the perfect" CD guide, but it is truly the best and most up-to-date one there is out there.