Customer Reviews

The Harmony Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock: 7th Edition

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4 star:		(1)
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2 star:		(1)
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I now teach rock and blues history at UT Austin and Texas State. But my credentials in a well rounded knowledge of rock come from having grown up in New Delhi, on a balanced diet of world and US popular music. Rock 'n' roll, the 50s' idiom might have been a US amalgamation (as it was), rock was not.

If you wanted maximum info on British rock artists, this was one of the two books to get in the 1980s. Actually, the earlier versions published in 1982, 1986, and 1989, (under changing titles--just look for Mike Clifford as the author) are way better for those who believe punk, post punk, and new wave have proven the death of all that was good about rock.

Singles chart positions for US and UK and discography for each artist is included as are great live photos and images of classic album jackets. Unfortunately, in each successive edition, major artists had to be moved to the appendix to make room for contemporary pop artists who did not match up artistically or in terms of rock credentials.

If you are reading this on amazon.com, as you are, you should already know the US version of the story. Expand your horizons.

1 star deducted for this edition's emphasis shift to the then contemporary artists.

If you are looking for a concise and prolific guide to rock music and its performers, then look elsewhere! Although this book does deliver at times, with significant information on specific artists, it lacks in many areas. For example, they leave out dozens of important figures in this genre, or simply limit them to its "appendix," which offer unflattering "profiles" on more than half of the performers in this book. The appendix entries are almost meaningless, offering up nothing but a glimpse into the careers of big names like The Cult, Johnny Cash, Bauhaus, Les Paul, and Nirvana. There are also numerous mistakes, like wrong chart positions, birth dates, and album release dates. In addition to all this, the Harmony Illustrated "Encyclopedia" of Rock concentrates on UK acts more than their American counterparts, giving more in depth biographies on Hawkwind and Love, than legends like Chuck Berry and Sam Cooke. The reason I gave this two stars rather than just one is simply for its abundance of colour photos, separate singles and discography sections (better for quick reference), and for at least including the basics of rock 'n' roll. Other than that, this book does not live up to the discription on the back of its own jacket.