Customer Reviews

Inside Classic Rock Tracks: Songwriting And Recording Secrets Of 100 Great Songs, From 1960 To The Present Day

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Rooksby does a great job of analyzing notable songs from the last few decades and explains what makes them effective. Some of his observations are funny too. I recommend this for anyone who is interested in songwriting and production, but is bored with the usual "How to Write Massively, Successful Hit Songs in 27 Easy Steps" format.

I bought this book sight-unseen because it was a bargain book and I was trying to get over the $25 free shipping limit (hey, I'm honest). The online description was intriguing enough, but I was very surprised when the book arrived and surpassed my expectations. Physically the book is very attractive, and the low page count is deceptive because the book is larger than a normal paperback. The writer has very excellent insights about the music tracks spanning four decades, and he peppers his writing with biting wit. Definitely recommended!

I agree with Val on the uninspired song selection, but my real complaint is that I didn't learn anything useful. Each song gets about one page which is not enough to go in depth on any topic after getting the half page song description out of the way. Ricky Rooksby's other books are way better. This book was a disappointment because the concept has a lot of potential which this book doesn't hit.

Wrong songs selection (very subjective author's choice). The selected songs do not reflect particular music periods. A lot of described songs were not real hits. If the only Beatles song mentioned is "Please please me" and the only Led Zeppelin's song "Kashmir" - younger readers apparently will get wrong impression about a lot of great bands and at the same time they will think that guys like Morrissey are cool.