The Mojo Collection: The Ultimate Music Companion (Paperback)

by Jim Irvin (Editor) "In 1946 you could buy these eight songs on four heavy, perishable, 10-inch, shellac 78rpm discs packaged together in a binder to resemble a book..." (more)
Key Phrases: further listening, track listing, record label, New York, Los Angeles, None Track (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"If you like to listen to a bit of everything, this is the book for you." --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Description

“This is essential reading for anyone with a record collection.” —Buzz

“Virtually indispensable.” —MOJO

Quite simply, the greatest albums of all time—and how they happened. The smartest, most keyed-in music critics from London’s best rock magazine provide opinionated, funny, insightful portraits of the best pop music records ever made. Redesigned and updated to include the most recent releases, and with a new section of artists contributing their top-five albums of all time. Informative, gossipy, and wide ranging, The MOJO Collection is an essential purchase for those who love and live music.

Product Details

• Paperback: 896 pages
• Publisher: Canongate U.S.; 4th edition (February 18, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1847670202
• ISBN-13: 978-1847670205
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #97,238 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Only Resource you will ever need..................., January 7, 2003

By	ED (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mojo Collection: The Greatest Albums of All Time (Paperback)

If you are interested to hear the opinion of the best albums of all time, from the writers of the highly respected British music magazine 'MOJO', then look no further. Arranged in (rather sensibly) chronological order (I hate when writers try to categorize music!), this very informative guide is a must-have for the serious music fan. A page (sometimes more) is devoted to each album, and each description includes the writers opinion, the story behind each album, full track listing, UK and US single releases, chart placings and a list of other notable albums by the artist in question.

This is not a collection to be devoured in a single sitting, but rather is a 'coffee-table' resource to be read at leisure.

Extremely well-written and highly informative, if "The Greatest Albums of All Time" does not inspire you to run to the nearest record store then I will eat my "Pet Sounds' Box Set.

Enjoy!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Place to Explore Rock n Roll, August 23, 2004

By	waitingtoderail "waitingtoderail" (Jamaica Plain, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mojo Collection: The Greatest Albums of All Time... and How They Happened (Paperback)

This is an amazing guide to some of the best albums ever made. Sure, it's easy to criticize, a lot of amazing albums are left out, some are included that will make you cringe, but on the whole, this book is probably the best of the "best of" books out there. Page long reviews are wonderful to have, rather than short one-paragraph reviews, and my favorite feature is how they point you to new music. For example, let's say you like "Sea Change" by Beck. Well, the book then suggests you try "Cold Fact" by Rodriguez, an album released in 1970. If you try that and like it, well, then the book says to go next to "It's a Shame About Ray" by the Lemonheads, and so on and so forth. This is a great feature. Go get this book and spend hours reading and exploring.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely top, February 5, 2004

By	alexliamw (London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mojo Collection: The Greatest Albums of All Time... and How They Happened (Paperback)

This book is pretty much the best music guide out there. Detailed entries on truly classic albums are fantastic and you could do a lot worse than purchase many of these albums. Perfect for building up knowledge to wade through second-hand vinyl, and also perfect when you have heard of a classic band and want to know what to purchase. Also, not only obvious choices are picked - some of these albums have faded from memory, but MOJO revives them.

This is what I love about MOJO as a magazine - it deals with all kinds of music from all eras, going back really far. Many other magazines only pick really famous bands once you've gone back a distance, but here we get loads of now-obscure 60s bands to look into, and music across a huge range of genres. Really top stuff - the perfect guide for what it is, essentially. Any self-respecting music fan should get it - it'll be invaluable.