Customer Reviews

Musichound Blues: The Essential Album Guide

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The reader who says they left out Howlin' Wolf is wrong. He's there under H, though why that is the case when Muddy Waters is under W is beyond me. That reader is correct that Beck is listed and the explanation of why is a bit of a stretch. So, I think someone just likes Beck alot. Maybe that's sacrilege, but if you want religion, go to the gospel section. Led Zeppelin also gets an entry, as do the Yardbirds.

I'm impressed by the number of minor artists covered here (e.g. the Cheathams, Frankie Lee) and by the way that reviews are organized. The reviews start with a summary and then list "what to buy", "what to buy next", and "what not to buy". It sounds hokey as I write about it, but it means that they don't have to have a sentence about every album --- just the ones that count. Plus there are star ratings for everything in print by that artist. I buy lots of album guides and throw some out. This one is a keeper.

This book is great! I just got it the other day and I've been finding artists and bands that I haven't listened to in a long time (and then dragging out the albums to see if I agree with the reviews). Everything is in here, from Magic Sam to Stevie Ray Vaughn (even write ups on Chicken Shack and Canned Heat). The index's are great the bio's are short but informative and from what I've read so far the ratings are accurate. The CD sampler sounds great and is a nice little bonus. So go out and buy it, put some speakers in the bathroom, make a drink and read.

The whole book is very informative and entertaining. Beautiful pictures too. I highly recommend you pick this book up if you like the blues. Or if you want to learn more about the blues.

Hell of a lot of entries means too many contributers. This means that in this book you will find good and clever along with poor and strange reviews. Look! This book says that Gary Moore influenced Stevie Ray Vaughan. Unfortunately for GM lovers he released his first blues record (Still Got The Blues) in 1990. That year SRV tragicaly died. He already was a blues star and hardly ever thought about GM as a blues musician. In many cases the book gives advise to avoid records that were nominated for Grammy (in blues categories) and were awarded W.C.Handy. I think a book like this should feature full list of records awarded with W.C.Handy. And so on. All in all - I was dissapointed.

This book is a comprehensive look at all blues musicians

This book is simply great. It helps you avoid spending money on low-quality albums and provides an excellent rating system. I've bought over 30 albums rated "five bones" and have not yet been disappointed! I might disagree with certain ratings, expecially in the "3-4 bones" category, but the writers who rated the albums clearly know and love the blues. Don't ever buy a blues CD without first consulting this book!

These people know how to put a good review book together. Unlike some of the other reviews, I feel that the blues ranges further than BB King or Howlin Wolf. There are many forms of the blues, and Musichound brings them forward in this book. You get the reviews of popular and not so popular artist. Many times, people just go for the best of albums, and this book helps you dig deeper into an artist catalog. I have been listening to the blues for abut 20 years now, and I find that any resource to help me uncover an artist who is not that popular i a plus. I didn't think that the reviews were that bad. As for Howlin Wolf not being mentioned, look in the H section. You will find him there.

An interesting compilation of opinions, but with quite a few controversial ratings. Let's get real -- blues or any other music is a question of taste, and such a guide can only at best help you avoid "clinkers" and at worst make you buy CDs that you'll listen to once and then forget about... Not all the "five bone" (highest rating possible for an album) albums are really good; I would highly recommend that you listen to a "five or four bone" CD before buying it. All in all, it is a fine effort, that does help you avoid pitfalls, but is not guaranteed to help you buy a good CD each time. Cheers

This whole series (i don't have all of them yet) is very informative and they come with CD music samplers and lots of recomendations. The music hound series also is jam-packed with great photographs.

Very informative and visually stunning. It's been sitting on my coffee table ever since I received it. Photographs are wonderful! Highly recommended to blues fans, and music lovers in general.