Customer Reviews

The Penguin Encyclopedia of Popular Music: Second Edition (Reference)

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

 

 

I used this "encyclopedia" (1000 page book) to familiarize myself more with musicians I know well, vaguely remember and wasn't familiar with at all. I am very interested in the reasons why people make certain types of music, and the connections between and influences upon them. This book includes so many, many musicians and groups from the last 100 years or so--all genres, with a little information about each so you get the idea. It's amazing who was whose friend or where certain people hooked up before they became famous, etc. If someone had an influence on trends or other musicians, they're probably in this book! If you're into the history of music at all, this is a great source. I found a lot of good CDs researching this book. Probably there are other such books out there, but this is the one my local library had!

As another reviewer noted so accurately, this book might lead to depleted wallets for music lovers. I bought it to expand my knowledge of Jazz and Latin Jazz history, and on those topics it is outstanding and indespensible. The nice suprise for me was that the book is as entertaining as it is informative. Potential buyers should be realistic and realize, though, that a TRUE encyclopedia of popular musics, especially if it were to account for more of the world (this edition is very UK/USA-centric) would take many, many more volumes than even this large one. There are some mighty strange omissions, as well as some unusual inclusions. For example, although the book generally covers the history of English rock very well, there are no entries for either Roxy Music or King Crimson. In a perfect world, such sins of omission would be unforgivable, especially since so many throwaway, best-forgotten bands receive detailed entries. Similarly, while there is an entry for the influential USA band Talking Heads, there isn't one for founder David Byrne, who has played an extremely important role in the contemporary popularization of Latin American musics, like it or not. On the other hand, I was amazed at the accuracy and detail of the information on UK punk rock in what could have been a snobbier book in more pretentious hands. There is some good, bitchy gossip here...check out the wicked entry for John Lydon/Johnny Rotten! Music lovers, DO buy this book! Just don't expect it to contain every little detail under the sun on every artist. It's easily worth more than it costs, and will bring you years of armchair pleasure, and very well may expand your horizons and enrich your musical life.

The several different contributors to this book tend to emphasise different aspects of the musicians and their performances, resulting in some highly personal reviews. The quality of writing varies a bit, too. The last word on The Carpenters, for example, reads: "Karen's solo album was finally released '96, making some fans wonder how long she would have lived if she had been allowed to be herself"; what does this mean, exactly? It's clumsy and ambiguous writing. The book is littered with examples such as this. The editor, Donald Clarke, makes his preferences and prejudices abundantly clear, which is sometimes entertaining but more often irritating. The book as a whole is an uneven blend of reference and personal opinion. It's fun to skim, but I was disappointed.

Don't get me wrong, I HAVE NOT READ the book. I'm going to, but I'll have to wait for sometime before I can lay my hands on it. But, if Clarke really did to the second ed. as what he'd done to the first ed. (1988), then this book deserve to be your ultimate guide to the realm of the popular music. Last word : BEWARE about the effects of reading this book to your financial positions. When I started reading the 1st ed., I've had only a handful of records in my shelves, mostly '80s pop music. With this book, I trekked through the realm of jazz (from Louis to Wynton), Rock (Jim to Van Morrison), Blues (Kings to Rush), Country (Nelson to Parsons, and back) and others. If only the book was about junkfood, I'll be in the hospital right now. (How much did the record companies gave you, Clarke ?)