Customer Reviews

The Rough Guide to Blues 1 (Rough Guide Reference)

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Lacking satisfactory background knowledge I strongly felt it'd do me well to bone up some on this rich history of the musical tradition called the Blues. In addition to this somewhat romanticized and mysterious past promising to be entertaining to read about I knew that most of the music I've loved as what some may call a middle class white boy comes from the Blues, to one degree or another. I really feel I should know more about these people. I've found "Rough Guide to the Blues" to be a well written, top-notch reference book that provides a solid and through overview of a long, rich cultural history. That's the point of it. Detailed profiles of hundreds of musicians and critical reviews of the best, most influential Blues albums. Tells you what albums and songs to hear, offering lists as well such as 10 best harmonica solos and 10 greatest slide-guitar tracks. Rockers influenced by the Blues are covered as well.

Robert Plant digs it. Says author Nigel Williamson "has transported these angel wraiths into the 21st century - breathing new life into a glorious kaleidoscope of Afro-American music".

This book has two parts. The first has a fairly short history of the blues that suddenly seems to stop in the 70's, with no mention of G Love, Jon Spencer or even the White Stripes.

Part 2 is a encyclopedia of blues artists, which I skipped.