Southern Rock Review [Paperback]

Martin Popoff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2001

Southern Rock’s rich recorded heritage is compiled and reviewed in this handy reference guide.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Martin Popoff is a freelance music journalist and the author of several books on pop culture, including Riff Kills Man. His articles have appeared in numerous publications and web sites, among them Chart, Guitar World, Lolipop, Goldmine, and HMV.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Collector's Guide Publishing, Inc. (August 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1896522734
• ISBN-13: 978-1896522739
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,504,920 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Periodical Journalism:

Editorships: HardRadio - Reviews Editor and Writer (Hard Reviews), Interviews Editor and Writer (Hard Views); bravewords.com: Senior Editor.

Contributing Writer: Goldmine, bravewords.com.

Past Work: Amazon.com, musicmusicmusic.com, hmv.com, metalshop.com, CMJ, Chart, chartattack.com, Outsider, VH1.com, Glass Eye, Maximum Guitar, Guitar World, Lollipop, Record Collector, Revolver, Live Wire, Enrage, Radio M.O.I..com, Juggernaut, Classic Rock, bwbk.com, lollipop.com, seaoftranquility.com, interview radio show called BraveWords Radio at internet station VirtuallyCanadian '96 - '98, BBC doc on heavy metal, long-form reviews and features for special edition metal Hammer mags on AC/DC and Iron Maiden, Foreword in Neil Daniels' book, All Pens Blazing: A Heavy Metal Wwriters Handbook, Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles ('94 - '08): Editor In Chief and Writer, Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage feature film and DVD - Researcher, Metal Evolution (11 episode series on metal genres for VH1 Classic), a Sam Dunn and Scot McFadyen production - Researcher.


Books:

Riff Kills Man! 25 Years Of Recorded Hard Rock & Heavy Metal (1993)
-1,945 album reviews, 440 p.

The Collector's Guide To Heavy Metal (1997)
- update of Riff Kills Man!: 3750 album reviews, 540 p., 600,000 words, full-length CD sampler, in fourth printing

Goldmine Heavy Metal Record Price Guide (2000)
- 11,800 entries, 300 photos, 368 p., best of list, essays, full-length CD sampler

Heavy Metal: 20th Century Rock And Roll (2000)
- part of series, themed as The Fifty Most Influential Bands In Heavy Metal, essays, interview segments, discographies, best of lists, 190 p.

Southern Rock Review (2001)
- 410 southern rock record reviews, 150 album cover shots, 200 p., 10 tr. CD sampler, appendices

The Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs Of All Time (2003)
- poll winners, reviews of each, artist quotes for approx. 460 of them, singles shots, artist lists, 486 p.

The Collector's Guide To Heavy Metal - Volume 1: The Seventies (2003)
- 1162 reviews of '70s hard rock albums, most not in original '97 source book (and those that were, expanded/rewritten), 188 album cover shots, seven appendices, 12 tr. rarities sampler, 344 p.

The Top 500 Heavy Metal Albums Of All Time (2004)
- Like the Songs book but better, longer quotes and reviews, longer overall, due to 7" x 10" page size (450 p.). New appendices etc. Winners from a poll, reviews by me, artist quotes for almost all entries.

Blue Oyster Cult: Secrets Revealed (2004)
- A 193 p. bio of the band (focus on albums and songs); original interviews with Buck, Eric, Albert, Joe, and Bobby, plus Greg Scott, Ioannis, Murray Krugman, Sandy Pearlman, Richard Meltzer, John Shirley, Helen Wheels and David Roter.

Contents Under Pressure: 30 Year of Rush At Home & Away (2004)
- a 230 page book with 270 photos (most quite rare) authorized by the band, with fresh interviews, to be sold in bookstores and on tour; full colour throughout, 7" x 10" format.

The New Wave Of British Heavy Metal Singles (2005)
- 580 reviews, 424 pictures of rare singles, prices, catalog #s, dates, label info, 192 p.

UFO: Shoot Out The Lights (2005)
- album by album, song by song "bio" of the band, much new interview footage, 257 p.

Rainbow: English Castle Magic (2005)
- album by album, song by song "bio" of the band, much new interview footage, 228 p.

The Collector's Guide To Heavy Metal - Volume 2: The Eighties (2005)
- 2,528 reviews of '80s albums, Metal Blade CD, album cover shots, two appendices, 432 p.

Dio: Light Beyond The Black
- album by album, song by song "bio" of the band, much new interview footage, 207 p.

Black Sabbath: Doom Let Loose
- all eras covered in detail, full colour throughout, large format, 1 kg of doom, 355 p.

Run For Cover: The Art Of Derek Riggs (2006)
- full colour, large format, high quality art book, with loads of chat from Derek, 180 p.

Ye Olde Metal: 1968 to 1972 (2007)
- full trade 6" x 9" format, 231 pages, essays with interviews on classic old hard rock albums.

The Collector's Guide To Heavy Metal - Volume 3: The Nineties (2007)
- 3,073 reviews of '90s albums, Metal Blade CD, two appendices, 518 p.

Ye Olde Metal: 1973 to 1975 (2007)
- full trade 6" x 9" format, 232 pages, essays with interviews on classic old hard rock albums.

Judas Priest: Heavy Metal Painkillers (2007)
- album by album, 541 pictures, 8" x 10", full colour throughout, 380 p.

Ye Olde Metal: 1976 (2008)
- full trade 6" x 9" format, 241 pages, essays with interviews on classic old hard rock albums.

Ye Olde Metal: 1977 (2008)
- full trade 6" x 9" format, 247 pages, essays with interviews on classic old hard rock albums.

All Access: The Art And History Of The Backstage Pass (2008)
- full colour, hardcover, with nearly 1000 photos of passes.

Gettin' Tighter: Deep Purple '68-76 (2008)
- my 250 page book looking at all the records through Mk. IV; lots of pictures too

Ye Olde Metal: 1978 (2008)
- 250 action packed pages on Starz, Boyzz, Godz, DMZ... all the "z" bands.

Blue Oyster Cult! Secrets Revealed! (2009)
- new 2009 edition: new cover, 100 more pages, 174 pictures.

Worlds Away: Voivod & The Art Of Michel Langevin (2009)
- hard cover, full colour throughout, a mammoth compendium.

Goldmine Price Guide To 45 RPM Records, 7th. Ed. (2009)
- front essays, collectible info, 700-odd pages of listings, lots of pictures

Goldmine Record Album Price Guide, 6th. Ed. (2009)
- front essays, collectible info, 700-odd pages of listings, lots of pictures

A Castle Full Of Rascals: Deep Purple '83 - '09 (2009)
- book on Purple covering second half of career; tons of new interviews

Goldmine Standard Catalogue of American Records, 7th Ed. (2010)
- front essays, collectible info, 1344 pages, lots of pictures

The Collector's Guide To Heavy Metal - Volume 4: The '00s (2011)
- 3,367 reviews, 572 pages, Metal Blade sampler included

Black Sabbath FAQ (2011)
- 400 pages of trivia, odd topics, cool interview footage, memorabilia shots

The Deep Purple Royal Family - Chain Of Events Through '79
- 280 pages of detailed timeline and 542 memorabilia shots



Miscellaneous:

Record Label biographies: approximately 72.

CD liner notes: approximately 30, including work for Dio, Danzig, Testament, Montrose, Molly Hatchet, Love/Hate, Mahogany Rush, War Babies, Badlands, Moxy, Razor, Anvil, Twisted Sister, Blind Vengeance, Nasty Savage, Love/Hate, Kraken, Trouble, Nevermore, Stuck Mojo and various metal and southern rock compilations

Interviews completed, fully transcribed: 1475

Rhino/Warner Heavy Metal Box liner essay: My contribution is approximately 75 or 80, 100-word "reviews" pertaining to the track selection.

AC/DC - High-Voltage Rock 'n' Roll: The Ultimate Illustrated History. Contribution of long-form reviews of The Razors Edge and Black Ice. In production is a similar coffee table book on Aerosmith, for which I contributed reviews of Draw The Line and Rock In A Hard Place.

Metal Blade box set: one 5000 word history of Metal Blade

My Sabbath, Rainbow and UFO books are available in German. The Sabbath is also available in Czech. The two Deep Purples will soon be out in German. These are all through Matthias Mader and Iron Pages, at www.ip-verlag.de. The Dio book will soon be issued in a Bulgarian edition.


In A Previous Life:

Born and raised in British Columbia, Canada., B.A. In English, M.B.A. in Marketing, Xerox Corp. (Rookie Of The Year in '88: Yay!), nine years as co-owner of The Perfect Page, graphic design, print brokering.


Coordinates:

Martin Popoff,
P.O. Box 65208
358 Danforth Ave.
Toronto, Ontario
M4K 2Z2

[e-mail] (PayPal also accepted with that address)

www.martinpopoff.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Like Smooth Jack Daniels, Southern & Satisfying, September 10, 2002

By 

Jason P. Farrell (SHEBOYGAN, WI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Southern Rock Review (Paperback)

... the lack of a Confederate flag on the front cover. The reason for this is that the author, Martin Popoff, is from Canada -- that makes the whole country "South" for him. ....

As for the book itself, it's the only one I know of that takes Southern rock seriously as a movement--and it doesn't quiver at doling out harsh truths as well, such as the self-parody of the recent Skynyrd output. Actually, I would have liked Popoff to have expanded his definition a bit (he did include an "If You Like Southern, You Might Like..." section in the appendix, which included all the bands that I wish he'd have fully included) but it was also brave to actually hold himself to the geography and include only bands that came from the South itself. Gutsy and idiosyncratic as Popoff always is, his writing reaches beautiful heights when speaking about the first solo Dickey Betts album, a gentle, delicate, unassuming work that reeks genius. Eat a peach, indeed. And buy this book.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Metal guru goes redneck?, September 24, 2001

By 

Greg Pratt (Victoria, BC Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Southern Rock Review (Paperback)

SOUTHERN ROCK REVIEW
Martin Popoff (Collector's Guide Publishing)
The extremely knowledgeable Martin Popoff is back to blow our minds yet again with his encyclopedic knowledge of... southern rock? A new twist from the man who brought us the most important piece of literature in metal, The Collector's Guide To Heavy Metal, as well as no less than two other books on metal, and current Senior Editor of Brave Words And Bloody Knuckles. But, southern rock? Here's why you should care; some of this stuff is actually heavy (Blackfoot, Molly Hatchet), a lot of these good ol' bands utilized a three guitar attack way before Maiden (even though it always sounds like one guitar, an idea Maiden also put to use) and for those into the New Orleans sound (Soilent Green, EYEHATEGOD, Down, some Pantera, some Crowbar), this is where it all began. I know it's hard to believe that an album with a cover of an extreme close-up of some hick's mustache (this book is chock full of `em) could have influenced Acid Bath, but it all makes sense. Nice touch with having album cover shots in here (hopefully an idea that will show up in the next metal review book), and southern rock album covers are almost as ridiculous as metal album covers (just with more members per band, more mustaches, less violence and less demons) so it adds a comical touch to the proceedings. As always, Popoff writes with hilarious amounts of knowledge and personality. His style of writing is his own, eschewing conventional grammar and sentence structure ("I've toned down" he says in the intro; yeah right) for another unique reading experience. My experience in the genre at hand is limited to the basics, and Southern Rock Review is a great help to getting my feet in the swamps to check out some more, with Canada's finest music journalist guiding the tour. Downers: typos galore and the included ten-track compilation CD features two bands not even included in the book (it doesn't cover prog or disco/funk crud, so why have it on the CD?) and a few of the song choices are a bit too obvious.
Greg Pratt

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Ultimate Album Review Guide of Southern Rock - In Alphabetical Order From the Allman Brothers to ZZ Top !!!!!!!!, May 15, 2009

By 

Gary Covington "Southern Rocker" (Louisiana, U.S.A.) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Southern Rock Review (Paperback)

This is an excellent review guide of Southern Rock Albums. It's all there from A to Z, in alphabetical order by band name,and then album by album, making it very easy to look up album reviews about any particular Southern Rock Band, or Artist. The book is packed with photos of Southern Rock album covers. The author, rates every album on a scale of 1 - 10.

This book was copyrighted around 2001, so it only contains the Southern Rock Bands, up until that point. There have been some other Southern Rock Bands to emerge since then, and also there have been many new Southern Rock albums released since then. Also, the author, Martin Popoff, admits that he did miss a few, that should have been included. One of the main criteria he used to select bands is that they must actually be from 14 southern states, which includes the states that were in the Confederacy, the border states, & Oklahoma. He also discusses some other criteria he used his classification of Southern Rock.

The book contains album reviews on the more popular Southern Rock bands, such as The Allman Brothers Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Charlie Daniels Band, Wet Willie, and others. Plus, it also contains dozens & dozens of lesser known southern rock bands, along with reviews of their albums. It's packed full of illustrations of Southern Rock album covers.

I'm not sure where the author Martin Popoff got all this information, but he sure did an excellent job. He does list a bibliography & some Southern Rock Artists that he interviewed, such as Donnie & Johnny Van Zant, the late Jakson Spires (of Blackfoot) and others.

The book contains two appendixes as follows:

Appendix I - "Southern-ish" - This is a list of bands that did not meet his criteria for being classified as Southern Rock Bands, however, they are very, very similar in the style of music that they play. Some of these bands include: Alabama, Gram Parsons, Creedence Clearwater Revival,

New Riders of the Purple Sage, Little Feat, and many, many others.

Appendix II - This is a list of the authors top 122 Southern Rock Albums. He rated them on a scale of 1 - 10, and he has a list of 17 10's, 24 9's, and 81 8's. Also, throughout the book he rates the southern rock albums on a scale from 1 - 10.

The book contains an index of the many, many Southern Rock album cover photos in the book. Plus, there's an index in alphabetical order by band name.

This is an excellent reference book on Southern Rock for Southern Rock Fans, and I certainly am one. It's a very handy-dandy (Go Jim Dandy!!!) reference guide. I love Southern Rock, and I love this book, therefore, I highly recommend it. Buy it, see it, you'll love it also. Thanks!!!!