All Music Guide to the Blues: The Experts' Guide to the Best Blues Recordings (2nd Ed) (Paperback)

by Michael Erlewine (Editor), Chris Woodstra (Editor), Cub Koda (Editor), Stephen Thomas Erlewine (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
The New Blackwell Guide to Recorded Blues. Blackwell. Dec. 1996. c.448p. permanent paper. ed. by John Cowley & Paul Oliver. index. LC 96-12140. ISBN 0-631-20163-7. $49.95; pap. ISBN 0-631-19639-0. $19.95. Blackwell has distinguished itself as a publisher of music guides, and its latest offering upholds the high standards set by previous ones, including the blues guide (The Blackwell Guide to Blues Records, LJ 12/89) updated here. As is generally true of Blackwell guides, the coverage is selective rather than exhaustive; in this case, the book consists of 11 discographical essays, each covering a period in blues history and recommending around 50 recordings as either "essential" or "basic" to a blues library. The essays are consistently well written and extremely informative. More that simply guiding the reader to good blues recordings, they also provide a remarkably thorough overview of the history and development of specific artists and styles. Each citation includes a catalog number and complete track list. A number of the recordings cited are UK-only releases, which limits somewhat the guide's usefulness to American readers. Still, this guide should find a place in most academic music collections. (Index not seen.) Where the Blackwell guide offers impressive depth, the All Music guide offers impressive breadth. Those familiar with the "All Music Guide" series know exactly what to expect here: a huge number of brief reviews and artist biographies covering almost every blues artist one can think of, as well as several useful appendixes on instrumental and regional styles and numerous charts illustrating webs of influence among artists and the connections among blues subgenres. As is also generally the case with All Music guides, the rating system is so ambiguous as to be almost meaningless, and the writing is uneven in quality. Not all research collections will need it, but this guide can be confidently recommended as a resource for the nonspecialist reader.?Rick Anderson, Penacook, N.H.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist
[PREVIOUSLY REVIEWED D 15 94, under All Music Guide to Jazz.] --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 658 pages
• Publisher: Backbeat Books; 2nd edition (1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879305487
• ISBN-13: 978-0879305482
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.4 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #691,352 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Most Complete and Extensive Book on the Blues, February 1, 2000

By	Brandon Paul (Salt Lake City, UT) - See all my reviews

I love this book. It has rested by my bedside for several months now and I am constantly picking it up. The great thing about this book is that it has opened so many doors to new great blues artists I'd never heard of before, and really serves as a chain in which I discover a blues artist I like, which leads to another, and another. Simply put, you can't go wrong with this book because by the time you waste your money on two CDs you dislike because of poor sound quality or because it's one of the artist's lesser works, you caould have bought this book. If you're at all interested, buy it.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars By Far The Best Blues Reference Guide Available, May 16, 1999

By	political idiot (california) - See all my reviews

I've read them all and this is the very best of all the blues guides available. While some of the reviews are inconsistant as are the recommended CDs, reviews and recommendations by Bill Dahl and Cub Coda, which account for most of them, are 100% on the mark every time. It is an excellent way start a killer blues library and avoid the less than desirable CDs and save yourself some money. This is the one to buy.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great place to jump off from, May 12, 2000

By	"12g" (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews

First thing is, this guide is well worth the price to keep you from buying those "sucker albums" that a label will put out every once in a while just to wrestle away some of your cash. As a general notion, they do a good job (judging from the artists I know) of giving relative ratings and choosing the best recordings from each artist.

Second, the system they have suggests good recordings for someone buying their first album from a band or artist. This is a great idea. It makes me wonder how many artists I might have really enjoyed had I heard their best stuff first instead of getting slapped with their only stinker tracks right up front. Or visa versa.

Third, the previous review (from Hawaii) had it dead on. The ratings ARE a little high for average artists. But as long as you're not trying to compare artists with each other and instead looking for the best stuff from a particular bluesman or woman, you can't go very wrong with this guide.

Last, they are a little lacking in the REAL Delta Blues that's still coming out on the Fat Possum label. Yeah, they've got Burnside and Kimbrough, but there are a lot of other guys worth some ink who aren't mentioned. These guys don't have much time left on the ground, so it seems more urgent they get heard.

Anyway, if you're looking for a Blues Guide, this is the one. Buy it, you'll like it.