Musichound Lounge: The Essential Album Guide to Martini Music and Easy Listening with CD (Paperback)

Product Details

• Paperback: 600 pages
• Publisher: Schirmer Books
• ISBN-10: 1578590485
• ISBN-13: 978-1578590483
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.5 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,443,023 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars An Uninteresting Reference Source, February 22, 1999

By A Customer

While many like myself will have a definite need for a book of this genre, I found it most dissapointing. It is badly researched and wildly inaccurate, and therefore self-defeating. There is more Fantasy than fact which is not a good thing for a reference source.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars OK treatment of CD-based lounge music, March 1, 2000

By	Dr. Erik Hoel (Southern California) - See all my reviews

Although the artist bios were generally good and informative (though frequently brief), I was disappointed that the only material covered in the album reviews ("what to buy", "best of the rest", etc.) was that which can be found on CD. Many serious lounge fanatics find most of their material on vinyl. For this omission, I was quite disappointed. Other things that stood out were the very questionable inclusion of artists such as the Carpenters, ABBA, John Denver, and Kathie Lee Gifford (the Hee Haw Honey - snicker). This struck me as filler material necessary to make the book a hefty 1+" thick. I would have much prefered additional effort be given to such epic artists as Yma Sumac (a single short paragraph ... <sigh>) or David Carroll (not even mentioned!).

However, in sum, I do not regret that I own the book. It is a reasonable book for $25. Just be aware that it encompasses much more than lounge music. It is also heavily biased toward recent musicians (e.g., Bjork! ) rather than the classic artists from the 50s and 60s.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars To quote the book's author, "Stay away", July 17, 1998

By	A. W. Graham III "Old Timer" (Brownsburg, IN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This self-described "Essential Guide" was apparently thrown together after one too many of the martinis which it celebrates. It is filled with inaccuracies and unsupportable opinions. The grating attempts at cynical humor makes the reader wonder if the authors bothered to listen to artist's albums. One example of their work should make the point; the Four Freshmen entry.

"Formed 1947, in Chicago, IL."...not quite. Ross Barbour's own book on the Freshmen, "Now You Know", details their genesis at Butler University in Indianapolis in 1948. If Knopper can demonstrate otherwise, he'd best notify the very active Four Freshmen Society (check their website) quickly because some 700 members plan to descend on Las Vegas in September 1998 to help the all the living members of the quartet celebrate 50 years of continuous performances.

"From the start, the Four Freshmen proudly positioned themselves a step or two behind everyone else...Th! ! e big hits came...Respect was more elusive." Oh, really! This must be a shock to the tens of thousands of voters who consistently chose the Freshmen as the #1 Vocal Group in the Playboy JAZZ polls throughout the late '50s and early '60s. Since most musicians continue to laud the unique Freshmen sound as a creative addition to the jazz genre, one wonders why they've even been "honored" by inclusion in an Easy Listening compendium.

"The Freshmen are still around today, sort of... (bouncing) from Ramada Inn to Red Lion with none of the original members on stage. In other words, stay away." Clearly, the authors might hold a different opinion if they would cancel their Ramada reservations and head for one of the many university music halls where the current group continues to expand their book to '90s standards with the Freshmen touch sprinkled with the favorites which started it all. Ranging in age from their mid-40s to early 20's, today's Freshmen ! ! are no nostalgia act as demonstrated by the standing O's at! a recent appearance with the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra. Check out their latest CD when Amazon.com adds it to their catalog in 3Q98.

The reader may then decide to "stay away" from this outrageous Essential Guide and head for the nearest live Freshman performance instead.