Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1922855 in Books
• Published on: 2009-04-14
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 1 pages

From Amazon.com
It took Strong 10 years to compile this discography, and the rock music world is in his debt. More accurate and comprehensive than other books attempting to accomplish the same ends, more readable and better organized, The Great Rock Discography title may toot its own horn, while Strong calls his opus "the ultimate rock book of all time," but it's entirely merited.

It starts at A with ABBA and spends over a page on them (and these are rather large pages, with very small print), describing the history of the band and their albums, then compulsively listing their every recorded musical output from October '73 until October '96, including a jungle of code notations (you can refer back to the formats-and-abbreviations page whenever needed) with catalog number and recording label, whether the A- or B-sides differ in their U.K. and U.S. versions, which are essential to your collection, and whether the vinyl was a long player, a double-long player, a colored long player, or a mini-long player. Covering Adam & the Ants, Bootsy's Rubber Band, Tom Petty, Linda Rondstadt, and Muddy Waters on up through the Zombies and ZZ Top, Strong lists every track by more than 1,000 groups. --Stephanie Gold

From Library Journal
Amply covering both the British and American rock scenes, Strong's fifth updating of his very successful reference work will find a warm reception. Although its wealth of data is presented in eyestrain-inducing small print, this book is still fun and worthwhile to read. Record collectors will especially delight in the myriad facts that Strong, an English rock writer, has unearthed. You may think, for instance, that you know everything about Aerosmith until you read the entry. The work's major feature and the main reason to buy it lies in its extensive chronological discographical listings in each entry. These can get complicated, what with the international coverage and various formats and other permutations that Strong does not shy away from covering. It's essential to read the short "How To Read the Book" section that follows the introduction. As in the past, a straight A-Z format serves as the massive tome's layout, with Strong having tucked in 250 new entries since the 1998 edition. Any library fielding rock music questions, particularly of the discographical bent, will find this a useful title to have on the shelf. David M. Turkalo, Suffolk Univ. Law Sch. Lib., Boston
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
The second edition of this discography (which for most American libraries will be the first, since the 1994 edition wasn't distributed in the U.S.) covers more than 1,000 performers. Because of the detail in the discographies, it is by its nature a very selective list, but rock, reggae, rap, blues, jazz, and pop performers all find space. The volume is arranged by name, which appears in a black box. If the name in the box is in white type, the performer is considered to be a rock artist. Gray type indicates a pop artist; these tend not to be viewed in as glowing a light in the narrative. The pop demarcation also seems somewhat arbitrary--Elton John is pop and the Moody Blues are rock. Hank Williams is categorized as rock as well. Gray boxes show name changes, solo efforts, etc.

Each entry opens with a narrative about the group and its history; however, history is also imbedded in the chronologically arranged discography. Sammy Haggars' joining Van Halen doesn't appear until the second column of the discography. For most users, this information would be better separated into narrative and discography. The chronological discographies include both LPs/CDs and singles and note the formats available at release. For albums, the track listings are given. They are in order according to the British release and occasionally, as with Queen's Greatest Hits II (U.K.) and Classic Queen (U.S.), there seem to be unacknowledged differences in the tracks released. Indicators are given for U.S. and British charting. Some entries also have lists for special releases and compilations. The discographies are current through 1994. See references are provided for names used in the gray-box subheadings. The text is dotted with pen-and-ink caricatures.

With its wide array of performers--Miles Davis; Muddy Waters; Whitesnake; Sugarcubes; Wet, Wet, Wet; Sly & Robby; k.d. lang; Don McLean--and the track listings, this is an interesting tool. At this low price it should be considered by music libraries and those with strong popular-music collections.