The Rolling Stone Album Guide: Completely New Reviews: Every Essential Album, Every Essential Artist
The Rolling Stone Album Guide: Completely New Reviews: Every Essential Album, Every Essential Artist
A completely revised edition of the bestselling guide to popular recordings–featuring 2,500 entries and more than 12,500 album reviews. The definitive guide for the `90s.
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Schools That Rock: The Rolling Stone College Guide
From Rolling Stone comes the definitive guide to college that tells the iPod generation where to go if they want to learn about music — or just listen to it As 85 million, music-worshipping “echo boomers” head for college over the next decade, nothing will be more essential than Schools That Rock: The Rolling Stone College Guide. Here, college-bound kids will find information on which towns and campuses offer top-notch venues, record stores, radio stations, and music festivals. In addition, entries will refer readers to schools that offer courses or degrees in music and the music business. They will learn about Syracuse University’s new class on the lyrics of Lil’ Kim, Middle Tennessee State University’s recording business depar
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1/2… A Standard in the Genre – A Personal Fave,
I first purchased “The Rolling Stone Album Guide” back in ’94 together with the “All Music Guide” edition of that year. I was a music-crazed, scatterbrained, hormonally-inflamed teen back then going through the turbulence of adolescence. I wasn’t a reader then, but going through the pages of this book, browsing the snippets of reviews here and there, I was impressed and enthralled with the smart and memorable lines the talented reviewers would use to describe and stamp their collective marks on the artists and their recordings. Before the age of bilious Political-Correctness and mediocre music, this edition of Rolling Stone’s ongoing music guide was a representative of it’s time: an era of taste and quality matched with integrity and vision.
Here one can find some of the most apt and most sound criticism ever penned or typed for the printed page. And a collection of artists chosen for their merit, not popularity. Thus one will find praise for artists as diverse as Elvis, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, etc.. Rolling Stone started as a rag to chronicle and feature the Rock scene, hence the preponderance of Rock musicians in the book, but artists who influenced the course of Rock music and were influenced by it are well represented too: Robert Johnson, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Muddy Waters, etc., are given their equal tribute. Other genres are economically touched on, and Rap, Folk, Country, and others are given just due. The writings are some of the very best, balancing seamless lines between worship, accuracy, humor, scathing word-bites, pathos, and knowledge.
As admirable as this edition gets, there are some slips and tangles that come along, just like almost anything else. Some of the reviews are hilarious, perhaps inappropriately so (read the one on Gino Vannelli and laugh). Others are ridiculous, revealing the critics’ prejudices and limitations (2 stars for Black Sabbath’s “Vol.4″?. And the same for Slayer’s “Reign in Blood”?.). And as one critic who I read from the net pointedly stated, somewhere along these lines, “Did they really listen to all of those recordings? What’s with all of those old bluesmen all getting 5 stars?”.
After the passage of more than a decade, I still go back to this model of music criticism. I still appreciate the brevity and wit with which Messrs. Mark Coleman, J.D. Considine, Paul Evans, and David McGee shared their talents and efforts for future music fans to revel and cherish only the best in Popular Music.
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|best one out there,
Excellent and good fun. The New York Dolls review sums up the tone of this guide nicely. Definitely not for the Top 40 crowd though. If you’re one of them, stay away as you’ll probably get somewhat insulted.
A drawback is that out of print albums were omitted, which makes the guide incomplete as soon as these albums are reissued. And of course the guide is outdated. Any guide is the moment is goes off to the presses.
That said, we want an update now.
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|Out Of Touch !,
This is the 1992 edition of the rolling stone album guide . When it comes to reviewing the well known albums from the Fifties and Sixties , the so called reviewers seem to be on auto-pilot , churning out the same old rhetoric that we`ve heard a thousand times before , without adding anything new or interesting that could stimulate the discerning reader`s mind . Lazy journalism at it`s worst !
It is with the reviews of albums by key Eighties bands that this book becomes something of a joke , the reviewers are so out of touch they must have been living on Mars . Well established classic albums are consistantly given two or three stars , and the information given is embarrassingly sketchy and way off the mark ( Mark Coleman`s review of The Smiths , and J. D. Considine’s review of The Pogues , is some of the worst music critique that I have ever read , they must have listened to these albums once , and that`s being kind ) .
Compared to the Rough Guide To Roc!k , The Trouser Press Guide , or All Music Guide , this Rolling Stone Guide is lazy waffle !
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|jenny rocks!,
This book is a definite must have for students planning on a career in the music field. The information is well researched and written in a clever yet concise manner. I would certainly highly recommend this book for teenagers, their parents and school counselors.
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|Great Guide for Music Lovers,
This is a wonderful guide for students interested in any aspect of music or the music industry. It contains information that would require searching many resources in a concise easy to read format.
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|Awesome Book,
This book is great for anyone involved in music. Every college listed contains information on places to play your music nearby. Some colleges could use a bit more information, but overall I really enjoy using this as a resource for getting my music heard.
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