Rock Chronicles: Every Legend, Every Line-Up, Every Look

by David Roberts (Editor)

"The definitive rock encyclopedia for the 21st century. "

Arranged alphabetically by band name for ease of reference, "Rock Chronicles" offers a fascinating, encyclopedic study of the ever-shifting line-ups, appearances, labels, sounds and successes of 250 of the most important rock acts of the past fifty years. It is a must for any music fan.

"Rock Chronicles" is designed for today's visually-savvy generation. Innovative, color-coded infographics give at-a-glance coverage of the last five decades from 1960 to 2010. Insightful commentary highlighted with photographs gives the lowdown on every member--whatever their role in the band, however short-lived their time with them, and however well known.

Coverage is expanded for the 50 biggest acts to include stunning displays of iconic photographs that chart their dramatic changes in appearance. Year-by-year color timelines trace the evolution of these influential bands. Readers may be surprised to learn how fluid membership has been for some acts. Total sales figures are given for the ten most successful albums.

The book closes with a fact-filled, cross-referenced performer directory of all the bands that each performer played in and when.

Comprehensive, information-packed and compelling, "Rock Chronicles" is the essential reference for everyone who loves rock music.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, History, Pop Culture, Reference

576 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2012

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[David]

Well, for a start, obviously, not every! But a very wide sample. Having been into radio and rock music nearly 50 years, I am surprised by how many bands were profiled that I had never heard of, and by how many groups I considered major received only a one-page entry, while sundry over-inflated flashes-in-the-pan got a full two pages, some even with two pages more of pictures. All of this is, of course, a matter of taste. As with any attempt to be encyclopedic, the book is outdated before one can read it, several musicians mentioned in it being alive when I started it but died before I finished. This, too, is a hazard any reference book assumes, all the more so for an encyclopedia of rock, as so many of the first rock&rollers are now in their 70s. So, a fun book to read, with some new information and lots of images I hadn’t seen before. Material on the beginnings of most bands is, of necessity, more thorough than treatment of most later careers, especially for those groups who are, at least nominally, still active.

[David Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rock Chronicles: Every Legend, Every Line-Up, Every Look by David Roberts (Firefly Books 2012) (781.6609) is not quite what it says it is. Not by a long shot. It claims to be an "encyclopedic study of 250 of the best-known and most important rock acts of the past fifty years." But you won't believe who was left out and who was included. Granted, this volume is highly entertaining, but it should be renamed "David Roberts' Favorite Bands As Well As Some Pretentious Choices." For pete's sake, the author has included among his 250 "best-known and most important rock acts" these gems: Hawkwind, Guitar Wolf, Lacuna Coil, and Sepultra. Why not "Flop Sweat" and "Sputum?" I realize these choices are highly personal, but I seriously beg to differ with a great number of the author's inclusions. My rating: 7/10, finished 4/23/13.

[John MacDonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my ‘ coffee table’ favourites which sustained me approximately from when the world changed until yesterday
This ‘doorstopper’ is a comprehensive history of Rock with each page/double page devoted to an innovative Band from every conceivable genre in alphabetical order written by experts on this particular subject- including one or two familiar names from my Sounds / NME reading days
There are also some fantastic accompanying photos of some of the more prolific artists
Sure, not too many of my favourites made the cut but if you love Rock And Roll this is a fabulous way to spend 5-10 mins of your time reading about some legendary or obscure Band & then in some cases going and giving them a listen
Bought for pennies at a well known book discount store l would highly recommend this to anyone who loves all forms of Rock music ✅

[Sofia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Questa concisa ma efficace enciclopedia è ottima se volete assicurarvi di conoscere le basi del rock. All'interno vengono presentati i gruppi essenziali del genere (anche se ammetto che un paio di scelte mi hanno lasciato perplessa) in tutte le sue sfumature, dal blues al metal, e vengono esposti storia e stile di ciascuno di loro con uno stile abbastanza scorrevole. Inoltre in alcuni casi si trovano delle bellissime foto. Credo però che la traduzione in alcuni passaggi sia piuttosto zoppicante. Comunque consigliato agli amanti del genere.

[Gil Qaneida · Rating 1 out of 5]

Every legend? Where's Linda Ronstadt? What is the requirement to impress the hipsters editors of this completely misleading post-modern revisionist narrative of rock history? Heroin addiction? It's definitely not musical talent. Bohemian propagandists like David Roberts who've long championed punk mediocrity as "great art" are one of the major reasons rock is dead.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...

[Mark Meiss · Rating 2 out of 5]

Absurdly UK-centric and whitewashed and did I mention whitewashed?

[Marca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vahepeal kipun ma ikka emotsiooni ajel asju ostma. Niimoodi sai soetatud ka äsjailmunud "Rokikroonikad" - üks igavene tellis, kus sees väidetavalt 250 maailma mõjukaimat rokiartisti. Poes vaatasin, et Hole on sees ja ostsin ära. Eile sai see siis läbi loetud, ausalt öeldes mõned leheküljed ikka diagonaalis ka, sest raske on keskenduda ansamblitele, millest sa eriti midagi kuulnud ei ole. Et siis 250 mõjukaimat. No siin annaks kindlasti vaielda. Miks näiteks The B-52's (lood Love Shack ja Meet the Flintstones) ja Men at Work (Down Under), mis minu silmis on pigem mingid ühe loo imed, aga mitte Marilyn Manson, Depeche Mode, Misfits või mõni teine minu meelest palju suurem nimi. Raamatus olid ka mitmed mitteingliskeelsed bändid ja ka nende valik oli imelik - näiteks Vene rokist oli kirjas Bi-2, mis on küll väga hea bänd minugi meelest, aga ilmselt vähem mõjukam kui kasvõi Kino. Valik on muidugi subjektiivne, sest näiteks grunge läks Eestis mu meelest niimoodi mööda, et peale Nirvana muud bändid eriti kõlapinda ei leidnud, sel ajal möllas siinpool eurodisko. "Tänu" sellele olen ma just kõige rohkem tollase grunge ja riot grrl-i vastu huvi tundnud, aga ilma spetsiaalse huvita ilmselt neid bände ei teaks. Ütleme siis nii, et see on subjektiivne kriitika. Samas miks on kirjas The Prodigy, kes ei kasuta isegi elektrikitarri, mis raamatu sissejuhatuse alusel oli üheks põhiliseks argumendiks rockartistiks määramisel või Elton John, kes on siiski pigem popartist. Kummalisi žanrimääratlusi on veelgi - kui Stereophonics on hard rock ja the Smashing Pumpkins metal...No ei ole ju?
Veel hakkas silma üpris palju trükivigu. Mis bänd on Distiller? Marilin Manson? Kuidas said Sonic Youthi Thurston Moore'i eesnimi ja perekonnanimi omavahel lapse saada? Ja need lohisevad laused, mida mõnikord pidi kolm korda lugema, enne kui aru said, et mõtet ei olegi võimalik leida. Tekstist kumas läbi ingliskeelne variant, ehk siis lauseehitust ei oldud eriti muudetud, mis minu jaoks lugemise keeruliseks muutis. Lisaks igasugu toortõlked nagu "hingamise terapeut". Infot on raamatus muidugi palju. Raamatu põhiliseks eristusjooneks on ajatelgede kasutamine bändide isikkoosseisu muutuste ja albumite väljaandmise tähistamiseks. Samuti on ära toodud enimmüünud albumid. Minu arvates oleks võinud olla lisatud ka enimmüünud singlid või siis tuntumad lood, sest nii mõnegi esitaja puhul kulunuks mäluvärskendus ära. Küsitav on mu meelest siiski ajatelgedel märgitud tegutsemisaeg. Minu hinnangul oleks selle võinud piiritleda viimase väljaantud albumiga, sest näiteks Sex Pistolsi puhul on siiski imelik märkida, et nad tegutsevad tänapäevani. Nostalgiakontserte võidakse ju anda, aga kas saab ikkagi öelda, et tegutsetakse sama aktiivselt kui enne aastat 1979? Ilmselt seab tõlkevariant mingid piirid, aga väga huvitav oleks olnud lugeda, kuidas on nimetatud artistid Eestiga suhestunud. Mõne puhul oli see siiski ka välja toodud.

Muusikaga on muidugi nagu raamatute või reisimisega - sa ei jõua ilmaski tutvuda kõigega, mis on huvitav. Kui muusikat ehk veel suudad läbi kuulata, siis artistide taustaga jääb sageli ajapuudusel tutvumata - ses osas on sellised üldised entsüklopeediad kindlasti abiks. Paradoks on see, et neid bände, mida sina armastad, on neis alati liiga vähe ja see jutt, mis lemmikbändide kohta kirjas, liiga lühike ja väheütlev.

[Martyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a pretty lightweight affair and has enough inaccuracies about the bands I love that I had doubts about the information regarding the bands I was only half interested in. In the end it was a disappointment.

It claims on the cover to list "every legend" - it doesn't and really it can't; that was a stupid marketing claim that backfired very quickly when you realize that the acts listed are really just the editor's faves. After all there are only 250 acts in here and there is no room for anything other than brief, poorly written pen pictures and the most derivative of background information. Plus I doubt very much whether 'legend' is very accurate when applied to some of these performers.

The writing is schizophrenic in places, the information for each act given not in a linear format but constantly jumping back and forth in time, so that the read is confusing at best. I should have picked up on it much earlier in the book but each article is written by one of 22 contributors who seem poorly matched to their subjects in most of the articles. The author of The Smiths segment for instance is famous for writing books about Sepultura, Machine Head and Cliff Burton (of Metallica fame) - hardly the best person to be giving opinions about The Smiths.

Great for a trawl through memory lane but nowhere near to being a serious music encyclopedia.

EDIT: Why is the Les Paul on the front cover facing backwards? It's been bugging me. It could be a right hander strung for a leftie I suppose.

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

The aging rock nerd in me liked this. It's basically a collection of one or two page band histories with a graphic that shows changes in the band line-ups over time and where the records fall on that time line. It has pictures of all the players in each band, and the big acts get an extra page or two of pictures over time. The histories are mostly about the personnel changes and the biggest musical moments. I would have liked a little more information or critical consensus about more of the music, which also would have made the essays a little less same-ish. You could only read so many before it got awfully repetitive. The best thing about the book is the coverage that it gives to all of the musicians who weren't singers or guitar gods, but were still integral to the success of their respective acts.

It's a big book as it is, and to its credit, does include a lot of world rock acts that aren't household names in America. That said, the coverage is awfully spotty. Hard rock, metal, progressive, and new wave are pretty well represented. Americana, indie, and in particular, anything from R & B, funk, and soul are not. Softer rock acts or pop rock often get left out as well. Yes, you can argue that those are different genres, but most record stores don't break them out. The Rock Hall of Fame includes those acts. So I'm not sure what criteria decided to leave them out here.

[PennsyLady (Bev) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent resource!

There is a guide (a chart) showing how to use Rock Chronicles
Each band detailed includes bio, history, photos and the guide items listed below.

It contains such items as color coded music style, years active, Grammy winning designation, founding member (s), band members currently active,
band member names and their birth (and death ) dates, color coding of instruments, colors denote instruments members played, name of band member and years active in the group..... there's more........................shall I go on?
grammy winning album or rock album of the year, global sales of top selling albums, color bar denoting instruments played, alphabetic index,
bold type for the first member of each band, contributor's initials, record label, name of studio album.

The book concludes with the following sections:
Grammy award winners, rock and roll inductees, contributors, bibliography, websites, label abbreviations , picture credits, acknowledgements and performer directory

You need to see this book to believe the amount of effort put into its construction!

I've ordered my copy.

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[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not necessarily a title that you have to read cover to cover, but it provides some interesting facts and infographics on 250 different rock acts, most of whom you've probably heard of, but the book throws in some interesting international acts as well.

Colorful band timelines depicting the different members and when they left/entered the band, plus a bunch of two-page photo spreads of different groups, makes this a good title to peruse if you're looking for quick reference information on a favorite group.

[christinemm · Rating 5 out of 5]

600 pages of a rock music and Cyclopedia, either one or two pages per band. The most popular bands also have a two page spread after of only photographs. Tell us about what the bands were known for, who is in the band with a timeline, and what happened to the band for them to stop playing. High-quality thick paper and full color throughout.