All Music Guide To Rock

by Michael Erlewine (Editor)

Fun-to-read and easy-to-use, this reference, compiled by dozens of noted music critics, lists more than 15,000 recordings by 2,500 rock, pop and soul artists. Performers are profiled, with their top albums listed and rated. Reviews of key recordings discuss the artist's evolutions and significance in the world of rock. Major figures are highlighted with expanded biographies and complete album discographies. 40 charts.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Reference

1 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1997

Reviews

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here's my review:

Sure, it doesn't compare to the website, but when I got this book for Christmas in 1997, we didn't have the internet. So having access to this much information in one book was almost unbelievable.

Here's what I learned from this book:

Considering I started working in B&N's music department about five months before I got this book, this was a seriously dangerous influence for several years until I got to college and had access to AMG's website, which is still my number one reference site. But back to the book... I owe a lot of what I know and love to the reviews and essays in here, because I read so many of these entries so many times. I have so many memories associated with buying CDs in the late '90s, and most of those purchases were a direct result of this book (as well as its country cousin). When I take it off the bookshelf and open it up, it's like I'm 17 again.

[Daniel Hiland · Rating 4 out of 5]

My copy of the All Music Guide to Rock (2nd Edition) has seen better days. I bought it at least five years ago, maybe longer, when it was a great shape. Since then the binding has given out, between pages 450 and 451 (roughly one-third of the way into the book). Transparent tape helped with the next set of pages, but now more tape is needed. And once a couple more sections of the glued binding give out, the book will begin losing pages like leaves in late fall. This means buying another copy- which means getting the third edition.

My present version is 1,188 pages long (1,232, counting the index). It contains a section covering compilations and collections. There’s also a section on genres and their history. The back cover claims the book includes over “1,800 artists and groups,” the qualifying preposition meaning that somewhere along the line, the editors lost track of the actual number of artists and groups. Same goes for the “more than 11,000 recordings reviewed. Then again, it doesn’t matter, for most of the reviews beat anything Rolling Stone has foisted upon us, over the years, with their biased reviewers who- when they have nothing else to shove their oar in about- resort to ad hominem attacks on artists they don’t care for (on a personal basis).

For the most part, AMG reviewers are well-read, generous and fair. In the case of a few groups, though, like ELO, the three reviewers seem to be working in concert to portray the band in the least flattering light. There’s a two-line review for each of the thirteen albums, with the exception four later ones, where there is nothing but a star rating. Lame. But it doesn’t matter, since I already know where I stand with ELO, and care little what anyone says about the band.

What puzzles me is the omissions. One would think that given the exhaustive nature of this tome, bands like the following wouldn’t be forgotten:

Note: I added reason why I think the names were left out of the book.

Laurie Anderson- Too eclectic
Arian Belew- See Laurie Anderson
Belle and Sebastian- Too twee
Karla Bonoff- Too pedestrian
Book of Love- ?
Bourgeois Tagg- ?
Chunky, Novi and Ernie- See Laurie Anderson
Christmas- Too trivial
Comsat Angels- Changed their name from “CS Angels,” hence too hard to find
Crazy 8s- Too local (Portland, Or)
Pablo Cruise- Too cheesy
Dead or Alive- ?
Deerhoof- See Laurie Anderson
Dream Academy- Too dreamy
Dumptruck- Too obscure
John Entwistle- Too creepy
Eye to Eye- Too cool
Falco- Too Teutonic
David Gates- Too sappy
Steve Hackett- ?
Harpers Bizarre- Too sucky
Heatmiser- Too local (see Crazy 8s)
Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks- ?
John Illesley- Too British
Al Kooper- ?
Curtis Lee- ?
Melissa Manchester- Too Adult Contemporary
Michael Murphy- Too Country
New Model Army- Too British
Planet P Project- Too obscure
Johnny Preston- ?
Gary Puckett & the Union Gap- Too white
Gerry Rafferty- ?
Helen Reddy- Too Adult Contemporary
Saga- Too intense
Mathilde Santing- Too European
Tones on Tail- Too obscure
Tom Verlaine- Too much like “Television”
Vogues- Too Sixties
Loudon Wainwright III- Too folky
Matthew Wilder- Too optimistic
Lauren Wood- Too good

I’ll admit that for online users, the aforementioned missing items are not an issue; the AMG site probably has all of these listings, and more. But a lot of us still like our hard copy. All I can hope for is that the 3rd edition decided to let the Missing Ones into the tent.

[Pooria · Rating 3 out of 5]

salam be ksani ke in matleb haro mikhoonan .khosh hal misham ke nazareton ro begin .

[Mikey Sweetz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Come on, it's the All Music Guide.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for reference.

[Pjtibbetts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Music snobbery starts here.