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All Music Guide To The Blues
For blues aficionados everywhere, this is a complete guide to the uniquely American world of the blues.
The roots of the blues can be found in the turn-of-the-century Mississippi Delta, but today its reach extends into all kinds of music including rock, jazz, country, soul, and more. The blues is everywhere, on CD reissues and box sets, in small clubs and concerts, in movies and on TV - indeed, the influence of the blues extends throughout popular culture.
However, anyone who wants to really explore the blues can face a daunting task when visiting a music store these days. Most well-stocked shops have a decent selection of blues recordings. But there are dozens of Lightnin' Hopkins CDs available; which are the good ones? Which one do you buy first? This book will steer you straight to the best releases for every artist and compilation listed. You'll also see the occasional "buyer beware alert, " so that you don't get stuck with an inferior CD or tape. Designed for devoted blues lovers and newcomers alike, this book explores the blues from the Mississippi Delta to modern electric blues and everything in between.
Special features include biographies of more than 560 blues artists and groups; reviews and ratings of the best recordings of each performer - more than 2,600 in all; historical essays and "music maps" charting the roots and evolution of the blues, its styles, instruments, key artists, and more; special section on exploring the blues influence in jazz; and blues resources, including book reviews, magazine listings, record companies, and mail-order sources.
The roots of the blues can be found in the turn-of-the-century Mississippi Delta, but today its reach extends into all kinds of music including rock, jazz, country, soul, and more. The blues is everywhere, on CD reissues and box sets, in small clubs and concerts, in movies and on TV - indeed, the influence of the blues extends throughout popular culture.
However, anyone who wants to really explore the blues can face a daunting task when visiting a music store these days. Most well-stocked shops have a decent selection of blues recordings. But there are dozens of Lightnin' Hopkins CDs available; which are the good ones? Which one do you buy first? This book will steer you straight to the best releases for every artist and compilation listed. You'll also see the occasional "buyer beware alert, " so that you don't get stuck with an inferior CD or tape. Designed for devoted blues lovers and newcomers alike, this book explores the blues from the Mississippi Delta to modern electric blues and everything in between.
Special features include biographies of more than 560 blues artists and groups; reviews and ratings of the best recordings of each performer - more than 2,600 in all; historical essays and "music maps" charting the roots and evolution of the blues, its styles, instruments, key artists, and more; special section on exploring the blues influence in jazz; and blues resources, including book reviews, magazine listings, record companies, and mail-order sources.
- GenresMusicReferenceNonfiction
1 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
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About the author
Hal Leonard Corporation
9,326 books133 followersHal Leonard is an American music print publisher. Musical scores published by Hal Leonard are frequently not credited to an individual author or editor.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 14, 2019
I enjoy listening to music. Along with reading, listening to music is one of my favorite hobbies. Finding new music that I like is becoming difficult, but I can always return to the old classics. That is where this book on The Blues comes in.
This guide to the Blues claims to be comprehensive and exhaustive; I would have to agree with this sentiment. While this is the third edition, it was printed in 2003. It lists thousands of albums and rates all of them on a scale of one to five. Sometimes it singles out an album that demonstrates the group or performer. We can take Muddy Waters as an example. The book lists him alphabetically by his last name. It is replete with information that starts with his given name, his date of birth, his date of death, his full biography, and a comprehensive list of all the albums made with his music in it.
While I do like some aspects of this book, it is not perfect. The print is in a lilliputian font size. I am not an elite member of the Blue Crew, so I don’t really know if people hate The Blues Brothers Movie. I detest the sequel, but I thought the first one was pretty good and it didn’t talk about it in the book. Another thing is that the book is so long that it is more of a reference text than a book that you read through from cover to cover. The final issue I have with the book is that it is printed material. It is probably out of date by now.
This guide to the Blues claims to be comprehensive and exhaustive; I would have to agree with this sentiment. While this is the third edition, it was printed in 2003. It lists thousands of albums and rates all of them on a scale of one to five. Sometimes it singles out an album that demonstrates the group or performer. We can take Muddy Waters as an example. The book lists him alphabetically by his last name. It is replete with information that starts with his given name, his date of birth, his date of death, his full biography, and a comprehensive list of all the albums made with his music in it.
While I do like some aspects of this book, it is not perfect. The print is in a lilliputian font size. I am not an elite member of the Blue Crew, so I don’t really know if people hate The Blues Brothers Movie. I detest the sequel, but I thought the first one was pretty good and it didn’t talk about it in the book. Another thing is that the book is so long that it is more of a reference text than a book that you read through from cover to cover. The final issue I have with the book is that it is printed material. It is probably out of date by now.
February 20, 2017
Essential reference
June 30, 2010
Had to post this as a one-two punch with the Penguin blues guide...
This second printing of the All Music Guide to the Blues (early 2000s) might be the last physical edition we'll ever see. All-Music's dominance as a Web music site and the drift toward getting information there might mean no more printings of this baby. That's a shame. I've sure gotten plenty of dog-eared use out of my book.
Anyway, the All Music folks are generally very good, their reviews usually fair and well-informed. I prefer this to the Penguin guide, though blues fanatics should have both. The All-Music entries are generally longer, more detailed, better informed. A number of artists with only slight connections to the blues are thrown in, but no harm done.
This second printing of the All Music Guide to the Blues (early 2000s) might be the last physical edition we'll ever see. All-Music's dominance as a Web music site and the drift toward getting information there might mean no more printings of this baby. That's a shame. I've sure gotten plenty of dog-eared use out of my book.
Anyway, the All Music folks are generally very good, their reviews usually fair and well-informed. I prefer this to the Penguin guide, though blues fanatics should have both. The All-Music entries are generally longer, more detailed, better informed. A number of artists with only slight connections to the blues are thrown in, but no harm done.
February 17, 2016
Updated - very good comprehensive reference
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews