Includes essays tracing Country's growth from hand-me-down folk to a major American industry; concise biographies; critical album reviews, from the earliest commercial recordings of the 1920s through the mulitplatinum artists of today; and vintage album jackets and previously unpublished photographs.
The Rough Guide to Jimi Hendrix is a thorough reference book to the life and music of the greatest rock guitarist of all time. It covers all the key events in his metamorphosis from a misfit youngster growing up in poverty in Seattle to his rise to international stardom, from his days as a starving backup musician in the early 1960s to his triumphant appearances at the Monterey Pop and Woodstock rock festivals and his mysterious, sordid death in 1970. Special chapters are devoted to vivid description and critical evaluation of all his important studio and live albums and best thirty songs, as well as all major live and documentary Hendrix videos; his myriad musical influences from blues, soul, rock, and jazz; Hendrix-related sites and shrines; and his spectacular arsenal of guitar techniques and effects. Also including special features on overlooked aspects of his art ranging from his love of Bob Dylan's music to his relationship with the Black Power movement, The Rough Guide to Jimi Hendrix in a new ePub format documents all dimensions of this one-of-a-kind musical genius.
A selection of rock albums from the 50's to the 90's "that packs the whole story of rock" from "zillion-sellers to the wilfully obscure". Reviews the artist, the album, and sone of the individual songs.
The Rough Guide to Pink Floyd is the ultimate companion to the band that changed the sound and scale of pop music forever. Features include: The Story: from the Syd Barrett era, the Dark Side Of The Moon phenomenon to their transformation into one of the world's biggest bands, The Music: 50 essential Floyd songs and the stories behind them, plus all the albums and recording sessions, side-projects and solo careers, Floyd On Film: the movies and film soundtracks fromThe Wall and More to Zabriskie Point and Pink Floyd at Pompeii, Floydology file: the cover versions, rarities, DVDs, books and websites. From the psychedelic "happenings" of 60s London to the arena gigs, world tours and Live 8 reunion - it's all here.
The Rough Guide to Nirvana uncovers the magic and tragedy of this iconic 90's grunge band - from small-town gigs to the last days of Kurt Cobain, delve into the story of the life and afterlife of this extraordinary, all too short-lived group. This essential guide for Nirvana fans is written by Gillian G. Gaar, a Seattle music journalist who has personally interviewed many of those involved in the story. No other book explores and documents Nirvana's history, critiques every Nirvana album, single, EP and compilation, including the rare, stray Nirvana tracks and solo projects, and summaries the array of other Nirvana books and Nirvana films, in one volume. From Nirvana's early days on the burgeoning Seattle music scene, the birth of grunge, their global success from Smells Like Teen Spirit and Nevermind to In Utero and the untimely death of lead singer Kurt Cobain, The Rough Guide to Nirvana delivers a wealth of musical insight as the definitive guide to Nirvana.
A comprehensive guide to heavy metal music that profiles three hundred bands and artists, describes all the sub-genres, highlights memorable performances, and offers a detailed discography.
The Rough Guide to World Musicwas published for the first time in 1994 and became the definitive reference. Six years on, the subject has become too big for one book- hence this new two-volume edition. World Music 2- Latin and North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacifichas full coverage of everything from salsa and merengue to qawwali and gamelan, and biographies of artists from Juan Luis Guerra to The Klezmatics to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Features include more than 80 articles from expert contributors, focusing on the popular and roots music to be seen and heard, both live and on disc, and extensive discographies for each country, with biography-notes on nearly 2000 musicians and reviews of their best available CDs. It includes photos and album cover illustrations which have been gathered from contemporary and archive sources, many of them unique to this book, and directories of World Music labels, specialist stores around the world and on the internet.
This fun-to-read, easy-to-use reference has been completely updated, expanded, and revised with reviews of over 12,000 great albums by over 2,000 artists and groups in all rock genres. 50 charts.