The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings
by Tony Russell, Chris Smith
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Book Summary Information
Author: Chris Smith, Tony RussellContributor: Neil Slaven
Contributor: Ricky Russell
Contributor: Joe Faulkner
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-10-31
ISBN: 0140513841
Number of pages: 1008
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Book Reviews of The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings
Book Review: THE BEST OF ALL BLUES GUIDES-IGNORE THE PREVIOUS IGNORANCE
Summary: 5 Stars
I've seriously had enough of American ignorance and outright resentment about the contents of this, the best of all guides to blues recordings. One chap points out that the authors complain that Lurrie Bell's output is poor, but his best work was simply not made until after the book was written. You didn't realize that? Another complains that the book is "snobbish", a very shakey value judgment indeed, which tells me way more about him than the authors; yet another tells us that the authors don't like anything they review; apart from being arrrant nonsense, it simply isnt true. Not everything recorded in the name of Blues is great. Clearly, the reviewer skimmed the book while multi tasking, or his ignorance would not be quite so flamboyantly displayed. Some Blues records are well below par. That's the POINT of a critical review. A third tells us that North Americans will need an arcane dictionary to comprehend what is being said. Whatever happened to education? That's YOUR responsibily, not the authors. I feel now, as I always have done, that this book represents the best critical review you can invest in. It is well informed, trustworthy, honest and backed by over 40 years of experience by people who know what they are doing and saying. I've been listening since 1963 myself, so I too know what I'm talking about
And, to answer the chap who asked "what do these British chaps know about the Blues anyway", I am, first and formost astonished by his ignorance. The UK has produced the bulk of the best blues writing, all the serious discographical reference works, a slew of important and vaulueable reissues, first on vynil, as early as 1951, then on CD; ever heard of Ace or Document records? Since 1951 when Big Bill toured Europe for the first time, blues performers, most especially in the 1960's, received warm welcomes in the UK and continental Europe, were treated as human beings during the segregationst period, paid well and given the chance to record for Europan companies AND get royalties. It isnt stretching the truth to say that without European interest the blues would probably have died sometime in the 1960's. And bear this in mind too; much of what passes for Blues in the US these days is essentially bar-band boogie by people who came to it via rock and never got much further. The Blues is now global. The Brits and the Euros gave it support when the Americans, with a few heroic exceptions like Chris Strachwitz, Pete Welding and Bob Koester, were busy ignoring their own history. Deal with it; oh, and for those of you who want to start shouting about the right of foreigners to interfere with US matters, let me tell you that, while British originally, I've been an American citizen now for 14 years, served my country overseas and lost an eye in the process. So deal with that too.
Summary of The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings
A one-of-a-kind new guide to recorded blues
This informative, insightful, and easy-to-use A-Z guide surveys the recorded work of more than a thousand blues artists. From towering figures of the past like Charley Patton, Bessie Smith, and Robert Johnson to stars of the modern era such as B. B. King, Buddy Guy, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, this valuable resource provides crisp, expert, and witty reviews of almost six thousand recordings and is required reading for blues aficionados as well as anyone just starting a collection.
This informative, insightful, and easy-to-use A-Z guide surveys the recorded work of more than a thousand blues artists. From towering figures of the past like Charley Patton, Bessie Smith, and Robert Johnson to stars of the modern era such as B. B. King, Buddy Guy, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, this valuable resource provides crisp, expert, and witty reviews of almost six thousand recordings and is required reading for blues aficionados as well as anyone just starting a collection.
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