The Great Rock Discography

Having read the various criticisms aimed at Strong's efforts I would suggest that folks look at it from the opposite angle of what Strong has achieved. It is a colossal piece of work and I'm sure Strong is painfully aware of what bands have been left out. But those omissions result from publishing considerations not Strongs myopism. For the money I'd say you would be very, very hard pushed (possibly impossible) to find another tome that covers so many bands in such a comprehensive manner. Yes the author is a Brit (and so am I) so there is obviously going to be a tendency for him to give greater coverage to British bands - he's more familiar with them. A way for this issue to be addressed is for someone in the US to compile a similar work, there is obviously demand. For me, I'd say that the book would be a worthy (if not essential) addition to a music lovers library. Indeed it has flaws but they are more than compensated by what he has included. For the price of little more than a cd this is an excellent investment. 100% Recommended.

Before I purchased this, I was looking at all other similar books, deciding which to get, and in the end I chose this one because overall it is the most comprehensive. And despite the title, it spreads out into genres related, such as punk, pop, hip hop, rnb, and even rap. I was able to find some bands not in this one, but I am sure they could be found in his other books of similar style, metal, indie, etc. I am very satisfied, and I am passionate about all genres of music, so to the average music listener this is very very comprehensive.I believe it must be the best music reference book out there. Sometime in the near future, possibly when the next edition comes out, I will buy The Great Metal Discography.

This is an amazing work - a telephone book of people you might actually want to call, a lost gnostic text to a doomed civilization's pizza delivery places, a total compendium of where all the effort spent in conquering the world went after the fall of the British Empire. God love them, these British folks are serious about that Rock and Roll music! As for the work itself, it's thorough, fair, and fun to browse through in any time or place. I can become lost for hours, and find myself jonesing for some of the groups Strong knows but about which I've never heard. Some things are a trifle annoying, like which bands are labelled Psychedelic and which are not, but to hell with it; stand back and let the man do his work. I slaver for the second edition of the Pschedelic Discography. When Stong says Great, he means it. The Great Pyramids, the Great War, Great Coats, and Alexander the Great come to mind.Everyone should have one of these in his or her homes. Or a bottle of Xanax. I'll take the great maroon book with a glass of water before meals and bedtimes.

Absolutely brilliant. There is so much amazing trivia here. Did you know that Dick Dale's Misirilou was based on a greek pop tune? Did you know that the B-52's were one of John Lennon's favorite bands and inspired him to pick up writing music again? Did you know that the 13th Floor Elevators almost had Janis Joplin as a lead singer? Damn. I felt that learning that was worth the price of admission alone.

Despite some of the criticism of this book including the exclusion of artists, release information and inaccurate biographical information, this is as good as any musical reference book you'll find. The origins of bands, top 50 chart positions for all singles and album on both the US & UK charts and track listing for all albums are included. There are always omissions and errors in books this size and breath, but they are miniscule and greatly overshadowed by everything else the book has to offer. You will find yourself referring to this book time and time again.