The Heart of Rock & Soul

Yeah, this book has a list of songs. But the book isn't about the list. It's about the music. More importantly, it's about the author's opinion's of the music. Dave Marsh is the greatest rock critic who ever lived. He truly loves rock music. And he is an extremely talented writer. He is very well able to communicate his feelings about music to the reader.Dave doesn't just describe the songs. He also describes his own personal feelings for the songs - why it is that he feels the way that he does about the songs. Every one of these songs means something special to him, and each for a different reason. He also explains that the ordering of the songs is not really that important. The song that he picked for #1 isn't necessarily his all time favorite. In fact he doesn't really have an all time favorite.Dave hates Reaganism. I mean, he really, really hates Reaganism. And he seems to have this habit of projecting his feelings about this subject on to other people. I mean, who would ever have guessed that the Police's "Every Breath You Take" is a criticism of the Reagan administration? (Dave, if you really believe in free speech, then please consider voting Libertarian! The Democrats in political office are just as much in favor of government censorship as the Republicans. The PMRC, the V-chip, censorship of the internet, etc.)When I read a lot of the stuff in this book, I often end up saying to myself, "Yeah! That's exactly how I feel." Such as when Dave comments that it's somewhat odd that today's critics of modern music's lyrical content want to return to a more "innocent" era like the 1950s, when, in reality, Little Richard's music from that period was among the crudest, most sexually explicit to ever be recorded. I also agree with Dave that "She Loves You" is one of the Beatles' best songs. Yes, their music did grow more complex as the years went on. But it never got better. I also agree with him that "Love Child" by the Supremes is the best example in rock music of hope, optimism, and upward mobility within the lower class black community.Dave has a true admiration, love, and respect for the major role that blacks have played in the history of rock music. Although I'm not going to go through the book and count, I would guess that approximately half of all the songs in this book are performed by black artists. And that makes a lot of sense.Dave explains why he chose to make a list of songs, and not albums. But still, by looking at the songs, one can see a glimpse of what some of Dave's favorite albums might be. For example, the list includes 4 songs from the Pretenders' album "Learning to Crawl." I think that that may be the most songs from any non-compilation album, but I'm not sure. As far as compilations are concerned, Dave seems to be a big fan of Sly and the Family Stone's "Greatest Hits" album, the Motown boxed set "Hitsville U.S.A.," and any of the many Otis Redding compilations. Dave has great taste!I

The tortured mentality it took to list 1,001 singles and explain why they're worth hearing must be admired. Marsh's book got me to seek out some terrific songs I'd never have thought twice (once?) about otherwise, such as George Jones' "He Stopped Loving Her Today," Bobby Bland's "Lead Me On," and an eerie little thing called "The Boiler" by Rhoda with the Special A.K.A. Marsh also helped me catch unnoticed details in some songs I'd heard a thousand times: the 'Don't worry' Levi Stubbs wails at the fade of "Reach Out (I'll Be There);" the way the instruments and the background vocals act as a 'community of gossip' adding to Marvin Gaye's anguish in "I Heard It Through The Grapevine;" the bassline (and cry, "free base!") in Grandmaster Flash's "White Lines." Readers seeking validation of their favorite Top Ten hits may find themselves aggravated. To overgeneralize just a bit, Marsh favors the emotionally-direct and unpretentious over the more polished and detached. Aretha Franklin and Martha Reeves outrank Diana Ross throughout the book. Also, such categories as "art rock" (Pink Floyd, Yes, David Bowie) and "adult contemporary" (Barbra Streisand, Barry Manilow, James Taylor) are ignored almost completely, though Roxy Music and B.J. Thomas (!) each manage to slip one in there. (Most of Marsh's readers could probably do without Barry, Babs, and JT, but they're high on my list of favorites.) Since Van Halen's "Jump" ends up ahead of even the highest Beatles single ("Ticket To Ride") and the beloved Elton John doesn't appear until Number 942 ("The Bitch Is Back"), readers should probably think of this less as an objective list than an invitation to check into some undeservedly-lost gems you won't hear about anywhere else.P.S.: If ANYONE can help me locate "The Payoff Mix" or "No Way Out" PLEASE e-mail me. Life's too short to find all these myself...

Up until reading this I was heading down a journey of completing a Pink Floyd collection and absently recommending long haired guys with guitars to anyone who would listen. After reading it (as soon as it was reviewed by Charles Shaar Murray in Q (***** since you ask)), I had to have it. It is a wonderful map and guide book to the greatest music ever recorded. Like all good music journalism after reading you are desperate to hear all of these singles. Like the guy above I have hunted down these songs over the last decade, and I have learnt so much and discovered so much beauty I cannot recommend this highly enough. The wonderful side effect is that you bump into other stuff along the way. Treat yourself to some blank tapes too, and make the comilation library to live for. Dave Marsh has flaws, but they are not in his ability to write passionately about this music. The stories he tells are diverse enlightening and I guarantee that you will have a better record collection after digesting this.

The really great thing about the book is that, for those of us who live a secret second life with the likes of Bruce and Chuck, Marsh knows all our secrets. Only one complaint--why no "Just Walk Away Renee"?