Rating: 
Summary: The best book yet on the roots of rock and roll
Review: Some rock & roll books have an ear for the telling anecdote. Some have an eye for factual accuracy. Some have a voice to give their subject a larger context. This book has all three.I thought I knew this stuff, but Jim Miller makes the story sound fresh and new again. If you want to discover how rock & roll became what it is, read this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Rock died when Elvis did...I didn't know!
Review: This book begins with alternating chapters dealing with the creative and business side of Rock in alternating chapters. While interesting, this dry relating of information is preferable to the idea that very little music of note was created after the Sex Pistols, an idea that seems to grow as the book progresses. Elvis and The Beatles get their due but others whose impact was limited to style are favored over true originals. While Little Richard and Jim Morrisson definitely made an impact, were they true musical pioneers or was this a case of style over substance? The author is making a case for this concept and the idea of "selling out" is bandied about. Were classical composers selling out when they wrote for a fee or circumstance? I wasn't convinced.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent until 1970s
Review: This book was a great read. I recommend it for folks, like me, who do not know much about early rock 'n' roll or its evolution. I really had a sense of awe and discovery at reading about 1940s and 1950s rock. The author effectively captures the excitement that the new music generated and the cultural revolution it spawned. The chapters on the early years, 1947 and Jump Blues, the 1950s and Elvis, and so on, were excellent and made me want to go out and buy some of these records. Believe me, no book has ever made me want to buy an Elvis recording, but this one has. Most of the book is taken up with the 1940s-60s, and are the best parts. I lost some interest at the point where I was familiar with the music personally, having started collecting records in 1972, and could relate to the 1970s music and artists myself.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent until 1970s
Review: This book was a great read. I recommend it for folks, like me, who do not know much about early rock 'n' roll or its evolution. I really had a sense of awe and discovery at reading about 1940s and 1950s rock. The author effectively captures the excitement that the new music generated and the cultural revolution it spawned. The chapters on the early years, 1947 and Jump Blues, the 1950s and Elvis, and so on, were excellent and made me want to go out and buy some of these records. Believe me, no book has ever made me want to buy an Elvis recording, but this one has. Most of the book is taken up with the 1940s-60s, and are the best parts. I lost some interest at the point where I was familiar with the music personally, having started collecting records in 1972, and could relate to the 1970s music and artists myself.
Rating:
Summary: wildly entertaining.
Review: What an interesting book! I enjoyed reading it... and I feel a bit wiser about all the music that happened before I was born. Entertaining and enlightening!
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