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Rating: 
Summary: Nobody does it better.
Review: Colin Larkin has done it once again with this third Concise Edition of his Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music taken from the full six-volume set. Never before has so much information regarding popular music been gathered into one reference work. By including more than 3,000 entries, Larkin is able to cover far more than the usual laundry list of popular music performers. Thus, record producers and label founders can be found within the 1,344 pages of this volume, as well as many lesser known yet worthy performers. While this concise edition obviously does not contain all the information found in Larkin's full six-volume set, it does include more info than any other popular music edition available, and is a true bargain even at full retail price. Music afficionados go crazy. Peruse the pages of this work and feast your eyes on personal favorites such as the Frijid Pink, the McCoys, and the Blues Magoos. The list goes on and on. When you've immersed yourself in this work, you'll be ripe for checking out Larkin's Virgin Encyclopedias of Sixties, Seventies, Eighties, and New Wave and Indie Music. Hats off to Virgin for publishing these fine works. Be forwarned, however, that you may have a tough time putting down the books and turning out the light at night. And that I contend is the true test of a book's quality. Rate this one a 10, and then only because the scale goes no higher. Here's to Colin Larkin: Truly, nobody does it better.
Rating:
Summary: A must have for music collectors
Review: Colin Larkin is a godsend for music collectors. After picking up his excellent guides to Indie and Eighties music, I managed to find this behemoth - and was delighted once again. This volume is the perfect reference for anyone from the casual music fan to the serious collector. Unsure of which album to buy from an artist you've heard all about? Want more background on a favourite band? Curious as to how your favourite albums have been rated? Pour through this volume - it has all the answers you need. With two diehard music fans in the same house, you can bet that Larkin's books are never far from hand. Something is forever being looked up - and the information this volume provides is more than worth the price. While I'm sure there are some bands that have not been included, I have yet to fail in finding the information I needed in one of the volumes - and the entries are always honest and objective. And of course, it has become a challenge to pick up every one of the rare and elusive "five star albums." If you're looking for the ultimate music reference book, your search is over. You're here.
Rating:
Summary: A must have for music collectors
Review: Colin Larkin is a godsend for music collectors. After picking up his excellent guides to Indie and Eighties music, I managed to find this behemoth - and was delighted once again. This volume is the perfect reference for anyone from the casual music fan to the serious collector. Unsure of which album to buy from an artist you've heard all about? Want more background on a favourite band? Curious as to how your favourite albums have been rated? Pour through this volume - it has all the answers you need. With two diehard music fans in the same house, you can bet that Larkin's books are never far from hand. Something is forever being looked up - and the information this volume provides is more than worth the price. While I'm sure there are some bands that have not been included, I have yet to fail in finding the information I needed in one of the volumes - and the entries are always honest and objective. And of course, it has become a challenge to pick up every one of the rare and elusive "five star albums." If you're looking for the ultimate music reference book, your search is over. You're here.
Rating: 
Summary: Why Would Anyone Care Whether "The Outfield" Was In It?
Review: I was astonished when I found this book in a bookstore here in Brazil. I had never heard of this famous series and bought it at once. It contains thousands of entries and, of course, a lot of bands were left out, due to the enormity of the task. Great job by Colin Larkin. I recommend it to anyone who wants to know generally about music.
Rating:
Summary: Don't worry, just get it!
Review: My local library has a copy of this, and if you're lucky, your library does as well. If not, you are missing out, assuming you don't have the 700-plus bucks to slap down for this baby. The editors thoroughly trace the careers of most of the artists you could probably name off the top off your head and rates them from one to five stars. The star ratings in particular are much improved over the previous releases that included the ratings. Fairly comprehensive; I'll only complain that he includes several cheesy Christian heavy metal groups of the eighties and fails to mention any vital Christian artists who actually made great music (There actually are some, like Adam Again, Daniel Amos, or Mark Heard). A special delight is the excellent balance between British and American tastes, not leaning one way more than the other between the (at times) very different critical camps on either side of the Atlantic. Check out your public library for this one, and bring plenty of change to make copies of your favorite entries. Colin would probably kill you, but I won't tell...
Rating:
Summary: Why Would Anyone Care Whether "The Outfield" Was In It?
Review: The Outfield only had one good song - "Josie's On a Vacation Far Away" then they vanished back into the Great White North from whence they came. They're about as important as Kajagoogoo, M and The Hooters.
Rating:
Summary: A treasure trove of information
Review: This all-encompassing volume has about 3,300 entries covering various musical styles of the past century, but with the focus on pop and rock. In the introduction, the author points out that he had to choose from over 20,000 entries in his database - and he is planning to double the size of that database. Unlike so many books of this type, there are no pictures, allowing all the available space to be used for information. Obviously, this book can only cover a selection and cannot please everybody. However, a series of specialist volumes is available, so anybody wanting to focus on jazz, country, heavy metal, sixties, seventies or any of several other genres can find a book covering their particular interest. The author says that you can find artists in these specialist books for which there is no room here. Even so, there are a staggering number of obscure singers and bands here.
Once you focus on who is in this book rather than who isn't, it is quite impressive. The book I am reviewing is the fourth edition, so any errors that existed in earlier editions have hopefully been corrected. Each entry contains basic details about the singer or band, their music and the author's opinions, plus a brief discography. Again, this discography is deliberately limited. The idea is to provide an introduction to music that is new to you, so the emphasis is on stuff that was readily available at the time book went to press. Fans of a particular singer or band must look elsewhere to track down all the rarities. My tastes in music are wide, but while my knowledge is extensive, there is a lot I don't know, even about my favorite genres. A book like this is invaluable to me. It is certainly the best book of its kind that I've come across.
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