All Roots Lead to Rock: Legends of Early Rock N Roll

Rating:
Summary: Colin Escott is the authority. Bar none.
Review: Colin Escott and his compatriots in the great Bear Family family have been bringing the finest and most intriguing American music to light for decades through their persistence in packaging completist retrospectives for serious listeners. Early rock and roll and its precedent musical forms--country, rhythm & blues, even popular vocalists--have never been better served than by their responsible reissues and thoroughgoing, often hilarious, always insightful liner notes. ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROCK is a must-have for anyone who cares about this music--these are the liner notes that helped me fall in love with it years ago, and to this day I look forward to new Bear Family sets with the knowledge that even on the infrequent occasion that the music isn't immediately to my taste, the liner notes will be an entertainment unto themselves.

Rating:
Summary: Bear Family Quality
Review: If you own any of the Bear Family label's CD collections, you know why they're worth the expense. Meticulous is an apropos word for the CDs as well as this book. Not as irreverent as some other rock books on 1950s artists, but not too monotone, either. Lots of interesting info that even longtime rock lit readers should appreciate. Check it out and then browse some of BF's CD offerings...