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Rating: 
Summary: Scratch n' Sniff
Review: At a signing on 6/4/99, I asked John Swenson why there was no entry for Joe McPhee. He lamely answered "Is any of his stuff in print?", "Uh, yes," I said, "on HatArt, HatHut." "Oh, those are imports..." I guess if you want a vanilla introduction to jazz, this is a good place to start. To really learn about the subject, and to explore the more creative personalities, you'll have to look elsewhere... Though they get two stars for a lovely endorsement of Anthony Braxton's Charlie Parker Project 1993.
Rating: 
Summary: An invaluable guide to American music
Review: I found the previous Jazz Guide a valuable resource that was way ahead of its time. This update expands the scope of the original to include blues and roots music while making a convincing case for blues and jazz as the cornerstone of American popular music.
Rating: 
Summary: lots of essentials left out, lots of non-essentials put in
Review: I was less than thrilled with this book. Many essential recordings by essential artists were left out entirely. Sam Rivers' entire blue note discography was omitted, and those were some of the most important recordings ever made in the development of free jazz and its incorporation into more mainstream styles. There are more glaring omissions in this book everywhere but are too numberous to even think about listing. Furthermore, these important jazz albums are left out while artists who are really pop musicians only on the fringe of jazz or blues (van morrison, janis joplin) are devoted considerable space. The biographical information is interesting, but is usually somewhat sketchy in terms of accuracy and is obviously pieced together from a number of reviews of albums. Also the reviews and commentaries on individual albums seem at times a bit uninformed. Basically this strikes me as a book about jazz and blues albums put together by persons with only a rudimentary knowledge of the subject. Rolling Stone specializes in pop culture stuff, and they do fine with that, but I get the impression that the people writing this stuff in most cases probably had never even heard of some of the artists before. While not entirely useless, I wouldn't recommend it or really trust its star ratings or bio information. My advice is to look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: excellent resource for any Jazz buff.
Review: It's about time RS updated this 1985 volume. It's great to read reviews of all the old masters and the young lions. The reviews are fair and well written. The text even steers you to deleted items that sometimes are better then the albums in print.Many hidden treasures are found here. Up to date thru 4/99. Wish RS allowed buyers to download updates from the net. Why can't Downbeat put out a book like this?
Rating: 
Summary: Much better than you may have heard. . .
Review: This album guide is much better than many of the early reviewers claim. The negative reviews are all the same: "They left out my favorite blues or jazz artist! How dare they leave out my favorite! Only a poorly written guide would omit my favorite musician!" Well then, I suppose everyone's opinion of this book will turn on whether his or her favorite artist appears, and whether that artist receives enough treatment, and whether that artist receives anything less than high praise. Well then, whatever. I say it's a fine book because almost all my favorites are in it! Regardless of whether every single recorded jazz or blues artist appears in these pages, it's still an incredible endeavor to compile this much info. We're talking thousands and thousands of albums here. Ultimately, this guide may prove most useful for the beginner to intermediate level listener. Especially the latter. If you already know the key musicians, as well as some of the key recordings, this guide will point you to many other worthwhile albums that you might not otherwise have selected on your last trip to the record store. Of course, for all you jazz and blues listeners who think you're beyond the intermediate stage, why do you need an album guide in the first place? A solid guide (and a very solid price, considering the vast amount of info you're getting).
Rating:
Summary: Much better than you may have heard. . .
Review: This album guide is much better than many of the early reviewers claim. The negative reviews are all the same: "They left out my favorite blues or jazz artist! How dare they leave out my favorite! Only a poorly written guide would omit my favorite musician!" Well then, I suppose everyone's opinion of this book will turn on whether his or her favorite artist appears, and whether that artist receives enough treatment, and whether that artist receives anything less than high praise. Well then, whatever. I say it's a fine book because almost all my favorites are in it! Regardless of whether every single recorded jazz or blues artist appears in these pages, it's still an incredible endeavor to compile this much info. We're talking thousands and thousands of albums here. Ultimately, this guide may prove most useful for the beginner to intermediate level listener. Especially the latter. If you already know the key musicians, as well as some of the key recordings, this guide will point you to many other worthwhile albums that you might not otherwise have selected on your last trip to the record store. Of course, for all you jazz and blues listeners who think you're beyond the intermediate stage, why do you need an album guide in the first place? A solid guide (and a very solid price, considering the vast amount of info you're getting).
Rating: 
Summary: A Disappointing Incomplete Album Guide
Review: This book is a disappointment...I could not believe how many newer titles were missing. For example, was the author asleep during 1998? Although the publishing date is 1999, many albums released in 1998 were notably absent. It sometimes looks like an entire artist's section was lifted from the R. S. Album Guide of 1992 and inserted without revision or an update. While some gospel artists are included others are missing. It's sad that Rolling Stone can get away with presenting such an incomplete product. Although this book is a fair addition to a Rock N Roll library, there are much better guides available for your money (e.g., the AMG guides).
Rating:
Summary: What's going on?
Review: This guide is no better than John Swenson's "Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide" from 1985. That guide failed to include "Birth of the Cool", "Round 'bout Midnight" and "Sketches of Spain" by Miles Davis, "Time Further Out" by Dave Brubeck, and omitted the entire Buddy Rich discography. Yikes! It also gave different ratings to indentical collaborations which appeared twice in the guide. Rolling Stone guides are usually life-savers. I have had wonderful luck using their rock music guides. Why can't Rolling Stone get it together with jazz?
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