Harmony Illustrated Encyclopedia Of Rock, The : 7th Edition

Rating:
Summary: Has the word "encyclopedia" lost all meaning?!
Review: If you are looking for a concise and prolific guide to rock music and its performers, then look elsewhere! Although this book does deliver at times, with significant information on specific artists, it lacks in many areas. For example, they leave out dozens of important figures in this genre, or simply limit them to its "appendix," which offer unflattering "profiles" on more than half of the performers in this book. The appendix entries are almost meaningless, offering up nothing but a glimpse into the careers of big names like The Cult, Johnny Cash, Bauhaus, Les Paul, and Nirvana. There are also numerous mistakes, like wrong chart positions, birth dates, and album release dates. In addition to all this, the Harmony Illustrated "Encyclopedia" of Rock concentrates on UK acts more than their American counterparts, giving more in depth biographies on Hawkwind and Love, than legends like Chuck Berry and Sam Cooke. The reason I gave this two stars rather than just one is simply for its abundance of colour photos, separate singles and discography sections (better for quick reference), and for at least including the basics of rock 'n' roll. Other than that, this book does not live up to the discription on the back of its own jacket.