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Title: NEW BOOK OF ROCK LISTS by Dave Marsh ISBN: 0-671-78700-4 Publisher: Fireside Pub. Date: 01 November, 1994 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $27.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.43 (7 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: This Book Never Stops Being Interesting
Comment: I have owned two previous editions of "The Book of Rock Lists" and will soon be buying "The New Book of Rock Lists". Why? Because it's fun to read, witty, and incisive! The rock and roll heaven portion, where various deceased rock stars are broken down in terms of how they died, is definitely worth reading.
One or two others have already castigated author Dave Marsh for having somewhat of a left leaning bias in his stinging criticism of the PMRC and certain religious zealots, as well as his categorization of famous right wing rockers. I disagree with the reviewer who referred to Marsh as being "PC". However, if you turn your political filter off and you're not thin-skinned, you'll have some fun reading.
Rating: 3
Summary: Rap, Rock Tough Acts To Follow In 2nd "Lists" Edition
Comment: Dave Marsh's original "Book of Rock Lists" was published in 1981 after Irving Wallace's "Lists" books were popular best sellers in the late 1970s. In his introduction to the 1994 update, he accurately mentions that his book "appeared on the cusp of the most important changes since the advent of rock and roll." He recalls the gradual fade of disco and punk styles and their meld into the raw, underproduced 1990s hip-hop and alternative rock.
That first "Lists" was quixotic, goring rock's sacred popular and critical cows while presenting chart statistics - as important to pop as to baseball fans -- as trivia under and around his sharp opinions. Moreover, Marsh's exhaustive knowledge and research exposed rock's lesser known masterpieces, having the effect of a recipe you had to try when you got home. The book re-established what made rock important to many.
By 1994, hip-hop and rap ruled charts, dominated fashions, entranced youth and alienated generations as R&B and rock and roll did for Marsh's generation. But Marsh (who collaborated with "Source" magzzine editor James Bernard on this edition) could not take the breezy, sarcastic approach with this style; to treat the music less than seriously played into the hands of perceived racists and authoritarians wanting it and its young, black artists silenced (Marsh's intriguing "enemies" and "fake friends" lists provide one example.)
Whether Marsh and Herbert admit it (they don't here), rap's use as rhythm as melody sears the music from its tradition and fails to compare with from the bebop jazz Marsh points it to in his list "Discredited Rock Theories." While some important musical statements used the form (one list links Grandmaster Flash's "The Message" and "White Lines" to a Mel Brooks novelty rap), most music fans, black and white, felt betrayed by the lack of continuity. Bob Herbert of the (#10 enemy) New York Times pointed out this week that rap "has so thoroughly broken faith with the surpassingly great, centuries-long tradition of black music in America. With rap, both the music and the poetry have vanished." Marsh and Herbert would strongly disagree, and the book suffers, rather than thrives, for that dichotomy.
"The New Book Of Rock Lists" will entertain rock or rap fans, but convert neither. The incongruence of the first book's hilarious lists play poorly against the later hip-hop updates. Chapters on "Dancing," "Criticism," "Broadcasting" (featuring sly Marsh commentary on today's radio scene), and above all, "History" try bridging gaps while revising the story ("Print the legend, not the fact," the first book exclaimed). Seminal figures like Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley and the Beatles each had chapters in the original version but now are tucked into larger chapters. The essential singles and LP lists from rock's first 25 years are sadly missed.
The book remains fun, teaching much to those willing to see pop music as seamlessly and meaningfully as Marsh has, wise and willing to connect folk and blues songs like "Stagger Lee" to a century's music and a people's history. The good news is that, regardless of music's standing by "Lists" third edition, it will be cohesive or disjointed and a better read in either case.
Rating: 1
Summary: Lists or Opinions?
Comment: Looking forward to fun book along the lines of THE BOOK OF LISTS, I instead found myself assaulted by an opinionated trashing of a number of performers, a fawning over P-Funk that takes up three pages, (yes, a great band but George Clinton's names for himself as a list, PLEASE!)This book is far too involved with personal attacks to be interesting. I finished based on the idea that I wanted to see who was going to fall victim to the "critical axe" and at the end found this less than rewarding. Even factual errors like song titles (Zevon's "Carmelita" as Carmelita's Way" or Thin Lizzy's "Jailbreak" as "There's gonna be a Jailbreak" were distracting. There is also whole chapters dedicated to rap which is interesting concept in this book of Rock lists. I read this type of book for snippets of info and a few laughs but I just found myself annoyed at the end.
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Title: BOOK OF ROCK LISTS by DAVE MARSH ISBN: 044010727X Publisher: Dell Pub. Date: 01 June, 1984 List Price(USD): $23.25 |
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Title: The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made by Dave Marsh ISBN: 030680901X Publisher: DaCapo Press Pub. Date: April, 1999 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Rock & Roll Year by Year: In Association With the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum by Luke Crampton, Dafydd Rees ISBN: 0789496496 Publisher: DK Publishing Pub. Date: October, 2003 List Price(USD): $50.00 |
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