Rolling Stone Album Guide
Encyclopedia
The Rolling Stone Album Guide, previously known as The Rolling Stone Record Guide, is a book that, along with its sister publication Rolling Stone
magazine, contains professional reviews of popular music. The guide can be seen at Rate Your Music
.com, while a list of albums given a five star rating by the guide can be seen at Rocklist.net.
(who wrote a large majority of the reviews) and John Swenson, and included contributions from 34 other music critics. It is divided into sections by musical genre
and then lists artists alphabetically within their respective genres. Albums are also listed alphabetically by artist although some of the artists have their careers divided into chronological periods.
Dave Marsh, in his Introduction, cites as precedents Leonard Maltin
's book TV Movies
and Robert Christgau
's review column in the Village Voice.
He gives Phonolog
and Schwann's Records & Tape Guide as raw sources of information.
The first edition included black and white photographs of many of the covers of albums which received five star reviews. These titles are listed together in the Five-Star Records section, which is coincidentally five pages in length.
The edition also included reviews for many comedy artists including Lenny Bruce
, Lord Buckley
, Bill Cosby
, The Firesign Theatre
, Spike Jones
, and Richard Pryor
.
Comedy artists were listed in the catch-all section "Rock, Soul, Country and Pop", which included the genres of folk
(Carter Family
, Woody Guthrie
, Leadbelly), bluegrass
(Bill Monroe
), funk
(The Meters
, Parliament
), and reggae
(Toots & the Maytals
, Peter Tosh
), as well as comedy. Traditional pop
performers were not included (e.g. Andrews Sisters
, Tony Bennett
, Perry Como
, Bing Crosby
, Peggy Lee
, Rudy Vallee
, Lawrence Welk
), with the notable exceptions of Frank Sinatra
and Nat King Cole
. (Dave Marsh justified this decision in his Introduction.)
Included too were some difficult-to-classify artists (e.g. Osibisa
, Yma Sumac
, Urubamba
) who might now be considered as world music
. (Ethnic music was the normal term in 1979.)
Big band
jazz was handled selectively, with certain band leaders omitted (e.g. Tommy Dorsey
, Glenn Miller
, Paul Whiteman
), while others were included (e.g. Count Basie
, Cab Calloway
, Duke Ellington
, Benny Goodman
). Many other styles of jazz did appear in the Jazz section.
The book was notable for the time in the provocative, "in your face" style of many of its reviews. For example, writing about Neil Young
's opus, "Down by the River
", John Swenson described it both as an "FM radio classic" (p. 425), and as a "wimp anthem" (p. 244). His colleague, Dave Marsh, in reviewing the three albums of the jazz fusion group Chase
, gave a one-word review: "Flee." (p. 70).
and John Swenson. It included contributions from 52 music critics and featured chronological album listings under the name of each artist. In many cases, updates from the first edition consist of short, one-sentence verdicts upon an artist's later work.
Instead of having separate sections such as Blues and Gospel, this edition compressed all of the genres it reviewed into one section except for Jazz titles which were removed for this edition and were later expanded and published in 1985 Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide (ed. Swenson).
Since the goal of this guide was to review records that were in print at the time of publication, this edition featured a list of artists who were included in the first edition but were not included in the second edition because all of their material was out of print.
mark (¶) to indicate a title that was out of print at the time the guide was published. Many records had their ratings lowered as the book now offered a revisionist slant to rock's history.
The Rolling Stone Album Guide was a complete rewrite of both the 1979's The Rolling Stone Record Guide and the 1983's The New Rolling Stone Record Guide. The title change reflects the fact that by the time this edition was published in 1992, records
were almost completely replaced by CDs
. This edition employs three new editors and reduces the number of reviewers from more than 50 as seen in previous editions to a mere four. This edition also included reviews of Jazz albums, which had been removed from the previous edition for the sake of publishing a separate Jazz guide. Unlike both previous editions, this edition did not include comedy artists.
"For the first time since 1992, Rolling Stone's definitive classic
returns to the scene, completely updated and revised to include the
past decade's artists and sounds. When it comes to sorting the truly
great from the merely mediocre, the enduring from the fleeting, The
New Rolling Stone Album Guide provides music buffs and amateurs alike
with authoritative guidance from the best voices in the field. Filled
with insightful commentary, it not only reviews the most influential
albums of all time, but also features biographical overviews of key
artists' careers, giving readers a look at the personalities behind
the music."
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine, contains professional reviews of popular music. The guide can be seen at Rate Your Music
Rate Your Music
Rate Your Music is a metadata database where musical albums, EPs, singles, videos, bootlegs, and movies are rated and reviewed by users. This data is then used to generate recommendations for users and to create rated lists of albums...
.com, while a list of albums given a five star rating by the guide can be seen at Rocklist.net.
First edition (1979)
The Rolling Stone Record Guide was the first edition of what would later become The Rolling Stone Album Guide. It was edited by Dave MarshDave Marsh
Dave Marsh is an American music critic, author, editor and radio talk show host. He was a formative editor of Creem magazine, has written for various publications such as Newsday, The Village Voice, and Rolling Stone, and has published numerous books about music and musicians, mostly focused on...
(who wrote a large majority of the reviews) and John Swenson, and included contributions from 34 other music critics. It is divided into sections by musical genre
Music genre
A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other types of music...
and then lists artists alphabetically within their respective genres. Albums are also listed alphabetically by artist although some of the artists have their careers divided into chronological periods.
Dave Marsh, in his Introduction, cites as precedents Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin is an American film and animated film critic and historian, author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives.-Personal life:...
's book TV Movies
Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide
Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide is a book-format collection of movie capsule reviews that began in 1969 and has been updated yearly since 1978. It was originally called TV Movies, which became Leonard Maltin's TV Movies and Video Guide, which then became Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide...
and Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
's review column in the Village Voice.
He gives Phonolog
Phonolog
Phonolog or PhonoLog was a recorded music directory that listed artists, currently available albums, and songs, focusing on popular music. Each directory contained thousands of loose-leaf pages and listings — 11,000 titles as of 1968...
and Schwann's Records & Tape Guide as raw sources of information.
The first edition included black and white photographs of many of the covers of albums which received five star reviews. These titles are listed together in the Five-Star Records section, which is coincidentally five pages in length.
The edition also included reviews for many comedy artists including Lenny Bruce
Lenny Bruce
Leonard Alfred Schneider , better known by the stage name Lenny Bruce, was a Jewish-American comedian, social critic and satirist...
, Lord Buckley
Lord Buckley
Lord Richard Buckley was an American stage performer, recording artist, monologist, and hip poet/comic...
, Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby
William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own series, the...
, The Firesign Theatre
The Firesign Theatre
The Firesign Theatre is an American comedy troupe consisting of Phil Austin, Peter Bergman, David Ossman and Philip Proctor. Their brand of surrealistic humor is best known through their record albums, which acquired a cult following in the late 1960s and early '70s.The troupe began as live radio...
, Spike Jones
Spike Jones
Mel Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny and other Warner Brothers cartoon characters, performed a drunken, hiccuping verse for 1942's "Clink! Clink! Another Drink"...
, and Richard Pryor
Richard Pryor
Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor was an American stand-up comedian, actor, social critic, writer and MC. Pryor was known for uncompromising examinations of racism and topical contemporary issues, which employed colorful vulgarities, and profanity, as well as racial epithets...
.
Comedy artists were listed in the catch-all section "Rock, Soul, Country and Pop", which included the genres of folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
(Carter Family
Carter Family
The Carter Family was a traditional American folk music group that recorded between 1927 and 1956. Their music had a profound impact on bluegrass, country, Southern Gospel, pop and rock musicians as well as on the U.S. folk revival of the 1960s. They were the first vocal group to become country...
, Woody Guthrie
Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
, Leadbelly), bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
(Bill Monroe
Bill Monroe
William Smith Monroe was an American musician who created the style of music known as bluegrass, which takes its name from his band, the "Blue Grass Boys," named for Monroe's home state of Kentucky. Monroe's performing career spanned 60 years as a singer, instrumentalist, composer and bandleader...
), funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
(The Meters
The Meters
The Meters are an American funk band based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Meters performed and recorded their own music from the late 1960s until 1977...
, Parliament
Parliament (band)
Parliament was a funk band most prominent during the 1970s. It and its sister act Funkadelic, both led by George Clinton, began the funk music culture of that decade.-History:...
), and reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
(Toots & the Maytals
Toots & the Maytals
Toots and the Maytals, originally called simply The Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group and one of the best known ska and reggae vocal groups. According to Sandra Brennan at Allmusic, "The Maytals were key figures in reggae music...
, Peter Tosh
Peter Tosh
Peter Tosh, born Winston Hubert McIntosh , was a Jamaican reggae musician who was a core member of the band The Wailers , and who afterward had a successful solo career as well as being a promoter of Rastafari.Peter Tosh was born in Grange Hill, Jamaica, an illegitimate child to a mother too young...
), as well as comedy. Traditional pop
Traditional pop music
Traditional pop or classic pop or standards music denotes, in general, Western popular music that either wholly predates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s, or to any popular music which exists concurrently to rock and roll but originated in a time before the appearance of rock and roll,...
performers were not included (e.g. Andrews Sisters
The Andrews Sisters
The Andrews Sisters were a highly successful close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews , soprano Maxene Angelyn Andrews , and mezzo-soprano Patricia Marie "Patty" Andrews...
, Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
, Perry Como
Perry Como
Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como was an American singer and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for the RCA Victor label after signing with them in 1943. "Mr...
, Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
, Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and...
, Rudy Vallee
Rudy Vallée
Rudy Vallée was an American singer, actor, bandleader, and entertainer.-Early life:Born Hubert Prior Vallée in Island Pond, Vermont, the son of Charles Alphonse and Catherine Lynch Vallée...
, Lawrence Welk
Lawrence Welk
Lawrence Welk was an American musician, accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted The Lawrence Welk Show from 1955 to 1982...
), with the notable exceptions of Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
and Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
. (Dave Marsh justified this decision in his Introduction.)
Included too were some difficult-to-classify artists (e.g. Osibisa
Osibisa
Osibisa is a British Afro-pop band, founded in London in 1969 by four expatriate African and three Caribbean musicians. Osibisa were one of the first African bands to become widely popular, leading to claims of founding World Music.-History:...
, Yma Sumac
Yma Súmac
Yma Sumac was a noted Peruvian soprano. In the 1950s, she was one of the most famous proponents of exotica music. She became an international success based on her extreme vocal range, which was said to be "well over four octaves" and was sometimes claimed to span even five octaves at her peak.Yma...
, Urubamba
Urubamba (group)
Urubamba was a music group consisting of musicians from Argentina and Uruguay, founded in 1956 by Jorge Milchberg. Urubamba, at the time known as "Los Incas" introduced Paul Simon to Andean music in the mid sixties, and then toured and recorded with Simon .Urubamba featured the Argentines Jorge...
) who might now be considered as world music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
. (Ethnic music was the normal term in 1979.)
Big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
jazz was handled selectively, with certain band leaders omitted (e.g. Tommy Dorsey
Tommy Dorsey
Thomas Francis "Tommy" Dorsey, Jr. was an American jazz trombonist, trumpeter, composer, and bandleader of the Big Band era. He was known as "The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing", due to his smooth-toned trombone playing. He was the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey...
, Glenn Miller
Glenn Miller
Alton Glenn Miller was an American jazz musician , arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the best known "Big Bands"...
, Paul Whiteman
Paul Whiteman
Paul Samuel Whiteman was an American bandleader and orchestral director.Leader of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s, Whiteman's recordings were immensely successful, and press notices often referred to him as the "King of Jazz"...
), while others were included (e.g. Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
, Cab Calloway
Cab Calloway
Cabell "Cab" Calloway III was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was strongly associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York City where he was a regular performer....
, Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
, Benny Goodman
Benny Goodman
Benjamin David “Benny” Goodman was an American jazz and swing musician, clarinetist and bandleader; widely known as the "King of Swing".In the mid-1930s, Benny Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America...
). Many other styles of jazz did appear in the Jazz section.
The book was notable for the time in the provocative, "in your face" style of many of its reviews. For example, writing about Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
's opus, "Down by the River
Down by the River
"Down by the River" is a song composed by Neil Young. It was first released on his 1969 album with Crazy Horse, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. Young explained the context of story when introducing it in New Orleans on September 27, 1984. It depicts a man who catches his woman cheating on him,...
", John Swenson described it both as an "FM radio classic" (p. 425), and as a "wimp anthem" (p. 244). His colleague, Dave Marsh, in reviewing the three albums of the jazz fusion group Chase
Bill Chase
Bill Chase was an American trumpet player and leader of the jazz-rock fusion band Chase.-Biography:...
, gave a one-word review: "Flee." (p. 70).
Table Of Contents
- Introduction
- Rock, Soul, Country and Pop
- Blues
- Jazz
- Gospel
- Anthologies, Soundtracks and Original Casts
- Five-Star Records
- Glossary
- Selected Bibliography
Rating System
The guide employs a five star rating scale with the following descriptions of those ratings:-
- Indispensable: a record that must be included in any comprehensive collection
- Excellent: a record of substantial merit, though flawed in some essential way.
- Good: a record of average worth, but one that might possess considerable appeal for fans of a particular style.
- Mediocre: a record that is artistically insubstantial, though not truly wretched.
- Poor: a record where even technical competence is at question or it was remarkably ill-conceived.
- Worthless: a record that need never (or should never) have been created. Reserved for the most bathetic bathwater.
Reviewers
- Dave MarshDave MarshDave Marsh is an American music critic, author, editor and radio talk show host. He was a formative editor of Creem magazine, has written for various publications such as Newsday, The Village Voice, and Rolling Stone, and has published numerous books about music and musicians, mostly focused on...
- John Swenson
- Billy Altman
- Bob Blumenthal
- Georgia Christgau
- Jean-Charles Costa
- Chet Flippo
- Russell Gersten
- Mikal GilmoreMikal GilmoreMikal Gilmore is an American writer. He was born "Michael Gilmore," but later changed the spelling of his name.-Life & career:Gilmore was born on February 9, 1951 in Portland, Oregon to Frank and Bessie Gilmore....
- Alan E. Goodman
- Peter Herbst
- Stephen HoldenStephen HoldenStephen Holden is an American writer, music critic, film critic, and poet.Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963...
- Martha Hume
- Gary Kenton
- Bruce Malamut
- Greil MarcusGreil MarcusGreil Marcus is an American author, music journalist and cultural critic. He is notable for producing scholarly and literary essays that place rock music in a much broader framework of culture and politics than is customary in pop music journalism.-Life and career:Marcus was born in San Francisco...
- Ira Mayer
- Joe McEwen
- David McGee
- John Milward
- Teri Morris
- John Morthland
- Paul NelsonPaul Nelson (critic)Paul Nelson was a folk and rock music critic who wrote for Sing Out! and Rolling Stone. He was instrumental in launching and supporting the careers of Bob Dylan, The New York Dolls, Elliott Murphy, Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne and Warren Zevon...
- Alan Niester
- Rob Patterson
- Kit RachlisKit RachlisKit Rachlis is an American journalist and editor who has held top posts at The Village Voice, LA Weekly, Los Angeles Times, and Los Angeles magazine. In April 2011, he became editor of The American Prospect magazine, a leading liberal political monthly based in Washington, D.C...
- Wayne Robbins
- Frank Rose
- Michael Rozek
- Fred Schruers
- Tom Smucker
- Ariel Swartley
- Ken TuckerKen TuckerKen Tucker was an English footballer who played as a left winger....
- Charley Walters
Second edition
The New Rolling Stone Record Guide was an update of 1979's The Rolling Stone Record Guide. Like the first edition, it was edited by Dave MarshDave Marsh
Dave Marsh is an American music critic, author, editor and radio talk show host. He was a formative editor of Creem magazine, has written for various publications such as Newsday, The Village Voice, and Rolling Stone, and has published numerous books about music and musicians, mostly focused on...
and John Swenson. It included contributions from 52 music critics and featured chronological album listings under the name of each artist. In many cases, updates from the first edition consist of short, one-sentence verdicts upon an artist's later work.
Instead of having separate sections such as Blues and Gospel, this edition compressed all of the genres it reviewed into one section except for Jazz titles which were removed for this edition and were later expanded and published in 1985 Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide (ed. Swenson).
Since the goal of this guide was to review records that were in print at the time of publication, this edition featured a list of artists who were included in the first edition but were not included in the second edition because all of their material was out of print.
Table Of Contents
- Introduction to the Second Edition
- Introduction to the First Edition
- Ratings
- Reviewers
- Record Label Abbreviations
- Rock, Soul, Blues, Country, Gospel and Pop
- Anthologies, Soundtracks and Original Cast
- Index to Artists in the First Edition
Rating System
The second edition uses the same rating system as the first edition. The only difference is that in addition to a rating, the second edition employs the pilcrowPilcrow
The pilcrow , also called the paragraph mark, paragraph sign, paraph, alinea , or blind P, is a typographical character commonly used to denote individual paragraphs...
mark (¶) to indicate a title that was out of print at the time the guide was published. Many records had their ratings lowered as the book now offered a revisionist slant to rock's history.
Reviewers
- Dave MarshDave MarshDave Marsh is an American music critic, author, editor and radio talk show host. He was a formative editor of Creem magazine, has written for various publications such as Newsday, The Village Voice, and Rolling Stone, and has published numerous books about music and musicians, mostly focused on...
- John Swenson
- Billy Altman
- George Arthur
- Lester BangsLester BangsLeslie Conway "Lester" Bangs was an American music journalist, author and musician. He wrote for Creem and Rolling Stone magazines, and was known for his leading influence in rock 'n' roll criticism....
- Bob Blumenthal
- J.D. Considine
- Jean-Charles Costa
- Brian Cullman
- Dan Doyle
- Jim Farber
- Laura Fissinger
- Chet Flippo
- David FrickeDavid FrickeDavid Fricke is a senior editor at Rolling Stone magazine, where he writes predominantly on rock music. In the 1990s, he was managing editor before stepping down.-Background:David Fricke is a graduate of Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania...
- Aaron Fuchs
- Steve Futterman
- Debbie Geller
- Russell Gersten
- Mikal GilmoreMikal GilmoreMikal Gilmore is an American writer. He was born "Michael Gilmore," but later changed the spelling of his name.-Life & career:Gilmore was born on February 9, 1951 in Portland, Oregon to Frank and Bessie Gilmore....
- Alan E. Goodman
- Randall Grass
- Malu Halasa
- Peter Herbst
- Stephen HoldenStephen HoldenStephen Holden is an American writer, music critic, film critic, and poet.Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963...
- Martha Hume
- Scott Isler
- Gary Kenton
- Wayne King
- Kenn Lowy
- Bruce Malamut
- Greil MarcusGreil MarcusGreil Marcus is an American author, music journalist and cultural critic. He is notable for producing scholarly and literary essays that place rock music in a much broader framework of culture and politics than is customary in pop music journalism.-Life and career:Marcus was born in San Francisco...
- Ira Mayer
- Joe McEwen
- David McGee
- John Milward
- Teri Morris
- John Morthland
- Paul Nelson
- Alan Niester
- Rob Patterson
- Kit Rachlis
- Ira Robbins
- Wayne Robbins
- Frank Rose
- Michael Rozek
- Fred Schruers
- Dave Schulpas
- Tom Smucker
- Ariel Swartley
- Bart Testa
- Ken TuckerKen TuckerKen Tucker was an English footballer who played as a left winger....
- Charley Walters
Third edition
The Rolling Stone Album Guide was a complete rewrite of both the 1979's The Rolling Stone Record Guide and the 1983's The New Rolling Stone Record Guide. The title change reflects the fact that by the time this edition was published in 1992, records
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
were almost completely replaced by CDs
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
. This edition employs three new editors and reduces the number of reviewers from more than 50 as seen in previous editions to a mere four. This edition also included reviews of Jazz albums, which had been removed from the previous edition for the sake of publishing a separate Jazz guide. Unlike both previous editions, this edition did not include comedy artists.
Table Of Contents
- Introduction
- Ratings
- Contributors
- The Rolling Stone Album Guide
- Anthologies
- Soundtracks
- Acknowledgments
Rating System
Like the first edition, it employed a five star rating scale but this edition had new definitions of what the number of stars meant and this edition employed the use of 1/2 stars in the reviews. The descriptions of the markings used in the third edition of the guide are:-
- Classic: Albums in this category are essential listening for anyone interested in the artist under discussion or the style of music that artist's work represents.
- Excellent: Four star albums represent peak performances in an artist's career. Generally speaking, albums that are granted four or more stars constitute the best introductions to an artist's work for listeners who are curious.
- Average to Good: Albums in the three-star range will primarily be of interest to established fans of the artist being discussed. This mid-range, by its very nature, requires the most discretion on the part of the consumer.
- Fair to Poor: Albums in the two-star category either fall below an artist's established standard or are, in and of themselves, failures.
- Disastrous: Albums in the range of one star or less are wastes of vital resources. Only masochists or completists need apply.
Artists omitted from the third edition
Some of the artists who were included in the previous editions but were omitted in this edition include:- HawkwindHawkwindHawkwind are an English rock band, one of the earliest space rock groups. Their lyrics favour urban and science fiction themes. They are also a noted precursor to punk rock and now are considered a link between the hippie and punk cultures....
- MagmaMagma (band)Magma is a French progressive rock band founded in Paris in 1969 by classically trained drummer Christian Vander, who claimed as his inspiration a "vision of humanity's spiritual and ecological future" that profoundly disturbed him. In the course of their first album, the band tells the story of a...
- Olivia Newton-JohnOlivia Newton-JohnOlivia Newton-John AO, OBE is a singer and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 solo albums. Eleven of her singles and 14 of her albums have been certified gold by the RIAA...
- ScorpionsScorpions (band)Scorpions are a heavy metal/hard rock band from Hannover, Germany, formed in 1965 by guitarist Rudolf Schenker, who is the band's only constant member. They are known for their 1980s rock anthem "Rock You Like a Hurricane" and many singles, such as "No One Like You", "Send Me an Angel", "Still...
- Steeleye SpanSteeleye SpanSteeleye Span are an English folk-rock band, formed in 1969 and remaining active today. Along with Fairport Convention they are amongst the best known acts of the British folk revival, and were among the most commercially successful, thanks to their hit singles "Gaudete" and "All Around My Hat"....
- Van der Graaf GeneratorVan der Graaf GeneratorVan der Graaf Generator are an English progressive rock band, formed in 1967 in Manchester. They were the first act signed to Charisma Records. The band achieved considerable success in Italy during the 1970s...
Fourth edition
Approximately 70 writers contributed to this edition. Here is a quote from the back cover of the fourth edition:"For the first time since 1992, Rolling Stone's definitive classic
returns to the scene, completely updated and revised to include the
past decade's artists and sounds. When it comes to sorting the truly
great from the merely mediocre, the enduring from the fleeting, The
New Rolling Stone Album Guide provides music buffs and amateurs alike
with authoritative guidance from the best voices in the field. Filled
with insightful commentary, it not only reviews the most influential
albums of all time, but also features biographical overviews of key
artists' careers, giving readers a look at the personalities behind
the music."
Artists omitted from the fourth edition
Some of the artists who were included in the previous editions but were omitted in this edition include:- Joan ArmatradingJoan ArmatradingJoan Anita Barbara Armatrading, MBE is a British singer, songwriter and guitarist. Armatrading is a three-time Grammy Award-nominee and has been nominated twice for BRIT Awards as Best Female Artist...
- Louis ArmstrongLouis ArmstrongLouis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
- Captain BeefheartCaptain BeefheartDon Van Vliet January 15, 1941 December 17, 2010) was an American musician, singer-songwriter and artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. His musical work was conducted with a rotating ensemble of musicians called The Magic Band, active between 1965 and 1982, with whom he recorded 12...
- Nat King ColeNat King ColeNathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
- Crowded HouseCrowded HouseCrowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Australia and led by New Zealand singer-songwriter Neil Finn. Finn is the primary songwriter and creative director of the band, having led it through several incarnations, drawing members from New Zealand , Australia and the United States...
- Deep PurpleDeep PurpleDeep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
- Duke EllingtonDuke EllingtonEdward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
- Ella FitzgeraldElla FitzgeraldElla Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
- George HarrisonGeorge HarrisonGeorge Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
- Incredible String BandIncredible String BandThe Incredible String Band were a psychedelic folk band formed in Scotland in 1966. The band built a considerable following, especially within British counterculture, before splitting up in 1974...
- Robert Johnson
- Wynton MarsalisWynton MarsalisWynton Learson Marsalis is a trumpeter, composer, bandleader, music educator, and Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Marsalis has promoted the appreciation of classical and jazz music often to young audiences...
- MetallicaMetallicaMetallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
(omitted from first printing, but added later) - The Alan Parsons ProjectThe Alan Parsons ProjectThe Alan Parsons Project was a British progressive rock band, active between 1975 and 1990, consisting of singer Eric Woolfson and keyboardist Alan Parsons surrounded by a varying number of session musicians....
- Soft MachineSoft MachineSoft Machine were an English rock band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene, and helped pioneer the progressive rock genre...
- Tears for FearsTears for FearsTears for Fears are an English new wave band formed in the early 1980s by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith.Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, they were initially associated with the New Wave synthesiser bands of the early 1980s but later branched out into...
- TotoToto (band)Toto is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1977. The group currently consists of Joseph Williams , David Paich , Steve Porcaro , Steve Lukather , Mike Porcaro , and Simon Phillips . Toto is known for a musical style that combines elements of pop, rock, soul, funk, progressive rock, hard...
- CultureCultureCulture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
- Blake BabiesBlake BabiesBlake Babies was an alternative rock band formed in 1986 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The three primary members were John Strohm, Freda Love , and Juliana Hatfield, with Evan Dando, Andrew Mayer, Seth White, Anthony DeLuca , and Mike Leahy each also performing as members of the band at...
- GTRGTR (band)GTR were a rock band founded in 1985 by former Yes and Asia guitarist Steve Howe and former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett. In comparison to the two leaders' earlier work within progressive rock, GTR's work followed more of an Adult Oriented Rock format. The band was short-lived, lasting for two...
- Meat PuppetsMeat PuppetsThe Meat Puppets are an American rock band formed in January 1980, in Phoenix, Arizona. The group's original lineup was Curt Kirkwood , his brother Cris Kirkwood , and Derrick Bostrom . The Kirkwood brothers met Bostrom while attending Brophy Prep High School in Phoenix...
- Donald FagenDonald FagenDonald Jay Fagen is an American musician and songwriter, best known as the co-founder, lead singer, and the principal songwriter of the rock band Steely Dan ....
Citations
- The Rolling Stone Record Guide. Ed. Dave Marsh and John Swenson. New York: Random House, 1979. (Note 1, see p xiii) (Note 1a, see p xv-xvi)
- The New Rolling Stone Record Guide. Ed. Dave Marsh and John Swenson. New York: Random House, 1983. (Note 2, see p 645-648) (Note 2a, see p xv) (Note 2b, see p xvii-xix)
- The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Ed. Anthony DeCurtis and James Henke with Holly George-Warren. New York: Random House, 1992. (Note 3, see p vii) (Note 3a, see ix)