The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings
Encyclopedia
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings is a non-fiction
book that is an encyclopedic referencing of all known blues music
albums released on CD
.
, as well as documentaries
on the blues.
In the book, artists are set up alphabetically and include short (usually one paragraph) biographies before showing a complete listing of their discography
. Each album includes title, a rating out of four stars, label, musicians on the album, release month and year, and finally a review of varying length.
Non-fiction
Non-fiction is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be fact...
book that is an encyclopedic referencing of all known blues music
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
albums released on CD
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 ,...
.
Content
The book's first edition was released on 31 October 2006 and was written by Tony Russell and Chris Smith with contributions by Neil Slaven, Ricky Russell and Joe Faulkner. Russell in particular is known as a musical historian, working closely with programs presented on BBC RadioBBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
, as well as documentaries
Radio documentary
A radio documentary or feature is a purely acoustic performance devoted to covering a particular topic in some depth, usually with a mixture of commentary and sound pictures. It is broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD...
on the blues.
In the book, artists are set up alphabetically and include short (usually one paragraph) biographies before showing a complete listing of their discography
Discography
Discography is the study and listing of the details concerning sound recordings, often by specified artists or within identified musical genres...
. Each album includes title, a rating out of four stars, label, musicians on the album, release month and year, and finally a review of varying length.