1001 Songs
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Product Description
Product Description
"1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die" is an absorbing introduction to some of the greatest songs ever recorded, by an enormous range of artists from Bessie Smith to Gnarls Barkley and from Metallica to Missy Elliott. Find out what made their songs so great - then get back to the music. The rich history of popular music is built on a foundation of classic songs. From Tin Pan Alley to the Brill Building, Bob Dylan to Kurt Cobain, and Joni Mitchell to Amy Winehouse, gifted songwriters have crafted a cherished body of music that has become part of our lives. Imagine the Fifties without the magical clamor of "Tutti Frutti" and "Hound Dog", the Seventies without the anthemic "Le Freak" and "Anarchy in the U.K.", or the Noughties without the leftfield pop of "Toxic" or "Crazy". This music mirrors the times, both reflecting society at large ("A Change is Gonna Come" and "The Message") and mapping our own personal highs ("God Only Knows") or lows ("Hurt"). And from "Saturday Night Fish Fry" to "Saturday Night Fever", it has helped us simply forget our problems and dance till dawn. "1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die" picks through nearly a century of music to bring you an inspiring selection of some of the greatest recordings ever made. Each entry in this wonderfully browsable book tells the story of a great song. Find out what inspired the songwriter, what makes the track so enduring, which songs it influenced in turn, and which cover version to listen out for. You'll also pick up a wealth of fascinating trivia along the way. What links Lead Belly, Lonnie Donegan, and Black Betty? Whose gravestone inspired Phil Spector's first hit? And when did Christina Aguilera join forces with The Moon People? Read on and find out.
About the Author
Robert Dimery is a freelance writer and editor who has worked on Tony Wilson's 24 Hour Party People, Pump Up the Volume: A History of House, and Breaking into Heaven: The Rise and Fall of the Stone Roses, plus countless other popular music publications. He has also contributed to books on classic albums and classic singles, and has worked for a variety of magazines, including London Time Out and Vogue.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Being a kid of the 60/70/80's I naturally have every song of those eras ingrained in my head, leaving little room for important stuff like grown-up work. I pounced on this book with glee and found many gems, plus countless songs I haven't heard but will try to find. Most of the latter are modern ...i.e post 1980's. The compilers of this haven't gone down the 'greatest hits' path, thank God. Nor have they gone for anorak stuff that only 1% of the population will recognise. They walk the tightrope between pop and rock, punk and prog with aplomb. I was equally delighted to find 'Wonderous Stories' (Yes) as I was with 'Gloria' (Patti Smith). Duffy, REM, Stones, the Who, Waterboys, all good stuff. And for New Zealanders, Weather with you' (Crowded House) and curiously Pokarekare. Of course I would have picked different songs from a few of my favouriate artists like Springsteen, Green Day or Beatles but that doesn't matter. Summing up? I only review books on here that I reccomend you buy. This is a book for dipping into, not reading cover to cover (it's too weighty a tome for that anyway). And those 60's and 70's songs...groovy man!
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This was a surprise Christmas present for me, but a very welcome one. The soundtrack to Christmas evening therefore (once I got a chance to read some of the book) was murmurings of agreement, interspersed with 'you must be joking!' from time to time, as I assessed the suitability for inclusion of each song presented in the book. Of course, very few people are likely to agree with every entry in a book like this and it therefore provides a starting point for some debate.
However, the main reasons the book works for me lies in its' presentation - 1 or 2 songs to a page, a short piece of text for every song that provides some background and history, a picture of the record sleeve for many of the songs, and larger full page photos of selected featured artists. Also because the songs are listed chronologically, the earliest included song is Enrico Caruso's 'O sole mio' from 1916 and the latest being three selected tunes from 2010, the book provides a kind of history of popular music through much of the 20th Century and beyond albeit a naturally incomplete and rather selective one (by selective I mean the focus on hand-picked individual songs, not particularly selective in terms of the consideration of different genres of 'popular music', which I thought was quite reasonable).
At this point I have to be honest and say that I have never heard some of the songs featured although I was aware of their existence; whilst I was completely unaware of quite a few others prior to reading this book. But for me these were not negative points, and I fully intend to seek out quite a few of the 'unknown' songs.
The book concludes with a more comprehensive '10,001 songs you must hear' presented in list form only (alphabetically by artist). This list includes each of the top 1001 songs and notes the number of the page on which each song is featured, providing therefore an index for the main content of the book.
I would definitely recommend this book to all music fans.
However, the main reasons the book works for me lies in its' presentation - 1 or 2 songs to a page, a short piece of text for every song that provides some background and history, a picture of the record sleeve for many of the songs, and larger full page photos of selected featured artists. Also because the songs are listed chronologically, the earliest included song is Enrico Caruso's 'O sole mio' from 1916 and the latest being three selected tunes from 2010, the book provides a kind of history of popular music through much of the 20th Century and beyond albeit a naturally incomplete and rather selective one (by selective I mean the focus on hand-picked individual songs, not particularly selective in terms of the consideration of different genres of 'popular music', which I thought was quite reasonable).
At this point I have to be honest and say that I have never heard some of the songs featured although I was aware of their existence; whilst I was completely unaware of quite a few others prior to reading this book. But for me these were not negative points, and I fully intend to seek out quite a few of the 'unknown' songs.
The book concludes with a more comprehensive '10,001 songs you must hear' presented in list form only (alphabetically by artist). This list includes each of the top 1001 songs and notes the number of the page on which each song is featured, providing therefore an index for the main content of the book.
I would definitely recommend this book to all music fans.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Sure, there are a few things you might disagree with, but that is the nature of such books.
This book, YouTube and I will be spending many evenings together.
This book, YouTube and I will be spending many evenings together.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Great Book!
A book that will always be interesting, It will certainly keep me busy for about 4 years as I listen to one of the songs every day.
Published 2 months ago by Chezminda
1001 Songs you must hear before you die
This is the sort of book I like to look at and see how many of the songs I have actually heard! I found that I had heard the majority in the 50's and 60's but as the years went... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Veronica Duffy
Some notable omissions...
To quote the product description: Imagine... the Seventies without the anthemic... "In The Summertime" - Mungo Jerry or "Question" - The Moody Blues or "Mama Told Me (Not To Come)"... Read more
Published 9 months ago by G. Richardson
Entertaining and varied choice of music
This has a brief overview of a wide range of material, from Paolo Conte to Tom Waits. It's a great read for those who want to delve in and discover new artists, and I thought it... Read more
Published 15 months ago by CJ
Solid compendium, not many suprises
This is a comprehensive guide of tunes, going as far back as the 50s, cherry picking from each following decade up until the present day. Read more
Published 16 months ago by haitch
Great Book
If you'd like to learn something about modern music through all the genres without getting bored, THIS is the book for you! Read more
Published 17 months ago by VISA
Listmania!
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