The Rough Guide to Country Music (Rough Guide Music Guides)

Customer Reviews:

An amazing, amazing book.......2005-01-19

I've read many a' Rough Guide to a variety of musical forms, and Kurt Wolff's book on country absolutely takes the cake. From the music's hillbilly beginnings to the alt-country offshoots of the '90s, this well-researched book is written with wit and a tender affection for the genre's highlights AND lowlights. I can't imagine a better gift for someone interested in country music. My only gripe: Now that the book is four years old, some of the artist information could use an update. Second edition, Kurt? Please?

From hillbilly to alternative, it's all here . . ........2004-12-04

This is a truly fine one-volume encyclopedia of country music. Organized both historically and generically, the book is divided into 14 chapters, each discussing a type of music (hillbilly, cowboy, western swing, honky tonk, etc.) and tracing it from the time of its introduction to the present, with an overview followed by entries spotlighting the artists in alphabetical order. The chapter on rockabilly, for instance, includes both Elvis and the Stray Cats. Each entry concludes with brief reviews of recommended recordings. In addition, there are over 250 photographs of performers and album covers and numerous sidebars with short essays on a variety of topics.

The book comes in at almost 600 pages, covering the length and breadth of the subject and making a pretty fair attempt at measuring the depth, as well. To give an idea of the book's scope, the "classic" stars Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline don't appear until the middle. For anyone who may think country music starts and ends with Nashville, it will come as a surprise that so much of this music originated elsewhere.

You can read this book any old way you like, flipping through the pages, letting the pictures catch your eye as you discover favorite performers. If you grew up with country, there's many a trip down memory lane. If you're just discovering country, it is an excellent reference book just filled with information charting the careers of artists and their place in country music history. Well written, handsomely designed, easy to read and enjoy, it's a terrific book that will enhance any fan's love of this great musical tradition.

Broad and well-researched book with plenty of info........2002-12-19

I bought this book at the advice of a friend and was not disappointed. Wolff is a thoughtful and articulate writer, and this book has plenty of recording artists that I was not aware of. It is arranged in chronological historical chapters, which show the progression of country music to the present. Interesting write-ups on all the major artists, and plenty of information on musicians you probably won't have heard of.

You need this if you listen to country........2002-09-19

Love this book, just stumbled on it a few weeks ago, and can't put it down. I've been listening to country and loving it since I was a little girl, and this thing keeps turning me on to more music I want to go out and buy. Cool bio's on the artists and a great section on the seventies outlaw artists.

Fascinating and informative........2001-11-15

An essential addition to your music library - whether you're a country novice or expert. The author has meticulously researched and written about country music in a well-organized chronological format that allows the reader to fully grasp the roots and progression of this music genre. The book includes biographies of country artists (those who are well-known, as well as some forgotten gems), discographies, reviews, and essays which fit the music into a broader social and historical perspective.

Customer Reviews:

A little book that belies it's size!.......2007-06-02

What a shame that this book has gone out of print. One hundred reviews (actually, mini-essays) of one hundred albums including compilations. A huge amount of information on the music, the musicians and the development and history of country music is packed into this little book making it one of the essential purchases for those wishing to explore the genre. Informed and informative, intelligent and entertaining get hold of this great little book if you possibly can.

The Rough Guide to Bluegrass Music (Rough Guide World Music CDs)

Average customer rating:

Strong compilation

The Rough Guide to Bluegrass Music (Rough Guide World Music CDs)
Rough Guides
Manufacturer: Rough Guides
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 1858284864

Customer Reviews:

Strong compilation.......2007-09-18

I'm no expert on bluegrass, which is why I got this CD. It provided a good introduction to what's available without buying a half dozen CDs from which I'll listen to two or three tracks at best.

The Rough Guide to Classical Music 3 (Rough Guide Music Guides)

Average customer rating:

The best place to start to explore classical music
Great Bios
Excellent NearPerfect Music Guide!
More helpful with composers than recordings
An overall helpful book...

The Rough Guide to Classical Music 3 (Rough Guide Music Guides)
Rough Guides
Manufacturer: Rough Guides
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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History & Criticism | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Book Description

INTRODUCTION

Though few of them make much effort to entice a new audience to their product, the recording companies continue to pour out a flood of classical music. The catalogue of current classical CDs runs to more than two and half thousand tightly packed pages, and lists nearly three hundred composers before reaching the second letter of the alphabet. An average month sees some four hundred recordings and re-issues added to the pile. The Rough Guide to Classical Music attempts to make sense of this overwhelming volume of music, giving you the information that's essential whether you're starting from the beginning or have already begun exploring.

As well as being a buyer's guide to CDs, this book is a who's who of classical music, ranging from Hildegard of Bingen, one of the great figures of eleventh-century European culture, to Thomas Adès, born in London in 1971. Of course we've had to be selective, both with the composers and with their output - Domenico Scarlatti, for example, was a fascinating musician, but no book of this scope could do justice to each of his five hundred keyboard sonatas. Gaetano Donizetti wrote more than seventy operas, but you wouldn't want to listen to all of them. We've gone for what we think are the best works by the most interesting composers, mixing some underrated people with the big names, and highlighting some we think you should keep an eye on.

When it comes to CDs the situation requires even greater ruthlessness. Beethoven may have written only nine symphonies, but there are more than one hundred versions of the fifth in the catalogue, and scores of recordings of all the others. Several of these CDs should never have been issued - they are there simply because any up-and-coming conductor has to make a Beethoven recording as a kind of calling card, regardless of any aptitude for the music. However, a fair proportion of the Beethoven CDs are worth listening to, because a piece of music as complex as a Beethoven symphony will bear as many different readings as a Shakespeare play.

Although there are recordings that stand head and shoulders above the competition, no performance can be described as definitive, which is one reason why we have often recommended more than one account of a work. Whereas all our first-choice CDs make persuasive cases for the music, some of the additional recommendations are included because they make provocative counter-arguments. Where price is a consideration, we've also listed a lower-cost alternative whenever appropriate - thus we might suggest a mid-price boxed set of symphonies as an alternative to buying them as full-price individual CDs. Finally, in many instances we've picked an outstanding pre-stereo performance as a complement to a modern recording.

These `historic' reissues are the one reliable growth area in the classical music industry, and their success is not due to mere nostalgia. There are some great musicians around today, but there's also a lot of hype in the business, with many soloists owing their success more to the way they look than to the way they play - and conversely, many superlative musicians who remain obscure because they don't project the requisite glamour. It's in the area of orchestral music and opera that the situation is especially bad, notwithstanding the technically immaculate quality of many digital recordings. Orchestral musicians are now trained to a very high standard, but only a few of the top-class orchestras enjoy the sort of long-term relationship with an individual conductor that can mould a distinctive identity. The same goes for opera companies, which used to have a stable core of singers and musicians working under the same conductor for years. Now there's a system based on jet-setting stars, who might be performing in London one night, New York the next, then in the recording studio for a few days to record something with people they hadn't met until the day the session started. You don't necessarily get a good football team by paying millions for a miscellaneous batch of top-flight players, and you don't build a good musical team that way either.

Musically, then, new is not always best. And don't assume that a recording made more than thirty years ago will sound terrible. Sound quality won't match that of digital CDs, but you'll be surprised at how good it can be - indeed, many people prefer the warmth of the old analogue sound to the often chilly precision produced by modern studios. (We've warned you if surface noise or tinny quality might be a hindrance to enjoyment.) In short, you'll be missing a lot if you insist on hi-tech - few recent releases can match Vladimir Horowitz's 1940 account of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, for instance, or Josef Hofmann's versions of the Chopin piano concertos from the 1930s.

Customer Reviews:

The best place to start to explore classical music.......2005-11-09

This book is invaluable for those who have a limited knowledge of classical music and want to expand their listening repertoire. The choice of composers is excellent - of course when the number is limited (200+), one can always gripe about the favourites that have been left out. The accounts are written in a lively, up-beat style which does not compromise the fidelity of the information and the major works are well chosen. Finally a couple of key recordings are recommended - they tend towards the conservative, but pretty much ensure that the new listener will not be disappointed.

I would certainly recommend this book above the NPR guide and other "beginners guides" I have seen. Testimony to that is the fact that my copy has fallen apart from overuse over the years and is now held together with rubber bands. Enjoy!

Great Bios.......2005-03-11

I'll start off by saying that I'm not rating this book based on it's CD recommendations. My knowledge of all the recorded versions of any particular composition is not vast enough for that critique.

However the biographies are excellent; Well written and intriguing within the concise bounds required by this format.
If fact you will probably read about and become interested in many composers that you know little about.

Excellent NearPerfect Music Guide!.......2004-11-29

Truly, all the ROUGH GUIDES are top notch! This beautifully designed book will give you not only the basic pieces of just about every leading composer through the present, but also picks the top CD performances. Plus there are short bios on leading players and conductors. Did you know there is a collection of about 94 CD's by Toscanini, for example, (who, I did not know, lived in to his mid 90's). Browsing thru, say, Mozart on Beethoven, you get a terrific rundown on their top pieces and performances, plus bios and place in musical history. Plus there are many relative unknowns who I never knew! One very small criticism..Where are the 2 American composers, Edward MacDowell, and Amy Beach? (Maybe in later editions. Mine is dated 1994).In sum, a very fine book, even with these monir flaws!

More helpful with composers than recordings.......2004-08-30

I bought the Rough Guide to Classical Music a couple years back to complement the other reference guides in my library. Having used it a couple years, I can say it provides nice summaries of composers and the compostions they rate. It also provides some fascinating features -- such as "What Is a Fugue?" and "Sonata and Sonata Form" -- that provide information the average collector will find helpful if he/she is not a practicing musician.

However, the main reason people buy these books is to get information on CDs they intend to purchase or add to their collection. I use this one and a half-dozen others as reference for that purpose.

On that score, I find the Rough Guide is an average book. I say this because the authors tend to give highest grades to the most oft-recommended CD of a particular piece of music and never -- never -- go off the beaten track to recommend anything outside the standard circle of well known conductors, performers and orchestras.

This tells me the authors of this book do not have a very comprehensive working relationship with classical CDs, even though they have written a book recommending same! This pattern becomes almost predicatable after while. In fact, this book can become more conservative than the ultraconservative American Record Guide in making recommendations on core repertoire.

For the Beethoven Violin Concerto -- which every violinist in history has taken a shot or two at -- this book goes back to World War II to recommend the Menhiun-Furtwangler recording and recommends a Heifitz recording on an old Music and Arts CD. To give balance to current performers, they also include a recommendation for the more recent Hilary Hahn recording.

I've heard all these recordings and Heifitz could not be more different than Hahn. Most collectors that enjoy one would not care for the other, although they might buy it to build their collection. But Heifitz, who jets through the concerto in less than 40 minutes, is a far cry from the romanticism of Hahn and Menhuin.

On the basis of this kind of thing happening over and over again in these pages, I'd say the Rough Guide authors either haven't heard all the recordings out there or they consciously make an effort to satisfy old timers and DDD fanatics simultaneously. Nothing wrong with trying to keep everyone happy, I suppose, although to me it seems like a lack of vision.

Furthermore, the book does not include recordings by a number of composers of note. Bernhard Henrik Crusell, a Scandanaivan composer whose three clarinet concertos have been recorded a half-dozen times in recent years, is not represented in the book. Neither is Franz Krommer, a Moravian Romantic era composer that published several symphonies and a number of popular and often recorded woodwind works.

Meanwhile, composers Carol Gesauldo and Morton Feldman found their way into this book. Also included are Guillame de Machaut, Elisabeth Luytens and Perotin. A living composer named Sofia Gubaidulina gets as many pages in this book as Carl Maria von Weber and more than Einojuhani Rautavarra, the most popular of all living composers.

For these reasons, no serious collector could consider the Rough Guide to Classical Music a core item in their library. I've been collecting books on 78, LP, tape and compact disk criticism going back to "Ewen's Musical Masterpieces", first published in 1954 (Ewen also recommended the Heifitz recording in Beethoven, the old RCA Victor ICT 1010).

I find this book helpful on occasion but, more often that not, it pretends to be a lot more thorough than it is.

An overall helpful book..........2004-07-15

This book I found to be an overall quick and easy reference book, there are of course more explicit and more informative books around, but this book is great for an overall view of a composer's life and famous works. But there are several things that I must attend to in this review and that would be: I believe it would be really nice if instead of alphabetical order they would have catagorized them into their eras, but of course this would most likely be only appeasing to me or some other person who knows what eras they are in, so if you don't know about eras etc. then this should not discourage you in any way. I also was rather disappointed that the author yeilded into only putting in their most famous works, which is fine and all, it just even more obscures some of the composer's works of equal quality that have been placed in the back row. (ex: Mozart's string quintets are very famous and I grant, excellent, but why is it that no one ever hears his string Duos and trios which are of equal greatness?) Again, nothing to discourage you from buying this book. But overall this book is a great reference source for novices and experts alike.

The Rough Guide to TexMex Music (Rough Guide World Music CDs)

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The Rough Guide to TexMex Music (Rough Guide World Music CDs)

Manufacturer: Rough Guides
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 1858284880

Average customer rating:

Dormant: Country Music:the Rough Guide
Kurt Wolff
Manufacturer: Rough Guides
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1858284392

Book Description

By the time he had concluded twelve years on prime-time television, Archie Bunker had raised a Jewish child in his home, befriended a black Jew, gone into business with a Jewish partner, enrolled as a member of Temple Beth Shalom, eulogized his close friend at a Jewish funeral, hosted a Friday evening Sabbath dinner, participated in a bar mitzvah ceremony, and joined a group to fight synagogue vandalism. While the famed style of All in the Family was unique, its inclusions of Jews and Jewish issues was far from unusual. On the whole, Jewish issues have been portrayed with respect and relative depth during five decades of television programming. This work documents and examines the portrayal of Jewish themes in popular prime time television, from 1948 through the 1996-1997 television season, focusing on how such topics as anti-Semitism, intermarriage, Jewish lore and traditions, Israel, the Holocaust, and questions of Jewish identity have been featured in numerous television genres. How real-life attitudes about Jews and Jewish issues are reflected in television portrayals is also explored.

Jews and the small screen.(Book review) : An article from: Judaism: A Quarterly Journal of Jewish Life and Thought

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Jews and the small screen.(Book review) : An article from: Judaism: A Quarterly Journal of Jewish Life and Thought
Elliot B. Gertel
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Judaism: A Quarterly Journal of Jewish Life and Thought, published by Thomson Gale on June 22, 2005. The length of the article is 4869 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Jews and the small screen.(Book review)
Author: Elliot B. Gertel
Publication: Judaism: A Quarterly Journal of Jewish Life and Thought (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 22, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 54 Issue: 3-4 Page: 264(8)

Article Type: Book review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

THE CHOSEN IMAGE: TELEVISION'S PORTRAYAL OF JEWISH THEMES AND CHARACTERS

Average customer rating:

THE CHOSEN IMAGE: TELEVISION'S PORTRAYAL OF JEWISH THEMES AND CHARACTERS
Jonathan and Judith Pearl
Manufacturer: McFarland & Co. Jefferson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000IX04EQ

Book Description

Looking to trade in your paintbrush for a mouse? Or a pressure-sensitive tablet and stylus? The Painter 8 Wow Book is the definitive guide for making the transition from traditional to digital art using Corel Painter 8. Author Cher Threinen-Pendarvis, an expert and instructor in both Painter and Photoshop, translates traditional artistic techniques so you can apply them using Painter's natural-media brushes and effects. Beyond that, she demonstrates exciting new media mixes and special effects that would be nearly impossible to accomplish without the computer. Clear, step-by-step instructions, hundreds of full-color illustrations, and inspirational galleries of painterly works by top artists, designers, and, photographers make mastering Painter both fun and easy. The book is bound to boost your creativity with Painter 8's powerful tools, as you learn from the artist who created more than 400 new brushes included with Corel Painter 8. The Painter 8 Wow! Book includes expanded chapters focusing on:

The new, streamlined, easier-to-use interface
New high-performance brushes for more creative painting
Cool special effects for type and graphics
Web graphics and printmaking
Improved portability to and from Adobe Photoshop, with tons of real-world tips to help you build on your Photoshop experience to get the most out of Painter

Some people buy the book just for the accompanying CD-ROM, which comes loaded with over a hundred custom brushes and papers built by the author, recorded scripts for applying effects, stock photographs, and video clips, and a trial version of Corel Painter 8. On the CD-ROM you'll also find the Painter 8 Wow! Study Guide, an instructor's guide designed to help you use the book for self-study or as a textbook for classes in computer imaging, digital art, and design using Corel Painter. The book also provides a companion Web site at http://peachpit.com/wow/painter, which offers valuable supplemental information, including cool tips and techniques and a Painter art gallery featuring work by some of the medium's most talented artists.

Customer Reviews:

The only reference you need for Painter 8.......2005-02-10

I just bought this book based on the reviews before me. After reading a bit and skimming the whole thing (was delivered yesterday), I picked up a hundred new ideas on how to create and work with images. This is far better than searching through online tutorials. For those of you who know that you can create anything with the software but can't imagine what steps to take, this is your ticket to how to do it. Buy it.

WOW book fills learning experience with EXCITEMENT.......2004-05-11

I have about five years of computer graphics experience and have purchased quite a few reference and 'how to' books along the way to help me better understand the use of the programs I own. Without a doubt this has been the most helpful book I've ever come across.

Put together with consideration for the Painter beginner like myself, this book has been FILLED with beautiful, full-color examples so that each step was easy to follow and understand. While it also explored more of the Painter 8's functions than the user manual Corel packaged with the program, many other accomplished Painter artists contributed their techniques which made this book very rich.

Cher's WOW book filled my learning experience with excitement instead of frustration and will remain a useful guide even after I'm more experienced. Thank you Cher and everyone for all the hard work and talent that went into its creation!

Sincerely,

30 DAYS???.......2004-02-08

Please don't base your decision to buy this book on the review below. The brushes and CD are NOT on a 30 day trial. The actual Corel program is a 30 day Demo. It's a shame that reviewer gave this book 1 star because of this.

That being said...the brushes are fantastic. The CD-Rom even comes with movies, stock libraries of images and a bunch of other extras.

This book is indispensable as a resource for both inspiration and new techniques. Plus it's nice to see how other artists go about creating art.

Demo CD Rom.......2004-01-06

Actually, the book is probably great. However, I gave it one star solely to alert consumers to the fact that the CD that comes with the book is just a 30 free trial. I guess this means the whole CD vanishes after that period of time?. Don't know yet.
The brushes are nothing short of outstanding. Too bad I can only use them for 30 days. Nothing can be saved, and I am not computer savy enough to convert the CD to a permanent status in my computer. ...

Excellent Book.......2003-10-14

I paint with Painter since version 5.5 of Metacreations, and I
have the Painter 6 Wow Book too, this new book of Cher is
excellent and much better than the former.

It was a pleasure to learn new tecniques and tips, and also
the fortunate owners have a lot of goodies in the Cd.

I highly recommend this book.

Average customer rating:
The Painter 8 Wow! Book with CD
Cher; Dayton, Linnea; Benioff, Carol Threinen-Pendarvis
Manufacturer: Peachpit Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OUID2I

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