The Rough Guide To The Rolling Stones

Compiles career biographies of over 1,200 artists and rock music reviews written by fans covering every phase of rock from R & B through punk and rap.

The Rough Guide to Pink Floyd is the ultimate companion to the band that changed the sound and scale of pop music forever. Features include: The Story: from the Syd Barrett era, the Dark Side Of The Moon phenomenon to their transformation into one of the world's biggest bands, The Music: 50 essential Floyd songs and the stories behind them, plus all the albums and recording sessions, side-projects and solo careers, Floyd On Film: the movies and film soundtracks fromThe Wall and More to Zabriskie Point and Pink Floyd at Pompeii, Floydology file: the cover versions, rarities, DVDs, books and websites. From the psychedelic "happenings" of 60s London to the arena gigs, world tours and Live 8 reunion - it's all here.

The perfect companion to cinema's most spectacular genre, The Rough Guide to Film Musicals reveals how an escapist entertainment became Hollywood's most ingenious art form. From such enduring classics as Singin' In The Rain and West Side Story to recent successes like Evita and Chicago, this book reviews 50 essential musicals, including several forgotten gems. There are profiles of musical icons such as Fred Astaire, Judy Garland and George Gershwin and details of musicals from around the world. Complete with a list of the best soundtracks, websites and books for further reading, this Rough Guide takes a behind the scenes look at this magical movie genre.

Rock legends Led Zeppelin remain a colossal music force with songs at once mystical, heavy, traditional and highly original. The Rough Guide to Led Zeppelin tells the story of the life and afterlife of this most extraordinary supergroup. Features include: The Story: from the first meeting of Plant and Page to the untimely death of John Bonham, detailing the magic, mayhem and excesses of the era. The Music: the band’s fifty best songs unpicked, plus coverage of blues influences, bootlegs, solo careers, and the best Jimmy Page guitar solos and most outstanding Robert Plant vocals. The Passengers: profiles of collaborators and colleagues including Roy Harper and Mickie Most. The Cargo: Zeppelin films, places, myths and memorabilia, books, websites and the afterlife of “Stairway to Heaven.”

The Rough Guide to Jimi Hendrix is a thorough reference book to the life and music of the greatest rock guitarist of all time. It covers all the key events in his metamorphosis from a misfit youngster growing up in poverty in Seattle to his rise to international stardom, from his days as a starving backup musician in the early 1960s to his triumphant appearances at the Monterey Pop and Woodstock rock festivals and his mysterious, sordid death in 1970. Special chapters are devoted to vivid description and critical evaluation of all his important studio and live albums and best thirty songs, as well as all major live and documentary Hendrix videos; his myriad musical influences from blues, soul, rock, and jazz; Hendrix-related sites and shrines; and his spectacular arsenal of guitar techniques and effects. Also including special features on overlooked aspects of his art ranging from his love of Bob Dylan's music to his relationship with the Black Power movement, The Rough Guide to Jimi Hendrix in a new ePub format documents all dimensions of this one-of-a-kind musical genius.

Publisher Description

This new Rough Guide is devoted to pop music, the tacky, catchy yet enduring music we grew up listening to when we should have been listening to something more profound. We celebrate the hits, the singers, the impresarios and the songs which have made up the soundtrack to our lives. So come along pop pickers, put on your blue suede shoes (or your tartan trousers or puffball skirt, it's your call) and take a stroll down Electric Avenue. Not aarf! Features include: bull; The Stars A celebration of those performers, from Robbie Williams to Andy Williams (and Madonna to Mungo Jerry), who have had us singing along or, in the case of Dean Friedman and Kajagoogoo, left us wondering what the world is coming to.