The ultimate guide to jazz on CD., 14 Nov 2008
The 9th edition of the 'Jazz Bible' maintains the high standards of previous volumes. Its 1600-plus pages contain perceptive, witty and knowledgeable reviews of 14,000 jazz CDs including 2000 new discs in this 2008 edition. There is also a moving tribute to the late Richard D. Cook(1957-2007) who gets awarded the highest accolade of a 'crown' from his co-author, Brian Morton.
The hours of concentrated thought and hard-listening that's gone into this monumental series from the two authors since 1992 is awe-inspiring and the latest, endlessly browsable edition is an indispensable guide for any serious jazz collector.

The ultimate guide to jazz on CD., 14 Nov 2008
The 9th edition of the 'Jazz Bible' maintains the high standards of previous volumes. Its 1600-plus pages contain perceptive, witty and knowledgeable reviews of 14,000 jazz CDs including 2000 new discs in this 2008 edition. There is also a moving tribute to the late Richard D. Cook(1957-2007) who gets awarded the highest accolade of a 'crown' from his co-author, Brian Morton.
The hours of concentrated thought and hard-listening that's gone into this monumental series from the two authors since 1992 is awe-inspiring and the latest, endlessly browsable edition is an indispensable guide for any serious jazz collector.

Their History, 19 Nov 2008
I first got into Led Zep somewhere between their third and forth album, reading music magazines `Sounds` and `New Musical Express for years I knew almost everything about the group even though , they didnt talk to the press unless they had something big to discuss! I stopped buying the press weekleys after `Sounds` scribe Geoff (deaf) Barton started Kerrang!. so back to this book, yes its good and although I have seen 95% of the photos and read 95% of the interviews etc . there is a comprehensive review of each album and lots of informative information. still good to have this kind of scrap book style large heavy book! there are a lot more bands out there that should follow this format..Its also great to see a lot of bootleg covers, albums I know about but have never seen. Heard about five and some are great some are a waste of vinyl...This is a very good history Not the heaviest, they at the time were the BEST

Beautiful.........for the coffee table, 03 Nov 2008
Great book. Great pictures. Some pretty rare ones. Only the occasional mistake usually in the dates/venues for the pictures. Good text covering the essentials of the bands history.
After a run of poor books on the band I would recommend this to the whole fan spectrum, from casual to serious.

The ultimate guide to jazz on CD., 14 Nov 2008
The 9th edition of the 'Jazz Bible' maintains the high standards of previous volumes. Its 1600-plus pages contain perceptive, witty and knowledgeable reviews of 14,000 jazz CDs including 2000 new discs in this 2008 edition. There is also a moving tribute to the late Richard D. Cook(1957-2007) who gets awarded the highest accolade of a 'crown' from his co-author, Brian Morton.
The hours of concentrated thought and hard-listening that's gone into this monumental series from the two authors since 1992 is awe-inspiring and the latest, endlessly browsable edition is an indispensable guide for any serious jazz collector.

Their History, 19 Nov 2008
I first got into Led Zep somewhere between their third and forth album, reading music magazines `Sounds` and `New Musical Express for years I knew almost everything about the group even though , they didnt talk to the press unless they had something big to discuss! I stopped buying the press weekleys after `Sounds` scribe Geoff (deaf) Barton started Kerrang!. so back to this book, yes its good and although I have seen 95% of the photos and read 95% of the interviews etc . there is a comprehensive review of each album and lots of informative information. still good to have this kind of scrap book style large heavy book! there are a lot more bands out there that should follow this format..Its also great to see a lot of bootleg covers, albums I know about but have never seen. Heard about five and some are great some are a waste of vinyl...This is a very good history Not the heaviest, they at the time were the BEST

Beautiful.........for the coffee table, 03 Nov 2008
Great book. Great pictures. Some pretty rare ones. Only the occasional mistake usually in the dates/venues for the pictures. Good text covering the essentials of the bands history.
After a run of poor books on the band I would recommend this to the whole fan spectrum, from casual to serious.

Yet more tripe from those who do it best, 08 Nov 2008
As if those terrible Best of Decade lists weren't innacurate enough, RichDork now decide that it's time for the world to know what they say are the best songs from the past 30 years or so. In book form.

I don't think I'd have had as big a problem with this had they just published it on their site. I don't own it -- it's easily viewable on the net -- but I'm well aware that there are hipsters out there gullible enough to buy what is essentially nothing more than one great big mass self-indulgent by a group of obsessive rock and pop fans with severe ego problems.

The one thing that earns this its one star is its eclectism. Talk Talk, The Pop Group, Dizzee Rascal and Autechre each make appearances on here, among many others. However, the list is formulaic to the point that I could have guessed at least 10% of their picks before reading, had I the thought or effort to do so. What's worse is that the list is primarily made up of artists who made it onto the 70s/80/90s decade lists previously. This means that not only are the lists obnoxious on Pitchfork's part, but any use that they may have served ignorant music fans looking to delve a bit further into rock music is eliminated.

Not recommended by any means, but the sites worth checking out if you're tired of the current British mainstream, choc-full indie-pop, post-punk rehash guitar bands; dull, disco-never-died rn'b and whoever it is that won X Factor -- or whatever it's called as of your reading this -- most recently. Compared to that, this is a damn masterwork.

The ultimate guide to jazz on CD., 14 Nov 2008
The 9th edition of the 'Jazz Bible' maintains the high standards of previous volumes. Its 1600-plus pages contain perceptive, witty and knowledgeable reviews of 14,000 jazz CDs including 2000 new discs in this 2008 edition. There is also a moving tribute to the late Richard D. Cook(1957-2007) who gets awarded the highest accolade of a 'crown' from his co-author, Brian Morton.
The hours of concentrated thought and hard-listening that's gone into this monumental series from the two authors since 1992 is awe-inspiring and the latest, endlessly browsable edition is an indispensable guide for any serious jazz collector.

Their History, 19 Nov 2008
I first got into Led Zep somewhere between their third and forth album, reading music magazines `Sounds` and `New Musical Express for years I knew almost everything about the group even though , they didnt talk to the press unless they had something big to discuss! I stopped buying the press weekleys after `Sounds` scribe Geoff (deaf) Barton started Kerrang!. so back to this book, yes its good and although I have seen 95% of the photos and read 95% of the interviews etc . there is a comprehensive review of each album and lots of informative information. still good to have this kind of scrap book style large heavy book! there are a lot more bands out there that should follow this format..Its also great to see a lot of bootleg covers, albums I know about but have never seen. Heard about five and some are great some are a waste of vinyl...This is a very good history Not the heaviest, they at the time were the BEST

Beautiful.........for the coffee table, 03 Nov 2008
Great book. Great pictures. Some pretty rare ones. Only the occasional mistake usually in the dates/venues for the pictures. Good text covering the essentials of the bands history.
After a run of poor books on the band I would recommend this to the whole fan spectrum, from casual to serious.

Yet more tripe from those who do it best, 08 Nov 2008
As if those terrible Best of Decade lists weren't innacurate enough, RichDork now decide that it's time for the world to know what they say are the best songs from the past 30 years or so. In book form.

I don't think I'd have had as big a problem with this had they just published it on their site. I don't own it -- it's easily viewable on the net -- but I'm well aware that there are hipsters out there gullible enough to buy what is essentially nothing more than one great big mass self-indulgent by a group of obsessive rock and pop fans with severe ego problems.

The one thing that earns this its one star is its eclectism. Talk Talk, The Pop Group, Dizzee Rascal and Autechre each make appearances on here, among many others. However, the list is formulaic to the point that I could have guessed at least 10% of their picks before reading, had I the thought or effort to do so. What's worse is that the list is primarily made up of artists who made it onto the 70s/80/90s decade lists previously. This means that not only are the lists obnoxious on Pitchfork's part, but any use that they may have served ignorant music fans looking to delve a bit further into rock music is eliminated.

Not recommended by any means, but the sites worth checking out if you're tired of the current British mainstream, choc-full indie-pop, post-punk rehash guitar bands; dull, disco-never-died rn'b and whoever it is that won X Factor -- or whatever it's called as of your reading this -- most recently. Compared to that, this is a damn masterwork.

Too many omissions but still the bible, 09 Nov 2008
I have to agree with the previous two reviewers. I have been buying the Penguin Guide since the early 1980s and have become increasingly disappointed. I also bought the 2008 edition and hoped that important recordings that had been omitted would be included. Abbados Mahler 6 and 7 recordings with the Berlin PO- surely among the primary recommendations and cornerstones of my collection- are omitted! And what about Simon Rattles recording of Szymanowskis Harnasie? And Chailly's wonderful Leipzig recordings of the Mahler editions of Schumann's symphonies- not everyone's taste I know- but perhaps the most frequently played of all my new CDs in the past year. I also wonder whether the reviewers hearing is quite what it used to be. I invested in the four star-rated recording of Messiaens Turangalila Symphony on RCA by Ozawa "..comes from 1967, but you would never guess that from the brilliantly atmospheric sound"- I agree that the performance is seminal, but the sound is uncomfortably distorted and glassy at times and falls far short of what we would expect nowadays- so much so that I have never got through it in one sitting, even in the car. All this having been said- I have got Greenfield, Layton, and March to thank for intoducing me to some wonderful recordings over the years, and I still agree with most of their recommendations (such as Richard Hickox's new Elgar 1- one of the greatest ever in my opinion, and with stunning sound). For anyone new to classical music who wants to build a collection-this guide is still like the bible, but it needs some more careful editing as the market beomes ever more saturated with reissues and new recordings.

Slight improvement, sloppy editing, 06 Nov 2008
I reviewed the previous edition and remarked on the poor editing. There has been a slight improvement here but not enough to save the Guide from a so-so rating. Some CDs are noted but not rated, the text has not been updated so that "recent releases" are sometimes 10 years old and some new releases are bizarrely ignored altogether. This is the last edition I will ever invest in. I suggest that other readers think very carefully before they part with their cash.

If you have the 2008 guide, don't waste your money on this, 17 Oct 2008
When the 2008 Penguin Guide appeared, I wrote that the main problem was the sheer number of good CDs omitted. I had hoped that with the 2009 Guide, important releases missed out previously would be included.

Not a chance. As I browsed through this latest edition, I kept thinking 'but this is the same as the 2008 edition'!. I got the previous Guide out, and there is precious little difference. All those excellent classical CDs and SACDs released over the last twelve months - so few reviewed.

Just to give a couple of examples; there has been an avalanche of fine Shostakovich recordings over the last year. How many make it into the Guide? Five. Take Mahler symphonies- there's always a steady stream of recommendable new releases; just three new releases are included (and one DVD). I could go on, but you get the point.

I have been buying the Penguin Guide for years, but have never been so disappointed as by this edition. If there is not space for more releases (and it is the sheer number of excellent releases from the last 12 months omitted that annoys me) then either we should have a two volume edition, or Penguin should just call it a day. It's not as though it's cheap either. I actually took my copy back to Waterstone's (sorry Amazon) and got a refund. And the new system, introduced last year, of giving up to four stars, putting shaded boxes around some recommended recordings, a rosette for some others, a 'key' symbol for others....this must be a little confusing for newcomers.

The one guide to classical compact discs which I now find indispensible is '1001 Classical Recordings You Must hear Before You Die', which is much better than it sounds. But I think the Penguin Guide has just had its day.

Sad.

The ultimate guide to jazz on CD., 14 Nov 2008
The 9th edition of the 'Jazz Bible' maintains the high standards of previous volumes. Its 1600-plus pages contain perceptive, witty and knowledgeable reviews of 14,000 jazz CDs including 2000 new discs in this 2008 edition. There is also a moving tribute to the late Richard D. Cook(1957-2007) who gets awarded the highest accolade of a 'crown' from his co-author, Brian Morton.
The hours of concentrated thought and hard-listening that's gone into this monumental series from the two authors since 1992 is awe-inspiring and the latest, endlessly browsable edition is an indispensable guide for any serious jazz collector.

Their History, 19 Nov 2008
I first got into Led Zep somewhere between their third and forth album, reading music magazines `Sounds` and `New Musical Express for years I knew almost everything about the group even though , they didnt talk to the press unless they had something big to discuss! I stopped buying the press weekleys after `Sounds` scribe Geoff (deaf) Barton started Kerrang!. so back to this book, yes its good and although I have seen 95% of the photos and read 95% of the interviews etc . there is a comprehensive review of each album and lots of informative information. still good to have this kind of scrap book style large heavy book! there are a lot more bands out there that should follow this format..Its also great to see a lot of bootleg covers, albums I know about but have never seen. Heard about five and some are great some are a waste of vinyl...This is a very good history Not the heaviest, they at the time were the BEST

Beautiful.........for the coffee table, 03 Nov 2008
Great book. Great pictures. Some pretty rare ones. Only the occasional mistake usually in the dates/venues for the pictures. Good text covering the essentials of the bands history.
After a run of poor books on the band I would recommend this to the whole fan spectrum, from casual to serious.

Yet more tripe from those who do it best, 08 Nov 2008
As if those terrible Best of Decade lists weren't innacurate enough, RichDork now decide that it's time for the world to know what they say are the best songs from the past 30 years or so. In book form.

I don't think I'd have had as big a problem with this had they just published it on their site. I don't own it -- it's easily viewable on the net -- but I'm well aware that there are hipsters out there gullible enough to buy what is essentially nothing more than one great big mass self-indulgent by a group of obsessive rock and pop fans with severe ego problems.

The one thing that earns this its one star is its eclectism. Talk Talk, The Pop Group, Dizzee Rascal and Autechre each make appearances on here, among many others. However, the list is formulaic to the point that I could have guessed at least 10% of their picks before reading, had I the thought or effort to do so. What's worse is that the list is primarily made up of artists who made it onto the 70s/80/90s decade lists previously. This means that not only are the lists obnoxious on Pitchfork's part, but any use that they may have served ignorant music fans looking to delve a bit further into rock music is eliminated.

Not recommended by any means, but the sites worth checking out if you're tired of the current British mainstream, choc-full indie-pop, post-punk rehash guitar bands; dull, disco-never-died rn'b and whoever it is that won X Factor -- or whatever it's called as of your reading this -- most recently. Compared to that, this is a damn masterwork.

Too many omissions but still the bible, 09 Nov 2008
I have to agree with the previous two reviewers. I have been buying the Penguin Guide since the early 1980s and have become increasingly disappointed. I also bought the 2008 edition and hoped that important recordings that had been omitted would be included. Abbados Mahler 6 and 7 recordings with the Berlin PO- surely among the primary recommendations and cornerstones of my collection- are omitted! And what about Simon Rattles recording of Szymanowskis Harnasie? And Chailly's wonderful Leipzig recordings of the Mahler editions of Schumann's symphonies- not everyone's taste I know- but perhaps the most frequently played of all my new CDs in the past year. I also wonder whether the reviewers hearing is quite what it used to be. I invested in the four star-rated recording of Messiaens Turangalila Symphony on RCA by Ozawa "..comes from 1967, but you would never guess that from the brilliantly atmospheric sound"- I agree that the performance is seminal, but the sound is uncomfortably distorted and glassy at times and falls far short of what we would expect nowadays- so much so that I have never got through it in one sitting, even in the car. All this having been said- I have got Greenfield, Layton, and March to thank for intoducing me to some wonderful recordings over the years, and I still agree with most of their recommendations (such as Richard Hickox's new Elgar 1- one of the greatest ever in my opinion, and with stunning sound). For anyone new to classical music who wants to build a collection-this guide is still like the bible, but it needs some more careful editing as the market beomes ever more saturated with reissues and new recordings.

Slight improvement, sloppy editing, 06 Nov 2008
I reviewed the previous edition and remarked on the poor editing. There has been a slight improvement here but not enough to save the Guide from a so-so rating. Some CDs are noted but not rated, the text has not been updated so that "recent releases" are sometimes 10 years old and some new releases are bizarrely ignored altogether. This is the last edition I will ever invest in. I suggest that other readers think very carefully before they part with their cash.

If you have the 2008 guide, don't waste your money on this, 17 Oct 2008
When the 2008 Penguin Guide appeared, I wrote that the main problem was the sheer number of good CDs omitted. I had hoped that with the 2009 Guide, important releases missed out previously would be included.

Not a chance. As I browsed through this latest edition, I kept thinking 'but this is the same as the 2008 edition'!. I got the previous Guide out, and there is precious little difference. All those excellent classical CDs and SACDs released over the last twelve months - so few reviewed.

Just to give a couple of examples; there has been an avalanche of fine Shostakovich recordings over the last year. How many make it into the Guide? Five. Take Mahler symphonies- there's always a steady stream of recommendable new releases; just three new releases are included (and one DVD). I could go on, but you get the point.

I have been buying the Penguin Guide for years, but have never been so disappointed as by this edition. If there is not space for more releases (and it is the sheer number of excellent releases from the last 12 months omitted that annoys me) then either we should have a two volume edition, or Penguin should just call it a day. It's not as though it's cheap either. I actually took my copy back to Waterstone's (sorry Amazon) and got a refund. And the new system, introduced last year, of giving up to four stars, putting shaded boxes around some recommended recordings, a rosette for some others, a 'key' symbol for others....this must be a little confusing for newcomers.

The one guide to classical compact discs which I now find indispensible is '1001 Classical Recordings You Must hear Before You Die', which is much better than it sounds. But I think the Penguin Guide has just had its day.

Sad.

Mind blowing!, 09 Dec 2006
I have been playing guitar for just under a year, am a quick learner and thaught this book covered more than the crash course books that I have gone through in the past and in much more detail.

I have found that the exercises are fantastic all be it a little chalanging, though in my mind you progress better when you push the boundries of your ability a little and this book certainly does that!

If you can acomplish all of the exercises in this book, then you can consider yourself, amazing! I will be a very happy man if I can play everything in here!

Awe Inspiring, 07 Mar 2006
I will start by saying that I agree with everything already written in the preceding reviews. Perhaps doubly agreeing with alanstrgss, in that the 'Bible' may be more of an information source than a tutoring tool.

At 45, having just bought my first guitar 7 weeks ago I am a complete newbie and not particularly knowledgable of other guitarists. So this review may be of interest to other newbies.

The performance pieces at the end of CD2 left me in no doubt that Eric Roche must be one of the most skilled guitarists in the world. His jaw dropping prowess on the CD examples had me intimidated and disheartened at first. Some of the chord shapes in some of the excercises seem almost unachievable at speed (then again I still struggle with the Fm barre chord) and the speed with which he finger-picks must be a blurr to watch - if only a DVD were included.

Having said that, the excercises sound so colourful and interesting that I have stuck with this book in preference to the other two that I bought at the same time (Guitar Method - Hal Leonard and Play Acoustic - Dave Hunter). None of your strum-along-to-a-song stuff here. In fact hardly anything that I recognise and not what I was originally looking for at all. But I found it very fresh, enticing, alluring.

The first time the subject of strumming is broached is on p38 track 16. In neuvo flamenco style a chord is strummed 33 times in just 4 seconds! To a newbie like me it sounds near impossible to mimic but Mr Roche gives an excellent explanation of how it's done. Maybe one's wrist doesn't need to fully rotate at 10 revs/s.

Just 7 weeks after buying a guitar and working with this book my guitar-playing friends are genuinely astonished at how well I can play. I am, of course, an exceptional individual with near super-human powers (barre chords are kryptonite) but it probably helps that the 'Bible's' first few excercises plunge you straight into finger-picking melodies that may be easier to play than they sound.

There is need for an addendum - there are some typos on some of the tabs and a couple of the excercises I've attempted have incomplete tabs i.e. the last few bars of the piece played on the CD are missing from the written tab.

To summarise then: Not what I was looking for as a newbie and not what I wanted. Complex, intimidating, unachievable...

Inspiring - I feel that if I can absorb just a fraction of Eric Roche's magic it will be like fairy-dust to my guitar playing.

Not so much a tutor as a very informative overview, 24 Feb 2006
This is a highly unusual book. I know of no other that has this approach. Even excellent books such as 'The Complete Guitarist' by Richard Chapman don't cover the ground that can be found in the 'bible'.

One previous reviewer refers to it as a 'tutor'. Another reviewer said that after reading it they felt 'informed'. I feel that the second comment is the more accurate. There are a wide range of truly excellent 'tutors' out there for anyone who wants to learn how to master the acoustic guitar. (There are also some very poor ones - but that's another matter).

Whilst the 'bible', does contain elements of 'tutorship' by including exercises, riffs and performance pieces, it covers a lot more ground. If your search is for a full-blown guitar tutor, then this is probably not the book for you. (In that event, begin by looking at 'The acoustic guitar method' by David Hamburger, or 'Beginning Fingerstyle Blues' by Arnie Berle and Mark Galbo. More demanding, but no less good is 'Acoustic Blues Guitar' by Kenny Sultan. If you're also interested in electric blues, tutors don't come much better or more rewarding than 'Blues you can use' by John Ganapes. All come with CD's and all are available via Amazon UK).

But back to the 'bible' ...

There is so much in this huge 243 page, large format book that it would take a small novella to review it. Even the 'Contents' listing covers 4 full sides!

Maybe I can best explain what I mean by it being less of a tutor and more of a broad overview by listing a few of the other topics that are covered. In some cases I have paraphrased themes to cut down the list:

Development of the acoustic guitar
Intonation
Tuning (covered from a wide range of perspectives - not just a single method)
Tendonitis (and other guitar-related hand problems)
Right and left hand warm-up exercises
Practice (for hands, mind and ears)
Melody, harmony, bass line movement, rhythm
Tone, texture, dynamics
A detailed look at all manner of musical conventions (eg: scales, thirds, fifths, key signatures, intervals, triads, inversions ..... )
Exploring the fingerboard
The 3-chord trick
Seventh chords and harmonising with 7th chords
More complex chords (added and suspended)
Modes of the major scale (eg: Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian ....)
Pentatonic and blues scales
Tunings (including open tunings, drop tunings, modal tunings, Nashville tunings, radical tunings)
Harmonics
Tapping and slapping
Pickups for acoustic guitar (eg: piezo, magnetic)
Pre-amplifiers
Equalizers
Feedback problems
The art of stage performance
Use of separate microphones in a performance
Changing strings
String and guitar care (inc. '10 golden rules')
Taking your guitar out and about
Looking after your hands and nails
The capo
Effects and processors
Guitar synths
6 performance pieces (broad range of types)
The Ten Acoustic Guitar Commandments

See what I mean?

The CD's are not supportive of a tutorial approach in the sense that they don't take you through graduated exercises. Whilst some tracks are examples of riffs and rhythms, others are of full blown performances .... and very good they are too. For instance, by track 19 on CD1 you're listening to a rhythmic piece that wouldn't sound amiss on a Gordon Giltrap CD!)

As I said at the outset, if your search is for a tutor to take you slowly and gently through the basics of acoustic guitar playing and styles - look elsewhere. But if your need is for a book that covers just about everything you will ever need to know about developing your playing skills and both general and specific knowledge, then this book really is a treasure trove of information. As such, it certainly merits 5 stars.

The acoustic guitar Bible, 17 Feb 2006
I was recomended this book by an amateur guitarist who himself plays sublimely. The scope and depth of knowledge covered by the author is seriously impressive. I'm an experienced guitarist of many years standing, but from page one I was informed and enthralled. A must for any guitarist, regardless of ability.

An exceptional tutor book, 22 Oct 2005
This is one of the finest tutor books I've seen, very detailed and covers so many areas of acoustic playing, from excellent stuff about the instrument itself (in far greater detail than any other book I've seen) through alternate tunings (which Eric Roche was renowned for)and a number of full performance pieces. This is one book I'll be recommending to friends as the one to get.

The ultimate guide to jazz on CD., 14 Nov 2008
The 9th edition of the 'Jazz Bible' maintains the high standards of previous volumes. Its 1600-plus pages contain perceptive, witty and knowledgeable reviews of 14,000 jazz CDs including 2000 new discs in this 2008 edition. There is also a moving tribute to the late Richard D. Cook(1957-2007) who gets awarded the highest accolade of a 'crown' from his co-author, Brian Morton.
The hours of concentrated thought and hard-listening that's gone into this monumental series from the two authors since 1992 is awe-inspiring and the latest, endlessly browsable edition is an indispensable guide for any serious jazz collector.

Their History, 19 Nov 2008
I first got into Led Zep somewhere between their third and forth album, reading music magazines `Sounds` and `New Musical Express for years I knew almost everything about the group even though , they didnt talk to the press unless they had something big to discuss! I stopped buying the press weekleys after `Sounds` scribe Geoff (deaf) Barton started Kerrang!. so back to this book, yes its good and although I have seen 95% of the photos and read 95% of the interviews etc . there is a comprehensive review of each album and lots of informative information. still good to have this kind of scrap book style large heavy book! there are a lot more bands out there that should follow this format..Its also great to see a lot of bootleg covers, albums I know about but have never seen. Heard about five and some are great some are a waste of vinyl...This is a very good history Not the heaviest, they at the time were the BEST

Beautiful.........for the coffee table, 03 Nov 2008
Great book. Great pictures. Some pretty rare ones. Only the occasional mistake usually in the dates/venues for the pictures. Good text covering the essentials of the bands history.
After a run of poor books on the band I would recommend this to the whole fan spectrum, from casual to serious.

Yet more tripe from those who do it best, 08 Nov 2008
As if those terrible Best of Decade lists weren't innacurate enough, RichDork now decide that it's time for the world to know what they say are the best songs from the past 30 years or so. In book form.

I don't think I'd have had as big a problem with this had they just published it on their site. I don't own it -- it's easily viewable on the net -- but I'm well aware that there are hipsters out there gullible enough to buy what is essentially nothing more than one great big mass self-indulgent by a group of obsessive rock and pop fans with severe ego problems.

The one thing that earns this its one star is its eclectism. Talk Talk, The Pop Group, Dizzee Rascal and Autechre each make appearances on here, among many others. However, the list is formulaic to the point that I could have guessed at least 10% of their picks before reading, had I the thought or effort to do so. What's worse is that the list is primarily made up of artists who made it onto the 70s/80/90s decade lists previously. This means that not only are the lists obnoxious on Pitchfork's part, but any use that they may have served ignorant music fans looking to delve a bit further into rock music is eliminated.

Not recommended by any means, but the sites worth checking out if you're tired of the current British mainstream, choc-full indie-pop, post-punk rehash guitar bands; dull, disco-never-died rn'b and whoever it is that won X Factor -- or whatever it's called as of your reading this -- most recently. Compared to that, this is a damn masterwork.

Too many omissions but still the bible, 09 Nov 2008
I have to agree with the previous two reviewers. I have been buying the Penguin Guide since the early 1980s and have become increasingly disappointed. I also bought the 2008 edition and hoped that important recordings that had been omitted would be included. Abbados Mahler 6 and 7 recordings with the Berlin PO- surely among the primary recommendations and cornerstones of my collection- are omitted! And what about Simon Rattles recording of Szymanowskis Harnasie? And Chailly's wonderful Leipzig recordings of the Mahler editions of Schumann's symphonies- not everyone's taste I know- but perhaps the most frequently played of all my new CDs in the past year. I also wonder whether the reviewers hearing is quite what it used to be. I invested in the four star-rated recording of Messiaens Turangalila Symphony on RCA by Ozawa "..comes from 1967, but you would never guess that from the brilliantly atmospheric sound"- I agree that the performance is seminal, but the sound is uncomfortably distorted and glassy at times and falls far short of what we would expect nowadays- so much so that I have never got through it in one sitting, even in the car. All this having been said- I have got Greenfield, Layton, and March to thank for intoducing me to some wonderful recordings over the years, and I still agree with most of their recommendations (such as Richard Hickox's new Elgar 1- one of the greatest ever in my opinion, and with stunning sound). For anyone new to classical music who wants to build a collection-this guide is still like the bible, but it needs some more careful editing as the market beomes ever more saturated with reissues and new recordings.

Slight improvement, sloppy editing, 06 Nov 2008
I reviewed the previous edition and remarked on the poor editing. There has been a slight improvement here but not enough to save the Guide from a so-so rating. Some CDs are noted but not rated, the text has not been updated so that "recent releases" are sometimes 10 years old and some new releases are bizarrely ignored altogether. This is the last edition I will ever invest in. I suggest that other readers think very carefully before they part with their cash.

If you have the 2008 guide, don't waste your money on this, 17 Oct 2008
When the 2008 Penguin Guide appeared, I wrote that the main problem was the sheer number of good CDs omitted. I had hoped that with the 2009 Guide, important releases missed out previously would be included.

Not a chance. As I browsed through this latest edition, I kept thinking 'but this is the same as the 2008 edition'!. I got the previous Guide out, and there is precious little difference. All those excellent classical CDs and SACDs released over the last twelve months - so few reviewed.

Just to give a couple of examples; there has been an avalanche of fine Shostakovich recordings over the last year. How many make it into the Guide? Five. Take Mahler symphonies- there's always a steady stream of recommendable new releases; just three new releases are included (and one DVD). I could go on, but you get the point.

I have been buying the Penguin Guide for years, but have never been so disappointed as by this edition. If there is not space for more releases (and it is the sheer number of excellent releases from the last 12 months omitted that annoys me) then either we should have a two volume edition, or Penguin should just call it a day. It's not as though it's cheap either. I actually took my copy back to Waterstone's (sorry Amazon) and got a refund. And the new system, introduced last year, of giving up to four stars, putting shaded boxes around some recommended recordings, a rosette for some others, a 'key' symbol for others....this must be a little confusing for newcomers.

The one guide to classical compact discs which I now find indispensible is '1001 Classical Recordings You Must hear Before You Die', which is much better than it sounds. But I think the Penguin Guide has just had its day.

Sad.

Mind blowing!, 09 Dec 2006
I have been playing guitar for just under a year, am a quick learner and thaught this book covered more than the crash course books that I have gone through in the past and in much more detail.

I have found that the exercises are fantastic all be it a little chalanging, though in my mind you progress better when you push the boundries of your ability a little and this book certainly does that!

If you can acomplish all of the exercises in this book, then you can consider yourself, amazing! I will be a very happy man if I can play everything in here!

Awe Inspiring, 07 Mar 2006
I will start by saying that I agree with everything already written in the preceding reviews. Perhaps doubly agreeing with alanstrgss, in that the 'Bible' may be more of an information source than a tutoring tool.

At 45, having just bought my first guitar 7 weeks ago I am a complete newbie and not particularly knowledgable of other guitarists. So this review may be of interest to other newbies.

The performance pieces at the end of CD2 left me in no doubt that Eric Roche must be one of the most skilled guitarists in the world. His jaw dropping prowess on the CD examples had me intimidated and disheartened at first. Some of the chord shapes in some of the excercises seem almost unachievable at speed (then again I still struggle with the Fm barre chord) and the speed with which he finger-picks must be a blurr to watch - if only a DVD were included.

Having said that, the excercises sound so colourful and interesting that I have stuck with this book in preference to the other two that I bought at the same time (Guitar Method - Hal Leonard and Play Acoustic - Dave Hunter). None of your strum-along-to-a-song stuff here. In fact hardly anything that I recognise and not what I was originally looking for at all. But I found it very fresh, enticing, alluring.

The first time the subject of strumming is broached is on p38 track 16. In neuvo flamenco style a chord is strummed 33 times in just 4 seconds! To a newbie like me it sounds near impossible to mimic but Mr Roche gives an excellent explanation of how it's done. Maybe one's wrist doesn't need to fully rotate at 10 revs/s.

Just 7 weeks after buying a guitar and working with this book my guitar-playing friends are genuinely astonished at how well I can play. I am, of course, an exceptional individual with near super-human powers (barre chords are kryptonite) but it probably helps that the 'Bible's' first few excercises plunge you straight into finger-picking melodies that may be easier to play than they sound.

There is need for an addendum - there are some typos on some of the tabs and a couple of the excercises I've attempted have incomplete tabs i.e. the last few bars of the piece played on the CD are missing from the written tab.

To summarise then: Not what I was looking for as a newbie and not what I wanted. Complex, intimidating, unachievable...

Inspiring - I feel that if I can absorb just a fraction of Eric Roche's magic it will be like fairy-dust to my guitar playing.

Not so much a tutor as a very informative overview, 24 Feb 2006
This is a highly unusual book. I know of no other that has this approach. Even excellent books such as 'The Complete Guitarist' by Richard Chapman don't cover the ground that can be found in the 'bible'.

One previous reviewer refers to it as a 'tutor'. Another reviewer said that after reading it they felt 'informed'. I feel that the second comment is the more accurate. There are a wide range of truly excellent 'tutors' out there for anyone who wants to learn how to master the acoustic guitar. (There are also some very poor ones - but that's another matter).

Whilst the 'bible', does contain elements of 'tutorship' by including exercises, riffs and performance pieces, it covers a lot more ground. If your search is for a full-blown guitar tutor, then this is probably not the book for you. (In that event, begin by looking at 'The acoustic guitar method' by David Hamburger, or 'Beginning Fingerstyle Blues' by Arnie Berle and Mark Galbo. More demanding, but no less good is 'Acoustic Blues Guitar' by Kenny Sultan. If you're also interested in electric blues, tutors don't come much better or more rewarding than 'Blues you can use' by John Ganapes. All come with CD's and all are available via Amazon UK).

But back to the 'bible' ...

There is so much in this huge 243 page, large format book that it would take a small novella to review it. Even the 'Contents' listing covers 4 full sides!

Maybe I can best explain what I mean by it being less of a tutor and more of a broad overview by listing a few of the other topics that are covered. In some cases I have paraphrased themes to cut down the list:

Development of the acoustic guitar
Intonation
Tuning (covered from a wide range of perspectives - not just a single method)
Tendonitis (and other guitar-related hand problems)
Right and left hand warm-up exercises
Practice (for hands, mind and ears)
Melody, harmony, bass line movement, rhythm
Tone, texture, dynamics
A detailed look at all manner of musical conventions (eg: scales, thirds, fifths, key signatures, intervals, triads, inversions ..... )
Exploring the fingerboard
The 3-chord trick
Seventh chords and harmonising with 7th chords
More complex chords (added and suspended)
Modes of the major scale (eg: Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian ....)
Pentatonic and blues scales
Tunings (including open tunings, drop tunings, modal tunings, Nashville tunings, radical tunings)
Harmonics
Tapping and slapping
Pickups for acoustic guitar (eg: piezo, magnetic)
Pre-amplifiers
Equalizers
Feedback problems
The art of stage performance
Use of separate microphones in a performance
Changing strings
String and guitar care (inc. '10 golden rules')
Taking your guitar out and about
Looking after your hands and nails
The capo
Effects and processors
Guitar synths
6 performance pieces (broad range of types)
The Ten Acoustic Guitar Commandments

See what I mean?

The CD's are not supportive of a tutorial approach in the sense that they don't take you through graduated exercises. Whilst some tracks are examples of riffs and rhythms, others are of full blown performances .... and very good they are too. For instance, by track 19 on CD1 you're listening to a rhythmic piece that wouldn't sound amiss on a Gordon Giltrap CD!)

As I said at the outset, if your search is for a tutor to take you slowly and gently through the basics of acoustic guitar playing and styles - look elsewhere. But if your need is for a book that covers just about everything you will ever need to know about developing your playing skills and both general and specific knowledge, then this book really is a treasure trove of information. As such, it certainly merits 5 stars.

The acoustic guitar Bible, 17 Feb 2006
I was recomended this book by an amateur guitarist who himself plays sublimely. The scope and depth of knowledge covered by the author is seriously impressive. I'm an experienced guitarist of many years standing, but from page one I was informed and enthralled. A must for any guitarist, regardless of ability.

An exceptional tutor book, 22 Oct 2005
This is one of the finest tutor books I've seen, very detailed and covers so many areas of acoustic playing, from excellent stuff about the instrument itself (in far greater detail than any other book I've seen) through alternate tunings (which Eric Roche was renowned for)and a number of full performance pieces. This is one book I'll be recommending to friends as the one to get.

You'd be a dummy not to own this!, 10 Jan 2008
As what I would describe, a 'fairly' new DJ in the world of vinyl-pushing (that being half a year) I thought it was very competent before buying this book. Aged 18, I've teamed up with another older DJ who's helped me all the way through, got me gig's, sent off CD's etc and tutorial books simply weren't an option - mostly because I don't have the time to read them!
But I've become quite the 'Dummies-book' fanatic, as sad as it sounds. I didn't realise just how many topics these guys have covered, and so i've built up a collection of stuff that I didn't even find interesting before hand! After realising that they did one for DJ's, I decided to give it a crack as the synopsis suggested it covered everything; even things I may not have thought of yet.
All I can say is that this book should, without a doubt, be owned by every aspiring or even pro DJ out their. The amount of information included is flawless - being well over 300 pages, all covered in deep simplicity and thoughtfully thought out. It starts from the introduction about simply listening to as much music as possible (the best advice that thankfully, I got before owning the book) to what clothes you should wear, and how to tackle different people. Importantly for those who don't know one deck from the other, it explains why a Technics 1210 is the industry standard.
For the modern age, it also covers CDJ-ing, which only in my opinion, is cheating, but that's only me saying that. It compares this to vinyl DJ'ing and weighs out the pro's and cons.
I think the fact that it can apply to any DJ of varying skill levels is so good. What I find sad are the people who refuse to use books like this because basically, their ego's are as big as their house. It's the same with football - loved it, played it for years when I was younger, and alot of the simplest and most important skills are their ones covered in books, yet this was something I got joked at for.
But what's most important wholy about this book is that despite being non-subjective, it teaches you that "you" are the real star. 'Pro' DJ's are quite literally, over-paid lazy oafs who yes, worked hard to get where they are, but this does not justify Pete Tong getting 20,000 pounds for simply receiving a few mp3's in the morning via email, then playing them at night in Pacha. And that's a fact - I've done my research!
The writer has a positive but realistic attitude - you can make it if you want, but you just have to love your music. There are the ones that just want girls and money, and their are the ones that just love the feeling of being in the booth. Whichever option you decide to pick, this book gives every possible angle to the hundreds of events/skills needed to light up and audience. Without wanting to blow my own trumpet, I thought I was good before I read this book, but now I've realised theirs plenty more chapters in my career!

Only one negative I found, but its the same with most 'dummies' books - no colour pictures! Some have middle-inserts but this doesn't have one. The photography is also a bit amateur at times, suggesting the writer took the pictures, but nothing too bad.

Whether you're your own star in that bedroom of yours, or have took to playing in bars, DJing for Dummies is a great read that's humorous, easy to read, but most of all helpful!

Well Im actually Dom Parker but i dont have an account, 29 Jun 2007
i must admit when i first saw this book i was a bit put off by the fact that i would be labelling myself a 'Dummie' but once my pride got over this factor i realised that this book does not just cater for DJing novices but also for Experienced DJ's looking at moving up into the relm of proffesional DJs and not forgetting those who don't know what DJ even stands for.

Its the sort of book that you can either read from cover to cover or just flick to the exact area you want to learn about because of the detailed contents and the way by which it is divided up; something you may not be able to appreciate without looking at it.

Whithout a doubt the biggest advantage of the book is that it covers all the rediculous things that you might want to about DJing for example things like reading the crowd to the more trivial; what to wear!

And on top of all this you can then speak to the man himself on www.recess.co.uk where there is a forum i found where you can discuss DJing with other people from around the world. i really recomend a visit.

anyways hope the books helps everyone else as much as it has done to me!

What a cracker !!!, 15 Dec 2006
Having run a free dj tutorial site for the best part of 10 years, it was a refreshing change to see recess.co.uk finally hit the book shelf.

A great easy to understand read which covers everything (and i do mean everything, even ensuring you have your car keys after playing a set!)

Whether you are a new starter or trying to get some help on beatmatching or any of the fundamentals this is a great place to start.
Covered here is playing out, what to wear, what to expect, promoting yourself, do's and donts, equipment, tunes, heaphones, vinyl, cds, mp3s right back to putting your first mix together.
The list is almost as endless as it is helpful.

A coherently written format makes Djing for Dummies an easy, enjoyable, and in places humourous dare i say it read.
You can't go wrong. All in the confines of one paperback. Super!

[...]

The ultimate guide to jazz on CD., 14 Nov 2008
The 9th edition of the 'Jazz Bible' maintains the high standards of previous volumes. Its 1600-plus pages contain perceptive, witty and knowledgeable reviews of 14,000 jazz CDs including 2000 new discs in this 2008 edition. There is also a moving tribute to the late Richard D. Cook(1957-2007) who gets awarded the highest accolade of a 'crown' from his co-author, Brian Morton.
The hours of concentrated thought and hard-listening that's gone into this monumental series from the two authors since 1992 is awe-inspiring and the latest, endlessly browsable edition is an indispensable guide for any serious jazz collector.

Their History, 19 Nov 2008
I first got into Led Zep somewhere between their third and forth album, reading music magazines `Sounds` and `New Musical Express for years I knew almost everything about the group even though , they didnt talk to the press unless they had something big to discuss! I stopped buying the press weekleys after `Sounds` scribe Geoff (deaf) Barton started Kerrang!. so back to this book, yes its good and although I have seen 95% of the photos and read 95% of the interviews etc . there is a comprehensive review of each album and lots of informative information. still good to have this kind of scrap book style large heavy book! there are a lot more bands out there that should follow this format..Its also great to see a lot of bootleg covers, albums I know about but have never seen. Heard about five and some are great some are a waste of vinyl...This is a very good history Not the heaviest, they at the time were the BEST

Beautiful.........for the coffee table, 03 Nov 2008
Great book. Great pictures. Some pretty rare ones. Only the occasional mistake usually in the dates/venues for the pictures. Good text covering the essentials of the bands history.
After a run of poor books on the band I would recommend this to the whole fan spectrum, from casual to serious.

Yet more tripe from those who do it best, 08 Nov 2008
As if those terrible Best of Decade lists weren't innacurate enough, RichDork now decide that it's time for the world to know what they say are the best songs from the past 30 years or so. In book form.

I don't think I'd have had as big a problem with this had they just published it on their site. I don't own it -- it's easily viewable on the net -- but I'm well aware that there are hipsters out there gullible enough to buy what is essentially nothing more than one great big mass self-indulgent by a group of obsessive rock and pop fans with severe ego problems.

The one thing that earns this its one star is its eclectism. Talk Talk, The Pop Group, Dizzee Rascal and Autechre each make appearances on here, among many others. However, the list is formulaic to the point that I could have guessed at least 10% of their picks before reading, had I the thought or effort to do so. What's worse is that the list is primarily made up of artists who made it onto the 70s/80/90s decade lists previously. This means that not only are the lists obnoxious on Pitchfork's part, but any use that they may have served ignorant music fans looking to delve a bit further into rock music is eliminated.

Not recommended by any means, but the sites worth checking out if you're tired of the current British mainstream, choc-full indie-pop, post-punk rehash guitar bands; dull, disco-never-died rn'b and whoever it is that won X Factor -- or whatever it's called as of your reading this -- most recently. Compared to that, this is a damn masterwork.

Too many omissions but still the bible, 09 Nov 2008
I have to agree with the previous two reviewers. I have been buying the Penguin Guide since the early 1980s and have become increasingly disappointed. I also bought the 2008 edition and hoped that important recordings that had been omitted would be included. Abbados Mahler 6 and 7 recordings with the Berlin PO- surely among the primary recommendations and cornerstones of my collection- are omitted! And what about Simon Rattles recording of Szymanowskis Harnasie? And Chailly's wonderful Leipzig recordings of the Mahler editions of Schumann's symphonies- not everyone's taste I know- but perhaps the most frequently played of all my new CDs in the past year. I also wonder whether the reviewers hearing is quite what it used to be. I invested in the four star-rated recording of Messiaens Turangalila Symphony on RCA by Ozawa "..comes from 1967, but you would never guess that from the brilliantly atmospheric sound"- I agree that the performance is seminal, but the sound is uncomfortably distorted and glassy at times and falls far short of what we would expect nowadays- so much so that I have never got through it in one sitting, even in the car. All this having been said- I have got Greenfield, Layton, and March to thank for intoducing me to some wonderful recordings over the years, and I still agree with most of their recommendations (such as Richard Hickox's new Elgar 1- one of the greatest ever in my opinion, and with stunning sound). For anyone new to classical music who wants to build a collection-this guide is still like the bible, but it needs some more careful editing as the market beomes ever more saturated with reissues and new recordings.

Slight improvement, sloppy editing, 06 Nov 2008
I reviewed the previous edition and remarked on the poor editing. There has been a slight improvement here but not enough to save the Guide from a so-so rating. Some CDs are noted but not rated, the text has not been updated so that "recent releases" are sometimes 10 years old and some new releases are bizarrely ignored altogether. This is the last edition I will ever invest in. I suggest that other readers think very carefully before they part with their cash.

If you have the 2008 guide, don't waste your money on this, 17 Oct 2008
When the 2008 Penguin Guide appeared, I wrote that the main problem was the sheer number of good CDs omitted. I had hoped that with the 2009 Guide, important releases missed out previously would be included.

Not a chance. As I browsed through this latest edition, I kept thinking 'but this is the same as the 2008 edition'!. I got the previous Guide out, and there is precious little difference. All those excellent classical CDs and SACDs released over the last twelve months - so few reviewed.

Just to give a couple of examples; there has been an avalanche of fine Shostakovich recordings over the last year. How many make it into the Guide? Five. Take Mahler symphonies- there's always a steady stream of recommendable new releases; just three new releases are included (and one DVD). I could go on, but you get the point.

I have been buying the Penguin Guide for years, but have never been so disappointed as by this edition. If there is not space for more releases (and it is the sheer number of excellent releases from the last 12 months omitted that annoys me) then either we should have a two volume edition, or Penguin should just call it a day. It's not as though it's cheap either. I actually took my copy back to Waterstone's (sorry Amazon) and got a refund. And the new system, introduced last year, of giving up to four stars, putting shaded boxes around some recommended recordings, a rosette for some others, a 'key' symbol for others....this must be a little confusing for newcomers.

The one guide to classical compact discs which I now find indispensible is '1001 Classical Recordings You Must hear Before You Die', which is much better than it sounds. But I think the Penguin Guide has just had its day.

Sad.

Mind blowing!, 09 Dec 2006
I have been playing guitar for just under a year, am a quick learner and thaught this book covered more than the crash course books that I have gone through in the past and in much more detail.

I have found that the exercises are fantastic all be it a little chalanging, though in my mind you progress better when you push the boundries of your ability a little and this book certainly does that!

If you can acomplish all of the exercises in this book, then you can consider yourself, amazing! I will be a very happy man if I can play everything in here!

Awe Inspiring, 07 Mar 2006
I will start by saying that I agree with everything already written in the preceding reviews. Perhaps doubly agreeing with alanstrgss, in that the 'Bible' may be more of an information source than a tutoring tool.

At 45, having just bought my first guitar 7 weeks ago I am a complete newbie and not particularly knowledgable of other guitarists. So this review may be of interest to other newbies.

The performance pieces at the end of CD2 left me in no doubt that Eric Roche must be one of the most skilled guitarists in the world. His jaw dropping prowess on the CD examples had me intimidated and disheartened at first. Some of the chord shapes in some of the excercises seem almost unachievable at speed (then again I still struggle with the Fm barre chord) and the speed with which he finger-picks must be a blurr to watch - if only a DVD were included.

Having said that, the excercises sound so colourful and interesting that I have stuck with this book in preference to the other two that I bought at the same time (Guitar Method - Hal Leonard and Play Acoustic - Dave Hunter). None of your strum-along-to-a-song stuff here. In fact hardly anything that I recognise and not what I was originally looking for at all. But I found it very fresh, enticing, alluring.

The first time the subject of strumming is broached is on p38 track 16. In neuvo flamenco style a chord is strummed 33 times in just 4 seconds! To a newbie like me it sounds near impossible to mimic but Mr Roche gives an excellent explanation of how it's done. Maybe one's wrist doesn't need to fully rotate at 10 revs/s.

Just 7 weeks after buying a guitar and working with this book my guitar-playing friends are genuinely astonished at how well I can play. I am, of course, an exceptional individual with near super-human powers (barre chords are kryptonite) but it probably helps that the 'Bible's' first few excercises plunge you straight into finger-picking melodies that may be easier to play than they sound.

There is need for an addendum - there are some typos on some of the tabs and a couple of the excercises I've attempted have incomplete tabs i.e. the last few bars of the piece played on the CD are missing from the written tab.

To summarise then: Not what I was looking for as a newbie and not what I wanted. Complex, intimidating, unachievable...

Inspiring - I feel that if I can absorb just a fraction of Eric Roche's magic it will be like fairy-dust to my guitar playing.

Not so much a tutor as a very informative overview, 24 Feb 2006
This is a highly unusual book. I know of no other that has this approach. Even excellent books such as 'The Complete Guitarist' by Richard Chapman don't cover the ground that can be found in the 'bible'.

One previous reviewer refers to it as a 'tutor'. Another reviewer said that after reading it they felt 'informed'. I feel that the second comment is the more accurate. There are a wide range of truly excellent 'tutors' out there for anyone who wants to learn how to master the acoustic guitar. (There are also some very poor ones - but that's another matter).

Whilst the 'bible', does contain elements of 'tutorship' by including exercises, riffs and performance pieces, it covers a lot more ground. If your search is for a full-blown guitar tutor, then this is probably not the book for you. (In that event, begin by looking at 'The acoustic guitar method' by David Hamburger, or 'Beginning Fingerstyle Blues' by Arnie Berle and Mark Galbo. More demanding, but no less good is 'Acoustic Blues Guitar' by Kenny Sultan. If you're also interested in electric blues, tutors don't come much better or more rewarding than 'Blues you can use' by John Ganapes. All come with CD's and all are available via Amazon UK).

But back to the 'bible' ...

There is so much in this huge 243 page, large format book that it would take a small novella to review it. Even the 'Contents' listing covers 4 full sides!

Maybe I can best explain what I mean by it being less of a tutor and more of a broad overview by listing a few of the other topics that are covered. In some cases I have paraphrased themes to cut down the list:

Development of the acoustic guitar
Intonation
Tuning (covered from a wide range of perspectives - not just a single method)
Tendonitis (and other guitar-related hand problems)
Right and left hand warm-up exercises
Practice (for hands, mind and ears)
Melody, harmony, bass line movement, rhythm
Tone, texture, dynamics
A detailed look at all manner of musical conventions (eg: scales, thirds, fifths, key signatures, intervals, triads, inversions ..... )
Exploring the fingerboard
The 3-chord trick
Seventh chords and harmonising with 7th chords
More complex chords (added and suspended)
Modes of the major scale (eg: Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian ....)
Pentatonic and blues scales
Tunings (including open tunings, drop tunings, modal tunings, Nashville tunings, radical tunings)
Harmonics
Tapping and slapping
Pickups for acoustic guitar (eg: piezo, magnetic)
Pre-amplifiers
Equalizers
Feedback problems
The art of stage performance
Use of separate microphones in a performance
Changing strings
String and guitar care (inc. '10 golden rules')
Taking your guitar out and about
Looking after your hands and nails
The capo
Effects and processors
Guitar synths
6 performance pieces (broad range of types)
The Ten Acoustic Guitar Commandments

See what I mean?

The CD's are not supportive of a tutorial approach in the sense that they don't take you through graduated exercises. Whilst some tracks are examples of riffs and rhythms, others are of full blown performances .... and very good they are too. For instance, by track 19 on CD1 you're listening to a rhythmic piece that wouldn't sound amiss on a Gordon Giltrap CD!)

As I said at the outset, if your search is for a tutor to take you slowly and gently through the basics of acoustic guitar playing and styles - look elsewhere. But if your need is for a book that covers just about everything you will ever need to know about developing your playing skills and both general and specific knowledge, then this book really is a treasure trove of information. As such, it certainly merits 5 stars.

The acoustic guitar Bible, 17 Feb 2006
I was recomended this book by an amateur guitarist who himself plays sublimely. The scope and depth of knowledge covered by the author is seriously impressive. I'm an experienced guitarist of many years standing, but from page one I was informed and enthralled. A must for any guitarist, regardless of ability.

An exceptional tutor book, 22 Oct 2005
This is one of the finest tutor books I've seen, very detailed and covers so many areas of acoustic playing, from excellent stuff about the instrument itself (in far greater detail than any other book I've seen) through alternate tunings (which Eric Roche was renowned for)and a number of full performance pieces. This is one book I'll be recommending to friends as the one to get.

You'd be a dummy not to own this!, 10 Jan 2008
As what I would describe, a 'fairly' new DJ in the world of vinyl-pushing (that being half a year) I thought it was very competent before buying this book. Aged 18, I've teamed up with another older DJ who's helped me all the way through, got me gig's, sent off CD's etc and tutorial books simply weren't an option - mostly because I don't have the time to read them!
But I've become quite the 'Dummies-book' fanatic, as sad as it sounds. I didn't realise just how many topics these guys have covered, and so i've built up a collection of stuff that I didn't even find interesting before hand! After realising that they did one for DJ's, I decided to give it a crack as the synopsis suggested it covered everything; even things I may not have thought of yet.
All I can say is that this book should, without a doubt, be owned by every aspiring or even pro DJ out their. The amount of information included is flawless - being well over 300 pages, all covered in deep simplicity and thoughtfully thought out. It starts from the introduction about simply listening to as much music as possible (the best advice that thankfully, I got before owning the book) to what clothes you should wear, and how to tackle different people. Importantly for those who don't know one deck from the other, it explains why a Technics 1210 is the industry standard.
For the modern age, it also covers CDJ-ing, which only in my opinion, is cheating, but that's only me saying that. It compares this to vinyl DJ'ing and weighs out the pro's and cons.
I think the fact that it can apply to any DJ of varying skill levels is so good. What I find sad are the people who refuse to use books like this because basically, their ego's are as big as their house. It's the same with football - loved it, played it for years when I was younger, and alot of the simplest and most important skills are their ones covered in books, yet this was something I got joked at for.
But what's most important wholy about this book is that despite being non-subjective, it teaches you that "you" are the real star. 'Pro' DJ's are quite literally, over-paid lazy oafs who yes, worked hard to get where they are, but this does not justify Pete Tong getting 20,000 pounds for simply receiving a few mp3's in the morning via email, then playing them at night in Pacha. And that's a fact - I've done my research!
The writer has a positive but realistic attitude - you can make it if you want, but you just have to love your music. There are the ones that just want girls and money, and their are the ones that just love the feeling of being in the booth. Whichever option you decide to pick, this book gives every possible angle to the hundreds of events/skills needed to light up and audience. Without wanting to blow my own trumpet, I thought I was good before I read this book, but now I've realised theirs plenty more chapters in my career!

Only one negative I found, but its the same with most 'dummies' books - no colour pictures! Some have middle-inserts but this doesn't have one. The photography is also a bit amateur at times, suggesting the writer took the pictures, but nothing too bad.

Whether you're your own star in that bedroom of yours, or have took to playing in bars, DJing for Dummies is a great read that's humorous, easy to read, but most of all helpful!

Well Im actually Dom Parker but i dont have an account, 29 Jun 2007
i must admit when i first saw this book i was a bit put off by the fact that i would be labelling myself a 'Dummie' but once my pride got over this factor i realised that this book does not just cater for DJing novices but also for Experienced DJ's looking at moving up into the relm of proffesional DJs and not forgetting those who don't know what DJ even stands for.

Its the sort of book that you can either read from cover to cover or just flick to the exact area you want to learn about because of the detailed contents and the way by which it is divided up; something you may not be able to appreciate without looking at it.

Whithout a doubt the biggest advantage of the book is that it covers all the rediculous things that you might want to about DJing for example things like reading the crowd to the more trivial; what to wear!

And on top of all this you can then speak to the man himself on www.recess.co.uk where there is a forum i found where you can discuss DJing with other people from around the world. i really recomend a visit.

anyways hope the books helps everyone else as much as it has done to me!

What a cracker !!!, 15 Dec 2006
Having run a free dj tutorial site for the best part of 10 years, it was a refreshing change to see recess.co.uk finally hit the book shelf.

A great easy to understand read which covers everything (and i do mean everything, even ensuring you have your car keys after playing a set!)

Whether you are a new starter or trying to get some help on beatmatching or any of the fundamentals this is a great place to start.
Covered here is playing out, what to wear, what to expect, promoting yourself, do's and donts, equipment, tunes, heaphones, vinyl, cds, mp3s right back to putting your first mix together.
The list is almost as endless as it is helpful.

A coherently written format makes Djing for Dummies an easy, enjoyable, and in places humourous dare i say it read.
You can't go wrong. All in the confines of one paperback. Super!

[...]

If you need this book then get it, 30 Jan 2008
What you get in this book is a thorough and inclusive guide to classical music, composers and recordings of their works that's tailored to the last millimetre for the beginner classical music lover. I really appreciate the passion that comes across in the writing. Other classical guides can be clinical, only liking music if it's well recorded or scrupulously performed. Here, the authors aren't afraid to say that the music simply moved them. This enthusiasm rubs off onto the reader.

I found the book summarises too much. Everything is a summary, in fact, and while there's sometimes a lot of depth (in the boxouts in particular), I found myself wishing the authors would spend just a few more lines discussing a particular piece. But I'll bet that the series editor didn't allow that, for fear of people's eyes glazing over.

In future editions I'd love to see a section looking at key performers on each instrument, or for each composer. This can be an enormous help when choosing recordings in a record shop or online. For example, I believe "you can't go wrong" when choosing Angela Hewitt for Bach's harpsichord/clavier/piano pieces, or Vladimir Ashkenazy for Chopin. I'm sure guides are available, covering performers, but they're probably too advanced for people of this level.

I'd advise you to read the reviews of recordings very closely, however. Don't just buy blindly simply because the recording is recommended. The reviews are short (more summarising). There's no use buying a "bold, fresh interpretation' of a piece if you've never heard it played straight. The fact the authors haven't realised this is something of a failing. I also would have liked information on whether the recording is digital (DDD) or not, or at least an indication of what kind of audio quality we might expect. Reissues of very old recordings are pretty common these days (from even the 1930s) and some are recommended here.

Informative, exciting, and positively opinionated, 28 Nov 2005
The fourth edition of this invaluable guide is packed with information on classical music and should appeal to the novice and the longtime enthusiast - fact, anecdote, explanations of musical styles, explorations of musical forms, biographies and assessments of leading composers and musicians. It's an exciting, entertaining, informative, stimulating smorgasbord of a book which you can browse, read, use as reference material, or employ to settle arguments.

It may, however, start as many arguments as it settles, for the material here does not sit on the fence. The assessments of various composers will fuel the ire of some fans … and bring a smile to the faces of others. This is information and professional opinion, not gospel. This is a reference book with presence, personality, and little pretension - it's never glib or trite. A book to stimulate those little grey cells, not one which will gather much dust.

The best place to start to explore classical music, 08 Nov 2005
This book is invaluable for those who have a limited knowledge of classical music and want to expand their listening repertoire. It is a compendium of information on over two hundred classical composers and their works. In addition to the information presented by composer, a number of boxes explore themes as diverse as "What is a Fugue?" (under Bach), "The Cult of the Conductor" (under Mahler) and "The Crisis of Tonality" (under Schoenberg). The choice of composers is excellent - of course when the number is limited, one can always gripe about the favourites that have been left out. The accounts are written in a lively, up-beat style that does not compromise the fidelity of the information. Each composer is covered by an introductory section that is largely biographic, followed by a treatment of major works. Finally, a number (typically one to three) of key recordings are recommended - they tend towards the conservative, but pretty much ensure that the new listener will not be disappointed.

It is worth pointing out that this book does not aspire to be a buyer's guide to CDs. That is the task of, for example, the Penguin and Gramophone guides (on Amazon: ISBN 0141022620 & 0860249727).

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!

The ultimate guide to jazz on CD., 14 Nov 2008
The 9th edition of the 'Jazz Bible' maintains the high standards of previous volumes. Its 1600-plus pages contain perceptive, witty and knowledgeable reviews of 14,000 jazz CDs including 2000 new discs in this 2008 edition. There is also a moving tribute to the late Richard D. Cook(1957-2007) who gets awarded the highest accolade of a 'crown' from his co-author, Brian Morton.
The hours of concentrated thought and hard-listening that's gone into this monumental series from the two authors since 1992 is awe-inspiring and the latest, endlessly browsable edition is an indispensable guide for any serious jazz collector.

Their History, 19 Nov 2008
I first got into Led Zep somewhere between their third and forth album, reading music magazines `Sounds` and `New Musical Express for years I knew almost everything about the group even though , they didnt talk to the press unless they had something big to discuss! I stopped buying the press weekleys after `Sounds` scribe Geoff (deaf) Barton started Kerrang!. so back to this book, yes its good and although I have seen 95% of the photos and read 95% of the interviews etc . there is a comprehensive review of each album and lots of informative information. still good to have this kind of scrap book style large heavy book! there are a lot more bands out there that should follow this format..Its also great to see a lot of bootleg covers, albums I know about but have never seen. Heard about five and some are great some are a waste of vinyl...This is a very good history Not the heaviest, they at the time were the BEST

Beautiful.........for the coffee table, 03 Nov 2008
Great book. Great pictures. Some pretty rare ones. Only the occasional mistake usually in the dates/venues for the pictures. Good text covering the essentials of the bands history.
After a run of poor books on the band I would recommend this to the whole fan spectrum, from casual to serious.

Yet more tripe from those who do it best, 08 Nov 2008
As if those terrible Best of Decade lists weren't innacurate enough, RichDork now decide that it's time for the world to know what they say are the best songs from the past 30 years or so. In book form.

I don't think I'd have had as big a problem with this had they just published it on their site. I don't own it -- it's easily viewable on the net -- but I'm well aware that there are hipsters out there gullible enough to buy what is essentially nothing more than one great big mass self-indulgent by a group of obsessive rock and pop fans with severe ego problems.

The one thing that earns this its one star is its eclectism. Talk Talk, The Pop Group, Dizzee Rascal and Autechre each make appearances on here, among many others. However, the list is formulaic to the point that I could have guessed at least 10% of their picks before reading, had I the thought or effort to do so. What's worse is that the list is primarily made up of artists who made it onto the 70s/80/90s decade lists previously. This means that not only are the lists obnoxious on Pitchfork's part, but any use that they may have served ignorant music fans looking to delve a bit further into rock music is eliminated.

Not recommended by any means, but the sites worth checking out if you're tired of the current British mainstream, choc-full indie-pop, post-punk rehash guitar bands; dull, disco-never-died rn'b and whoever it is that won X Factor -- or whatever it's called as of your reading this -- most recently. Compared to that, this is a damn masterwork.

Too many omissions but still the bible, 09 Nov 2008
I have to agree with the previous two reviewers. I have been buying the Penguin Guide since the early 1980s and have become increasingly disappointed. I also bought the 2008 edition and hoped that important recordings that had been omitted would be included. Abbados Mahler 6 and 7 recordings with the Berlin PO- surely among the primary recommendations and cornerstones of my collection- are omitted! And what about Simon Rattles recording of Szymanowskis Harnasie? And Chailly's wonderful Leipzig recordings of the Mahler editions of Schumann's symphonies- not everyone's taste I know- but perhaps the most frequently played of all my new CDs in the past year. I also wonder whether the reviewers hearing is quite what it used to be. I invested in the four star-rated recording of Messiaens Turangalila Symphony on RCA by Ozawa "..comes from 1967, but you would never guess that from the brilliantly atmospheric sound"- I agree that the performance is seminal, but the sound is uncomfortably distorted and glassy at times and falls far short of what we would expect nowadays- so much so that I have never got through it in one sitting, even in the car. All this having been said- I have got Greenfield, Layton, and March to thank for intoducing me to some wonderful recordings over the years, and I still agree with most of their recommendations (such as Richard Hickox's new Elgar 1- one of the greatest ever in my opinion, and with stunning sound). For anyone new to classical music who wants to build a collection-this guide is still like the bible, but it needs some more careful editing as the market beomes ever more saturated with reissues and new recordings.

Slight improvement, sloppy editing, 06 Nov 2008
I reviewed the previous edition and remarked on the poor editing. There has been a slight improvement here but not enough to save the Guide from a so-so rating. Some CDs are noted but not rated, the text has not been updated so that "recent releases" are sometimes 10 years old and some new releases are bizarrely ignored altogether. This is the last edition I will ever invest in. I suggest that other readers think very carefully before they part with their cash.

If you have the 2008 guide, don't waste your money on this, 17 Oct 2008
When the 2008 Penguin Guide appeared, I wrote that the main problem was the sheer number of good CDs omitted. I had hoped that with the 2009 Guide, important releases missed out previously would be included.

Not a chance. As I browsed through this latest edition, I kept thinking 'but this is the same as the 2008 edition'!. I got the previous Guide out, and there is precious little difference. All those excellent classical CDs and SACDs released over the last twelve months - so few reviewed.

Just to give a couple of examples; there has been an avalanche of fine Shostakovich recordings over the last year. How many make it into the Guide? Five. Take Mahler symphonies- there's always a steady stream of recommendable new releases; just three new releases are included (and one DVD). I could go on, but you get the point.

I have been buying the Penguin Guide for years, but have never been so disappointed as by this edition. If there is not space for more releases (and it is the sheer number of excellent releases from the last 12 months omitted that annoys me) then either we should have a two volume edition, or Penguin should just call it a day. It's not as though it's cheap either. I actually took my copy back to Waterstone's (sorry Amazon) and got a refund. And the new system, introduced last year, of giving up to four stars, putting shaded boxes around some recommended recordings, a rosette for some others, a 'key' symbol for others....this must be a little confusing for newcomers.

The one guide to classical compact discs which I now find indispensible is '1001 Classical Recordings You Must hear Before You Die', which is much better than it sounds. But I think the Penguin Guide has just had its day.

Sad.

Mind blowing!, 09 Dec 2006
I have been playing guitar for just under a year, am a quick learner and thaught this book covered more than the crash course books that I have gone through in the past and in much more detail.

I have found that the exercises are fantastic all be it a little chalanging, though in my mind you progress better when you push the boundries of your ability a little and this book certainly does that!

If you can acomplish all of the exercises in this book, then you can consider yourself, amazing! I will be a very happy man if I can play everything in here!

Awe Inspiring, 07 Mar 2006
I will start by saying that I agree with everything already written in the preceding reviews. Perhaps doubly agreeing with alanstrgss, in that the 'Bible' may be more of an information source than a tutoring tool.

At 45, having just bought my first guitar 7 weeks ago I am a complete newbie and not particularly knowledgable of other guitarists. So this review may be of interest to other newbies.

The performance pieces at the end of CD2 left me in no doubt that Eric Roche must be one of the most skilled guitarists in the world. His jaw dropping prowess on the CD examples had me intimidated and disheartened at first. Some of the chord shapes in some of the excercises seem almost unachievable at speed (then again I still struggle with the Fm barre chord) and the speed with which he finger-picks must be a blurr to watch - if only a DVD were included.

Having said that, the excercises sound so colourful and interesting that I have stuck with this book in preference to the other two that I bought at the same time (Guitar Method - Hal Leonard and Play Acoustic - Dave Hunter). None of your strum-along-to-a-song stuff here. In fact hardly anything that I recognise and not what I was originally looking for at all. But I found it very fresh, enticing, alluring.

The first time the subject of strumming is broached is on p38 track 16. In neuvo flamenco style a chord is strummed 33 times in just 4 seconds! To a newbie like me it sounds near impossible to mimic but Mr Roche gives an excellent explanation of how it's done. Maybe one's wrist doesn't need to fully rotate at 10 revs/s.

Just 7 weeks after buying a guitar and working with this book my guitar-playing friends are genuinely astonished at how well I can play. I am, of course, an exceptional individual with near super-human powers (barre chords are kryptonite) but it probably helps that the 'Bible's' first few excercises plunge you straight into finger-picking melodies that may be easier to play than they sound.

There is need for an addendum - there are some typos on some of the tabs and a couple of the excercises I've attempted have incomplete tabs i.e. the last few bars of the piece played on the CD are missing from the written tab.

To summarise then: Not what I was looking for as a newbie and not what I wanted. Complex, intimidating, unachievable...

Inspiring - I feel that if I can absorb just a fraction of Eric Roche's magic it will be like fairy-dust to my guitar playing.

Not so much a tutor as a very informative overview, 24 Feb 2006
This is a highly unusual book. I know of no other that has this approach. Even excellent books such as 'The Complete Guitarist' by Richard Chapman don't cover the ground that can be found in the 'bible'.

One previous reviewer refers to it as a 'tutor'. Another reviewer said that after reading it they felt 'informed'. I feel that the second comment is the more accurate. There are a wide range of truly excellent 'tutors' out there for anyone who wants to learn how to master the acoustic guitar. (There are also some ver