The Rough Guide to Reggae 2 (Rough Guide Music Guides) [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

Finally, a comprehensive guide covering the entire span of Jamaican music, from the 1950s mento and R&B through dub, dancehall and ragga. Along with interviews of crucial reggae personalities (Bunny Lee, King Jammy, and Coxsone Dodd, for example) and profiles of major careers (like Gregory Isaacs, Sugar Minott, and of course, Bob Marley), Barrow and Dalton provide the irreplaceable service of reviewing and recommending more than 1,000 CD and vinyl selections. The writers clearly love their topic and are exceedingly knowledgeable about it. The resulting guide is a combination of fascinating historical tidbits, scholarly attention to musical detail, and a definitive treatment of reggae's genre, artists, albums, and songs. --Stephanie Gold -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine andere Ausgabe: Taschenbuch .

Though the first edition of "the definitive guide to Jamaican music, from ska through roots to raga" is only a few years old (it was published in 1997), the "huge number of recordings" that have since become available made this update necessary. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Jamaican music incorporates an evolving, ever-changing series of musical styles, and this book the revised second edition of a well-received 1997 reference work keeps pace by including all major new artists of the past four years and all important reissues. Much of the original book has not changed. Additions include a chapter on Jamaican jazz that documents this largely overlooked group of recordings. The ragga section covers such new hip hop-influenced dancehall crews as Red Rat and Mr. Vegas, while a new chapter, "Rasta Renaissance," devotes much attention to the Bobo Ashanti branch of the Rastafarian movement. The first edition of this book was praised by many as the best, most comprehensive reference guide to reggae and Jamaican music. The best just got better. One snafu: the artists' names, set in white against pale orange, are difficult to read, a design problem that will be a nuisance to most readers. Nevertheless, any library that bought the first book should purchase this one, and those that did not but collect heavily in popular culture should strongly consider. This work offers novices a wide variety of recommended albums to search for and is one of those rare reference books that longtime fans will want to read from cover to cover. Bill Walker, Stockton-San Joaquin Cty. P.L., CA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Expanded second edition covering the entire span of recorded material from 1950s Jamaica through ska, toasting and reggae offshoots in Europe, Africa and the US.

This expanded and updated new edition of "The Rough Guide to Reggae" covers the entire span of recorded music in Jamaica, from 1950s mento and R&B through to dancehall and ragga, giving you the full story of ska, rock-steady, roots, dub, toasting and lovers' rock, as well as reggae's offshoots in Britain, the US and Africa. The book takes its focus from the singers and DJs, the equally important producers and session musicians, and the sound systems. Throughout, there are interviews and features on the major artists, and reviews of hundreds of discs - both on CD and vinyl. The authors, Steve Barrow and Peter Dalton, have been involved in the music for over 20 years. Steve runs the highly acclaimed Blood and Fire reissue label; Peter Dalton is an avid collector and works as a columnist for the New York magazine, "Dub Catcher". Extensive illustrations include images by top reggae photographers Adrian Boot and David Corio, plus classic record covers and reggae ephemera.

The authors, Steve Barrow and Peter Dalton, have been involved in the music industry for over twenty years. Steve runs the highly acclaimed Blood and Fire reissue label; Peter Dalton is an avid collector and works as a columnist for the New York magazine, Dub Catcher.

Introduction

The Rough Guide to Reggae is a near-definitive guide to the music of Jamaica. The island has produced some 100,000 records over the last 45 years - an extraordinary output for a population of little more than two million. Although few of these recordings have crossed over to audiences beyond the Jamaican community, it's hard to think of any genre of popular music - other than the blues - that has had a greater influence in the past couple of decades. Mainstream rock stars from Clapton to the Stones, the Clash to the Fugees, have covered reggae hits, but more important has been Jamaican music's effect on the worldwide dance scene. Major features of Jamaican dancehall culture - the megawatt sound systems, the exclusive "one-off" recordings, the foregrounding of drum and bass, and the practice of rapping over rhythm tracks - have been appropriated by rave and dance culture. Other reggae innovations, like the dub remix, have been assimilated into wider popular music.

The Rough Guide maps a terrain that stretches from the music's folk origins to computerized ragga - via Jamaican r&b, ska, rocksteady, the varied strands that go under the name of 'reggae' itself, dub and dancehall. We've included interviews with crucial figures and have covered in depth the unique phenomenon of the sound systems, illuminating their pivotal role in the progress of the music, alongside the work of the legendary producers such as Coxsone Dodd, Duke Reid, Lee Perry, Bunny Lee and King Jammy. Giving an in-depth view of the whole history of reggae (including the off-shoots that have taken root in the UK, the US and Africa), we have covered the careers of such stars as John Holt, Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, Freddie McGregor, Sugar Minott, Frankie Paul, and, most obviously, Bob Marley (the one truly global reggae superstar), in every phase of their development.

From the bewildering multiplicity of albums we have selected and reviewed the best, including plenty of singles compilations, as the humble 7" vinyl disc is still the main artery of Jamaican music. As much as possible we've concentrated on CDs and LPs that are currently available but there's also a number of vital albums that may require a hunt through the secondhand shelves. (And given the re-issue programmes from various UK, European and US record companies, it's likely they will eventually be re-released.) On the other hand, we hope we've done justice to the numerous performers who have yet to show strongly on solo discs - and wherever possible we've listed compilations on which they appear. A few worthwhile sets will no doubt have been omitted for reasons of ignorance, and we apologize to the artists concerned and their admirers. If you think we've neglected someone, let us know, and we'll put it right in future editions.

We have written this Rough Guide because we love this music, which has provided a major part of the soundtrack to our own lives. Our aim has been to share some of the excitement and pleasure we have found in this wonderful, multi-faceted music that goes under the name of reggae.

Steve Barrow/Peter Dalton July 1997 -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine andere Ausgabe: Taschenbuch .