The Music Lover's Guide to Record Collecting

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 326 pages
• Published by: Backbeat Books September 1, 2002
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0879307137
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0879307134
• Book Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 0.9 inches
• Weighs: 1.5 pounds

Product Description
From tips for evaluating recordings, to lively discussions of bootlegs and piracy, to the history of recording formats, to collectible artists and more, The Music Lover's Guide to Record Collecting covers all the tracks. Designed for anyone who collects records for pleasure or profit, at garage sales or on eBay, this guide is both informative and entertaining. If offers a wealth of detail and informed opinion - unique in a field dominated by stodgy price guides. Engaging entries and essays explore the development of all recording mediums, from 78s to MP3; the distinctive character of imports; "most collected artists," from The Beatles to Nirvana; collectible labels, such as Sun, Chess and Motown; original packaging that enhances collectability; and much more.

About The Author
Dave Thompson is a regular columnist for Goldmine, America's leading publication in the field of record collecting, and has written at length for the UK's equivalent, Record Collector. Thompson has also contributed to Discoveries, Live! Music Review, Spiral Scratch, Record Mart, and similar magazines in Poland, Germany, Japan, Canada, and Australia. His work has appeared in such key music magazines as Rolling Stone, Alternative Press, Mojo, Q and Melody Maker, and he has written liner notes for such major artists as Lou Reed and Pink Floyd. Thompson's books - now numbering over seventy - include the best-selling Never Fade Away: The Kurt Cobain Story and Third Ear guides Alternative Rock, Funk, and Reggae and Caribbean Music.

Reader Reviews
Having been a record collector for over forty years, I am always interested in new books on the topic. One can never know everything about the hobby and indeed, I gleaned quite a few new pieces of information from this book. (A collectable three 8-Track Beatles set exists, as do 78s of such 60's evergreens as Ray Charles' "Georgia On My Mind" and the Everly Brothers' "Cathy's Clown"). However, this book is littered with inaccuracies. The reference to Arturo Toscanini as an opera singer who refused to sing on record until 1936 is ludicrous - not only because Toscanini was a conductor and not a singer, but because he did in fact record with the La Scala Orchestra during the pre-1925 acoustic era. The Russian State-owned record label is referrred to as "Melodisc" rather than its correct name, Melodiya. The author claims that there was no U.S. issue of the Black Dyke Mills Band's Apple single "Thingumybob" (There was - Apple 1800 - I own it.) And from page 98, this pearl of wisdom about tape speeds: "[Reel-to-Reel] Tapes were issued at two speeds: 7 1/2ips (inches per second) and the sonically superior 3 3/4 ips, the standard to which both the later 4-Track and 8-Track cartridges adhered.." Ask any audio engineer which speed is "sonically superior". I could make this review a mile long with such examples. There are also plenty of misspelled names here too: Paul Gayton (Gayten), Hal Blain (Blaine), Deutsche Gramophone (Grammophon), and on and on, but you get the point. This book is an interesting read, but if you know the subject, these errors come frequently and get more irritating each time. Backbeat Books needs to hire a proofreader.