Defining Moments in Music: The Greatest Artists, Albums, Songs, Performances and Events that Rocked the Music World

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 800 pages
• Published by: Cassell Illustrated October 1, 2007
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 1844036065
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-1844036066
• Book Dimensions: 7.8 x 7.1 x 1.9 inches
• Weighs: 3.7 pounds

Product Description
From breakthroughs in recording technology to a song’s political repercussions, this electrifying collection will have music fans debating for years.  Edited by Sean Egan, a writer for such major magazines as Billboard and Goldmine, this decade-by-decade review covers events, people, performances, and every imaginable genre: classical, opera, country, folk, rock, spirituals, blues, jazz, and stage musicals.  A superb selection of critics weighs in on key albums, singles, and songs, along with biographies and commentary on the impact of major artists. Celebrate the riots that greeted the first performance of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, the spectacular explosion of punk, the creation of the moog synthesizer, the untimely death of icons, and the first breakdance.

Reader Reviews
This is a very good book. Published in England, it is a chronological listing of what the editor and writers have tagged as the defining moments in western music, starting with the 20th century, through approximately 2004. They are divided into three, maybe four general categories, Key Events, Key People, and Key Concerts and Key Songs. There are two items on each page. Also, the photographs are excellent with some not so often seen ones. What I like about this is that it covers all genres of popular music, not trying to pit some types of music against others. And, the writing is intelligent. For example, Bruce Springsteen's album, The River, is listed as a key album and the writer goes on to compare Springsteen's "The River" to the Clash's, "London Calling", bringing out some very insightful information, that as a longstanding Springsteen fan, I had not considered. The publisher has also put out "Defining Moments" books on movies and books. Though I haven't seen those, if they are as good as this one on music, they will be well worth checking out. Comment | | (Report this)