Rating: 
Summary: Monumental Effort
Review: ...Measuring a little over 8 inches wide by 11½ inches long, and 2 inches thick, it has 1109 pages and must weigh two pounds. Not something you want to be reading in bed and doze off. risking a broken nose.The effort that went into its compilation can only be described as monumental, as it provides single and LP discographies on MANY [but not nearly all] of the North American artists who formed the genre known as R&R, as well as some of those who ensured its continuation in the music scene in the 1970s to 1990s. Are there faults? Well, as with any endeavour this ambitious, it's going to be difficult to please everyone. First of all, there are some who will wish it came with some sort of Rosetta Stone to help decipher the author's rather unique method of recording various details, rather than the equally-confusing single page headed "How To Read This Book." [It CAN be done - it just takes a little practice] Secondly, from the point of view of this collector of North American singles hits, it would have been better had the author compiled a North American edition which included only those British and European artists and groups we've at least HEARD about over here. Obviously, that would include those like Abba, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Dave Clark Five, etc., along with lesser-known but still identifiable artists such as Adam & The Ants, Madness, and Jan-Michel Jarre. They're all in the book. But there are way too many like Aphex Twin, Apollo 440, Arab Strap, Syd Barrett, Basement Jaxx, Lloyd Cole, dEUS, Fluke, Goldie, Roy Harper, Inspiral Carpets, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Kula Shaker, etc., etc., that precious few on this side of the Atlantic know, let alone collect. And while literally hundreds of such artists are included -and, I'm sure, are of great benefit to U.K. and European collectors - there are also far too many North American greats omitted. Among these are the likes of Bobby Darin, Gene Pitney, Brenda Lee [all three in the R&R Hall Of Fame in Cleveland], Connie Francis [who SHOULD be], Ivory Joe Hunter, Pat Boone [YES, Pat Boone in spite of the opinions of Rolling Stone and others], Chubby Checker, The Fleetwoods, The Drifters, The Coasters, The Four Seasons - etc., etc. For that reason alone I had to deduct one star. Thirdly, there are also annoying little errors, such as appears in the Buddy Holly portion. According to the details listed, with the exception of the first two single releases by Decca in 1956, all other North American releases were on Decca's Coral subsidiary. In actual fact, Decca muddied the waters back then by alternatingly releasing one single on their Brunswick subsidiary as by The Crickets and another on Coral as by Buddy Holly & The Crickets - sometimes literally within days of one another [e.g., Peggy Sue by Buddy Holly & The Crickets on Coral which made its debut on the North American charts on November 11, 1957, and Oh, Boy by The Crickets which debuted on November 25!] No mention is made of this questionable practice in the blurb above the discography which, to my way of thinking, was one of the reasons Buddy didn't have more Top 40 North American hits than the eight credited to him. With these limitations would I recommend the book to a North American music fan? In one word - yes. As one reviewer points out, the trivia alone is almost worth the price. However, if your memory is of the North American artists be warned that there are MANY of them missing and that JUST as many are included that will be completely unknown to you.
Rating: 
Summary: indispensible for any one who loves music
Review: Absolutely brilliant. There is so much amazing trivia here. Did you know that Dick Dale's Misirilou was based on a greek pop tune? Did you know that the B-52's were one of John Lennon's favorite bands and inspired him to pick up writing music again? Did you know that the 13th Floor Elevators almost had Janis Joplin as a lead singer? Damn. I felt that learning that was worth the price of admission alone.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: Despite some of the criticism of this book including the exclusion of artists, release information and inaccurate biographical information, this is as good as any musical reference book you'll find. The origins of bands, top 50 chart positions for all singles and album on both the US & UK charts and track listing for all albums are included. There are always omissions and errors in books this size and breath, but they are miniscule and greatly overshadowed by everything else the book has to offer. You will find yourself referring to this book time and time again.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: Despite some of the criticism of this book including the exclusion of artists, release information and inaccurate biographical information, this is as good as any musical reference book you'll find. The origins of bands, top 50 chart positions for all singles and album on both the US & UK charts and track listing for all albums are included. There are always omissions and errors in books this size and breath, but they are miniscule and greatly overshadowed by everything else the book has to offer. You will find yourself referring to this book time and time again.
Rating: 
Summary: well, he did his homework.
Review: i suppose he didnt have a grad student going over his shoulder telling himm that certain people were in a different band or that a member of a band played an instrument other that they were supposed to play....RESEARCH MAN, RESEARCH! I'M A HEAVY METAL DJ and i think i know more that this...if you have as question just ask Garry Sharpe-Young....
Rating:
Summary: exhaustingly informative, deliciously entertaining
Review: Martin Strong's newest update imporves upon the two earlier editions of The Great Rock Discography. No small feat. A veritable cornucopia of information for serious rock fans. Strong includes more than 1,000 entries in this massive (930+page) tome. Each entry includes every single (a- and b-side) and album (w/complete track listing) released, as well as highest British and US chart position reached. In addition, Strong includes biographical data on every performer as well as a description of the style of music performed by each artist, as well as detailing personnel changes. Strong's opinionated writing style is at once amusing, informative, and thought provoking. The Great Rock Discography deserves a place on the shelf of every serious student and fan of rock music. Perusing this tome, one cannot help but sense Strong's adoration of this musical genre and those who perform it. Thanks, Martin, for all the afternoons and evenings of entertainment your book has provided this fan
Rating:
Summary: surely some mistake!
Review: No rock discography can hope to contain everything. But the GRD has an amazing wealth of useful information & trivia. Furthermore, I have all three editions -- if it has been re-issued this many times someone must have liked it! If nothing else, it is a vital resource for settling bets...
Rating: 
Summary: Apology ? not quite, but.......
Review: OK, maybe my earlier review was a little over-critical, but I was trying to convey the point that this book is simply not as good as it SHOULD have been. The omissions are too plentiful and the author's preferences ARE too easily recognised. It is, however, the best attempt at a complete rock discography in recent years. BUT, if you want to see how it SHOULD be done, read Terry Hounsome's "New Rock Record", or "Single File"
Rating:
Summary: Very flawed.
Review: This book is very good for what it does have, with very complete discographies. However, there is way too much emphasis on artist/groups of the 80's onward; most of those of the 50's and 60's (except for some of the heavyweights) are not even mentioned. May I respectfully request the authors to do another volume of rock and rollers, well known and otherwise, from 1945 to 1970?
Rating:
Summary: Very useful, but not always clear and consistent.
Review: This book, which is readily found in almost all bookstores locally, is an interesting read for those interested in music. It is very useful reference in that it contains a great deal of information about major rock bands - including long out of print albums and all the tracks on them, chart placings in the UK and US, and infornation on singles released. Basically, each artist's releases are listed in chronological order with tracks and UK and US peak chart placings (if any - note that a line in the box indicates that the album never got a domestic release in the relevant country). Each artist discussed is summarised through each album and the way in which it fared both critically and commercially. In the list of albums, band line-up changes are mentioned as they occur, though full line-ups are not given for each album to make the book still easier to understand. The albums are rated on a scale from (*0) - only one case in the whole book - to (*10) for the best albums, but, like so much rock criticism, the ratings are inconsistent and never explained with any clarity whatsoever. This is especially true of later releases by established artists, almost all of which are panned whether there is a good reason or not for doing so. The guide is very good in that it is very easy to read because of its layout, but, with the exception of a small number of extremely popular artists it neglects the less "rock" styles of popular music such as r and b almost entirely - and because it is British, artists receiving no interest outside the US are left undiscussed. This makes it a bit problematic for a serious study of pop music. On the whole, a very useful reference work for the student if little more than that.
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