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Rating: 
Summary: About as good as it could be in one volume
Review: Although I wish that there was even more room to fit in all that's needed. I do notice that, for instance, there has since this volume a separate pocket-size one for Irish music, and no doubt others. I studied the areas I was most familiar with to see if any surprises emerged. A couple each time; unfortunately, these were impossible to find on cd (cassette even out-of-print in more than one instance) if you lived more than a few miles from the musician, I reckon!This inevitable let down between supply and demand for those outside of the countries who want to hear the music does frustrate armchair listeners like me. Go to the Egyptian chapter, for example, and you'll find that most of the genre's picks are bootlegged as tapes in the market stands. Since 1999, I gather that this tendency keeps growing given filesharing and cd-burners, so I'm not quite sure how one would find much of the music on smaller regional labels today even from reputable importers. This evolution aside and perhaps beyond RG's survey, this does whet your appetite for music. But be forewarned that much of it comes at quite a price from the net or a music store, if you're lucky enough to find what you want. The illustrations in the text, the sidebar profiles, the list of merchants appended: all these represent a labor of love and a fine reference source. I do wish, finally, that RG had kept their guides on the Net (as it had at least with the Rock Guide in the later 1990s) so they could be updated as CDs go in and out of print.
Rating: 
Summary: A World Music Bonanza
Review: I am biased: I love the Rough Guide series of CDs. They have opened my ears and mind to worlds I not only never knew existed but also couldn't have imagined. This revision and expansion of the original Rough Guide to World Music is dazzling in its diversity. I agree with the first reviewer about its strengths and weaknesses. However, if you love the exploration of music and are willing to acknowledge that no encyclopedic work can but scratch surfaces, you'll love this book.
Rating:
Summary: This book RULES!!!
Review: I love this book - it would be utterly useful to everyone except the MOST savvy World Music person with a big ol' advanced degree. I do a radio show of Arab music (WHPK 88.5 FM in Chicago!) and consider myself an educated aficionado, and I refer to it CONSTANTLY. This is truly the current ultimate guide to World music - just great. They are righ when they say "your CD collection will GROW" It will!
Rating:
Summary: Great for experts, good for beginners
Review: This book's scope is its strength. Not only do you get chapters on Scotland, Ivory Coast, and Egypt, but also Greenland, Alpine Music, islands in the Indian Ocean, and the Gulf states. Geared more toward the musician or the academic, beginners also can find this valuable. Its weaknesses include the uneveness of the contributions. Some include detailed histories of cultures, others focus on the local scene. Also, some music is determined to be world music in some chapters; in others is not. For example, Greenlandic rap is world music in Greenland, but only French regional music is included here. Also, I noted that music that supported oppressive governments in the Soviet Union and Serbia received only passing mentions. On the whole, I would recommend this book to academics, musicians looking for new sounds, or people trying to learn more about other cultures. (P.S. Please include the publication date in your discographies!)
Rating:
Summary: Great for experts, good for beginners
Review: This book's scope is its strength. Not only do you get chapters on Scotland, Ivory Coast, and Egypt, but also Greenland, Alpine Music, islands in the Indian Ocean, and the Gulf states. Geared more toward the musician or the academic, beginners also can find this valuable. Its weaknesses include the uneveness of the contributions. Some include detailed histories of cultures, others focus on the local scene. Also, some music is determined to be world music in some chapters; in others is not. For example, Greenlandic rap is world music in Greenland, but only French regional music is included here. Also, I noted that music that supported oppressive governments in the Soviet Union and Serbia received only passing mentions. On the whole, I would recommend this book to academics, musicians looking for new sounds, or people trying to learn more about other cultures. (P.S. Please include the publication date in your discographies!)
Rating:
Summary: The best World Music's Guide released since today
Review: Walk inside the universe of World Music is not easy. You have the feeling to moove in a jungle of names, titles and unknown instruments. A Guide is necessary to understand and help you for orientation. This book is good for primers and experts, speaking about generes, origins, musicians and their best records. From the 1994's first edition the new release is more rich and reflects the high number of World Music records released in the last five years. I think you are in presence of the best guide you can buy today on the matter.
Rating:
Summary: The best World Music's Guide released since today
Review: Walk inside the universe of World Music is not easy. You have the feeling to moove in a jungle of names, titles and unknown instruments. A Guide is necessary to understand and help you for orientation. This book is good for primers and experts, speaking about generes, origins, musicians and their best records. From the 1994's first edition the new release is more rich and reflects the high number of World Music records released in the last five years. I think you are in presence of the best guide you can buy today on the matter.
Rating:
Summary: A superb survey of African, European & Middle East music.
Review: World Music appeared in 1994 and became a fine resource: here is the first volume of a 2-volume edition; this first volume covering Africa, Europe and the Middle East with expanded musical references, over 80 articles from experts, extensive discographies organized by country and photos and directors of world music labels and specialty stores. An outstanding reference and a 'must' for avid world music listeners. Don't miss the Rough Guide Music Sampler CD, which provides a satisfyingly diverse sampler of some of the most famous names in world music from Carlos Gardel's tangos to Inti-Illimani's Andean sounds and the Soul Brothers' special South African beats.
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