Illustrated Collectors Guide to Punk: Band by Band Document of the Punk Era

Rating:
Summary: Educated and in depth
Review: Just so people don't get the wrong idea. This book includes the majority of punk/indie bands from England. If you're looking for any American bands DO NOT buy this book. But on to the review... This book has virtually every band to come out of England during the blast of the first punk rock wave. A very thorough and in depth look and almost every release from 1976 to 1981, I think. For some reason they left out the ever important CRASS bands. Like Crass, Rudimentary Peni, etc. Other than that this is a great way to find out about hard to find records.

Rating:
Summary: Discography of BritPunk Explosion
Review: Okay, it seems insipid to say, but definitely read the intro to the book first; if you don't, you may be disappointed. Mr. Thompson filled his book with British bands from 1976-78 only, so it's limited in that way. The book is the size and shape of a double-cd and is basically just a discography of as many bands as he could list from that period. Included with his discography is a band line-up (including changes) and on some of the less-obscure bands a sentence or two about the band and its members. [oh, and for the reviewer who commented on the lack of Crass, which I noticed as well, it's because Crass didn't show up on the recording scene until 1979---I imagine he'll put them in a 'volume two'.]
I think this book is great for record collectors as a sort of checklist, but it's not definitive (how could he have missed listing Warsaw?). This book is not one that you could read for information beyond record listings, but I recommend the "Punk" book in the "20th Century Rock and Roll" series (which is also written by Dave Thompson) for that. That book has more detailed information about the bigger bands in this book, and together they make a more complete picture for someone exploring the early British punk scene.
[Or, better yet, find yourself a copy of George Gilmarc's "Punk Diary".]

Rating:
Summary: Discography of BritPunk Explosion
Review: Okay, it seems insipid to say, but definitely read the intro to the book first; if you don't, you may be disappointed. Mr. Thompson filled his book with British bands from 1976-78 only, so it's limited in that way. The book is the size and shape of a double-cd and is basically just a discography of as many bands as he could list from that period. Included with his discography is a band line-up (including changes) and on some of the less-obscure bands a sentence or two about the band and its members. [oh, and for the reviewer who commented on the lack of Crass, which I noticed as well, it's because Crass didn't show up on the recording scene until 1979---I imagine he'll put them in a 'volume two'.]
I think this book is great for record collectors as a sort of checklist, but it's not definitive (how could he have missed listing Warsaw?). This book is not one that you could read for information beyond record listings, but I recommend the "Punk" book in the "20th Century Rock and Roll" series (which is also written by Dave Thompson) for that. That book has more detailed information about the bigger bands in this book, and together they make a more complete picture for someone exploring the early British punk scene.
[Or, better yet, find yourself a copy of George Gilmarc's "Punk Diary".]

Rating:
Summary: not bad ,a insightful look at a wild time
Review: the book is cool, even better is "High On Rebellion; Inside the Underground at Max's Kansas City" by Yvonne Sewell Ruskin, loaded with NY Dolls/Johnny Thunders,Psychotic Frogs,Jayne County, Cherry Vanilla,etc THE REAL SCENE! YEAH!