1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die (1,000 Before You Die) | 
 enlarge | Author: Tom Moon
Publisher: Workman Publishing Company
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  58 reviews
Sales Rank: 235
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 992
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.1
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 1.9
ISBN: 076113963X
Dewey Decimal Number: 016.780266
EAN: 9780761139638
ASIN: 076113963X
Publication Date: August 4, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
The musical adventure of a lifetime. The most exciting book on music in years. A book of treasure, a book of discovery, a book to open your ears to new worlds of pleasure. Doing for music what Patricia Schultz—author of the phenomenal 1,000 Places to See Before You Die—does for travel, Tom Moon recommends 1,000 recordings guaranteed to give listeners the joy, the mystery, the revelation, the sheer fun of great music.
This is a book both broad and deep, drawing from the diverse worlds of classical, jazz, rock, pop, blues, country, folk, musicals, hip-hop, world, opera, soundtracks, and more. It's arranged alphabetically by artist to create the kind of unexpected juxtapositions that break down genre bias and broaden listeners’ horizons— it makes every listener a seeker, actively pursuing new artists and new sounds, and reconfirming the greatness of the classics. Flanking J. S. Bach and his six entries, for example, are the little-known R&B singer Baby Huey and the '80s Rastafarian hard-core punk band Bad Brains. Farther down the list: The Band, Samuel Barber, Cecelia Bartoli, Count Basie, and Afropop star Waldemer Bastos.
Each entry is passionately written, with expert listening notes, fascinating anecdotes, and the occasional perfect quote—"Your collection could be filled with nothing but music from Ray Charles," said Tom Waits, "and you'd have a completely balanced diet." Every entry identifies key tracks, additional works by the artist, and where to go next. And in the back, indexes and playlists for different moods and occasions.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 53 more reviews...
Just getting into it November 26, 2008
I've just gotten started reading this, on recommendation from a friend. I am 56 and grew up listening to most of the early rock albums he reviews. I skip over the classical, and there's a lot of genres covered that I don't normally listen to, but I will search out these gems and give a listen. The book is a collection of album reviews, mostly 33 rpm LPs, which is an almost extinct format that music was delivered in, when most of these recordings were made. Each album gets a half-to-full page review, and so far, I've found the reviews to be dead on with my perception of the music. I am a musician, so I am particularly critical if anything written is out of line. If you are not familiar with all major rock and pop artists and influences from the 60's onward, then it will give you a great roadmap to seek out great music, the likes of which is not made anymore. Good job Tom Moon. It's a good read. I also recommend Rolling Stone's book collections of interviews for more in-depth history into the making of classic rock music.
 Useful and Fun November 22, 2008
Let's agree not to quibble about whether our favorite recordings made it into the list. Just the sheer scope and breadth of this book would make it a useful resource. But Moon goes well beyond scope and provides a means of discovering great music that most of us would be unlikely to discover on our own. So to evaluate this book it is better not to ask 'does it include what I like', but rather 'does it help me find great music to listen to'.
To give you an idea of what this book is like, here are the basic elements:
* 1007 pages
* general index: 65 pages
* classical and opera performers index : 13 pages
* classical and opera composers index : 5 pages
* 'occasions' index, comprising 'cocktail hour', 'get the party started', 'music to inspire reflection', 'romance enhancers', 'cardio workout', 'play this for the kids', 'roadtrip soundtrack AM', 'roadtrip soundtrack PM', 'lazy sunday morning', 'headphone journey', 'superman's earbuds'.
* genres index : 15 pages
Moon also includes a page listing sources of hard-to-find music. In addition you can visit 1000recordings.com, and the Amazon 1000 recordings site.
The 1000 recordings are albums, not individual tracks. Each entry includes a brief review, usually including the historical and musical context and history. The entry also includes the release year, publisher, key tracks, other titles from the same performer, and 'links' to related music.
Big warning here: this book can be a huge time-suck. I've found myself opening the book just to find something to buy at the Amazon MP3 store, and two hours later I'm still browsing.
This book is worth the price, even if you are a very casual music listener (as I am).
 Overwhelming November 20, 2008
To really enjoy this book you must love all kinds of music. This book runs the gamut of musical genres. If you're looking to broaden your musical horizons this book will point you in the right direction. I found that I did not care for the suggestions outside the genres I already like. However, I did discover some new albums and artists to check out in those few genres I like.
1000 recording gives a brief overview of every album it recommends as well as a few other albums that are similar in some way. I didn't like that it listed multiple albums from a single artist - which get ridiculous in the cases of Beethoven, Mozart, the Beatles etc. Everyone is bound to have favorite artists who did not make the cut; mine was Sublime.
Overall, a good book for music lovers but if you like only 1-2 musical genres this book may not be for you since it ambitiously covers all types of music, some far from mainstream.
Great resource for "new" music November 16, 2008
Very insightful book. While some obvious choices are included, this book points the way to many unexpected or unfamiliar music. A great resource for any music lover.
 Only 1000? November 14, 2008
The author makes some good recommendations, but it seems even he was at odds with himself in picking just 1000 recordings. (it's more like 5000 with all the "what to listen to next" rubbish, which clutters the book with too much; complete overload. It really takes away from the integrity of the real classics & it makes it seems as though he was not that sure of his main choices.)
And I'm sorry, I like pop music but I do not think Brittany Spears is essential to listen to; even after I die. Really, whose going to be pulling out a Brittany Spears CD 20 years from now calling it a classic and listing it as essential music like a Beatles album? Hear anyone singing the praises of Tiffany, the late 80s pop sensation? Didn't think so.
Mr. Moon you can't appeal to everyone, your book tries too hard to do so.
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