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paelad's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed it, but it seemed to gloss over a lot the history.
thinkspink's review against another edition
3.0
If you rate a music book by how much you want to listen to the music described, then this is pretty good. Starts really well, the blues section is decent, and the decision to start with Robert Johnson selling his soul at the crossroads is an obvious jumping off point.
But then it goes a bit too prog. The author seems a bit sniffy about metal, there are many pages on how Pink Floyd, Yes, King Crimson all embraced the occult while Black Sabbath and other metal bands are dismissed as showmen. To me, metal is where occult themes and popular music collide more than anywhere else, but this book doesn't really agree.
Goth and rap are dismissed in about a paragraph each, there's hardly any mention of folk (despite the title) and there's virtually nothing about any music that's not sung in English. Plus a couple of factual howlers.
It is a great list of occult music, if heavy on prog, but I think a bit of a missed opportunity unfortunately.
But then it goes a bit too prog. The author seems a bit sniffy about metal, there are many pages on how Pink Floyd, Yes, King Crimson all embraced the occult while Black Sabbath and other metal bands are dismissed as showmen. To me, metal is where occult themes and popular music collide more than anywhere else, but this book doesn't really agree.
Goth and rap are dismissed in about a paragraph each, there's hardly any mention of folk (despite the title) and there's virtually nothing about any music that's not sung in English. Plus a couple of factual howlers.
It is a great list of occult music, if heavy on prog, but I think a bit of a missed opportunity unfortunately.
thurman's review against another edition
3.0
had higher expectations. feel like a lot of things got left out for seemingly no reason.
nunasreads's review against another edition
2.0
As much as I was excited for this book, I have to admit that the more I read the more dissapointed I was. This is due to the fact that the subject was covered only superficially, there were mentions of numerous bands and how their music was connected to the occult, but none of the chapters actually went in depth and only presented the connection between music and occult at surface level. I think the problem with it is that 'the occult in rock and roll' is a too vast of a subject to be encapsulated in only 229 pages. (let's be real only the David Bowie albums would have taken at least several volumes to describe properly).
All in all it was an interesting read, it opened up my apetite for the subject. But for those looking for more details I'd recommend choosing another book. ~
All in all it was an interesting read, it opened up my apetite for the subject. But for those looking for more details I'd recommend choosing another book. ~
scheu's review against another edition
3.0
Not a bad book by any measure; I just wanted more out of it. Less of a survey, more detail. I was very comfortable with the author's knowledge of the occult, but less comfortable with his overenthusiasm and cute little quips when he wrote about things he was the most fond of (or so it seemed to me).