3 comments about Goldmine Comedy Record Price Guide.

1. The reference is very valuable, though not quite exhaustive. And if anything other than highbrow humor makes you laugh, then try to avoid reading the reviews of the albums, they'll just make you mad. The harsh criticism of record after record makes you wonder if the author actually has a sense of humor.



2. Amazing book. The guy not only has every comedy record, but has listened to them all. What I liked best was that he was fair with all types of comedians -- he digs Lord Buckley as well as Homer and Jethro, Mort Sahl as well as Jackie Mason, and tells you what their best records are. I also found out I have some albums worth BIG BUCKS! Yeah!! But he doesn't say where I can sell them. Great to find a book that's worth the money. Photos of album covers were good, too. Wish there was more of them.



3. For students of comedy, Smith's Goldmine Comedy Record Price Guide is priceless. Those of us collectors who are lucky enough to have picked up a mint Brother Theodore or Bob & Ray On A Platter for next to nothing will delight to see the lofty prices afforded to these and many others. Smith definitely lets his personal tastes be known and his write-offs of such classics as Robert Klein's Mind Over Matter, Richard Pryor's That Nigger's Crazy and Peter Sellers' recorded output may leave some fans confused/angry. But that's the norm in album guides of all sorts. All in all, comedy historian and expert Ronald L. Smith has given collectors an entertaining, informative and exhaustive study of humor on record.

5 comments about The Official Price Guide to Records, Edition #17 (Official Price Guide to Records).

1. It was exactly what I ordered, and was delivered on time



2. Bought this book to look up some very old records that my folks had. Maybe 1 out of 50 is listed. This book is a piece of doodoo.



3. The book was very informative about history of records. I was looking for something that would help me with pricing, unfortunately this book did not help.



4. My low score for this book is based not so much on the book's content but on how it is titled and marketed. The title should be "The Official Price Guide to ROCK Records," because that's basically what it is. I purchased this book as a reference for records BEFORE the Rock era and found it virtually useless for that purpose. I am an antique dealer and most of the records I come across are from the 1940s and before. For example, I wanted to reference vintage records on the original cast of the musical "South Pacific", early Lawerence Welk, Gordon MacCrae, 1940s "Peter Pan" Children's records--not exactly "obscure" artists. NONE of these records were listed. For goodness sake, the book even contains a explanation in it's introduction on how its [precious few] "NON-ROCK" records (yes, they actually used the term "non rock")were selected for inclusion! If that's not a dead give away as to this book being basically a ROCK record reference I don't know what is! If you want a reference for ROCK music this may be your cup of tea, but if you seek to research "non rock" records this is NOT the book you want. I'm returning mine today!



5. welp..here it is.another book by jellyroll that says read it and become an expert!
   really now.come on.
   jerrys books have been going downhill for decades in my opinion.
   his early books were great and showed great pics of rare 45s although they ignored 78s mostly untill ten years ago.
   but the quality of this book and to honest the last ten or so has been decreasin down to the level of a newspaper.if fact its so bad that if you are blessed with bad eyesight like me,you shouldnt waste your time on this at all.
   worse yet there are countless horrid errors.
   many groups are thrown together only because they had the same name(although jerry is a nice guy and you can write or call him and tell him if he messes up or if you wanna contribute to his books.)
   my real pet peeve on his guides are not only the horrible print,but the awfull and often pointless pictures given on individual pages.
   like we wanna see some of these records at all?let alone in black and white>???
   many color pics are now included but are mindlessly thrown in.
   much attention if i want to be fair is elvis gets a load of attention..but its too confusing.
   by the time i found a few of his titles to price my eyeballs were hurting and popping out!
   last but not least,many artists have only labels and numbers listed.no names of the records.
   sigh.
   but if you want it buy it.
   its a good book if you are starting out or if you are into whitburn who will probably do his own gudes eventually.
   sorry jerry but thats how i feel after all the dough is spent.

1 comments about Brambly Hedge Collectors Book & Price Guide.

1. What is the greatest boondoggle/stumbling block to the run ofthe mill avid Brambly Hedge aficionado/collector?
   Hands down, ithas to be a lack of information.
   
   Whether you are speaking of pieces ever done, dates of release, or countries availabe, it's all here in Louise Irvine's outstanding work. The photographs are well worth the price of the book, but on top of those is the documenting of the very complex and phenomenal merchandizing tale which is so indicative of not only the tremendous enthusiasm which exists for Jill Barklem's world of characters/stories/artwork, but this day in age in which it is occurring....ie the tail end of the 20th century.
   
   In America, when it comes to obtaining Brambly Hedge merchandise, we are at a big disadvantage compared to most of the other markets, that is the UK, Europe, Canada, Australia and Japan. In those places when you ask after Brambly Hedge Items at a gift or china shop there is instant product recognition. Here you are more likely to get a response like: "That's those little bunnies, right?" Louise's book somewhat levels the playing field for us poor Yanks with previously unavailable information.
   
   Louise Irvine has taken on the daunting task of identifying and photo cataloguing every item of major significance related to the community of English mice, known as the Brambly Hedge. These critters first appeared on the literary scene in 1980, in the form of the first four books by authoress, Jill Barklem. Since the introduction of the Spring; Summer; Autumn; and Winter "Stories" there have been no fewer than 2 dozen companies from all over the world with lines of merchandise with everything from China plates, figures in china, resin, and pewter, to stationery and even cosmetics in which to feature the mice made famous in Ms. Barklem's extremely eloquent and exquistitely illustrated children's books.

   The Collector's Book has an introduction of the general story of Jill and how she came to write and illustrate her stories. The chapters are then listed in descending order of the most prolific of the Brambly Hedge Licensees....32 pages devoted to Royal Doulton, with pictures of everything ever available from them, followed by a 27 page chapter devoted to Border Fine Arts and Enesco, on down the list to a final chapter of "Useful addresses". Included with each book is a very helpful price guide insert.

   Thank you, Mrs. Barklem, for your creativity and magnificent artistry captured in your eight wonderfully illustrated children's books. Thank you Louise, for the dogged persuit needed to put this fantastically documented and illustrated volume out there for the the consuming Brambly Hedge public to 'devour', as I am sure that they will. Best of luck and fortune to you and the Publishers of this volume. From a devoted "Brambly Hedger", Jo Ann Travis, USA

No comments about Album: Style and Image in Sleeve Design.

2 comments about Blues and Gospel Records: 1890-1943 (Blues and Gospel Records).

1. This encyclopedia is indispensable to anyone seriously interested in blues and gospel recordings of the pre-WW2 era. Awe-inspiring labor has brought forth a volume of nearly 1500 pages listing, alphabetically by artist, recording data for every known African-American blues and gospel performer whose work was put on disk through 1943. It is not a jazz discography, though a few essentially jazz acts are included. As well as commercial recordings, it also attempts to catalog all known folklore field recordings of the same period, particularly those of the Archive of American Folk Song at the Library of Congress. Included are an index of artists, to help locate sideman appearances, and an index of song titles. The work involved here, which has occupied several writers for many years, is awe-inspiring, particularly since the book is specialized enough (and priced highly enough) that it will never break any sales records. A love for this wonderful music is evident on every page.

   I bought a copy about 2 years ago and use it frequently, especially with my disk and tape collection. The kind of session data given so generously here was notoriously absent on LP reissues of early blues music. As an inveterate compiler and collator and list-maker, I can't imagine not having this info! The Oxford edition is a sturdy and well-made volume, and I consider the book worth every dime I paid for it, and then some.

   One "improvement" I would like to see in a future edition is the addition of some symbol to designate records of which no copy is known to exist. Here and there the editors note that a particular recording has "never been found," but this should be done more consistently. Even with such a notoriously lost 78 as Pm 13096, only the absence of a master number indicates its status. Since 7 types of saxophone are differentiated in the instrumentation chart, I would also suggest that the Queen of Musical Instruments -- I mean, of course, the 12-string -- might be distinguished from the plain old 6-string guitar (perhaps as "12g").

   The quibbles are quite minor. There is really nothing about this book that I don't like. Casual blues and gospel fans certainly don't need it, but it will be indispensable to those with a more serious interest.




2. This is the 4th edition of a compilation of recording sessions of blues and gospel performers between 1890 and 1943, listed by matrix number and by records issued from that master, listed alphabetically by artist name and in order of recording dates under each artist and who accompanied on what instruments if known. It is mostly of interest to collectors and ethnomusicologists, and is an invaluable resource to us. this edition contains more information than the original edition from 1962, having been revised in 1997.

No comments about Goldmine's Price Guide to Collectible Record Albums, 1949-79.

1 comments about Goldmine Country & Western Record Price Guide.

1. Goldmine COUNTRY & WESTERN Record Price Guide (2nd Edition)

   I was hoping that this long awaited new book would fill up some of the gaps in previous similar works, or at least that it could be a new interesting tool for better investigating the "big sea" of country music recordings. I've always bought Price Guides primarily for their amount of information on old recordings, useful for oldies fans and collectors too. Well, although I knew by experience that compiling a thorough conprehensive records guide avoiding at the same time any mistake is a very difficult(if not impossible) task, I could have never imagined that I would find such an inaccurate work, at least for what concerns the LPs part. As Mr. Neely says in his introduction, 75% of this new edition is dedicated to 45s(and this is good), but why should he neglect so badly the LPs section? It took me less than 30 minutes to find out, for instance, that Dave Dudley's listed LPs are only the Mercury cuts, and that there's no mention at all of the United Artists recordings.,Sun,? , furthermore: Johnny Dollar has only a Date LP listed; what about the others on Chart ?, Johnny Bond's Lamb and Lion LP is not included, Don Bowman's LPs list does not include "Support Your Local Prison", "Wispering Country", "The All New D.B."(?), Owen Bradley is entitled to a long list while Harold Bradley is totally ignored (!?), Jethro Burns, Jenks "Tex" Carman, Thumb Carllile, Fred Carter Jr.,etc. have no LPs on the list while other significant singers (dozens) have an LP dicography clearly uncomplete, ?.The famous "Red and Ernie" duet LP by Red Foley and Ernest Tubb is impossible to find under both Foley or Tubb. And this are only a few example.

   I really can't understand why Mr.Neely came up with such a poor work. Yet he was responsible for previous good ones such as the Goldmine STANDARD CATALOG OF AMERICAN RECORDS, etc. One could guess he didn't pay much attention on how F.Heggeness had conceived his previous(and controversial) COUNTRY & WESTERN PRICE GUIDE from which this second one has originated. Mr. Heggeness started in late 80s publishing a CD/Record Price Guide titled RAREST OF THE RARE which listed only recordings of a certain value. In 1990 he published the RAREST OF THE RARE version for Country & Western fans/collectors. There, only the most rare and valuable recordings were listed. Later on, in 1996, he published a new big volume: GOLDMINE COUNTRY WESTERN RECORD & CD PRICE GUIDE which was nothing more than an expanded version of his previous work and included many more recordings(78,45,LP,promos,...). Even though he was still focusing on the most valuable releases, he didn't forget to mention all others by listing (only under the artist's name) at least the labels on which they were issued, with their approximate prices. So has maybe Neely ,in his most recent book, considered only the full LP listing data from the previous Heggenes guide and forgotten the rest ??? It seems absurd anyway. But then, if it works for Dudley 's discography, certainly it doesn't (for example) for Pete Drake's whose LPs full list appeared on the Heggeness guide, while Neely had completly ignored them.

   However, though disappointing , yet this new price guide is something any collector should add to his library for the updated information it contains as well as useful extra cross reference tool. For the newcomers it could just be the first step into records collecting research, but only as long as they are fully aware that this work is widely incomplete.

No comments about The Art of Sound Reproduction.

2 comments about Warman's Beatles Field Guide: Values And Identification (Warman's Field Guides).

1. This pocket guide to Beatles collectibles is a handy reference for those wishing to value their own collections or add to them. I learned that my copy of Vee Jay's "Introducing the Beatles" album will not be funding my retirement, since it is in fact a counterfeit. The section on U.S. Beatles releases is useful; clear instructions are given for discriminating among the many variations that exist.
   
   The most annoying feature of the guide is a doltish essay by one Chris Nickson. This uninformed commentator goes on about the importance of "George's" "Baby, You're a Rich Man." You don't have to be steeped in Fab Four lore to know that this is a Lennon-McCartney song. How did this error make it through Editorial? It undermines the Guide's credibility. Nickson goes on to archly dismiss most of the Beatles' music. "Get Back" is "not worth the vinyl." Get this guy out of the 2nd edition, if there is one.
   
   The book's other essays are also superfluous. Why include an article about the Moptops' solo careers when the Guide does not cover albums and merchandise from that period? I wish the section on British LPs, allegedly brief due to space constraints, had been expanded; omitting those essays would have freed up a lot of space.
   
   This book, while not masterful, is nevertheless useful for the many of us who don't know whether we own treasures or trash. Buy it, consult its tables of price information, but don't read it.



2. Bought this for a stocking stuffer for Christmas. My husband, a huge Beatles fan, loves it. My teenage son, another Beatles fan, covets it. If I had known how much they would like it, I would've bought two of them. They are particularly interested in old vinyl records. This doesn't list them all, but it is still a handy reference guide for the items it does list. Note that it only lists US record releases, not the UK records. Though it has its limits, it was a great little stocking stuffer for the price (68 cents plus shipping). Beware that, though this item was advertised by a marketplace seller as "used, like new", it did have a marker stripe across the bottom of the book. Didn't bother us, but it isn't quite "like new" for those giving it as a gift to discriminating recipients!

2 comments about The Cure on Record: On Record.

1. Yes, wow. That sums this baby up pretty good! This book, it's large and it will depress you it's so amazin! I've looked through it wholy several times so far and only got it 2 days ago.. Amazing, it contains so.. SO many albums and things i could only dream of ever holding! And the pictures of Robert Smith in there, oh don't make me go into great detail! *slobber drool* Well I'm not going to do the generic thing and say "a great Cure collector item" or "a must-have!" 'cause really it's totally your choice, it's just that I have it, and it rocks.



2. this is what us hard-core cure collectors have been waiting for...a nicely designed, thoroughly exhaustive guide to all things cure (and cure-related). i've actually been able to use this book as a comprehensive, visual checklist for taking inventory on my collection...much, much better than any silly discography. required for any serious cure collector.