When I first read the 1992 edition, it was fascinating to me because I realised there was a world of music far beyond what could be heard in the cloistered confines of Melbourne’s ultraconservative, ultraconformist suburbs. It took me a while to realise I might like some of it: I had assumed that what people called “alternative” was basically loud, thrashy and similar to the worst pop/punk bands of my young adulthood.
However, it did not take me that long to see that there was far more rock music than even Rolling Stone covered, especially when Joe S. Harrington’s and David Keenan’s writings shattered my conceptions of the period and place I had grown up - showing it of no significance to the music world whatsoever. Many of the groups praised by Harrington and Keenan were not even in the other rock guides I possessed, and they intrigued me even with no expectations of liking them.
When the 2004 edition came out, I clearly knew what was wrong with Rolling Stone, yet looking through it really made me think a great deal about how much I had known and have known since. This table is based on a list by “schmidtt” from the Rate Your Music site, and artists I like are italicised.
Those artists included on Joe Harrington’s and David Keenan’s best-albums list are noted in the last two columns. It would be possible to search for rock artists on those lists who have never been in a Rolling Stone Album Guide (Half Japanese for instance)
1979 | 1983 | 1992 | 2004 | Harrington | Keenan | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
David Ackles | Reviewed | Unreviewed | Unreviewed | Unreviewed | ||
Radio Birdman | Reviewed | Unreviewed | Unreviewed | Unreviewed | ||
Cockney Rebel | Reviewed | Unreviewed | Unreviewed | Unreviewed | ||
Kevin Coyne | Unreviewed | Reviewed | Unreviewed | Unreviewed | ||
Van Dyke Parks | Reviewed | Unreviewed | Reviewed | Unreviewed | ||
Flaming Groovies | Reviewed | Unreviewed | Reviewed | Unreviewed | #89 (Teenage Head) |
|
Dave van Ronk | Reviewed | Reviewed | Unreviewed | Unreviewed | ||
Norman Blake | Reviewed | Reviewed | Unreviewed | Unreviewed | ||
The Red Krayola | Reviewed | Reviewed | Unreviewed | Unreviewed | #44 (Parable of Arable Land) |
|
Pearls Before Swine | Reviewed | Reviewed | Unreviewed | Unreviewed | ||
Hawkwind | Reviewed | Reviewed | Unreviewed | Unreviewed | #91 (Quark, Strangeness and Charm) |
|
Hatfield and the North | Reviewed | Reviewed | Unreviewed | Unreviewed | ||
Henry Cow | Reviewed | Reviewed | Unreviewed | Unreviewed | ||
Yellow Magic Orchestra | Reviewed | Reviewed | Unreviewed | Unreviewed | ||
Ultravox | Reviewed | Reviewed | Unreviewed | Unreviewed | ||
Louis Armstrong | Reviewed | Reviewed | Reviewed | Unreviewed | ||
Robert Johnson | Reviewed | Reviewed | Reviewed | Unreviewed | The Complete Recordings | |
Ella Fitzgerald | Reviewed | Reviewed | Reviewed | Unreviewed | ||
Duke Ellington | Reviewed | Reviewed | Reviewed | Unreviewed | ||
Bert Jansch | Reviewed | Reviewed | Reviewed | Unreviewed | ||
Tim Hardin | Reviewed | Reviewed | Reviewed | Unreviewed | ||
Incredible String Band | Reviewed | Reviewed | Reviewed | Unreviewed | #88 (The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter) |
The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter |
Captain Beefheart | Reviewed | Reviewed | Reviewed | Unreviewed | #45 (Trout Mask Replica) |
Trout Mask Replica |
The Pink Fairies | Reviewed | Reviewed | Reviewed | Unreviewed | ||
Sparks | Reviewed | Reviewed | Reviewed | Unreviewed | #67 (Kimono My House) |
|
Badfinger | Reviewed | Reviewed | Reviewed | Unreviewed | ||
The Raspberries | Reviewed | Reviewed | Reviewed | Unreviewed | ||
The Shoes | Reviewed | Reviewed | Reviewed | Unreviewed | ||
The Only Ones | Reviewed | Reviewed | Reviewed | Unreviewed | ||
The Damned | Reviewed | Reviewed | Reviewed | Unreviewed | ||
The Saints | Reviewed | Reviewed | Reviewed | Unreviewed | #30 (Eternally Yours) #19 (I’m Stranded) |
|
Big Star | Reviewed | Unreviewed | Reviewed | Reviewed | #55 (Radio City) |
Third |
Throbbing Gristle | Unreviewed | Unreviewed | Unreviewed | Reviewed | Heathen Earth | |
Giant Sand | Unreviewed | Unreviewed | Unreviewed | |||
Dexy’s Midnight Runners | Reviewed | Unreviewed | Unreviewed | |||
Grace Jones | Reviewed | Reviewed | Unreviewed | |||
Magazine | Reviewed | Reviewed | Unreviewed | |||
The Gun Club | Reviewed | Reviewed | Unreviewed | |||
Talk Talk | Reviewed | Reviewed | Unreviewed | |||
Aztec Camera | Reviewed | Reviewed | Unreviewed | |||
The Chameleons | Unreviewed | Unreviewed | ||||
The Meat Puppets | Reviewed | Unreviewed | ||||
Michelle Shocked | Reviewed | Unreviewed | ||||
Slowdive | Unreviewed | |||||
Tindersticks | Unreviewed | |||||
Will Oldham | Unreviewed | |||||
Godspeed You Black Emperor | Unreviewed | |||||
My Morning Jacket | Unreviewed | |||||
Interpol | Unreviewed | |||||
The Delgados | Unreviewed | |||||
Arab Strap | Unreviewed | |||||
The Mountain Goats | Unreviewed | |||||
Broadcast | Unreviewed | |||||
The Walkmen | Unreviewed |
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