Sunday, August 12, 2007

45 Revolutions (Volume 1, UK/Ireland, 1976/1979) by Mario Panciera (Hurdy Gurdy Books)

Close to 1200 pages, this is the ultimate reference guide to UK and Irish punk, new wave, powerpop, indie and whatchamightcallit 45s from the late 70s. "Insane" is the word that first comes to mind when browsing the pages of this book; 2000+ artists, 3000+ singles and 4500+ picture sleeves and label shots in full color. The skope is amazing; detailed biographies (on every band!), release dates and jaw dropping info on various pressings of discs you thought you knew all about (My Chiswick Records want list has doubled after checking the various entries!) Just get it, that's all I can say, 'cause this truly is the Encyclopedia Britannica for record geeks like me 'n you.
This baby doesn't come cheap tho', with a list price of 85 Euros, but Lost & Found seems to be the cheapest dealer offering 'em for just €60. (heck, I'd gladly pay a months' earning for a US edition!)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Lost & Found have run out now. Still some left with Mario at Hurdy Gurdy though. I worked with Mario for seven years on this (and he'd already been doing it for ages before I joined in) so it's really gratifying to see that everyone is positive about it.

If anyone has any questions about anything in the book, or wants info on a particular record or something (maybe even an mp3 if I fancy it...), let me know through my website.

Sorry about the Chiswick wants list, Jeroen!