When this book came out it took me a while to commit to buying it, as it cost the equivalent of 3 or 4 LPs, but after constantly returning to the bookshop to browse I realised that I just had to buy it.
At home I proceeded to read it cover to cover and soak up all the info within, wildly imagining how wonderful a record by sayBeatles Costellowould sound, and equally disappointed at the realisation that such wonders were unlikely to ever come my way. (little did I know what the future would bring).
Because early punk/new wave was becoming unfashionable at the time of the book's release, I was able to pick up a lot of obscure 7"s secondhand for pennies and I always had the book handy to check what I was buying. Unfortunately in my reckless youth I also discarded or sold on many records that I felt didn't come up to scratch, aIso adding my own briefly disparaging notes below the artist's book entry - many of which I simply cannot comprehend these days (though it does give me a laugh at how unforgiving I was).
In the 2000s I came across a mint copy of the book at a record fair for something like £5, regrettably I did not purchase it, my own copy is rather dog-eared and the spine is worn. These days I believe the book sells for a lot more, that is if you can actually find a copy.
ReviewVery comprehensive, though attracted later criticism for including pre-release or proposed entries that were subsequently shelved. A lot of the information was apparently sourced from John Peel's record collection, so maybe some of the rumoured-to-exist records actually do exist in some form.
The entries are for worldwide releases, though the majority are from English speaking countries. Honorary mentions are given to most of the important proto-punk bands. Each page has unique doodles/art to fill in blank spaces and maybe helps to take the strain off your eyes. Every so often you get a page crammed with pics of record sleeves.
If I can remember correctly volume 1 of this book was fairly slimline and had a red cover (all entries duplicated in this volume 2).