The History of Rock & Roll, Volume 2
1964–1977: The Beatles, the Stones, and the Rise of Classic Rock

I loved this and Vol. 1 equally and am looking forward to Vol 3. The series covers the broad history of rock with a focus on how the various subgenres arose and developed. It pointed me to many great songs and artists I'd never heard. The narration is sublime. It's not the author, but if you listen to the 20+ excellent podcast episodes he's done on the Let It Roll podcast you can see how perfectly this talented narrator has captured the essence of Ed Ward's humor and insight.

Worth reading. But… Very very not as good as volume I. I think culture and music got so diverse in the late 1960’s that a book on the topic of this length (very brief for any type of history) can’t possiblypossibly feel complete or satisfying. This book is interesting and entertaining. But (I’m afaraid......more

Ed Ward never ceases to amaze me how much he knows about music history. I read his Rock of Ages, and I still learned more about classic rock from this book. I hope to keep reading his books until he stops publishing them because it brings back a lot of memories.......more

This is definitely a musichead's book, and not for the casual fan. But there's a caveat. As a hardcore music enthusiast, I found at least a dozen major factual errors, and that was without trying. As a result, it taints my enjoyment, because I wonder if I'm taking in any new "facts" that aren't fact......more

While I really enjoyed volume one and tracing all the sources that gave rise to rock and roll, this book covers my childhood and adolescence, and I really liked it. Just as in the previous book, he takes us from year to year, showing the influences from the rest of the world and the rise of radio and......more