R. Crumb's Heroes of Blues, Jazz, Country

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Usefull, 2008-09-09
Very interesting book with many information regarding old musicians. The CD inside is very pleasure with good quality sound.

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

IDIOSYNCRATIC BUT COMPELLING COLLECTION, 2008-08-30
Knowing the prices that Robert Crumb's work commands (try getting hold of a copy of his illustrated CD "That's What I Call Sweet Music" and you'll see what I mean), when I first saw this advertised I thought that the price must have been entered incorrectly, but no! Just imagine, a 240 page hardback book, illustrated in colour on high quality paper, with an accompanying 21-track CD, for less than you'd expect to pay for either on its own. The book (and CD), falls into three distinct parts, and three different techniques have been used to produce the illustrations. br / br /I'm familiar with the jazz figures, and my comments therefore concentrate on that aspect. The first is that some of these choices are extremely idiosyncratic. Many (Beiderbecke, Armstrong, Morton) are almost obligatory, but scattered amongst them are some quite obscure figures, such as Junie C. Cobb, Roy Palmer, and Ikey Robinson. Fair enough, these are after all Mr. Crumb's heroes, but the accompanying commentary is far too brief and could with advantage have been expanded to fill the space available. Finally, whilst many of the portraits (all of which are based on photographs) are instantly recognisable a few have the look of caricature about them. All of which is to look a gift horse in the mouth, and I would disregard all of those reservations and buy it anyway if I hadn't done so already.

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Great Deal!, 2008-08-13
You really can't go wrong here...$13 or $14 for a book with wonderful artwork and brief history lessons and a companion CD with some truly timeless music. br / br /Not a general fan of the genre, but I actually found the country music included on the CD to be the most interesting. But really every song is special. br / br /A must have for any Crumb or roots music fan.

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Great for the music too..., 2008-07-05
In 20/20 hindsight (or hindsound?) I bought the book intending to learn about music. Taken purely as an introduction to three genres of early American music, the book is a success. The pictures (and introduction to R. Crumb the artist) were a huge bonus. Wow! The CD with it completes the trifecta. br / br /This is a fantastic introduction to multiple artistic elements - perhaps a few that will catch the reader/viewer/listener off guard. Enjoy!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Novelty Item Reincarnated As Artistic Tour De Force, 2008-06-18
Richard Nevins of Rounder Records first came up with the idea for Robert Crumb to illustrate a series of early Blues, Jazz, and Old Time Music and Bluegrass greats along the lines of the baseball cards of his childhood. Crumb went for the idea and produced what became three boxes of cards with illustrations taken from old photos on the front and write-ups about the players on the back (many of them by Nevins). br / br /Now the famous fine arts publisher Abrams Books has designed and published a superb volume that includes the Crumb artwork as never before -- in brilliant color and on a larger scale than the cards -- along with expanded bios and a bonus CD that samples some of this great American roots music. Anyone interested in high-level cartoon art and this powerful expressive music will want to own this book. br /