Greil Marcus

A study of rock 'n' roll and American culture, focusing on six artists, including Robert Johnson, Harmonica Frank, Randy Newman, the Band, Sly Stone, and Elvis Presley.

Images of America in Rock 'n' Roll Music

Mystery Train

rumbledethumps

Greil Marcus simultaneously invented and ruined rock criticism. He suffuses his work with literary references (Moby Dick, John Bunyan, et al), humor, and a depth of emotion that makes it both beautiful and gritty. His style is inimitable, and yet he has countless imitators who wish they could write like him, who possess neither his insight nor his instinct, and just end up writing boring pieces that sound like they are trying too hard.

But he cannot and should not be blamed for his imitators. Mystery Train is an American classic. I will be poring over the appendix and the discographies (twice as long as the actual book) for weeks to come.

The perfect gift for music fans and anyone who loves artists like Elvis Presley, Randy Newman, Sly Stone, Robert Johnson, and Harmonica Frank. In 1975, Greil Marcus’s Mystery Train changed the way readers thought about rock ’n’ roll and continues to be sought out today by music fans and anyone interested in pop culture. Looking at recordings by six key artists—Robert Johnson, Harmonica Frank, Randy Newman, the Band, Sly Stone, and Elvis Presley—Marcus offers a complex and unprecedented analysis of the relationship between rock ‘n’ roll and American culture. In this latest edition, Marcus provides an extensively updated and rewritten Note and Discographies section, exploring the recordings’ evolution and continuing impact.

Images of America in Rock 'n' Roll Music: Sixth Edition

Steven Ovadia

The Elvis stuff is kind of well-trod, but I think it's because Marcus was so ahead of the curve. The notes at the end (including the discography) are good enough to be their own book.

Mystery Train Images of America in Rock 'n' Roll Music

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