Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

There was a time when the writer was revered, placed upon a pedestal, and given the respect they deserve, and this was especially true of those who went beyond the realms of imagination and pain staking approach to research to produce a tome of information that was designed, in the words of Lord Reith to educate, inform, and entertain.

In a world made arguably simpler, but less brain friendly, by the internet, facts have lost their charm, they have lost their place in a society obsessed by the speed of a download and the uncared-for physicality of both the art and the application of the labour that went into it.

There are those that also will openly, and bizarrely with pride, claim that anything artistically that happened before they became aware of their interest in the subject, means nothing to them, only taking note of information that supports their mindset, their taste, their belief.

In the face of such fearsome ignorance, we must stand ready to supply intricately researched facts, of the cross-checked and double read detail, and in one of the most exhaustive, comprehensive, and inclusive books of its genre, Derek Shelmerdine’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Unravelled: From Its Roots To-Mid-1970s Punk is one such volume that deserves more than credit for the way it meticulously brings together information that rivals such works as The Essential Rock Discography by Martin C. Strong and is one of a few select books on the subject that can be claim to be unparalleled in its delivery and methodical research.

From timeline to individual presence, the early years of Rock & Roll are revealed, and for the pinpoint of beginnings of any chapter in a band’s history, to the moments which stand out as being defining, Rock ‘n’ Roll Unravelled: From Its Roots To-Mid-1970s Punk is a place in which it is a pleasure to get lost within as the music of rebellion and in-depth human soul takes root.

Information may be at the touch of a button in today’s more hands-on world, but there is nothing like picking up a meticulously studied, drafted, and presented encyclopaedia in which to have the definitive word on the subject explained. A huge bow to Derek Shelmerdine in creating a world within a world.

Ian D. Hall