The Wee Rock Discography

“The last word in rock’n roll trainspotting” was how The Guardian rather back‐handedly complimented The Great Rock Discography, which appeared in 1994 and was already in its third edition by 1996. This spin‐off is far from wee; the publishers call it a “scaled down version” of the third edition, containing biographical and full discographical entries on “the 500 most important” bands and individual performers in popular music since the rise of The Beatles and Bob Dylan.

Blatant popsters like Abba, Cliff Richard, Michael Jackson, and Madonna have been dropped here, but there is a place for harmonious sound‐makers like...