He writes with love and authority
5 stars
Starting from the first ever singles chart and riding an epic journey through time, Bob Stanley gives an authoritative and affectionate account of pop music. I love it when he gets up to the 1980s and mentions his own band - just one in a comma-separated list of like-minded indie popsters who emerged at that time. If I was writing it, I might have given them an extra sentence or two. Maybe Bob was trying to avoid criticism of bias or self-promotion, but I loves me some Saint Etienne.
There are plenty of histories of Rock and Roll and popular song. This one fills a gap to tell the story of the genre of pop, often maligned, but I agree with Bob, it deserves to be taken seriously. Along with Jon Savage, Bob Stanley is one of the best music writers out there.