On Record 1978: Images, Interviews, and Insights from the Year in Music by G. Brown is a fun and fairly extensive look at 1978.

First, my little caveat. The review copy I had was just an excerpt. It included only 16 of the 229 (if I counted correctly) entries. I often refrain from offering too much commentary on such excerpts. This book is basically a page with an album cover and a short commentary on the artist and album, with a publicity shot on the facing page. Because the format is standard throughout I feel like I can offer a valid recommendation. The one thing I am unable to address is whether his commentary is equally interesting for non-rock/pop artists since all of the entries in the sample were rock. The book blurb also mentions rock artists even though there are R&B and country artists included in the book.

This book is not designed to be deep, this isn't an analysis of 1978 in music. This is a snapshot of albums released that year and that Brown had the opportunity to meet (though maybe not everyone during 1978). I bought my first album in 1966 and from 1975 through about 1987 I bought a lot of albums. Unfortunately I lost about 2500 albums in Katrina in 2005 so this book (or the part I've seen) is like revisiting my collection. The commentary is an interesting look at the artist and album, maybe with a new tidbit of information, maybe just something you already knew but had forgotten. The publicity shots are great! I had forgotten how some of these people looked back then. And I never realized just how short Steve Perry is in relation to the rest of the band, and I saw them numerous times.

I definitely think anyone who was collecting records in 1978 will love this book. If you're hoping to have any analysis, well, not so much. As you read the entries for each artist you'll gain some insight into what was happening that year, but this is mostly about remembering the artists and albums of 1978. If anyone is wondering what to get me for my birthday, or any day, I will happily accept a copy of this book.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley. ( )