Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies
Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies is a music reference book by American music journalist and essayist Robert Christgau. It was first published in October 1981 by Ticknor & Fields. The book compiles approximately 3,000 of Christgau's capsule album reviews, most of which were originally written for his "Consumer Guide" column in The Village Voice throughout the 1970s. The entries feature annotated details about each record's release and cover a variety of genres related to rock music.
Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies
The guide originated from Robert Christgau's column in The Village Voice (former headquarters pictured in 2008).
Christgau's intense work on the book temporarily strained his marriage to fellow writer Carola Dibbell (2007). He later dedicated the book to her.
Christgau (right) and Chuck Eddy (left) – one of several critics who have recommended the book – in 2010 at the Museum of Pop Culture's Pop Conference
Robert Thomas Christgau is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became an early proponent of musical movements such as hip hop, riot grrrl, and the import of African popular music in the West. Christgau spent 37 years as the chief music critic and senior editor for The Village Voice, during which time he created and oversaw the annual Pazz & Jop critics poll. He has also covered popular music for Esquire, Creem, Newsday, Playboy, Rolling Stone, Billboard, NPR, Blender, and MSN Music, and was a visiting arts teacher at New York University. CNN senior writer Jamie Allen has called Christgau "the E. F. Hutton of the music world – when he talks, people listen."
Christgau in 2010
Christgau on the "Music in the '00s" panel at the 2010 Pop Conference