Vinyl Reviewed by Stephen Wagg in Leisure/Loisir

A great review of Vinyl: A History of the Analogue Record has appeared in the Canadian journal Leisure/Loisir. Stephen Wagg of Leeds Metropolitan University describes the book as an ‘absolute must’ for anyone with a specialist interest in the subject. He states that it is ‘a work of impressive scholarship’, adding that ‘It’s painstaking in its attention to detail’ and that it ‘strikes a perfect balance’ between this detail and the ‘broader sweep of history’. While welcoming Stephen Wagg’s praise, I also agree with his moments of reservation. He states that the book has ‘the very occasional excess’, and he’s right that I should have toned down some of the claims for vinyl. He also points out that the first chapter is different in tone to the rest of the book. I agree with him here as well. This chapter was written first and it is more pretentious than the others. Despite several revisions, some of this pretention would not be washed away. The full review can be accessed here.