"Since the first appearance of the Joel Whitburn (US) and Guinness (UK) books in the 70s, the shelves have grown thick with chart books. Do we really need another one? Well, yes, we do, and this weighty tome (646 pages) is a welcome addition to the genre. Recognising that there was no official UK chart until 1969, Barker explores the album listings in all five of the music publications of the era - Disc, Melody Maker, NME, Record Mirror and Record Retailer - shining a light on albums that the OCC and Guinness would have you believe were flops ("Rhythm And Blues At The Flamingo", "Four Sail", "Hollies Sing Hollies", "The Magnificent Moodies", "Dusty In Memphis" and many more). Chart nerds will lap up the details - both mono and stereo catalogue numbers, release dates, retail prices, chart performance in each magazine and full track listings for over 1100 albums, a quarter of them fully illustrated. Ever thought that Humble Pie's debut deserved a higher chart placing? It gets one here. So do "Between The Buttons", "The Pretty Things", and many others, all rightly changing our perception of the way things were. Barker also includes the budget chart listings, giving chart recognition to those cheapo albums still cluttering up charity shops across the country. Regrettably, the "bubbling under" charts are not included (so there's no placing for Fairport's debut or Terry Reid's sophomore set) but that minor quibble aside, this should rightly become the go-to reference book for this era.

Spend your Xmas Book Tokens here!" -- Gareth Jones, Shindig! (December 2025).