Review: The 33 1/3 B-sides: New Essays by 33 1/3 Authors on Beloved and Underrated Albums

The 33 1/3 B-sides: New Essays by 33 1/3 Authors on Beloved and Underrated Albums by Will Stockton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Really enjoyed this, easy to dip in and out of due to the short essays. Covering a huge breadth of music genres, I've discovered some great music through these pieces. Surprisingly for a book which features some of my favourite albums (John Cale's Paris 1919, Sleep's Dopesmoker, Stars of the Lid's And Their Refinement...), I found the essays on albums I'd never heard of before more compelling (Christina Aguilera's Spanish-language album!). Enjoyed how the book is split into types of response to the music rather than by genre or age (the first section on "Juvenilia" being the strongest), ensuring a rich mix of styles and interests together.

I've made a playlist of all the albums on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2ET... - found it really added to the book listening along where possible. If you're a curious music fan there's treasure to be found.

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