Overall rating: 4.8 / 5 from 177 reviews.
Great book, made with LOVE but uncomfortable to hold and read. A more normal size or stronger front and back covers could be better. Fast and perfect shipment but poor packaging, not waterproof and book moving inside the box. A little more care would be appreciated. Despite these aspects a great, GREAT book!
The content of this book is excellent. Well written and informative about a source of music unknown to the main stream music listener. As a collector of records this book is right up my alley. The discography is extremely helpful to me to fill in the gaps of LP's I'm missing from this label, especially from The Beatles and their solo projects. My one main issue is the actual size of the book. Because of this I find it very awkward to hold while reading. Since the front and back covers are flimsy the long pages flop down and I find myself struggling trying to support them. You cannot hold this size of book like a normal sized one comfortably. I would have preferred to see this book printed in a normal size or at least make the front and back covers stronger and stiffer to support the extra long pages. With that said once I have read the entire book I will be using it as a reference guide to help me locate LP's from this GREAT label, so then the size will not be an issue anymore as it will be setting on my desk next to my computer. Until then, can someone help me hold up these pages?
Superb book! Highly informative and great postal service from Genius books. Highly recommended.
A superb book in every respect if you are a lover of bootleg records, I advise you to buy it whilst you can. Also the Geniusbookpublishing service is second to none, I ordered the book in the U.K. and six days later I was reading it! Cannot thank you enough guys.
wonderful, i have dozens of the records by Pig!
Prompt and efficient delivery. Great book ! Beautifully presented with immense detail. It is fascinating to read the back story not only to the whole subject of bootleg albums but specific reviews I bought and have treasured ever since. Highly recommended.
It is nice to finally get the behind-the-scenes story of these albums. They offered Dylan, Stones, Beatles, Zeppelin, and anyone else they could get. There is a live Janis Joplin Hawaii concert that exists nowhere else, so ... there is something to be said that they were also capturing history of an era too soon gone. And for my money, they changed things in the process in two ways: They put a crowbar in the tightwads and forced many of these out on the market, like Dylan's Basement Tapes, and since then hundreds of live performances; and second, they changed the artists, too. The Who's 'Live At Leeds' album mimicked the TMQ style, and was a huge hit. The Beatles released 'the White Album' again, matching the expectations of a bootleg - no cover art, raw takes of unfinished pieces of 'real live' performances, mixed in with traditional great works like 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps.' Back to the book: The jangling juxtaposition of the writing styles in this book keeps it as real as the live performances they covered. The now-forgotten 'Damn the Man!' attitudes are wonderful, and the combination quickly takes you back to the times if you lived through it yourself. The REAL times, rather than the prettified, cleaned-up TV and movie versions of it. THAT alone would make this book worth the read. But having the detailed notes of EACH bootleg's original recording info is the real goldmine. Enjoy every minute of this! IT is as close as we can get to these great times - that, and dropping the needle on one of these multicolored wonders! THANK YOU!!!!
Book was great. Filled with lots of info on the history of TMOQ. Didn't see the need to change the names since the real names of a couple of people are on the production sheets. Wasn't too hard to figure out who the Greek, the Chicken Killer and Chicken Killer's managers are since they pretty much give their identity away by the clues they give.
As an avid collector of these records going back to the late 60's this book is a great wander down memory lane. Also a nice catch-up to see what I may have missed out listening to over the years. Thanks all at Genius!!
I managed to secure a hardback copy [29/300] which took a long time to arrive what with Covid and printing problems but the wait was worth it. In Australia TMQ boots weren't the easiest releases to find but I had a few and my fellow music lovers also had bought there choices so we had the catalog pretty well covered. but after reading the book I am finding out that not all was what we thought. Some low bastard had bootlegged the bootlegs.HA.HA. I have since bought another copy for my son who like me loves all things rockin'. This book is a must for anyone with an interest in music history. The story are so real [ you couldn't make this stuff up ] and the photos and tech info is fantastic. I will probably buy another copy to lend out because nobody's getting their hand on my hardback. The photo is a CD release of The Who '' Closer To The Queen Mary '' on the Killing Floor label. You guessed it...It's a BOOT. Forever Rockin' Colin
I absolutely love this book. It tells a fascinating true-life story about the people and events behind the shadow world of early rock music bootleg records. I was riveted throughout. As well, the book is lavishly illustrated with color photos of every TMQ release, along with original tape reels, inserts, and other memorabilia. My only small quibble is that the book’s physical dimensions are a bit ungainly and difficult to hold while reading. But this is a small matter, considering the immense historical and entertainment value of this volume.
I am Beatles fan / collector. This is great book. Tell us lot of secret of the TMOQ. Telling the story by Bob and Big Bob. Smoking Pig was founded by Ken.
As a college student very interested in the music evolving in the late sixties, it was great having several record stores in the University district to peruse on a regular basis. It must have been late sixties when I started noticing these interesting records with a pig stamped on the cover, with the caption of "Trademark of Quality" on them. A number of artists I was interested in began appearing on these records, with live performances or songs previously unavailable. The quality of some were fantastic, with others not so good. I ended up with mostly a bunch of Bob Dylan records on TMQ releases that were incredible. Of course this was way before the big labels started putting out the "Bootleg Series" just trying to catch up. Of course there was no internet or cell phones at this time. You felt very lucky when you ran across one of these Trade Mark of Quality releases and wondered where they came from and would there be more in the future? This book answers all those questions and more and is highly recommended, both as a resource and a slide show of color pictures of those mysterious LPs that many people, like me, treasure highly.
The book was a joy from start to finish. Detalied information about the individual Trade Mark of Quality releases as well as the fascinating story of this classic bootleg company. I started purchasing bootlegs in 1978 and the book sent me back to the joy of my first collecting years. I initially reacted to the price for a paperback book but when I saw the book this reservation evaporated instantly. The quality of the printing and the high-end paper makes this a value for money purchase. Highly recommended. Kim Larsen, Norway.
So far, loving it. Good engaging storytelling, nice paper, excellent good quality photos and details. Good job! May need another for a friend who was a dealer in the 70s. Not sure if he knows about it yet.
I've been waiting for this book all my life, I just didn't know it! Got my first TMQs at Record Paradise in Hollywood in November 1971 and I've been curious ever since. The book was incredibly well researched and I basically couldn't put it down 'til I finished it. Well done Sutherland & Sherrick and Genius Music Books for putting out an essential book on the secret history of rock!
Just the book-topic I’d been waiting for!
Great product. Sounds great.
Excellent book 👍
Excellent book - a must read / have
Excellent book well informed, and good packaging, thank you +++++
This is a definitive must for every serious bootlegs collector ! And I am ;-)
Book was excellent. The shipping time was not so good and took way too long before it was shipped without any explanation so not sure why that happened but the book is excellent.
Arrived exactly as expected! Very much appreciated! Excellent service!
Really great thanks
Great Book, on a subjet overlooked too often
A very fascinating part of music history, told with great passion and knowledge!
Great book for lovers of the old vinyl boots.
waaay better than i expected
Book scuffed up during shipping. Otherwise, great!
Very nice item. Happy with transaction. Peace!
Book is great. I won’t comment on the shipping, though. Still, all in all, a nice experience.
Great book. Super nice quality..
For me as a collector this book was a fascinating look at underground record releases and their history. Informative and the reproductions of the releases are jaw dropping. Full color, pictures of tape reels just everything that would interest someone like me. If you collect underground releases on vinyl or you’re just interested in this offshoot of collecting your favorite bands from the 60’s and 70’s this is a fascinating read. Highly recommended.
Efficient
Great book. Great service. Thank you.
All good
Arrived in great condition 😃. Would order from Genesis again 👌
The book's content is fine and it is well illustrated. The landscape format is, however, irritating and it's is unwieldy when reading.
It's a great book with many pictures of the albums and a lot of detail, It's a great read.
