The new Sound Opinions book, The Beatles vs. the Rolling Stones, encapsulates the very difficulty of the subject it’s tackling on the very cover. The title’s presented in a circle, a never-ending Beatles vs. Stones vs. Beatles vs. Stones, ad infinitum, ad nauseum. The book’s authors, Sound Opinions hosts Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis, even present the never-ending struggle in their introductions. DeRogatis sums it up fairly well:
“Truth be told, we didn’t embrace Dennis’ idea. Dedicated students of rock ‘n’ roll history and avid readers of the canon of rock literature, we were dubious that the world needed another book about either of these bands when so many great ones have already been written.”
So, DeRogatis and Kot tackle the topic in a perfect manner. The subtitle of the book is a clue as to what the reader should expect: “Sound Opinions On the Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Rivalry.” Much like the title of their Chicago Public Radio program, the title is two-fold, indicating the name of the program, and the fact that these are sound, rational opinions being presented.
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