An attempt to capture an elusive but intriguing topic. The attempt is fairly good, but the tone skews a bit pedantic for non academic readers.

Early on, author/musicologist David Metzer points out that, although numerous books have been written on other musical genres, this book is the first devoted to the ballad in recent popular music. Considering that 100 years ago ballads were a genre, it is difficult to justify their exclusion, as ballads are woven in today’s musical forms (including rock, hip hop, and country).

Mr. Metzer begins with a discussion on the definition of the word ballad, offering different examples across different genres. It might be tempting to skim through this section, which at times runs toward a textbook dryness. However, this section is the meat-and-potatoes, the foundation upon which the rest of the book is built, and the author takes great care to establish a firm basis for us to stand on while reaching for greater understanding. The author chooses to start with the 1950s to examine ballads, explaining that it was around this time that genres were defined in terms of style rather than as kinds of songs.

Beginning with the Introduction, I found it a bonus to keep my laptop at hand. As Mr. Metzer provided previously unknown (to me) examples of ballads, I would search and play them in order to increase my understanding of the book. While this may not be everyone’s choice, the mix of written word and song was helpful. At times the “lessons” were humorous. Consider Pat Boone’s version of “Tutti Frutti,” a homogenous peaches-and-cream version of Little Richard’s pounding original. It is obvious Boone was not able to capture what Little Richard had been singing about.

Other interesting facts about the musical eras are shared, such as the masculinity of rock and roll in the 50’s (think about who the raucous singers were at the time, although this section did introduce me to Janis Martin). And would you consider Rudi Vallee and Bing Crosby a threat to young people’s morals? There were religious groups who did.

Onward through the 50’s and into the 60’s, where Mr. Metzer outlines the beginnings and development of soul music. The blend of blues, jazz, R&B, and gospel combined with the political scene at the time, and soul ballads were a part of that. These mixed genres can be easily observed in Aretha Franklin’s stirring rendition of “Bridge Over Troubled Waters.” The stunning transition from an awesome song by Simon and Garfunkel is breathtaking, as Aretha makes this version her own.

The power ballad, a formulaic outlay of emotion, allowed musical groups to cross over into lands where others might fear to tread (and also, as with hip-hop and indie ballads, might bring about the accusations of “selling out.” Mr. Metzer discusses all three genres and how the ballad fits with each.

As I finished the book (and my musical journey across the Internet) I silently acknowledged the incredible job accomplished by Mr. Metzer. His descriptions throughout the book matched perfectly with what I heard and experienced myself, something that has not always happened when I researched other books by other musicologists. He doesn’t allow his vast knowledge to get in the way of the message he wished to share with his readers, and I not only feel impressed, I feel enriched. Five stars.

My thanks to NetGalley, the author, and Cambridge University Press for a complimentary copy of this book.

In ‘The Ballad in American Popular Music’, the first book devoted to the history of ballads in recent popular music, David Metzer is not concerned with narrative ballads, despite the fact that they “enjoyed renewed attention with the folk-revival movement”, instead defining the kind of ballad he wishes to consider as “a song set to a slow tempo that deals with feelings of love and loss.”

After an introductory chapter dividing the ballad repertoire into different categories - “some based on genres …, some on expressive qualities …, and others on cultural oppositional lines ” - he explains how individual ballads can be analysed under six headings, namely, melody, harmony, instrumental accompaniment, form, tempo, and rhythm - with “melodies … front and center”.

Between then and the conclusion there are four chapters, dealing respectively with “the rise of lush high-fidelity ballads” in the 1950s and the way in which they interacted with rock and roll; the soul ballad; the power ballad; and indie ballads. These chapters are interspersed with “interludes” which attempt to cover artists (Patsy Cline, Adele and Frank Ocean), songs (‘Love Hurts’, ‘Everybody Hurts’ and ‘Angel’) and genres (hip hop ballads) that would otherwise fall through the cracks.

This makes the structure of the book sound more ramshackle than it actually is but it’s a pity that, for the sake of completeness, narrative ballads did not receive an interlude. It is also a pity that the 1950s starting point excludes from consideration many ballads from the Great American Songbook, although that point of departure can be justified on the grounds that it was in that decade that musical genres came to be defined in terms of style rather as kinds of song and by the fact that the earlier period is comprehensively covered by ‘The American Popular Ballad of the Golden Era, 1924-1950’ by Allen Forte.

Occasionally Metzer misses a trick. There is thus no discussion of Neil Sedaka’s ‘Breaking Up Is Hard To Do’ when he considers songs which have been slowed down (or sped up). Similarly, Phil Spector’s ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’’ is not discussed in the chapter on power ballads or at any other point in the book.

Nevertheless, Metzer is right in pointing out that ballads are ubiquitous and, as such, too easily taken for granted. His book pulls the familiar into a new focus and allows us to appreciate this art form anew, enabling the reader to understand clearly the techniques involved in writing and performing ballads despite eschewing the use of technical language. In short, whatever its shortcomings, this is a very readable contribution to both musical and emotional history.