"In describing the kinds of music that existed throughout history, [Gioia] treats topics that have long been suppressed or ignored by historians who crave respectability, topics such as magic, sexuality, and violence. . . . As a writer and thinker he is compelling and thought provoking."

"Gioia takes a look at the underside of music history, teasing out the episodes of sex, violence, and rebellion out of which music developed."

"Invigorating."

"Marvelous."

"Essential."

"Music is Gioia's magnum opus, an inventive and original work that spans 4,000 years. . . . Throughout this vital book, Gioia shows that music is still a disruptive force."

"[Gioia] uses the familiar scheme of cyclical rejuvenation through transformation as a mechanism to consider the whole history of music, from the sounds of the primordial world to electronic dance music today, in his latest and most ambitious book. . . . Smart but readable."

"In carefully examining its 'subversive' side . . . Ted Gioia does much to convince us that music, far from being incidental to deeper political purposes or a convenient index of popular taste, is a profound 'force of transformation and enchantment, ' intrinsic to human society."

"Gioia asserts that music history generally shares the whitewashed stories of the assimilators. . . . Exhaustively researched."

"Mr. Gioia's alternative history of music is extraordinary, groundbreaking, and bone-chillingly real."

"There is so much rich history in this book; so many interesting and startling facts and stories."