I enjoyed Anthems We Love, which give the background of twenty-nine songs through interviews with the artist. My definition of what is considered an "anthem" is a little different than theirs, but there is a good mix of songs covered. Even for the songs I knew, in some cases I found it helpful to look up the song lyrics online as I was reading that chapter.

Some chapters resonated more than others because I'm more familiar with the song and/or the artist, but overall it's a good book. Some of my favorite stories include the backstory of God Only Knows by the Beach Boys, Walk this Way by Aerosmith, Rock and Roll All Night by Kiss, Sara Smile by Hall and Oates, and Big Love by Fleetwood Mac. The book is an interesting and easy read that music lovers will enjoy.

I received this ebook from NetGalley through the courtesy of Harper Horizon. An advance copy was provided to me at no cost, but my review is voluntary and unbiased.

An amazing book for every music lover and I am so thankful to have gotten the chance to read it. Thank you so much for approving me.

Very good book with insight on various songs of different genres. The pick of songs was wonderful and there is something for everyone no matter your favorite sounds. Good book. And by the way, the author chose one of my favorite songs, “Sarah Smile” to shed insight on. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on this review.

Right when I started reading this book I had the decision to put the song in question before starting the chapter and it improved my experience during reading it a lot because I believed I only knew about 10 songs and in fact I kney more than 20 of them.

Anthems We Love style of narrative didn't work so much for me, but at least I liked it when it mentioned the meaning that the song ended up gaining (like playing My Girl at weddings) and also telling about the presence of these old songs in current tv shows and movies, like the mention of Black Widow and Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist using "American Pie" song, because many times I discovered nice songs and artists because of movies and tv shows (by example the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack and I started liking Bob Dylan because of the movie "The Music Never Stopped).

2.5 stars.
I have mixed feelings about this, I struggled to get through the chapters where I had no interest in the song or artist, in the end I skipped those chapters. They weren’t engaging enough for me to continue to read them. I’m not sure whether Im an outlier in that regard.
Some songs were odd choices such as Big Love by Fleetwood Mac and Sara Smile by Hall & Oats. They’re not their most famous songs, they feel out of place compared to American Pie and Sweet Caroline. Songs that people scream at the top of their lungs, in a car, in a stadium.
The songs I like and listen to, their chapters were enjoyable. It was a quick and read.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Harper Horizon and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Any music lover will enjoy this look at a showcase of popular music.

Baltin's Anthems We Love is filled with twenty nine short chapters that discuss rock or pop anthems, defined as songs with universal appeal over generations that everyone knows do well that they sing along. The selections are varied and range from Aerosmith's Walk This away to Diamonds' Sweet Caroline to Carly Simon's Anticipation to the Temptations' My Girl. It's a fun trip thorough music history with each chapter featuring interviews with the artists and generally how surprising it was that the song became so popular. Some are obvious choices. Other songs are not exactly universal anthems or even an artist's best known or most beloved song (e.g. Fleetwood Mac's Big Love). Some of the choices though were limited by who was available for interviews. Also, it would have been great to get the lyrics in full, album covers, and even a hotlink to the song itself on Spotify or the like. Perhaps even an album ( a three or four album commemorative set?).

Anthems We Love is a really fun read for any music lover. It features the stories behind 29 of the biggest hits ever! I really enjoyed hearing from the artists themselves, from how the song came to be to how it's used in pop culture today. Each chapter showcased how one song has become ingrained in our culture.