It is surprising, however, that there isn't more negative feedback (among other reviewers) regarding Powell's inclusion of personal opinion along with the facts. In that sense, this isn't an encyclopedia at all, but a series of artist reviews with an inordinate amount of fact and trivia included.
No matter what the reader's theological persuasion, it soon becomes irritating to see, time and again, Powell chide musicians for taking a particular theological stance with which he disagrees. Dismissive at times, and occasionally insulting, Powell tarnishes his own wonderful work by castigating those who do not fall in line with his theology. His strong theological opinion is not completely surprising, since Powell is a Theologian, but it is unwarranted and unwanted in such a work. It begs the question - what might this encyclopedia have been like if the labor had been shared and a team of writers had combined their effort?
The trivial minutia keeps me interested, but the repeated intrusion of castigating annotations forces me to skip sections until I get past them and return to the nuts and bolts. I certainly have no regrets that I purchased this book, but unfortunately it isn't the masterwork it could have been and will remain a good first effort. If we are fortunate it will be followed by better works to come.