Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #111711 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 364 pages

Customer Reviews

Be warned - this could seriously improve your collection
A very comprehensive and well-balanced history of the golden era of prog, including any album of any significance in the period. It's method is to use the reviews of the albums as its chapters. It has been a pleasure to uncover bands that I had never really heard of and I find it a very good judge of the classics we already know. I will be purchasing a number of CD's that this book has led me to, but first I'm buying a second copy for a friend who will be delighted to see it appear in his Christmas stocking.

A Bluffers Guide to Progressive Rock
Oh how I have been waiting for a book on the most unloved of musical genres as prog that I could take to my heart and love. Despite the best efforts of Radiohead, Muse and System of a Down to name but a few newcomers with cred, we are still left waiting for a definitive tome covering this most baffling and occassionally beguiling of musical genres. I guess we will just have to wait. When this book arrived through the mail I was somewhat disturbed that it carried a recommendation from Jim DeRogatis, whose own chronology of psychedelia "Kaleidoscope Eyes" was one of the singularly most bereft and depressing analysis/appreciations of that musical genre you could imagine (its trash). Still my love of prog drove me on to read the book and I have to say its a disappointment on every level. If we discard the fact that the author deems such key prog output as that produced by Cressida, Spring, Gracious,Juniors Eyes as not worthy of inclusion (though I actually doubt he has heard them), the sheer superficiality of the accompanying text to such entries as those concerning Pink Floyd, Soft Machine and Kevin Ayers are truly unforgiveable. However I bear in mind that this author considers the psychedelic masterpiece that is "Tomorrow" by Tomorrow to be a progressive rock record - come on - just cos the guitar player ended up in Yes! There are better 6 page articles in Mojo magazine than in this effort. I suppose Americans were never meant to get progressive rock as they never produced any of note - certainly in the first wave (unless you want to include the baroque psych exploits of the likes of Ultimate Spinach or United States of America) but for those of you looking to get a flavour of the music on offer in the selected discography you will be left wondering the value of any of it. It simply does not deliver at all. I cannot recommend this book in any way shape or form - rock critque has moved on light years from the kind of fayre being offered up here.It is a bluffers guide, lazily written and with about as much passion and insight as a train timetable. Avoid and wait for the real deal - if anyone with an ounce of literary skill ever gets round to writing it. Overpriced and underwritten. Thick as a brick. Shame.