(Book). From its artful beginnings (Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd, the Mothers of Invention, and those progressive forebearers, the Sgt. Pepper-era Beatles), through the towering guitar solos, monumental synthesizer banks, and mind-boggling special effects of the Golden Age of Prog (Rush, Pink Floyd, Yes, ELP, Genesis, Jethro Tull, King Crimson, UK), through the radio-friendly "pop era" (Asia, the Phil Collins-led Genesis, and a reformed Yes), and right up to the present state of the art (Marillion, Spock's Beard, and Mars Volta), this is a wickedly incisive tour of rock music at its most spectacular. This is indeed the book prog rock fans have been waiting for, the only one of its kind, as fantastic as the subjects it covers.
From the second half of the 20th century into the new millenium, some bands have stretched the limits of rock. The great progressive rock artists of the world such as Yes, Kim Crimson, Queensryche, Dream Theater, and Symphony X have expanded the possibilities, exploring elements of classical, jazz and other styles while maintaining the excitement and edge of rock. This book provides a look at the inner workings of this music, providing the tools and inspiration you need to create your own progressive rock sound. You'll learn fascinating chords, odd time signatures, metric and harmonic modulations, exotic scales and advanced guitar soloing concepts. Finally, here is guidance for the guitarist who's ready to rise above and beyond the confines of simple rock 'n' roll and push the boundaries where few dare to go. The CD demonstrates the examples in the book. 96 pages.
Music journalist Mike Barnes (MOJO, The Wire, Prog, and author of the acclaimed biography Captain Beefheart) goes back to the birth of progressive rock and surveys the cultural conditions and attitudes that fed into, and were in turn affected by, this remarkable musical phenomenon. He examines the myths and misconceptions that have grown up around progressive rock and paints a vivid, colourful picture of the Seventies based on hundreds of hours of his own interviews with musicians, music business insiders, journalists and DJs, and from the personal testimonies of those who were fans of the music in that extraordinary decade.
In Experiencing Progressive Rock: A Listener's Companion, Robert G. H. Burns brings together the many strands that define the "prog rock" movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s to chart the evolution of this remarkable rock tradition over the decades. Originating in the 1960s with acts like Yes, Pink Floyd, King Crimson, The Who, Jethro Tull, Genesis, and The Moody Blues, progressive rock emerged as a response to the counterculture on both sides of the Atlantic. Prog rock drew heavily on European classical music as well as the sophisticated improvisations of American jazz to create unique fusions that defied record label and radio station categorizations. Reemerging after the 1980s, a new generation of musicians took the original influences of progressive rock and reinvented new formats within the existing style. The trend of combining influences continues to the present day, earning new audiences among the musically curious. Burns draws on his own experiences and original interviews with members of prog rock acts such as Colosseum, Renaissance, Steve Hackett’s Genesis Revisited, past and current members of King Crimson, Steven Wilson, and Brand X, as well as several others, to provide an exciting behind-the-scenes look at this unique and ever-changing musical expression'.
Author Jerry Ewing (Editor of 'Prog' magazine and the founder of 'Classic Rock' magazine) tells the in-depth history of Prog, from the origins of the genre to the highs of the 60's and 70's, to its contemporary resurgence with artists such as Steven Wilson and Opeth, not to mention the prog influences on art-rock bands such as Muse and Radiohead. Highlights include the story of the 'big six' of Progressive Rock - Pink Floyd, Yes, King Crimson, Jethro Tull, Emerson Lake and Palmer and Genesis.
SUPERANNO This book will delight any lover of rare and great underground music from the 1960s-1970s. The A-Z section has been expanded with 90 new pages, detailing many hundreds of previously-unknown LPs. Contains a brand-new section of special features, where leading experts present the best and rarest albums within exotica, lounge, '70s funk & soul, Southern rock, new age, custom labels and tax scam records. Original.
Claude Wheeler is a young man who was born after the American frontier has vanished. The son of a successful farmer and an intensely pious mother, Wheeler is guaranteed a comfortable livelihood. Nevertheless, Wheeler views himself as a victim of his father's success and his own inexplicable malaise.Thus, devoid of parental and spousal love, Wheeler finds a new purpose to his life in France, a faraway country that only existed for him in maps before the First World War. Will Wheeler ever succeed in his new goal? The novel is inspired from real-life events and also won the Pulitzer Prize in 1923.
The wildly entertaining story of progressive rock, the music that ruled the 1970s charts—and has divided listeners ever since. The Show That Never Ends is the definitive story of the extraordinary rise and fall of progressive (“prog”) rock. Epitomized by such classic, chart-topping bands as Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, and Emerson Lake & Palmer, along with such successors as Rush, Marillion, Asia, Styx, and Porcupine Tree, prog sold hundreds of millions of records. It brought into the mainstream concept albums, spaced-out cover art, crazy time signatures, multitrack recording, and stagecraft so bombastic it was spoofed in the classic movie This Is Spinal Tap. With a vast knowledge of what Rolling Stone has called “the deliciously decadent genre that the punks failed to kill,” access to key people who made the music, and the passion of a true enthusiast, Washington Post national reporter David Weigel tells the story of prog in all its pomp, creativity, and excess. Weigel explains exactly what was “progressive” about prog rock and how its complexity and experimentalism arose from such precursors as the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds and the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper. He traces prog’s popularity from the massive success of Procol Harum’s “Whiter Shade of Pale” and the Moody Blues’ “Nights in White Satin” in 1967. He reveals how prog’s best-selling, epochal albums were made, including The Dark Side of the Moon, Thick as a Brick, and Tubular Bells. And he explores the rise of new instruments into the prog mix, such as the synthesizer, flute, mellotron, and—famously—the double-neck guitar. The Show That Never Ends is filled with the candid reminiscences of prog’s celebrated musicians. It also features memorable portraits of the vital contributions of producers, empresarios, and technicians such as Richard Branson, Brian Eno, Ahmet Ertegun, and Bob Moog. Ultimately, Weigel defends prog from the enormous derision it has received for a generation, and he reveals the new critical respect and popularity it has achieved in its contemporary resurgence.
