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erik neuteboom View Drop Down
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Points: 7659 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Proglucky his mini-guide to Progrock!
    Posted: November 11 2007 at 14:41
 
           Perhaps she will meet Mrs. Gullit in Miami while shopping with the
           credit cards of Ruud Gullit who had sent away his wife because he
           likes the daughter of the local pizza owner Wink. This was Prog Archives
           Soap Time, part 1....
 
           By the way Angelo, the average shopping facilities in Aruba are better than in
           entire Brabant LOL !


Edited by erik neuteboom - November 11 2007 at 14:45
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Angelo View Drop Down
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Points: 13244 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 11 2007 at 14:18
Aruba, shopping? Well, if you send her off to Miami from there, you may get just enough time to finish the book before she returns... Wink
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erik neuteboom View Drop Down
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Points: 7659 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 11 2007 at 14:07

We have agreed that I am allowed to write on my book when I give her money for shopping, like all famous football players do with their wives to keep them satisfied LOL
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Easy Livin View Drop Down
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Points: 15585 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 11 2007 at 11:34
Your wife will be delighted I'm sure!WinkLOL
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erik neuteboom View Drop Down
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Points: 7659 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 11 2007 at 06:41
When I am retired and live with my wife on her island Aruba, I will write a book entitled Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Symphonic Prog But You Were Afraid To Ask For Wink
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Points: 1 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 10 2007 at 17:09
I will buy this book when/if Tool features it :P


Btw, is there any hardcover book, which is an extensive guide to progressive rock music?

Thx.
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Points: 89372 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 06 2007 at 20:43
I received this great book at Christmas (I bought it for myself) and it is excellent.

I'm also honoured to have helped with the second edition that will be released in the future.

Good work Rony. Clap
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Points: 15585 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 02 2007 at 17:04
Don't they have wi-fi there then?
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erik neuteboom View Drop Down
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Points: 7659 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 02 2007 at 16:51
I just heard that Proglucky has moved to the planet Mars so he cannot join this thread .................LOL
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andrea View Drop Down
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Points: 2064 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 02 2007 at 16:43
Well, this is a link to an Italian review of the Mini Guide... 
 
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Points: 27802 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 06 2006 at 03:13
I'm still waiting for my copy to arrive.

Nice review Erik!!!!



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Points: 13244 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 01 2006 at 06:59
I got it yesterday - thanks Ronald!

I can't judge how good or (in)complete it is, but it will definitely help me in finding more interesting music to add to my collection.
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Points: 13244 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 28 2006 at 16:51
Originally posted by Phil Phil wrote:

Shish!!!! C'mon folks....seems not enough people have bought this book....


I did - but I'm still waiting for it. Will probably last another two weeks.

The reviews here made me more curious than I already was....


Edited by Angelo - August 28 2006 at 16:51
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Phil View Drop Down
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Points: 1881 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 27 2006 at 18:43
Shish!!!! C'mon folks....seems not enough people have bought this book....
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Tristan Mulders View Drop Down
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Points: 1723 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 17 2006 at 17:46
good review! Clap
Interested in my reviews?
You can find them HERE

"...He will search until He's found a Way to take the Days..."
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Phil View Drop Down
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Points: 1881 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 17 2006 at 17:27
^ yes I hope so to erik. well thought out review, Lambsie.
I do hope the reaction to this book has been good, because Ronald deserves praise, and we deserve a second edition at a future time.
Sadly I have the impression that despite the ambition and encouragement to produce it, the sales haven't been what's expected. Say it isn't so....
 
ps this book is till my "loo time reading". Much to the annoyance of my good lady.....
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erik neuteboom View Drop Down
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Points: 7659 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 13 2006 at 12:02
I hope Ronald will join this thread ...
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Lambsie View Drop Down
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Points: 241 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 13 2006 at 11:29
I received my copy last week, and it's been my constant companion since.
 
I very much enjoyed the early sections - I didn't necessarily agree with every word, but then that's the point, so no criticism for me there.
 
I do feel that these early sections could do with some input from a trained copy editor with English as a first language.  Some of the phrases used are a little odd, and some of the lanuage used is conversational rather than what you'd expect in professional prose.  Some may quite enjoy this informal approach, but I didn't quite so much and I think it needs looking at.  This is not a complaint about the content - just about the style.
 
The final section is a wonder of knowledge and research, and a lot of work has clearly gone into it.  The comments are VERY inconsistent, though.  Some of the points are excellent - for instance the entry about Magenta gets the description just about right whereas the description for ACT (for instance) "Great Prog!" while being very complimentary, tells us nothing.  Also, there is no key to this section.  Many band and names are in CAPs in the description, implying that they will be cross referenced, yet many aren't. (no entry for It Bites, for instance, or Patrick Moraz) Now I realise that this is a work in progress, but if so, why publish it? Are we expected to buy the book again in 6 months?
 
Sorry - minor rant there, but to make this section more useful, I'd standardise this section, by having:
 
BAND NAME AND NATIONALITY
PERIOD ACTIVE
DESCRIPTION OF MUSIC INCLUDING SIMILAR BANDS
DISCOGRAPHY
 
I think it's important NOT express an opinion about quality, since you run the risk of damning those that you don't enthuse about with faint praise. You COULD maybe have a star rating based on how "essential" the band are. This isn't vital, though. 
 
I'm very pleased that someones had a bash at bringing this up to date, though.  A good book, which will, I'm sure be a great one in future editions!
 
Stephen  
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Phil View Drop Down
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Points: 1881 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 05 2006 at 14:57
Finally I have some time to put some thoughts down about Ronald's book.
 
First, it's a delight to have a book dedicated to my favourite type of music, prog rock. As good as PA is, and the web is a great source of information on just about anything you want to find out about, there is something uniquely satisfying about the tactile pleasure of holding a book in your hand, as compared to merely tapping into the ether. It's easier, more personal, and much more satisfying.
 
Erik has given a thorough description of the books' contents so I'll limit myself to my subjective thoughts about it. I've no idea about the cost/difficulties of producing a book but this is a quality product, which is great given that one assumes there is a going to be a fairly limited demand for this. The only colour is on the cover, and the only pictures are those of the covers of Ronalds Top 20 and some other albums, but that doesn't detract.  Its well laid out, the top of each page having a clear heading to tell you where you are.
 
There are five sections or "Indexes" - A, a defintion of prog rock, thoughtfully and well written; B, the development, which sort of summarises what's to come in C, the history, which for a beginner or someone like myself, a keen enthusiast who wants to know more, makes interesting reading - some I did know, some I didn't. Most of this section is dedicated to the "first wave" of the 1970's, but personally I found the "proto prog" section the most interesting.
 
I did think the section on the "third wave" - 1990 to present - could have been more expansive; we get to hear of Dream Theater and Spocks Beard, but no mention of The Mars Volta or Tool.
 
Next, Ronald's top 20 albums, though its not clear from the acknowledgement whether the reviews were written by him or by Tommy Schoneberg. I won't give away any more of the top 20 choice away but its an interesting mix of albums some of which the author clearly loves, some he respects/ admires (there is a difference!), and then there's one major album in particular that Ronald feels he can't leave out, but clearly he isn't that fond of. Which one? Go buy the book to find out......
 
The final section of the book, the one that most pages are given over to, is an A - Z of prog rock bands with a (very) brief description of their particular attributes. Now I'm loathe to criticise but here, for me (the enthusiast who wants to know more, remember?), I would like a little more information on each entry. It does give the style of the band, but it's difficult to scale the importance of each artiste, what the timeline of the band was, and where to start listening. I personally would have liked to see info like (I'll pick Yes as an easy example) the entry giving me the following information: 
 
Date - 1967 - now;  
Key members: Anderson/Howe
Start with: Close to the Edge.
 
Sometimes, the one-liners against each entry are a little too obtuse, unless you already know of the act.
 
(By the way I should say that the "key" bands like Yes are discussed in some depth in the History section)
 
Anyhow my comments shouldn't detract from the need for every prog-head to go out and buy this essential addition to his library, and at a very reasonable price.
 
Last thought; I had no idea a band from Japan would ever consider calling themselves "Flied Egg". Brilliant!!!!


Edited by Phil - August 05 2006 at 14:59
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erik neuteboom View Drop Down
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Points: 7659 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 05 2006 at 08:13
A correction: I just discovered that Spanish band (Prog Andaluz) Cai is in the book but it's errorly named CAL.
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