Is this about the submerged prog scene ?!

The first three books are a collection of all the progressive rock reviews and interviews I undertook between 1991 and 2006 when the genre was totally ignored by the mainstream, and when I started writing there was no such thing as an internet or ProgArchives.

The term "progressive" does indeed cover many different styles which is why there are sub genres and even sub sub genres - no-one would say that Genesis sound the same as Gentle Giant, King Crimson, Yes, ELP, Tangerine Dream, Pink Floyd etc, but they are all classic bands of the progressive scene. The point of the book was written about by independent fanzines like mine, Feedback. Yes, anyone can now pick up the debut Credo album and review it, or listen to IQ's 'Ever' and say what they think about it 30 years on, but I was there and that is what the books are trying to recapture.

None of the reviews have been rewritten, they are what they are, and for a band to be included they have to conform to my own views of progressive rock, whethere they are truly underground or well-known. The books are meant to be a guide, to shine a light, to be dipped into and then look for the music on the internet to see if it is something you enjoy. Nothing more, nothing less. I have put together two more collectioms since this one, bringing us up into 2018 and while there are now multiple sites where reviews can be found, and indeed mine appear in multiple places, I was encouraged to keep bringing these sets together.

I am sorry you did not enjoy the book, whichever one you have seen, but even the famous bands included within sell very little compared to the Seventies, so while not underground as such, they certainly are not the chart sensations they once were. 

Kev

Hi,

I think this is not true anymore ... a lot of bands, the older ones specially, have gotten a lot more exposure and sales since then than ever ... why? Easy ... there was not as much about them then, as there is now ... just about any band, and anything, you can get now, and this was not true in 1995 or before, the Internet came on full force, which I would suggest was past the year 2000.

I was around the Fido threads on "progressive" and "art" music, and many of the known bands were getting some appreciation that the regular media of the 1970's and 1980's would not show much of, and on occasion would have a review that is just ... insane ... like some one considering TD washing machine music which really specifies that this particular person that wrote that, had never heard a washing machine at all !!!!

Since then, it is really hard to believe that many of these bands are not selling more than they ever did ... because now they have the representation that they could not get THEN and the ability to get the product to the stores for sale. 

We were, into the 80's and STILL doing imports, because so much of the stuff we love was not being released as yet, but in time it began showing up, but again, the distribution of the product was difficult as WEA owned most of the distribution in America and parts of Europe. And they did not like/represent independents at all ... and you could not get a Peter Hammill or Van der Graaf other than an import for the most part, into the mid 80's ... some of the stuff was released, but its distribution was very limited.

I appreciate the work you have done ... the listing is impressive ... but I don't know that many folks today will care ... the sad fact remains that the "history" is ignored by many fans these days, and all the old stuff is looked at as failed hits, instead of the music they were and how they appeared, and the effect of FM Radio in America, which is the main reason why "progressive" developed ... along with (later) many folks like yourself and others.

It's true, not many folks do, but there are also others who have found it invaluable. I never expected to sell tens of thousands, even though the amount of work was considerable (especially with all reviews written prior to 1998 as they had to retyped from the original hard copies) - for me it was always about shining a light into the dark places. I still writes hundreds of thousands of words each year reviewing music (not just prog), have been doing it for 35 years and can't see myself stopping any time soon. 

Thanks for the kind words

Kev

Hi,

Welcome. Good work needs to be enjoyed and hopefully appreciated.

I have been doing Foreign Film Reviews for over 25 years, and they are all online, with one serious issue these days ... the major folks these days do not show foreign films and try hard to make sure you see their own releases 123 times before showing you a Godard film! And then the same thing for a Fellini film! Etc

While there are many great things about the commercial age, things are available, of all kinds, in the end, the history that it was then, and had created, was scary and left behind ... just like my neighbor thinking that "Ohio" is a stupid song ... and I lived through the NG and the ROTC in Madison frisking everyone trying to enter the Rathskeller, where I worked! You ought to have seen the frisking abuses on women ... downright embarrassing! And no one believes it because a podcast or some nobody said anything about it.