New Prog Rock history book...

I enjoyed most of the Mojo/Q prog issue - and have recommended it to a lot of people.

At the same time I have some issues with the IMO a bit too condescending attitudes towards bands like ELP and Yes...

Another symptom of what today's music magazines believe is needed to keep their critical cred?

Q&Mojo wrote: Wrath_of_Ninian wrote: The Union Shop at Nottingham University haven't got Q.  I'll now have to buy it from a reputable retailer, instead of reading the whole thing over days by standing in the shop. I think you should have a word with them...its totally unacceptable, considering the pile of utter dross taking up the rest of the shelf space. They DO have Mojo - but nothing about prog on the front, just the usual fodder about Page, Beck, Hendrix' musical toenails.  Is it possible that the new Q has not reached us here yet???  I thought it was out July 15?   Don't forget, it's not a regular issue of Q or Mojo, it's a special edition, so they may not stock it. Get yourself over to WH Smiths or somewhere like that. They'll have it. What's a good album to start with on PFM? I've managed to avoid them all these years.

I found it in WHS, and took a chance after a brief glimpse through it.

I have to say I've been impressed with what I've seen so far - plenty of juicy stories, interesting facts, dubious recommendations (  ), all done in a sympathetic tone, although as expected we had the Gabriel shot with his self-mocking quote.  Nonetheless, I shall enjoy pottering through it.

I'll post a more in-depth review once I've dissected it a bit more.

Of course, my initial fumble through it revealed no mention of PFM, and they didn't make the top 40 cosmic mind-blower albums, whereas the decidedly average Land Of Grey & Pink managed No.19.  SUrely its not THAT good?  Misplaced Childhood at No.17 - again...  Expect no plaudits from this site for putting Lamb Lies Down on Broadway BENEATH RAdiohead's mediocre OK Computer (they hit far greater prog heights with Kid A and Amnesiac) and as for Dark Side Of The Moon at No.1 - perhaps a huge selling populist melodic rock album, but hardly the cream of our genre......

Each to their own....

PFM - their entire back catalogue from 1972 (Storia Di Un Minuto, Per Un Amico/Photos of Ghosts), through to 1977 (Chocolate Kings & Jet Lag) you cannot find a bad album.  Later than this, you cannot find a good album...unless its the recent live reworkings of the old stuff.  Chocolate Kings was the pinnacle for me, but most PFM fans prefer the earlier work - a lot more pastoral, and without Lanzetti's Gabriel-esque love-it-or-hate-it voice.  If I had to choose one album for you to listen to, it would be Chocolate Kings - massively overlooked/underrated, and would blow at least 39 of the most cosmic mind..etc albums out of the water. 

You'll soon see what I mean...

The Union Shop at Nottingham University haven't got Q.  I'll now have to buy it from a reputable retailer, instead of reading the whole thing over days by standing in the shop.

I think you should have a word with them...its totally unacceptable, considering the pile of utter dross taking up the rest of the shelf space.

They DO have Mojo - but nothing about prog on the front, just the usual fodder about Page, Beck, Hendrix' musical toenails.  Is it possible that the new Q has not reached us here yet???  I thought it was out July 15?

I'm sure there is genuine love and appreciation, and your diplomacy is admirable!!

Of course, I can only speak for myself, but I relish the pomposity and bombast of Emerson's spinning piano (again - I laugh out loud and show it to people), or the ludicrous moribund existentialism of VDGG - such extravagance is sorely missed from today's bands.  I'm 33, and really wish I'd been old enough to witness some of that stuff when it was still original, as I know that the closest contemporary acts will come is getting that talentless vocal lightweight Robbie Williams to fire a firework from his codpiece whilst singing his sycophantic, melody-less factory fodder .

I've decided to buy the magazine if one condition is met - that PFM are mentioned ANYWHERE between the front and back covers.  A passing homage, a fleeting reference, an acknowledgement of their indisputable songwriting talent.  If they are overlooked, then you really are doing the genre no favours.  PFM are effortlessly cool, surprisingly still going, and NOBODY I've played them to, has yet disliked them.  If they are in, I shall recover some faith in the popular music press.

Finally, I heard there is no free CD with the magazine.  Is this a testament to the fans' collective respect for the genre and respect for their personal collections, which you would imagine as containing all the proposed songs anyway?  Was it that you felt such a product would lower your profit margin?  Did you have trouble getting the rights to the material?  Or did you find that you could actually only fit 2-3 songs on one CD and would actually have to release a 3-CD gatefold special with Roger Dean artwork?

Q&Mojo wrote: Wrath_of_Ninian wrote: Call me cynical, but the timing of this issue, just days after Floyd's Live 8 reunion, seems like quite a cunning marketing ploy. Does anyone at Q actually care about these prog bands, or was someone up top thinking about shifting a few extra units on the back of Live 8?  Walk into any record shop last week and you'd be greeted with (quite literally) a 'wall' of Pink Floyd CDs & DVDs, with the Live 8 logo emblazened behind it.  Tell us, why did Q choose this week to launch its (probably only) prog-rock special??  U2 and the Beatles getting overkill elsewhere perhaps?  Can Robbie not shift the units anymore?    I suspect another tongue-in-cheek review of the genre, and the media-starved prog herds will all rush out and buy it, for that snippet of Gabriel saying how ridiculous it all was at the time....        From the top then: the Floyd/Live 8 thing was a happy accident. To put a 148-page magazine together - commissioning, sourcing pictures, interviewing musicians etc - takes longer than the lead-in time between Floyd announcing their decision to play Live 8 and the magazine going to press. I'd love to tell you that we have some sort of hotline to the prog stars, but the first we knew about Floyd at Live 8 was when we read about it on the electric internet. But, yes, I'm pleased we put Floyd as the main cover image. Commercially, it would make sense. Does anyone at Q actually care about these prog bands? In a word: yes. You cannot produce a magazine about any genre of music without using writers that have an understanding and a genuine interest in this stuff. If you do, you will come unstuck very quickly. U2 and the Beatles getting overkill elsewhere perhaps? Not this week, but, hey, give it time. Can Robbie not shift the units anymore? No idea. I don't think he's doing much at the moment, apart from counting his money.  suspect another tongue-in-cheek review of the genre, and the media-starved prog herds will all rush out and buy it, for that snippet of Gabriel saying how ridiculous it all was at the time.... Unfortunately Gabriel wasn't available. Hope this answers your questions, though.

 A fair retort...upon reflection, it matters not whether you are cynically exploiting Live 8, as it is your right as a profit-making company operating within a free market to do so, and lets face it, almost every other branch of the music industry has done likewise.  I read somewhere that Pink Floyd are actually donating a large percentage of post-Live 8 album sale profits to the charity thus negating any cycnical accusations of maximising their own profits.  I've not had this verified though, and perhaps you know more. 

I suppose I should appreciate the fact (and I expected you to respond along these lines), that you are providing a potential opening for would-be prog fans through the comfortable 'Pink Floyd door'.  As virtual music and fashion lepers, us prog herds should probably be grateful for such an endorsement.  However, I shall investigate the magazine in the usual way (standing in the Union shop) before committing!  I should also admit that previous tongue-in-cheek takes on prog(such as the brilliant Top Ten on Channel 4), have made me laugh out loud.  If your magazine gets anywhere near that level, I shall probably succumb....