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frenchie View Drop Down
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Points: 2234 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: New Prog Rock history book...
    Posted: June 30 2005 at 07:27
British leading music magazine, Q are releasing a special collectors edition book about the history of progressive rock on 15th of July.

This may be after the numerous complaints they have recieved by tending to give prog rock albums very bad and ignorant reviews usually complaining that the songs are too long and complex for people to listen to...

lately Q have been more favourable of prog and including more releases with better reviews. This prog ignorance first kicked off with the recent yes digipak remasters, giving fragile and close to the edge 2 stars saying that no1 listens to prog. This site would disagree as currently, close to the edge is probably the pinnacle of prog rock on this site.

Therefore, this book will be very interesting to see, will it be full of accurate history, good stories review and interviews? Or will it just add to Q's ignorant view on progressive rock. I will certainly let you all know!
The Worthless Recluse
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Q&Mojo View Drop Down
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Points: 33 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 01 2005 at 08:06
Hello there
Dear Frenchie, how remarkably well-informed you are. Let me
address a few of your points, though…
This isn't actually a book. It's a special edition magazine:
full-colour, very glossy, 148 pages. Q and Mojo have published
several of these specials on single artists (The Who, The
Beatles) and genres of music (Psychedelia). This one has Pink
Floyd among others on the cover and goes on sale from 14
July.
A couple of things, though: to the best of my knowledge Q has
never received "numerous complaints" about its treatment of
prog rock bands. I've worked there for eight years and don't
recall receiving any. Sorry. I would have remembered. Albums
are reviewed by individual reviewers, not by committee. Some
writers like this music; some don't…Those that do have helped
put this magazine together. I'll post some more details about
the mag nearer the on-sale date. Who knows, we may not be as
ignorant as you think?
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frenchie View Drop Down
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Points: 2234 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 01 2005 at 15:14
Originally posted by Q&Mojo Q&Mojo wrote:

Hello there
Dear Frenchie, how remarkably well-informed you are. Let me
address a few of your points, though…
This isn't actually a book. It's a special edition magazine:
full-colour, very glossy, 148 pages. Q and Mojo have published
several of these specials on single artists (The Who, The
Beatles) and genres of music (Psychedelia). This one has Pink
Floyd among others on the cover and goes on sale from 14
July.
A couple of things, though: to the best of my knowledge Q has
never received "numerous complaints" about its treatment of
prog rock bands. I've worked there for eight years and don't
recall receiving any. Sorry. I would have remembered. Albums
are reviewed by individual reviewers, not by committee. Some
writers like this music; some don't…Those that do have helped
put this magazine together. I'll post some more details about
the mag nearer the on-sale date. Who knows, we may not be as
ignorant as you think?


how scary is that! it like a spy in the house of frenchie
The Worthless Recluse
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frenchie View Drop Down
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Points: 2234 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 01 2005 at 15:16

anyway, you are probably right, and i sware in the letters section i have read letters by people wanting more prog rock articles and reviews and Q replied something like: why bother, no1 likes prog.
The Worthless Recluse
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frenchie View Drop Down
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Points: 2234 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 01 2005 at 15:17
Q and Mojo are brilliant though, i have many issues of each. I have been a Q subscriber since about 98 i think, but i get them through the post. Love the Oasis interview in the latest issue, i sware the release date was 15th in the mag!
The Worthless Recluse
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Easy Livin View Drop Down
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Points: 15585 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 01 2005 at 18:00

Welcome back Q&M, the Pink Floyd special was very good.

Whether or not you have received complaints, it is fair to say that Q turned its back on prog, and joined the bandwagon of bad press (or indeed no press) it has received in recent years. I didn't complain, I just cancelled my subscription.

Mojo was better (didn't Mark Ellen leave Q to set up Mojo?), but seemed to increasingly focus on either the Beatles and REM, or obscure artists few had even heard of.

It's all very well attributing bad reviews to individual reviewers, but perhaps more effort could have been made to ensure the selected reviewers at least had a passing appreciation of the genre, and were not going to simply deride prog albums in order to boost their street cred.

Good to see the prog special in the pipeline though, do you have much about prog in the monthly mags (Q or Mojo) these days?
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Points: 537 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 02 2005 at 04:31
Magazines are gross.
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Points: 33 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 04 2005 at 05:30
Originally posted by frenchie frenchie wrote:

i sware the release date was 15th in the
mag!


15th July it is then. You're quite right. Though I dare say some
copies will creep out a day or so earlier. Hope you enjoy the
magazine.
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Points: 33 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 04 2005 at 09:15
Hello again
More details below about the Q & MOJO Prog Rock special
edition magazine below…
You can e-mail queries, praise or abuse to us at
[email protected].

PINK FLOYD & The Story Of Prog Rock
A Q & Mojo Classic Special Edition
Take a trip to another musical dimension, celebrating the
astounding tales and amazing sounds of…
• PINK FLOYD: The Lost Years, The New Interviews, The
Unseen Pictures…
• PLUS in-depth stories, exclusive interviews with GENESIS •
YES • VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR • KING CRIMSON •
RUSH • HAWKWIND • ELP • SOFT MACHINE • THE MARS
VOLTA and more…
• SEX, DRUGS & WIZARDS: From Wish You Were Here to OK
Computer - 40 Cosmic Rock Albums To Blow Your Mind!
• AND: Rarities, artwork, competitions and more
Available as a Q Classic special edition in the UK and a Mojo
Classic special edition overseas (including the US).
On Sale from 15 July, in all good newsagents or by ordering
online from here…

Q
www.subscription.co.uk/products/qprog

Mojo
www.subscription.co.uk/products/mojoprog

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Points: 32995 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 04 2005 at 09:27
Originally posted by Easy Livin Easy Livin wrote:

Welcome back Q&M, the Pink Floyd special was very good.

Whether or not you have received complaints, it is fair to say that Q turned its back on prog, and joined the bandwagon of bad press (or indeed no press) it has received in recent years. I didn't complain, I just cancelled my subscription.

Mojo was better (didn't Mark Ellen leave Q to set up Mojo?), but seemed to increasingly focus on either the Beatles and REM, or obscure artists few had even heard of.

It's all very well attributing bad reviews to individual reviewers, but perhaps more effort could have been made to ensure the selected reviewers at least had a passing appreciation of the genre, and were not going to simply deride prog albums in order to boost their street cred.

Good to see the prog special in the pipeline though, do you have much about prog in the monthly mags (Q or Mojo) these days?

Yep, the Pink Floyd issue was excellent, the Led Zepellin one was too!
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Points: 33 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 04 2005 at 09:35
Originally posted by Snow Dog Snow Dog wrote:


Yep, the Pink Floyd issue was excellent, the Led Zepellin
one was too!



Thankyou. Much appreciated. We're planning a Rush one…
(just kidding, sorry…)
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Points: 4215 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 04 2005 at 10:37

Is it going to have anything about the Pink Floyd reunion??

Also... I have a copy of Mojo here from March 2001... a huge article on ELP about the financial woes of the taking the orchestra on the road... and it mentions my full name and a paragraph quote from me... that I don't remember ever giving a reporter....

hmmmmm...........
THIS IS ELP
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Points: 33 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 04 2005 at 10:44
Originally posted by threefates threefates wrote:

Is it going to have anything about the
Pink Floyd reunion??


Also... I have a copy of Mojo here from March 2001... a huge
article on ELP about the financial woes of the taking the
orchestra on the road... and it mentions my full name and a
paragraph quote from me... that I don't remember ever giving a
reporter....


hmmmmm...........



No Floyd reunion, as they spoke to us before Gilmour agreed to
Live8. Actually, I saw that quote from you in the original ELP
piece as well! No idea where that came from You're
getting a free copy, though, so, come on, no complaining
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Points: 32995 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 04 2005 at 10:52
Originally posted by Q&Mojo Q&Mojo wrote:

Originally posted by Snow Dog Snow Dog wrote:


Yep, the Pink Floyd issue was excellent, the Led Zepellin
one was too!



Thankyou. Much appreciated. We're planning a Rush one…
(just kidding, sorry…)

Grrrrrrrrrrr! I used to buy Q regularly also, even when I was living in Israel (God it was expensive there!)

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Points: 5964 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 05 2005 at 12:15
Will there be any mention of Gentle Giant in the mag?
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Points: 33 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 05 2005 at 12:22
Originally posted by Trouserpress Trouserpress wrote:

Will there be any mention of Gentle
Giant in the mag?


Yes. We spoke to Ray Shulman. One of the Giant's great works
is chosen as one of the 40 Cosmic Rock Albums To Blow Your
Mind!
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Points: 5964 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 05 2005 at 12:50
Originally posted by Q&Mojo Q&Mojo wrote:

Originally posted by Trouserpress Trouserpress wrote:

Will there be any mention of Gentle
Giant in the mag?


Yes. We spoke to Ray Shulman. One of the Giant's great works
is chosen as one of the 40 Cosmic Rock Albums To Blow Your
Mind!


I do hope it's not Octopus...   Anyway, I'll end up buying this regardless so I don't know why I'm bothering to ask. Be sure to be on the recieving end of some severe whingeing if you've cocked it up though!
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Points: 15585 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 05 2005 at 14:58
Looking forward to it, it sounds good!
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Points: 230 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 14 2005 at 17:21

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....       
"Now all the seasons run together, and the middle days are gone..."
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Points: 33 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 15 2005 at 04:36
Originally posted by Wrath_of_Ninian 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.
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