By Andrea
Pintelli
For the sick of esterophilia, for the newbies of the Prog, for a fun and
quick review for those who already know, volume 1 (artists from A to H) "The Progressive Underground", published
by Gonzo Media Group, but above all written and compiled by Kev Rowland, guru of modern journalism of our
beloved music genre.
The smoothness of his style, the wealth of information contained there, the
general air of positivity leaking from his pieces, makes it an indispensable
work for all those who gravitate around the golden world of World Progressive.
yes, because in this collection of his writings, ranging from 1990 (the year in
which he took charge of the wonderful magazine "Feedback") to 2006
(the year of his move to New Zealand), there are artists and groups on many
sides, of course not only English (land that gave birth to the Prog and of
course to the very good journalist Rowland).
During his time at the helm of "Feedback", he assembled and gave
the prints 80 outputs, for a total of 11,000 pages of Progressive delicacies,
now reported here. I would remind you that the other two volumes will be edited
within the year, vol. 2 from "I" to "S", vol. 3 for the
rest and its DVD and live reviews. So be prepared to invest some money in these
3 very rich volumes, as it is absolutely worth it, given how the first volume
was produced, which I read in a few days, despite the almost 300 pages.
The book is introduced by the fine words of Stu Nicholson of Galahad and is
enriched with comments by Greg Spawton (Big Big Train) and Clive Nolan (Arena,
Pendragon).
Kev Rowland, a great record collector as well as a journalist, dedicates
this work to his wife Sara - without whom "Feedback" as we know it
would never have existed - and to their daughters and their moral support.
The reviews are for records released in the period when Rowland ran the
newspaper and are dry, direct yes, but exciting in their interceding. Use words
that smell like Prog, of course, but without seasoning them with useless
tinsel. All, of course, written in English. They therefore find space known
bands and less, but all brought to prominence in their peculiarities.
Now ours also collaborates for the Bible of the World Prog, that is, for
the fundamental website "Progarchives" (www.proarchives.com), and in
2018 alone has released 850 reviews of various kinds.
It focuses on the historical revision of a fandonia that has been
circulating for years, namely that in 1976 punk (already, deliberately written
in lowercase view of the absent technical character) supplanted the
Progressive, accused by illiterate young people and without hindsight of being
played by old dinosaurs. So varied dirt that he thought of making revolutions,
but which instead was artfully created by some brain illuminated by the sure
possibilities of gain (the designer Westwood, his clothes of representation,
and the much-hated Malcolm McLaren), thanks to three chords and attitude that
immediately became fashion, just the opposite of what they would have liked to
be, against inventive genius and artistic foresight never decided from above,
but by the infinite sensitivity of Artists (already, with the capital given the
ever-present "It's a difficult way to enrich us without getting rich, to
go beyond genres, sometimes beyond themselves and able to write history, not in
a difficult way (another phony), but for those who knew and know how to grasp
the meaning of existence itself. Well, the 80s were the shining period for
essential bands such as Marillion, IQ, Pendragon, Ark, Mach One, Pallas, while
the 90s (quoted as the beginning of the new Prog, mistakenly given the
never-missing part of supporters and record sales) such as Galahad, I believe,
Discipline, Spock's Beard, Flower Kings and Porcupine Tree. Successes included.
So never dead, but always very alive. Us. Also thanks to those who, like Kev
Rowland, have known and know how to take away, move consciences, explained and
anticipated. In Italy the immense works of Mellow, Black Widow, AMS, BTF,
Lizard are there as a prime example. As the contribution that we at MAT2020 and
PROG magazine give with real passion. Widespread hugs.
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