The Strawberry Bricks Guide to Progressive Rock
- Downloads：2989
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-06-04 09:53:02
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Charles Snider
- ISBN：0578489805
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Dig out that long lost box of vinyl records， slap on some headphones and travel back to the 1970s。 Here's your definitive guide to progressive rock， with band histories， musical synopses and critical commentary， all presented in the historical context of a timeline。 Album by album， we'll chart each release from the giant dinosaurs of the era and uncover eccentric Eurorock obscurities as we create the ultimate head music playlist。 We'll trip through concept records， indulgent solos and epic album-side long compositions in a definitive reappraisal of rock's most cerebral and renowned genre。 The candid prologue and epilogue offer one of the most coherent portraits of the progressive rock era， while the discography details offshoots， solo albums， side projects and more。 From the British kings of prog， to the eclectic Italian progressives， heady German krautrock artists and European jazz fusion groups - it's all inside！
Reviews
Jason
，
Next to concept albums， I love Prog rock （and usually you find quite a few concept albums within the genre）。 I even created a playlist of 20 to 30+ minute epic songs by Prog rock groups of the past up to the present and there are A LOT of them。 From Genesis' "Supper's Ready" to Van der Graaf Generator's "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers" to Dream Theater's "Octavarium"， I ran the entire scope， seeking out that next prog rock epic song longer than the last！ （Steve Wilson has one that clocks in at 3 Next to concept albums， I love Prog rock （and usually you find quite a few concept albums within the genre）。 I even created a playlist of 20 to 30+ minute epic songs by Prog rock groups of the past up to the present and there are A LOT of them。 From Genesis' "Supper's Ready" to Van der Graaf Generator's "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers" to Dream Theater's "Octavarium"， I ran the entire scope， seeking out that next prog rock epic song longer than the last！ （Steve Wilson has one that clocks in at 34 minutes！） To me， prog rock groups had to deliver the epic in order to prove themselves as true musician's musicians。 And as I listened to more than just the prog epics， I wanted to know more about the groups （the ones I am listening to but also the ones I'm not and should be） and Charles Snider's book kept coming up in discussions， readings as well as YouTube so， here we are。The book itself is a treasurer trove of all things blessed in prog rock goodness， revealing to me groups I've never heard of， their albums and critical analysis of them。 My only problem is: it's all rooted in the past！ What about the Neo-Prog movement？ Where's Marillion？ Where's IQ？ Frost*？ Spock's Beard？ Porcupine Tree？ Opeth are you here with District 97？ Well， yes and no。 Yes， some are mentioned in passing or encapsulated in a quick synopsis and， no， ignoring a deeper look into their albums unlike the treatment of prog rock acts of the past get throughout the majority of pages。This doesn't mean I don't love this book。 I do。 I can't put it down。 But at edition #3 I was hoping the author got ambitious。 Alas， not so。 This why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5， though it's close to the edge （see what I did there？）。Despite this flaw， Snider has put together an indispensable encyclopedia of Prog which should be on every music lover's shelf even if the genre isn't their cup of tea。 It's packed with hundreds of groups and their catalogue of proggy compositions laid bare。 Snider doesn't play favorites， reviewing each album with equal measure。 Even the ones he doesn't care for he finds something positive to say about them which means you can trust him。 I take this same approach to my Prog Epic Song playlist: everything goes on it even if it fails miserably because there's a diamond in there somewhere。 It's how I fell in love with Yes' album， "Tales From Topographic Oceans"。 By just giving it a chance and regular spins， it grew on me。 Snider's review of it is one of my favorites: "TFTO has the dubious distinction of being either the mother lode or motherf**ker of all prog rock albums。" From there he goes into a fan's honest opinion of each track which veers into the negative to which I completely respect and agree with but to me the much maligned album is pure prog gold。When Snider does get to the new bands within the genre from the early 80s to today he is respectful， honest and let's his prose encourage you to seek them out。 He's not the "Get-Off-My-Lawn" Prog fan who lives in the past but his book belongs there and revels in it。 And this is good。 Prog history is the beginning to a wild， rewarding musical adventure。Now excuse me while I rev up "Karn Evil 9" because Snider inspired me to。 It's one of my favorite epics from the past。 A masterpiece。 。。。more
Herb
，
The book is a record guide - a collection of album reviews - and a great listener's guide to progressive rock， amassing some 250-300 reviews of classic prog rock records。 They're neither cursory nor hagiographic， and for the most part he's right on the mark with each album， with loads of facts on each。 For the new listener， it's a goldmine of discovery。 For the hardcore fan， it's an affirmation of what made prog rock such good listening。 The book is a record guide - a collection of album reviews - and a great listener's guide to progressive rock， amassing some 250-300 reviews of classic prog rock records。 They're neither cursory nor hagiographic， and for the most part he's right on the mark with each album， with loads of facts on each。 For the new listener， it's a goldmine of discovery。 For the hardcore fan， it's an affirmation of what made prog rock such good listening。 。。。more
Mark Dickson
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