Customer Reviews

20th Century Rock & Roll-Progressive Rock

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I bought this book hoping that Lucky's book has good overview and comprehensive review about progressive rock. This book contains 50 bands which were considered the best or at least the bands that gave influence to other bands in the progressive rock history. Each band has pictures, short biography and a list of discography. I can tell you guys and gals that those information can be found in those bands' websites. Lucky did nothing new, no further observation, no reviews, not even a subjective opinion about those bands. There is no need for us to buy a book, when the information is EXACTLY what can be found on the internet. From all progressive rock-related merchandises (books, CDs, vinyls, tapes, videos, DVD/LD, posters, etc), this is the worst product I ever have.

As I fan of progressive rock I am always interested in any coverage of this often ignored genre. This is the fourth book devoted to progressive rock that I has purchased. The first three being "Rocking The Classics" by Edward Macan, "The Progressive Rock Files" by Jerry Lucky and "The Billboard Guide To Progressive Music" by Bradley Smith. I would highly recommend these books along with Jerry Lucky's "20th Century Rock and Roll - Progressive Rock". The latter will make a great addition to my slowly growing library of progressive rock books. Over the last few years I have refered to the first three books countless times and I am sure that I will continue to do so in the future. Lucky's "20th Century" is far from a complete book (it is only 151 pages), however it will compliment my collection nicely. The book provides a broad overview of what Lucky feels are the fifty most influential bands in the genre. If you agree or disagree with who was included and who was left out should not take away from the enjoyment of this book. I am familiar with the majority of the bands listed, bands like Genesis, Dream Theater, Marillion, IQ, Camel, King Crimson, Kansas, Styx, Cast, etc. However I am not familiar with bands like Omega, Tangerine Dream, The Enid, Gryphon, Echolyn, The Flower Kings, Eloy, etc., so it is nice to be able to read an overview about them. It is also interesting to hear someone elses take on some my favorite bands. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is curious about this genre, or anyone looking to find out about progressive bands that they may not be familiar with. Even if you a familiar with most of the bands included adding this book to your collection would not hurt.

This book profiles what Mr. Lucky considers to be the 50 most influential and important progressive rock bands. He includes the superstars (e.g., ELP, Jethro Tull, Yes), the obscure (e.g., Omega, Ange), and the modern (e.g., IQ, Cast, Anglagard). I am glad to see Mr. Lucky include some bands from the 1980's and 1990's, as many fans of progressive rock seem to think the genre effectively ended in 1975. It is also nice to read something positive about progressive rock for a change. There are photos of almost all the bands, including 13 color photographs. If you like progressive rock (I know there are at least a few of you out there), you should buy this book. In addition, you may be interested in another book by Jerry Lucky, "The Progressive Rock Files," which is available from Amazon.

The one-star reviews here seem to be a little excessive - they don't get the point of the book. No, this is not a critical survey or analysis of progressive rock, so much as an introduction of a number of important bands in the genre. And, considering you are unlikely to hear this stuff on the radio (unless you listen to one of those internet prog stations), that's pretty useful!
Don't look to this book to understand the social and musical importance of prog rock, so much as to get an idea of some of the bands that are out there, what made them different, and what albums they put out. As a CD collector/music lover of a somewhat rare art form like this, a book like this is rather handy.
My two main criticisms of the book are these:
1-The album listings fail to separate live albums and compilations from proper studio albums of new material. This is a pet peeve of mine - especially considering some of these albums are hard to find, so I can't just go to my local CD shop and compare track lists to see which ones are compilations.
2-The band descriptions tend to focus on band lineup issues (e.g. "then they replaced the guitarist and spent three years touring) rather than useful descriptions of what was going on MUSICALLY with the band (which is the important thing, here - I'm not attracted to prog because I like the clothes they wear or the hunky singer, I like the MUSIC. I want to know if I get a certain album if it'll be artistically interesting or straight-ahead rock music, or why waste my time searching out obscure progressive rock bands). Mind you, it does cover musical changes somewhat (there are several references to "they opted for a harder, more straight-forward rock sound in the 80's . . . "), just not as thoroughly as it could.
So, in summary, this is a useful book for someone who wants to be introduced to a decent selection of prog bands, but could be better in helping someone figure out which albums are worth searching out. It's also helpful in pointing out what made a certain band special.

Although his designation of this book as "the worst product" he has ever purchased in relation to progressive rock seems excessive (it's surely better than most posters), the previous reviewer (see below) is largely correct, more's the pity. Mr Lucky's book is of the recent genre I like to describe as My Record Collection books. The author of such a book selects a title vague enough to justify inclusion of whatever happens to be sitting on the CD shelves (or gathering dust in the cellar), reads the liner notes and/or listens to them again, and writes up the resulting insights. "50 Underrated Jazz Records of the 1960s," "Truly Weird Music," "Out There: Experiments in Rock," etc. -- that sort of title. These are usually in the form of lists with commentary lengthy or brief -- because these are easy to write -- and easy to read (always a consideration in contemporary publishing; and as for rock fans who move their lips when reading traffic signs...no, I needn't be nasty here.) Chronological ordering is always a possibility, although research may take a few hours longer. Random ordering is the easiest but may require an explanation ("I have attempted to discuss these discs in an ahistorical yet subtextual manner whose underlying rationale will emerge as we proceed...") Alphabetical ordering is chosen here, which is convenient, sort of, depending. The book in question is rather unbalanced in its choices, with the criteria of inclusion unclear (but this is a MRC book, remember.) The famous mingle with the obscure, the hugely talented rub elbows with the mediocre, landmark recordings are there right along with the full fathom five variety, and some of the bands are only borderline progressive (although this might broaden the appeal of the book to those who accept the received wisdom the progressive rock is "stupid" or "pretentious;" some is and some ain't.) There's nothing wrong with the foregoing if the book attempts in some way to be definitive, or even a decent guide for the novice. This book attempts neither. Mr Lucky's pre-emptive remarks that he does not intend to be critical, which he somehow equates with "nit-picking" (does he mean "detail"?), although his very choice of artists to include must imply some implicit critical framework. He also in his introduction to this book recirculates the old saw that one has no right to criticize what one can't do oneself. For myself, that would mean I have no right to criticize restaurant food, mechanical work on my car, the telephone book, etc. It's not a question of having a "right," but of what one wants to do, and a critical frame of reference is not inconsistent with disinterested observation. Well, I think that's enough, or more than enough. Mr Lucky's heart is in the right place, and progressive fans need all of the allies (and propagandists) that they can get. Mr Lucky recommends in his letter to Amazon re The Progressive Rock Files several books which are better (although all have their problems.) Novices (and others) might wish to take a peek at magazines such as Audion or Expose or Progression. Or they might wish to buy the greatest recording ever made (yes, I'm exaggerrating), Robert Wyatt's "Rock Bottom" (1975), available at better websites everywhere.