Experiencing Progressive Rock: A Listener's Companion

by Robert G. H. Burns

Overview

In Experiencing Progressive Rock: A Listener's Companion, Robert G. H. Burns brings together the many strands that define the "prog rock" movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s to chart the evolution of this remarkable rock tradition over the decades.

Originating in the 1960s with acts like Yes, Pink Floyd, King Crimson, The Who, Jethro Tull, Genesis, and The Moody Blues, progressive rock emerged as a response to the counterculture on both sides of the Atlantic. Prog rock drew heavily on European classical music as well as the sophisticated improvisations of American jazz to create unique fusions that defied record label and radio station categorizations. Reemerging after the 1980s, a new generation of musicians took the original influences of progressive rock and reinvented new formats within the existing style. The trend of combining influences continues to the present day, earning new audiences among the musically curious.

Burns draws on his own experiences and original interviews with members of prog rock acts such as Colosseum, Renaissance, Steve Hackett’s Genesis Revisited, past and current members of King Crimson, Steven Wilson, and Brand X, as well as several others, to provide an exciting behind-the-scenes look at this unique and ever-changing musical expression'.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442266025
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	05/14/2018
Series:	Listener's Companion
Pages:	216
Sales rank:	848,752
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Robert G. H. Burns is associate professor at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. Prior to moving to New Zealand, he was a professional studio bassist in the UK performing and recording with David Gilmour, Pete Townsend, Jerry Donahue, James Burton, Ian Paice and Jon Lord, Eric Burdon, and members of Abba, among others. He also played on the soundtracks of UK television shows such as Red Dwarf, Mr. Bean, and Blackadder. Among his academic interests are progressive rock music; the combination of folk music, rock music, and modern nationalism in the UK and Germany; popular music history; and bass guitar performance.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 “From the Beginning”: The Struggle for Definition Chapter 3 Conceptuality: Embracing the Long Player and Advances in Technology in Sound Reproduction Chapter 4 Enemies at the Door: Prog Under Threat Chapter 5 A New Decade and a New Progressive Rock Chapter 6 New Directions in the 1990s and 2000s Chapter 7 Tripping the Light Fantastic: Progressive Rock and Spectacle Chapter 8 New Life: Reuniting for Renewed Success Chapter 9 Post-Prog: A New Struggle for Definition Chapter 10 Conclusion: Is Contemporary Progressive Rock Driven by Musical “Progression”?

Editorial Reviews

05/14/2018
Burns, a former studio bassist, delivers a short but insightful look at progressive rock, the musical genre developed in the late 1960s that was “not concerned with producing three-minute hit songs.” Burns demonstrates how “virtuosity, visual impression, and musical eclecticism” became the hallmarks of prog rock through his detailed explorations of the music of such pioneers as King Crimson, Yes, Genesis, and Emerson Lake & Palmer. Burns explores the music’s development, beginning with early British bands such as Colosseum, who added jazz overtones to a blues-rock style; the Beatles, who incorporated the Mellotron, an electronic keyboard capable of simulating the sound of a large orchestra, into Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band; and the emergence of bands such as 10cc and Yes that combined progressive elements with “complex pop sensibilities.” Burns ends with a discussion of the bands that have continued the progressive tradition of blending new technology and instrumental complexity with diverse musical approaches, such as the Swedish metal band Meshuggah. Burns’s book cogently explores the high points of an adventurous, innovative genre. (June)

Publishers Weekly

A thumping good read from a thunderously good bass man.

Tim Renwick

Burns gets inside the warp and weft of progressive rock’s intricate tapestry and shows us the hows and whys of it all. He neatly defines what makes prog-rock so different and such a product of its time, technologically and culturally. Most of all, he brings the music to life and makes you want to listen to it.

Simon Nicol

A comprehensive examination of Prog Rock, including interviews with band members, engineers, and producers. It also includes decryptions of lyrics and an in-depth study of the musical composition of various tracks. A well-researched fascinating read.

Craig Milliner

Progressive Music has always been full of surprises. It's the one form of music that has always embraced genre-hopping. At the end of the day, music without prejudice is what it is all about. A film for the ear... The explosion of experimentation in the 1960s enabled talented and imaginative musicians to fly and shake off the shackles of musical limitations.

Steve Hackett

As both a scholar and bassist, Burns melds a professional musician’s ear with a musicologist’s analytical pen to produce a tribute and history of the genre.. . The inclusion of both an extensive reading and listening lists invites the reader to indulge in complex instrumentals and reverberating Mellotrons to truly understand the meaning of progressive rock.

American Reference Books Annual