Excellent analysis of the music and the time that made it.
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Martin makes me want to argue with him! I love that. Martin has an opinion and a bias, doesn't pretend otherwise, and the book is stronger for it. It's a quirky book -- certainly not a straight history -- but Martin genuinely succeeds at providing a singular view of a singular style of music. If that's not valuable, I don't know what is.
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Very good analysis of a major period in music history
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After Martin finally gets off his political/philosophical soap box (hard to get through even if you agree with most of it), he presents a very good analysis of the music itself. Highly recommended to anybody who has a serious interest in progressive rock.
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Fascinating but flawed study of progressive rock.
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I found this book enjoyable and infuriating at the same time. Martin's take on prog rock is well informed and thorough. But I kept wanting to argue with him all the time I was reading it. My main problem with the book is that Martin has specifically modified his definition of progressive rock to exclude Frank Zappa. His definition also excludes Pink Floyd, while admitting the Mahavishnu Orchestra. This strikes me as ducking the issue; if Martin were to consider the work of Zappa along side Yes, King Crimson, etc., he would probably have to modify his thesis, and would probably has produced a stronger book. Nevertheless, I am quite glad I bought this. But my copy will be severely marked up!!!
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it takes 150 pages out of 300 before anything significant
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is said about the subject, one is thankful that one doesn't have to sit thru the lectures of this "academic". more is said about how "Prog Rock" fits into the author's version of Marxist philosophy than is said about the _music_ or the bands and individuals who made it.
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An educated summation of Prog-rock
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This is a top-notch book on progressive rock music that any fan of the genre should read. In addition to providing a fair, credible defense of a style that has long been maligned or overlooked by the mainstream music press, Martin's analysis also probes into the theoretical as he attempts to craft a workable definition of the genre itself. Not everyone will agree with the narrow definition that he produces,(Pink Floyd, Frank Zappa, and Led Zeppelin, among other familiar names, are not considered progressive), nor will there be much consensus about the bands from the era which he deems most important. Nevertheless, this is a well-written and analytically consistent piece that merits the attention of all serious popular music fans, prog supporters and detractors alike.
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