Gentle Giant

Author: Gary Steel
Publisher: On Track
ISBN: 9781789520583
Category : Progressive rock music
Languages : en
Pages : 160

Book Description
They lasted only a decade and never lit up the world's charts, but progressive rock connoisseurs always knew what today's audiences are now beginning to discover: that Gentle Giant belong in the pantheon of great bands of the era. At times edgy and experimental but also capable of great beauty (not to mention some of the greatest riffs known to man), the group's explorations of medieval music gave their sound unique character. But it was the thrilling complexity of their compositions - which Frank Zappa might have called the "statistical density" of their writing - together with the instrumental ability of its players that make their music as potent today as they were at their peak nearly 50 years ago. This book takes a microscopic look at each of Gentle Giant's eleven studio albums and provides fresh assessments of the many live and 'odds'n'sods' recordings, as well as rounding up existant DVD/Blu-ray documentary and performance footage. In doing so, it tells the story of one of progressive music's most fascinating groups and the thrilling - and occasionally tortuous - ride the Shulman brothers and key band-mates like Kerry Minnear and Gary Green experienced along the way.

The Sonicbond Publishing Progressive Rock Sampler

Author: Stephen Lambe
Publisher: Sonicbond Publishing Ltd
ISBN: 1789520568
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 172

Book Description
Since Sonicbond Publishing launched at the end of 2018, iwe have published books that span most genres in popular music, from easy listening to psychedelia and from pop to metal. However, it is in the world of progressive rock that we have found our most comfortable home. This book features eleven chapters from books on some of the greats of the genre, including from our On Track series Yes, Genesis, Caravan, ELP, Gentle Giant, Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd, Porcupine Tree and Steve Hackett solo. Our Decades series offers up chapters on Marillion in the 1980s and Van Der Graaf Generator in the 1970s and our Year In series has a chapter on Aphrodite’s Child’s seminal 666. This is just the tip of the iceberg, though, and for the up-to-date list, check out the complete stocklist at the back of this book. The book contains two exclusive pieces that you won’t find in printed books anywhere else. Nick Holmes’ detailed chapter on Porcupine Tree’s Closure/Continuation can be found in the current E-book but not yet in the printed version. Stephen Lambe has rewritten his own chapter on Yes’ ‘lost album’ Talk, released 30 years ago. Contents: Closure/Continuation (2022) from Porcupine Tree On Track (Revised Edition) by Nick Holmes (to be published in 2025) Talk (1994) from Yes On Track by Stephen Lambe. Revised version for future Editions Aphrodite’s Child – 666 (1972) from 1972: The Year Progressive Rock Ruled The World by Kevan Furbank If I Could Do It All Over Again It Again I’d Do It All Over You (1970) from Caravan On Track by Andy Boot Tarkus (1971) from Emerson, Lake & Palmer On Track by Mike Goode Wind & Wuthering (1976) and the Spot The Pigeon EP from Genesis On Track by Stuart Macfarlane Acquiring The Taste (1971) from Gentle Giant On Track by Gary Steel Songs From The Wood (1977) from Jethro Tull On Track by Jordan Blum 1985: The Heart That We Have Live from Marillion in the 1980s by Nathaniel Webb Meddle (1971) from Pink Floyd On Track by Richard Butterworth Defector (1980) from Steve Hackett On Track by Geoffrey Feakes 1975: The Undercover Men From Van der Graaf Generator In The 1970s by Steve Pilkington

Toto On Track

Author: Jacob Holm Lupo
Publisher: Sonicbond Publishing Ltd
ISBN: 1789520851
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 163

Book Description
Turn on the radio anytime, anywhere in the world, and sooner or later you will hear 'Africa'. Along with just a handful of songs by other artists, Toto’s worldwide hit is one of the most ubiquitous musical works of our time, written by a group of musicians who grew up together in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley. Together they helped define the sound of the late 70s and 80s, appearing on numerous hit records by Michael Jackson, Boz Scaggs and Steely Dan. But it was together, as Toto, that they found their true form, fashioning a fine blend of funk, hard rock, pop and progressive rock. 'Hold the Line', 'Rosanna' and 'Pamela' are just a few of their other iconic hits. However, from the early days, Toto were a target for the music press, who disdained their slick chops and polished sound – all at odds with the post-punk and new wave aesthetics prevalent at the time. Yet Toto have always persevered, driven by their love for the music, and their fans’ love for them. Lately, Toto has been riding a renewed wave of popularity – fuelled by hard touring – not to mention a belated restitution from the rock media. This book discusses each of their albums in detail, track by track, from their smash-hit debut to 2015's magnificent Toto XIV. Jacob Holm-Lupo is a musician and journalist from Norway. He has written extensively about progressive rock, hard rock and AOR, including the book Blue Öyster Cult on track for Sonicbond, published in 2019. With his own bands White Willow and The Opium Cartel he has released ten albums, and he runs a recording and mixing studio. He is also active on the Classic Album Sunday circuit where he has, among other things, covered Toto IV and The Seventh One. He lives on an island with his wife, two children, a rabbit and a dog.

Camel

Author: Hamish Kuzminski
Publisher: On Track
ISBN: 9781789520408
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 160

Book Description
Formed in Guildford, Surrey in England in 1971, Camel, though not directly part of the genre, were strongly influenced by the bands emerging from Canterbury in Kent at the same time. In particular, the band mixed humour and profundity, in a similar way to bands like Caravan and Hatfield and the North. However, and there's a clue in the name, and their music seamlessly integrated Middle Eastern and North African themes, forms and rhythms - as well as Jazz, folk and classical elements - to create an exciting and exotic new strand to the ballooning world of progressive rock in the early 1970s. After two critically well-received, but unsuccessful albums, Camel came to transatlantic attention in 1975 with the release of purely instrumental The Snow Goose, inspired by Paul Gallico's novella of the same name. The chart success of that album led to a sold-out performance in October 1975 at the Royal Albert Hall (with the London Symphony Orchestra, no less, in tow), and cemented the band's place in the ongoing story of progressive rock. The band has had its fair share of tragedy, including the death of founder Peter Bardens and serious illness to guitarist and flame-carrier Andy Latimer. Nonetheless, with Latimer still at the helm, and after almost 50 years and fourteen studio albums, Camel continue to perform to rapturous receptions across the world. This track by track analysis takes the reader along on their half-century journey, carving out a special, inimitable niche in British rock music.

Steely Dan

Author: Jez Rowden
Publisher: On Track
ISBN: 9781789520439
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 144

Book Description

Eagles on track

Author: John Van der Kiste
Publisher: Sonicbond Publishing Ltd
ISBN: 1789522951
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 189

Book Description
Eagles began as a backing group for vocalist Linda Ronstadt before striking out on their own. All being accomplished vocalists, musicians and songwriters, they jointly set themselves the goal of ‘number one singles and albums, great music, and a lot of money’. With guitarist Glenn Frey and drummer Don Henley as the combined driving force, by 1975 they had topped the singles and album charts at home and found major success in Britain and across the world, while establishing themselves as America’s foremost band. The global success of Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 and Hotel California, to this day the first and third best-selling albums in America of all time, proved impossible to surpass, and after several line-up changes, they disbanded in 1980. A resumption in 1994 was cemented with the live/studio album Hell Freezes Over, followed in 2007 by Long Road out of Eden, their first studio album for 28 years. After Frey’s death in 2016, they recruited new members maintaining a live schedule that continues to this day. This book recounts the band’s rise, fall and rise again, with a detailed look at every track on each studio and live album, plus an overview of original songs and cover versions recorded but never officially released. John Van der Kiste has published over ninety books, mostly historical biography and music, including 1970: A Year in Rock, and titles on Mott the Hoople and Ian Hunter, Free and Bad Company, and Manfred Mann’s Earth Band in the 1970s for Sonicbond’s Decades series. He has reviewed books and records for the local and national press and fanzines co-founded and edited the 70s fanzine Keep on Rockin, and written booklet notes for CD reissues from EMI and other labels. A former DJ and performer with various groups, he also co-wrote one track on Riff Regan’s Milestones (2015), and played harmonica on London’s The Hell for Leather Mob (2020). He lives in Devon, U.K.

Beyond and Before, Updated and Expanded Edition

Author: Paul Hegarty
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1501370839
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 440

Book Description
The original edition of Beyond and Before extends an understanding of progressive rock by providing a fuller definition of what progressive rock is, was and can be. Called by Record Collector the most accomplished critical overview yet of progressive rock and one of their 2011 books of the year, Beyond and Before moves away from the limited consensus that prog rock is exclusively English in origin and that it was destroyed by the advent of punk in 1976. Instead, by tracing its multiple origins and complex transitions, it argues for the integration of jazz and folk into progressive rock and the extension of prog in Kate Bush, Radiohead, Porcupine Tree and many more. This 10-year anniversary revised edition continues to further unpack definitions of progressive rock and includes a brand new chapter focusing on post-conceptual trends in the 2010s through to the contemporary moment. The new edition discusses the complex creativity of progressive metal and folk in greater depth, as well as new fusions of genre that move across global cultures and that rework the extended form and mission of progressive rock, including in recent pop concept albums. All chapters are revised to keep the process of rethinking progressive rock alive and vibrant as a hybrid, open form.

Reinventing Pink Floyd

Author: Bill Kopp
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1538108283
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 261

Book Description
In celebration of the 45th anniversary of The Dark Side of the Moon, Bill Kopp explores the ingenuity with which Pink Floyd rebranded itself following the 1968 departure of Syd Barrett. Not only did the band survive Barrett’s departure, but it went on to release landmark albums that continue to influence generations of musicians and fans. Reinventing Pink Floyd follows the path taken by the remaining band members to establish a musical identity, develop a songwriting style, and create a new template for the manner in which albums are made and even enjoyed by listeners. As veteran music journalist Bill Kopp illustrates, that path was filled with failed experiments, creative blind alleys, one-off musical excursions, abortive collaborations, general restlessness, and—most importantly—a dedicated search for a distinctive musical personality. This exciting guide to the works of 1968 through 1973 highlights key innovations and musical breakthroughs of lasting influence. Kopp places Pink Floyd in its historical, cultural, and musical contexts while celebrating the test of fire that took the band from the brink of demise to enduring superstardom.

Hawkwind On Track

Author: Duncan Harris
Publisher: Sonicbond Publishing Ltd
ISBN: 1789520843
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 272

Book Description
Always enigmatic and outside of the mainstream, most people associate Hawkwind with 'whoosh' noises, ‘Silver Machine’, Lemmy and 'Space Rock' music. From the beginning, Hawkwind have been trailblazers, even when they have explored blind alleys and cul-de-sac’s, and have never been afraid to innovate and mutate into strikingly different musical arenas. The band have a unique history in the world of rock music and have inspired not just other bands but also an entire sub-genre of music: Stoner Rock. Hawkwind's stated aim was to be a substitute for mind-expanding drugs. Instead, they used music, poetry, lights, projections, theatre and dance in an assault on the senses. Albums such as X In Search Of Space and Warrior At The Edge Of Time as well as classic live album Space Ritual set a template for their astonishing take on rock music. This book is a track-by-track analysis of every studio album and major live release to date. Beginning with the highly-regarded early albums of the 1970s, it continues through the hard rock hardships of the 1980s and the sometimes awkward musical dalliances of the 1990s, finishing on the unexpectedly triumphant return of the band in the 2010s. It presents an illuminating companion to the extraordinary recorded works of a band no-one thought would achieve any longevity. Duncan Harris started as a music journalist and interviewer in the 1980s, writing for fanzines and magazines. He contributed to the Rough Guides to Music series and, until recently, maintained a long series of reviews for the website The Dreaded Press. One of his proudest achievements is to have interviewed graphic novel guru Alan Moore in the late 1980s, just after the rise of Watchmen. Amongst other subjects, Alan and Duncan had a long talk about Hawkwind. Duncan lives in Wiltshire with his adorable wife, dog Willow and two cats named Loki and Lilith.

Level 42

Author: Matt Phillips
Publisher: On Track
ISBN: 9781789521023
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 160

Book Description
One of the most iconic and successful British bands of the 1980s, Level 42 are also arguably the ultimate 'fusion' unit, streamlining their energetic early jazz/funk/rock sound into slick, effortlessly-soulful pop music. Encompassing eleven studio albums, including twenty UK top 40 hits and two US top twenty singles, their catalogue, in many ways, defines the '80s but also reflects their musical virtuosity and vibrant eclecticism, peppering tracks with influences from Herbie Hancock, Return To Forever and The Mahavishnu Orchestra. Emerging from the so-called 'Britfunk' scene, Level 42 developed from being one of the most electrifying live acts of the era to become a true songwriters' collective, delivering the effervescent, ubiquitous hits 'The Sun Goes Down (Living It Up)', 'Something About You' and 'Lessons In Love'. Level 42 - on track is the first in-depth study of the band's illustrious catalogue, track by track, album by album, with recording information, musical analysis, studio gossip, full musician credits and contributions from Mark King and Gary Husband. The book also covers the solo projects of the band's many members. Level 42 - on track is a must for fans and those interested in the wider musical landscape of the 1980s and 1990s.