Progressive Rock Book

Progressive rock, for the most part, has not been known for having a strong sense of humor. It was shaped, after all, by musicians who believed that if third stream jazz musicians could exalt Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, and Chopin as their idols, there was no reason why rock musicians shouldn't do the same. But Not as Good as the Book is a prog rock release that definitely has a sense of humor; in fact, humor is a vital part of this CD set. A highly conceptual effort, Not as Good as the Book is written from the perspective of aging baby boomers who lived to see the 21st century and are not happy with the ways in which the world has changed. Historically, most rock music - from punk to rockabilly to grunge - has been very youth-focused. But on this release, the Tangent offer the perspective of middle-aged boomers whose youthful idealism has been replaced by cynicism and pessimism - boomers who, back in the '60s and '70s…

Secret Chiefs 3's first three studio albums were not exactly stripped-down affairs, but Book of Horizons is by far an ambitious release. The first volume of a planned three-part series of albums, Horizons is set up to resemble a compilation of bands, the catch being that all of these bands are headed by SC3 leader Trey Spruance. The six bands, which have two or three songs each on this album, encompass pretty much the full range of SC3's previous stylistic forays, including the funeral ballads and marches of the Forms; the orchestral, Persian-themed rock hybrids of Ishraqiyun; the time-traveling surf-rock of UR; the electro-acoustic collages of Electromagnetic Azoth; the extreme death metal band Holy Vehm; and the sweeping film music homages of Traditionalists…

The Book of Taliesyn is the second studio album by English rock band Deep Purple, recorded only three months after Shades of Deep Purple and released by Tetragrammaton Records in October 1968, just before their first US tour. The name for the album was taken from the 14th-century Book of Taliesin. The structure of the album is similar to that of their debut, with four original songs and three rearranged covers, although the tracks are longer, the arrangements more complex and the sound more polished than on Shades of Deep Purple. The music style is a mix of psychedelic rock, progressive rock and hard rock, with several inserts of classical music arranged by the band's keyboard player Jon Lord.

The Book of Knots' self-titled metal opus is a concept album about the sea. But don't expect any prog rock opera cheese. Book of Knots is a noisy, bludgeoning rock record, full of feedback, improvisation and bitter currents – like Mike Watt's Contemplating the Engine Room played by Queens of the Stone Age. The tumultuous record ranges from the oddly Björk-ish "Tugboat" to the psych, hesher rock of "Crumble" and Jon Langford's downright catchy piece of slithering melancholia "Back on Dry Land"." It's a demented and expansive narrative that takes at least multiple listens to make sense of, but the cinematic scope is apparent from the beginning. While Book of Knots is a bit too difficult for everyone, those who enjoy digging deeper into the layers of an epic rock album will be more than satisfied.

The Chronicles of Father Robin is a Norwegian progressive rock band consisting of members from the bands Wobbler, Tusmørke, Jordsjø, and The Samuel Jackson Five. The music is inspired by the 70's Prog scene and was conceived over a period of 30 years. In 1995, in a Norwegian high school, they worked on the whole concept of the Father Robin trilogy. After some line-up changes and the addition of musicians, the band started to rearrange some old songs and work on new material which resulted in 18 songs of Symphonic Prog released as a boxset first and separately in September 2023.
Following Father Robin and his travels through the archaic world of Airoea, Book 2 takes our protagonist to the underwater city of Oriasaleah and over the Sea of Ayrouhr…

The Book Of Knots has had the pleasure of collaborating with some of the worlds most talented musicians, including Tom Waits, Mike Patton, David Thomas, Blixa Bargeld, Jon Langford, and Carla Bozulich. Founding members Matthias Bossi (Skeleton Key, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum), Joel Hamilton (producer/engineer for BlakRoc, Pretty Lights), Carla Kihlstedt (Tin Hat Trio, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum) and Tony Maimone (Pere Ubu, Frank Black, Bob Mould) forge a sound both epic and intimate, empowering and devastating. Cinematic, symphonic landscapes give way to crumbling acoustic chamber ballads. Broken guitars and beautifully warped orchestras describe the ungraceful demise of boats, blast furnaces and bloated industries. Accounts of the failed adventures of tragic would-be heroes are given voice in the band's two previous critically-acclaimed releases. Their newest album serves as the final chapter in the bands "By Sea, By Land, By Air" trilogy.

There's no better description for The Id than the one stated by the members of this group, a Prog band placed across the Northern hemisphere. And that's because the three original members leave in different countries, Peter Albrektsen hails from Toronto, Canada and plays guitar, drums and keyboards, Tim Pepper is an Englishman from Snodland, Kent, responsible for the lead vocals, keyboards and drum programming, while Bill Sjulin from Cincinatti, Ohio not only is a multi-instrumentalist, but holds some knowledge on music production. At one point keyboardist Jaime Regadas was also among the involved members…