Author, reviewer and music lover Kev Rowland
was a respected voice in our scene as the driving force behind the British
fanzine "Feedback" until he decided in 2006 to discontinue the
fanzine. "Feedback" was based on Mensa's RockSIG newsletter, the
first issue was published in October 1988. The booklets quickly became more
extensive, and contained in each number many interesting reviews of the latest
prog rock albums.
The Age of Neoprog! In many ways a special
time, and just when it seems to be forgotten forever, Gonzo Multimedia is now
releasing a book called "The Progressive Underground," which contains
all of Rowland's reviews that were published between 1991 and 2006 in the
"Feedback" had been published.
The subtitle "Vol. 1" indicates
that there will be more parts of this publication: This 300-page volume
contains only the artists from A to H (ACT to Gary Husband). Volume 2 will
contain all reviews from I to S, Volume 3 will contain T-Z. These volumes will
also be published later this year. All in all, the three volumes will contain
all the reviews of demos, CDs, videos / DVDs, as well as concert reports and
interviews from the "Feedback".
What struck me immediately when I first went
through it was that I did not know hundreds of the hundreds of albums in this
book. And I suppose that will go to many readers like that. Therefore, this
publication should be considered as a resource for passionate collectors of
obscure rarities rather than review collections. Kev Rowland himself sees the
main purpose of his book in documenting the hitherto undeveloped phase of
Progressive Rock. And he's likely to have achieved that goal: Probably many
progheads have never heard of Alientar, Budderfly, Degree Absolute, Farmakon,
Tadachi Goto, or The Gak Omek. Rowland gives these bands as much attention as
Asia, Peter Banks, Barclay James Harvest, Colin Bass, Curved Air, Emerson, Lake
& Palmer, Galahad, Gentle Giant or Glass Hammer. And I see his readers
already Youtube and Bandcamp crash ...
Kev Rowland maintains a special evaluation
style: casual, personal and openly subjective. Sometimes he is passionate about
it and goes into great detail, sometimes his briefings are short and concise.
It should be noted that this book does not offer track lists, as well as
missing detailed label information and complete line-ups. In times of the
Internet (Discogs!) But that is to get over. Also, Rowland does not cover full
discographies, although there are a few exceptions - but probably more by
accident.
"The Progressive Underground Vol.
I" is thus a treasure chest for the collector of obscure to obscure, but
also well-known bands who were active in the 1990's. So, I can only recommend
Kev Rowland's book!
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