Tuesday 22 September 2020

The Progressive Underground Volume 3 is now available - and here is the first review!

 

The first review of Kev Rowland's conclusion to this incredible trilogy on the underground progressive rock scene is in from www.rockovica.com, in Slovakia!

In the past, I have presented the books The Progressive Underground Volume 1 and Volume 2, written by our colleague Kev Rowland. There is also a third sequel, which I received in electronic form. But first, let me remind you and introduce the author.

Who is Kev Rowland?

"From 1990 to 2006, I led the Feedback fanzine in the UK, writing about bands that never worked on the mainstream, many of which were in the progressive underground. I have developed close relationships especially with many British bands such as Freewill, Credo, Galahad… I have researched literally thousands of cassettes and CD groups from all over the world. During this period, I also contributed to the French progzin Acid Dragon, to the famous Rock ‘n’ Reel, as well as to the Ghostland website. In 2006, I moved to New Zealand and suspended the release of Feedback_u. (It was then renamed Amplified, from which I left at my request.) I produced more than 80 issues with more than 11,000 printed pages.

I stopped writing and reviewing in New Zealand, but gradually returned to the scene and began contributing to many pages and magazines. I got involved with the same zeal as 20 years ago. However, in 2014, I stopped and started working on a book that contains all my progressive reviews for Feedback. I finished it at the end of 2016…

I write about various musical styles, from acoustics and jazz through all types of rock (progressive, melodic, hard), to the most extreme metal and avant-garde. All my reviews appear in the printed version of the British fanzine Amplified (still active after 30 years), I also send them to the weekly electronic magazine Gonzo, Polish www.mlwz.pl (where Artur publishes several of my reviews in the English section every day), there are also PowerofProg.com, HouseofProg.com, Progressor.net and others. I also contribute to www.Background.com, to the French progzin Acid Dragon. If the band is listed, the review will also appear on ProgArchives, all metal on Metalmusicarchives and jazz on Jazzmusicarchives. Ugh!

I'm trying to discover and promote "new" bands that deserve it. In 2019, I was approached by a representative of Rockovica.com and I agreed to publish my articles in Slovak. "

- THE PROGRESSIVE UNDERGROUND VOLUME 3 -

In the third part of his book, Kev Rowland presents reviews for Feedback magazine, now renamed Amplified, which he also led for a long time. If we want to understand what Kev was talking about, we have to realize that his writing about music began in the years when there was no talk of the Internet and some super fast distribution of articles. The big print media was hardly interested in progressive music at all, so they pushed it underground. Fortunately, there were a few "fools" who didn't put up with it and spread progressive rock among music fans. Among them was the author of this book, covering a wide range of music, which developed into one of the most famous and popular reviewers. Only then will we probably realize what this man did for the music, its listeners and especially the musicians themselves, what he meant and still means to them.


Kev: “Volume 1 contained artists A-H, Volume 2 I-S, completing the complete alphabet. The trio also contains small reviews, compilations, videos / DVDs, interviews and concert reviews. This is my personal favorite of these three volumes, because interviews and concert reviews work like a time machine. ”

Album reviews

t, Tale, Talisma, Tangerine Dream, Tea For The Wicked, Tempest, Tercia, Thessera, Thieves’ Kitchen, David Thomas & Ronnie Gunn, Steve Thorne, Threshold, Tiemko, Tiles, Timeline, Timelock, Timothy Pure, Tin Scribble, Ádám Török & Mini, Top Left Corner, Touchstone, Devin Townsend, Tr3nity, Tractor, Tranceport, Transatlantic, Transience, Trans-Siberian Orchestra , Treebeard, Trespass, Trion, Trio96, Tripod, Tristan Park, Akihisa Tsuboy, Natsuki Kido Duo, Tsuki no Umi, Tsunami, La Tulipe Noire, Twelfth Night, U I Blue, Ultime Atome, Umphrey’s Mcgee, Unbroken Spirit, The Underground Railroad, Upright, Van & Borner, Vanden Plas, Vanishing Point, Janos Varga Project, Csaba Vedres, Vertical Alignment, Vietgrove, Violent Silence, Violet District, Visible Wind, Vision, Volare, Von Daniken, Voyager, Vulgar Unicorn, Adam Wakeman, Oliver Wakeman, Rick Wakeman, Rick & Adam Wakeman, Walking On Ice, Walrus, Wappa Gappa, Paul Ward, Wastefall, The Watch, Waterclime, John Wetton, Whistler’s Mother, White Door, White Willow, Alan Whittaker, Wicked Minds, Harry Williamson, Willowglass, Damian Wilson, Ray Wilson, Wingdom, Wings Of Steel, Winter, Without Face, Without Warning, Withoutending, Woolly Wolstenholme, World Turtle, Wyxmer, Xaal, Xinema, You And I, Ywis, Dweezil Zappa, Zaragon, Zazen, Zen Orchestra, Zenit, Ziff, Zone Six

Smaller reviews

5:01 AM, Abraxas, After Crying, Airborne, Ancient Curse, Blue Shift, Brian Hirsch, Court, Crucible, Deluc, Die A Tribe, Evidence, Fig Leaf, Fruitcake, Geoffrey Downes, Ghosts Of Dawn, In The Labyrinth, Indeed, Ines, Iris, Ivanhoe, J.R.S., Jeremy, John Wetton, Lands End, Lanvall, Magus, Maryson, Mystery De Notre Dame, New Sun, Quasar Lux Symphoniae, Quidam, Rachel’s Birthday, Sigmund Snopek, Silent Lucidity, Simon Says, Smokin’ Granny, Solaris, Tea In The Sahara, The Moor, The Wishing Tree, Tristan Park, Truth In Advertisement, Zello

DVD/Videos

Jan Akkerman, Asia, Chain, Roger Chapman, Colosseum, Discipline, Dream Machine, ELP, Genesis, Glass Hammer, Icon, IQ, Jadis, Landmarq, Lana Lane, Legend, Magenta, Geoff Mann, Neal Morse, Mostly Autumn, Nektar, Erik Norlander, Pain Of Salvation, Pendragon, Plackband, Quikion + Lithuma Qnombus, Saga, Sanity, Shadowland, Spaced Out, Spock’s Beard, Threshold, Tractor, Twelfth Night, Uriah Heep, Rick Wakeman, Yes

Interviews (some multiple times)

Nick Barrett, Brian Devoil, Stu Nicholson, Clive Nolan, Geoff Mann Tribute, Tracy Hitchings, Rog Patterson, Steve Paine, John Dexter Jones, Clive Nolan/Mick Pointer, Fish, Clive Nolan/Ian Salmon, Steve Howe, Neal Morse/Nick D'Virgilio, Alan Morse, Karl Groom, Kerry Livgren, Martin Orford, Woolly Wolstenholme, Peter Nicholls, Neal Morse , Nick D'Virgilio, Gary Chandler, Manfred Mann, Henning Pauly, Mark Colton, Empathy, Richard Sinclair, Guy Manning, Adam Wakeman, After Crying, Solstice Coil, Jeremy Morris, Richard Wileman, Mangala Valis

Gigs

Aerie Faerie Nonsense, Ars Nova, Asgard, Big Big Train, California Guitar Trio, Casual Affair, Credo, Damian Wilson, Different Trains, Enchant, Freewill, Galahad, Grace, Grey Lady Down, IQ, Jadis, Jump, Landmarq, Legend, Llyn Y Morynion, Mastermind, Mentaur, Mr. So & So, Neal Morse, Power Quest, Revelation, Rick Wakeman, Saga, Shadowland, Sphere, Spock’s Beard, Steve Hackett, The Flower Kings, The Morrigan, Threshold, Tracy Hitchings , Vietgrove, Winter, World Turtle


If it can be called that, Kev writes in a style that can be understood by rock enthusiasts from the Tatras and the Říp Mountains, while they do not have to have a red diploma in English. This is the biggest asset for me, of course, apart from the albums he presented. Definitely for me - thumbs up!

Kev, thank you very much !!!!!





















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