Posted on the Dutch site Progwereld - translated using Google Translate
https://www.progwereld.org/recensie/kev-rowland-the-progressive-underground/
It may be hard to imagine, but at the end of
the 1980s / early 1990s, the internet was not yet widely known and available to
everyone. Large websites with information or easy search for information about
things that interest you were not among them.
In those days too, progressive music was an
underexposed and not widely known music movement that could certainly not be
heard on the radio. Music was discussed and shared via fanzines, online
newsletters and direct contacts. The prog music continued to grow through the
exchange of music via cassette tapes. I remember, among other things, a
worldwide exchange project, "Desert Island Tapes", where a
compilation tape was distributed via a kind of chain letter. In this way
"our" music could still be discovered and remain known in the
"underground" circuit.
In the Netherlands we received the
independent magazine Sym-info, later SI Magazine and now known as iO-Pages,
that could be picked up as a stenciled pack of paper at the better record
stores. We also received e-zines newsletters, which are sent via e-mail as a
subscription - and later websites like DPRP (1995) and Progwereld (2001) were
born.
At the time, Kev Rowland started writing for
Feedback, a fanzine about all facets of progressive music. In "The
Progressive Underground" all the reviews and interviews are included that
Rowland has done in the period 1991 through 2006 (from the founding to his move
to New Zealand). The work is divided into three parts because the whole - more
than half a million words! - is simply too large for one book. The first part,
which appeared on March 1, 2019, contains all album reviews from A (.CT) to H
(usband, Gary) and the second part, which recently appeared on October 1, 2019,
contains all album reviews from I (con) to S (yzygy). The third part, which
will be released at the end of this year, will then contain all remaining album
reviews (T - Z), all DVD / video / live reviews and interviews.
In total an impressive archive of the most
diverse progressive rock in a period of sixteen years. A period that - after
the early 1970s of the progrock with names such as Jethro Tull, Genesis, Pink
Floyd, King Crimson, ELP and Gentle Giant - is characteristic of the current
progressive rock genre. And the rise of Marillion, Arena, Galahad and Porcupine
Tree. But in addition to the big names in the prog, Rowland treats a multitude
of small, sometimes still unknown, bands. Now that they are included in this
archive, nobody can forget them anymore.
The fact that Rowland is known in the
progressive rock scene, with labels, bands and other prog magazines and
websites, is evident from the impressive track record of this author. Many
musicians would like to be discussed and sent their music from the start.
Thanks in part to this pioneering work, we can also do our work here. Many
bands may also owe their fame to the reviews of Rowland. A band like Big Big
Train became known after reviews by Kev Rowland. It says enough that Greg
Spawton and Clive Nolan on the back of the first volume also give their review
and acknowledgments on this book.
The first volume also has a Foreword by Stu
Nicholson (Galahad), while the second volume is introduced by Mark Colton
(Credo), with commentaries by Nick Barrett (Pendragon) and Martin Orford (IQ,
Jadis) on the back.
This impressive merger by Kev Rowland from
the period 1991 to 2006 comprises a total of more than 900 pages of reviews,
interviews and live reviews. It thus gives a nice picture of the resurrection
of progressive music, which despite the silence of the radio and lack of media
publicity, could develop into the music stream that we all love so much. And
this perhaps (partly) thanks to Kev Rowland and all his colleagues at
magazines, fanzines and websites, who continue to believe in this beautiful
music. By the way, Kev Rowland is by no means ready to give his assessments to
contemporary prog music. He is an important employee at Progarchives, who
already has many reviews to his name.
CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM GONZO
Rob Ayling, yer Gonzo Grande Fromage, writes:
