L'âge d'or du rock progressif anglais - Tome 1 : 1965-1979
Didier Gonzalez
Camion Blanc2021
ISBN 9782378482756
Series L'âge d'or du rock progressif anglais No. 1
Back cover
Synopsis: This work has been divided into three volumes, offering an alphabetical overview of the artists and bands that make up this musical movement. Volume 1, covering artists from AARDVARK to GENESIS, deals with the formative years of British progressive rock, which the author has symbolically chosen to begin in 1965, with the BEATLES’ album RUBBER SOUL, which he regards as containing the seeds of Progressive Rock. However, it was really from 1966 onwards that the genre began to take shape, with the emergence of PINK FLOYD and THE MOODY BLUES, and in 1967 with the arrival of PROCOL HARUM, SOFT MACHINE and THE NICE.
Building on these major acts, the genre really took off, with the emergence of JETHRO TULL and CARAVAN in 1968, followed in 1969 by KING CRIMSON, whose debut album remains iconic within the genre. That year, GENESIS, VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR and YES made their recording debuts. The period from 1970 to 1972 marked a time of rapid expansion for the genre, with the emergence of EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER, CURVED AIR, GENTLE GIANT, RENAISSANCE and a myriad of talented bands, though they never achieved the same level of fame as their predecessors.
The author regards the period from 1973 to 1976 as the heyday of this musical genre, with the emergence of masterpieces such as PROCOL HARUM’s *Grand Hotel*, ‘Tales from Topographic Oceans’ by YES, ‘The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway’ by GENESIS, ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ by PINK FLOYD, ‘A Passion Play’ by JETHRO TULL, ELP’s *Brain Salad Surgery*, and CAMEL’s *The Snow Goose*.
He then examines the period from 1977 to 1979, entitled *Twilight of the Seventies* – THE FINAL GLORY DAYS, featuring notably the emergence of U.K. and BRUFORD on the one hand, but also the decline in output from the genre’s leading figures, under pressure from the hordes of punk, new wave and disco hordes, and a music industry now championing a more accessible style of music.
Following the various introductory notes, the book is structured like an encyclopaedic dictionary, divided into chapters for ease of use.
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In the same series
| Title | Author(s) | Publishing | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | L'âge d'or du rock progressif anglais - Tome 2 : 1965-1979 | Didier Gonzalez | Camion Blanc ISBN 9782378483715 | 2023 |