The Billboard Guide to Progressive Music

by Bradley Smith

New fans and longtime followers of progressive music will welcome this wide-ranging consumer's guide to cutting-edge artists and their recordings.

Assembled in this concise volume are the many and diverse musicians whose music -- variously described as abstract, conceptual, experimental, lyrical, or just weird -- goes beyond the mainstream. From historic pioneers such as Pink Floyd and Yes to jazz fusion's Brand X and Passport to electronic artists Tangerine Dream and Brian Eno to new groups such as Djam Karet and White Willow, scores of progressive music's movers and shakers are covered in these pages.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1997

Reviews

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was very excited when this book was first published, as I thought "At last, someone has written the definitive guide to this genre". A much-maligned genre as well. After buying and reading the book, though, it seems it's not quite definitive, but it's certainly a very good effort.

The common complaints about the book I've seen (from other reviews) are some missing bands (Van Der Graaf Generator is big on that list) and Bradley Smith's writing style. Most people seem to think this book only contains (or should contain) progressive rock bands--but the very title states that it's a progressive music book. Smith doesn't just cover prog-rock, but includes German "kosmiche musik" artists, jazz-fusion bands, drone/noise groups and even a few that could be considered "new age".

Smith does seem to write from a snob's point of view a lot and his descriptions of album cover art make more sense to a vinyl collector, but the number of disparate artists he recommends (70s Genesis to Annea Lockwood to Throbbing Gristle (!)), make it a worthwhile read if you're looking to investigate sounds beyond the mainstream and even beyond rock. I've checked out a lot of his recommendations and I haven't been seriously disappointed yet (as a caveat though, I already liked a lot of prog-rock before I bought the book).

Let's face it, despite it's flaws, there aren't many books out there covering progressive as a genre (if it does exist--I think it does, but I suppose it's debatable). This one does well as a general reference--I hope he publishes an updated version, as "The Billboard Guide.." is 10 years old now.

[Adam Patterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writer of this book writes in such an adorably twitty style, and with total, obssessive devotion. I really enjoyed this nuts total insider perspective on one of my favorite dumb musical categories.