Steph Tries To Define Progressive Rock...

Well, having gotten this review site off the ground a year ago, we managed to only get two issues out before having to land and refuel. We're in the air once again with this issue, featuring more than a dozen reviews.

It is perhaps as good a time as any to layout some sort of mission statement or editorial focus. Or, to use the phrase I really want to avoid - what is progressive music? Our how does PMR* define progressive music?

Certainly Yes, Genesis, ELP and other stalwarts all fall into the category. Whether their current output could be still considered Progressive is up for debate, but they all have, at one time or another, been considered Progressive as well as progressive.

But as any listener knows, the term progessive can apply to things other than the "Prog Rock" style - everything from ambient to metal. Which means we won't only review releases from neo-proggers like Arena, Threshold, Shadowland... (which might better be called Nolan-prog) ... Iluvatar ... add your neo-prog band here... but also releases from such artists as Steve Roach, Future Sound of London, various jazz artists, and, on occassion, something that strikes our fancy whether it falls into the progressive category or not.

This leads us to the question - what is and what isn't progressive, then? It is commonly thought of as music that pushes at the envelope of mainstream. Which brings up this equally undefinable question - what is mainstream?

Mainstream really is what gets played on the radio in heavy rotation - if you can hear it on a dozen different radio stations with different formats, chances are it's mainstream. If it is gets played at ungodly hours in specialty shows, chances are it's not mainstream. The average listener isn't going to stay up 'til or wake up at 2:00 a.m. to hear Robert Rich.

But, I don't need to tell you that - I'm preaching to choir. While I can promise we won't be reviewing a Mariah Carey disc, there may come a mainstream album or two that's mainstream by virtue of rotation rather than anything else.

I've included my current top 10 favourites [Now excised -ed.], a hold over from our first issues. This will tell you something about me and what I listen to. I love music, all forms - except rap, so my top ten isn't only filled with progressive releases. And, because it will soon become obvious to regular readers - my all time favorite band is Marillion - for reasons far too many to mention here. In future issues, we'll post our top ten favorites of 1998.

You don't have to agree with us on our reviews or who we choose to review - we invite comment. And, if you have a review of an album you'd like to share - send it to us

[Yes, well, that top ten for 1998 list is also not longer available, but it was a close, very close, tie between Arena's The Visitor and Galahad's Following Ghosts, Djam Karet, LTE, and Spock's Beard were also high on the list.]

* PMR was my site Progressive Music Review which became Progressive World - see About for the full history.

Copyright © by ProgressiveWorld.net All Right Reserved.

Published on: 1998-05-18 (2408 reads)