The Progressive Underground Volume Five

Contrary to popular belief, progressive rock didn't disappear with the advent of punk, and the lack of media support didn't prevent new bands from forming and new music being created. It is hard to imagine these days, with everyone being permanently connected, but there was a time not long ago when communication was by word of mouth and letter. With no coverage by much of the media, it was down to fanzines and independent magazines to spread the word of what was happening within the progressive rock scene, what was being released, and who was worth going to see in concert. Most of these magazines survived for just a few issues, while others continued for many years, all having their part to play in spreading the word.

One of the most important during this period was 'Feedback'. It initially started as the newsletter of Mensa's Rock Music Special Interest Group in 1988, but when Kev Rowland became secretary in 1990, he determined to turn it into a magazine promoting music which often wasn't being written about in the mainstream press. 'Feedback' soon became one of the key promoters of the underground progressive scene, and Rowland one of the most well-known and popular reviewers. He also became a contributor to 'Rock 'n' Reel', as well as writing for the Ghostland website in the early days of prog on the web.

Rowland collated all his progressive rock reviews and interviews written between 1991 and 2006 into three volumes which have been described by Record Collector and others as "The Bible" while one reviewer called it the "Encyclopaedia Progressivica". It was originally intended to be just one book, but with the word count at more than half a million it was too big, so instead it was decided to break it into easily digestible chunks and include all album artwork. The books have been widely acclaimed, and questions were asked of Rowland as to when the next one in the series would be available? Originally there was never any intention to produce any others as these had captured the time when he was running 'Feedback'. However, even though he moved to the other side of the world and dropped out of the music scene, Rowland did begin writing again in 2008 and was soon as involved as he had previously been in the UK. Also, all his reviews were now saved digitally and did not have to be brought back to life from poorly photocopied fanzines, and he became convinced that it would be worthwhile to continue the series as the music had never stopped.

This led to Volume 4, containing his writings from 2008 to 2013, with all album covers in full colour and cover art again by Martin Springett. Unlike the others in the series, this included the complete alphabet, along with some book and DVD reviews, various artists, and a few interviews. Of course, again questions were soon being asked as to when the next volume would be available and now, we have Volume 5, which starts in 2014 and takes us into 2018. The foreword is by label owner Nick Katona, while the comments on the rear cover are from musicians Steve Bonino and Peter Matuchniak.

Along with the other volumes in the series, this book shines a spotlight onto a scene which is still critically ignored by many and provides information about the music in a constructive manner. It is again possible to discover some great music from wonderful bands, and this should be used as a guide to expand collections and understand that prog rock really didn't die, it just went underground.