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No future?
What will the future of prog look like, assuming there's still life on earth...?

garethsprogblog
Sep 5, 20177 min read


The perfect length
I’ve just ripped a rather large pile of my wife’s CDs to mp3 for her which according to the categories ascribed by Windows Media Player...

garethsprogblog
Jul 11, 20176 min read


A ProgBlog guide to Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace was originally built in Hyde Park for the first World Exposition in 1851, a structure designed to be temporary with...

garethsprogblog
Apr 29, 20177 min read


John Wetton
I bought myself a bass guitar shortly after my 18th birthday, a Fender Precision copy with a sunburst finish and no manufacturer’s...

garethsprogblog
Feb 4, 20177 min read


Lake district
If we accept that the progressive rock genre started in 1969 and proto prog has been around since 1967 it’s hardly surprising that, given...

garethsprogblog
Dec 10, 20165 min read


Polarised
Ten years ago I was sitting in an MBA tutor group, discussing the pharmaceutical industry when I casually announced my belief that the...

garethsprogblog
Dec 4, 20165 min read


Strange but true
I visited the You Say You Want a Revolution? Records and Rebels 1966 - 1970 exhibition at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum in November...

garethsprogblog
Nov 5, 20165 min read


Peru
Machu Picchu Ever since Tales from Topographic Oceans was released in 1973, I’ve been entranced by not just the music, but also by the...

garethsprogblog
Oct 15, 20166 min read


Solo
Sometime in July my wife forwarded me an Amazon recommendation, Peter Hammill and the K Group Live At Rockpalast – Hamburg 1981, a DVD...

garethsprogblog
Aug 27, 20166 min read


Should I stay or should I go?
Anti-Brexit demonstration (Photo: Wix) I remember the UK joining the EEC in 1973 better than I remember the last time the UK took part in...

garethsprogblog
Jun 11, 20167 min read


What does it say on the label?
Getting into music in 1972 meant that I may have missed out on records released on some of the early, innovative imprints like Decca’s...

garethsprogblog
Jun 4, 20167 min read


Get 'em out by Friday
Paul Whitehead's cover illustration for Foxtrot (1972) Though Get ‘em out by Friday (from Foxtrot by Genesis, 1972) was a piece of social...

garethsprogblog
Apr 30, 20166 min read


The Fender Rhodes
The desire for the authentic sounds of the 70s harboured by some modern prog bands has led to a quiet revolution in digital samples. The...

garethsprogblog
Apr 25, 20165 min read


Keith Emerson
Already 2016 seems to have been blighted by more high-profile musician deaths than previous years. I was still reading articles about Sir...

garethsprogblog
Mar 12, 20166 min read


Automobiles
If musical genres were modes of transportation, prog would be some form of public transport and Italian prog would be a tram!

garethsprogblog
Feb 13, 20169 min read


Single
I’ve now set up my new Rega RP3 and have started to put on vinyl in preference to my somewhat larger collection of CDs. My first record...

garethsprogblog
Dec 5, 20156 min read


Come on the Amazing Journey, and Learn All You Should Know
(A guest blog by Mike Chavez) The scene: a dimly lit village hall around 7pm in a small town in rural Wiltshire. A group of middle-aged...

garethsprogblog
Nov 28, 20155 min read


Liberté, égalité, fraternité
My thoughts go out to the families of the victims of Friday’s terrorist attacks in France (13/11/15). Such a cowardly and brutal attack...

garethsprogblog
Nov 15, 20154 min read


Building utopia with prog
I was offered, and accepted, a new job this week. My rolling post-retirement contract with the private organisation that was drafted in...

garethsprogblog
Sep 12, 20155 min read


Chris Squire
Chris Squire died on 27th June 2015. He was being treated for Acute Erythroid Leukaemia in Phoenix, Arizona. A true giant of the bass,...

garethsprogblog
Jul 4, 20155 min read
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