Ed’s Letter

Hello, and welcome to the new issue of Prog. I hope this finds you well and perhaps excited about the possibility of a return of live music in some form as restrictions gradually ease. I know we here at Prog most definitely are! It seems astonishing to think that 50 years ago, in February 1971, five men released the first of two albums that have both gone on to be considered classics of the progressive rock genre: The Yes Album, followed by Fragile a mere nine months later. Between them, they contain Yours Is No Disgrace, Starship Trooper, I’ve Seen All Good People, Heart Of The Sunrise, Roundabout, Long Distance Runaround. I could go on…

What an astonishing burst of creativity from a group of men in their early 20s, the likes of which is almost unheard of today. It was one that they would further embellish with Close To The Edge, Tales From Topographic Oceans and Relayer as well.

In this issue we discuss the making of Yes’ 1971 studio recordings with Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman, Tony Kaye and Bill Bruford, as well as album cover artists Phil Franks and Roger Dean. It was, as they all say, an amazing time for thoughtfully created rock music. I hope you enjoy our coverage – and the unique Roger Dean art prints that come with this issue too.

There’s also the return of modern prodigies Liquid Tension Experiment after 22 years, Michael Sadler reflects on the career of Canadian prog rockers Saga, and we keep up to speed with the modern day progressive scene with interviews from Anneke van Giersbergen, Rain, The Anchoress, Soen, Jane Weaver, Plini, Wheel, Cobalt Chapel and more. And congratulations to postrockers Mogwai, also in this issue, for scoring their first ever UK No.1 album with As The Love Continues.

Finally, a reminder that to access your free 116-page Pink Floyd eBook, you need to type the bit.ly link into the address bar of your web browser. Enjoy, and until next time, prog on!

Jerry Ewing – Editor