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List of contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. Progressive Pop in Context
2. New Sounds for a New Decade
3. Progressives in the World of Pop
4. Big Songs and Generational Soundtracks
5. Small ‘P’ Politics
6. The End of an Era
Notes
References
Index
About the author
Andy Bennett is Professor of Cultural Sociology at Griffith University, Australia. He is Co-founder of the British Sociological Association’s Youth Study Group and Faculty Associate of the Center for Cultural Sociology at Yale University, USA. He is the former editor-in-chief of Journal of Sociology and author or editor of Popular Music and Youth Culture: Music, Identity and Place (2000), Cultures of Popular Music (2001), Culture and Everyday Life (2005), Music, Style and Aging (2013) and DIY Cultures and Underground Music Scenes (2018) (edited with Paula Guerra).
Summary
Positioned between the psychedelic and counter-cultural music of the late 1960s and the punk and new wave styles of the late 1970s, early 1970s British popular music is often overlooked in pop music studies of the late 20th century, but it was, in fact, highly diverse with many artists displaying an eclecticism and flair for musical experimentation. 'Progressive pop' artists such as Roxy Music, David Bowie, the early Queen, the Electric Light Orchestra, 10cc and Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel successfully straddled the album and singles markets, producing music that often drew on a variety of different musical styles and traditions. Similarly, such artists often set new benchmarks for songwriting and production, utilizing the full potential of the rapidly expanding studio technology of the era to produce albums of highly diverse material featuring, in some cases, special studio-crafted effects and soundscapes that remain unique to this day.
This book considers the significance of British progressive pop in the early 1970s as a period during which the boundaries between pop and rock were periodically relaxed, providing a platform for musical creativity less confined by genre and branding.
Foreword
Considers the often overlooked significance of early 1970s British pop-rock as a period during which the boundaries between pop and rock uniquely overlapped.
Additional text
If you are one of the people who think that the early 1970s in the UK were a musical wasteland populated by Glam Rockers, Andy Bennett's new book is here to show you otherwise. Bennett creates a new genre, progressive pop, and with insight, panoramic knowledge and panache takes us on a revelatory journey. Focusing on artists as seemingly diverse as Queen and Cockney Rebel, Bennett explains how the progressive pop artists successfully occupied a space between albums and singles. Bennett's book is a triumph of critical synthesis.
