Show That Never Ends The Rise & Fall of Prog Rock

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"Are you ready to prog rock and roll?!!"-Probably never said by anybody. Songs written in 8/12 time and obscure key signatures, concept albums, ridiculous song titles ("Karn Evil 9: First Impression"), keyboard solos lasting for days, songs lasting for weeks-these are the hallmarks of progressive rock, a genre that thrived in the 1970s and was reviled by many critics and rock fans. Washington Post writer David Weigel thinks this is unfair and sets out to both tell the story and make a case for this much maligned genre. I approached this book as a fan of music books, rather than a fan of prog rock, which I don't have, but certainly have a limited interest in. His defense is that this bands, which include ELP, Yes, Genesis, Rush, and King Crimson, were musical virtuous who dealt in big themes, expanded the boundaries of rock, and worked on an epic canvas. Its detractors find the music pretentious, self-important, and, worst of all, boring. King Crimson probably gets an inordinate amount of space because it's the most respected of the lot (Kanye sampled them!) and Robert Fripp is the most important guitarist in the genre. Weigel writes as a fan, and I wish he'd been a little more critical, as well as willing to explore why almost all of the musicians and fans are white and male. Of the bands, Rush has finally earned some cred and you might want to see the documentary "Beyond the Lighted Stage." Set your keyboards on snooze.