[I sent this to PROG magazine last May; sadly, the magazine chose not to print it.  So, here it is, now safely lodged at Progarchy.–Brad]

May 24, 2012

Dear PROG,

Kudos for yet another brilliant issue (#26). I’m amazed and inspired by the sustained excellence in writing, photography, graphics, and layout. I even like the ads. Every thing in its right place and always accomplished with characteristic British taste, intelligence, and wit.

Having listened to progressive rock for four decades, I am firmly convinced that we are now living in the glory days, built upon the traditions and experiments of the past. Raised on a healthy diet of lyrics by Neil Peart and Mark Hollis, I’m especially taken with the quality of lyric writing in recent years. How can we listen to Big Big Train’s “Underfall Yard,” Gazpacho’s “Dream of Stone,” or Tin Spirits’ “Broken” and not realize that these artists are the heirs not only of Dvorak, Brubeck, and Davis, but also of Coleridge, Wilde, and Eliot?

Yours, Brad Birzer (Hillsdale, Michigan, USA)