As I noted in my last posting, "Cover of the Rolling Stone" was a devastating satire on rock of that era.   And there was a reason. Shel and Dr Hook knew what they were doing-- overblown pretentious rock was perhaps the dominant feature of the scene at that point (1973, approximately.)

And the real plague started with Sgt. Pepper. (Though I'm also not a big fan of the backwards loops, and other technological "creativity" in Rubber
Soul either).   There's nothing wrong with sitar and other actual instruments--Norwegian Wood is an excellent use, as I recall. And Rubber Soul has some absolutely wonderful songs. Sgt Pepper has far fewer.   "Fixing a Hole", "Good Morning", "Within You Without You", "She's Leaving Home", all have very weak melodies, if any.

Geschmacksache (matter of taste), obviously.

But Led Zeppelin, (except Stairway, which has a discernible melody), Cream, ELP, Genesis, Hendrix, Yes, all leave me totally cold. I'm not in the least impressed by pyrotechnics in rock. (Just like I'm not smitten with bluegrass virtuosi who think the person who gets to the end of the song first wins.)   The apocryphal comment on Mozart, which does not fit Mozart, does fit every one of these in my judgment--too many notes.

If I want pyrotechnics in music I can easily go to Rimsky-Korsakov, Wagner overtures, Verdi overtures, Orff (Carmina) etc. Making a guitar scream and moan can't hold a candle to these and other real composers, as far as I'm concerned--even for color and spectacular effects.

Maybe it's because I'm actually far more vocally and harmonically oriented--and even more towards co-operation in music rather than showing off.   Being in a good group singing the Brahms Requiem, or Tallis Lamentations etc, for instance is an unearthly experience.   I never found Hendrix, Cream etc, to be anything of the kind.

And by the way, I would not lump Santana in with the rest--Latin influence makes a huge difference and Santana has more atmosphere than the rest of the above rock groups can dream of. Also, the Band (Big Pink) is great stuff--and actually down to earth and singable--which makes a huge difference.

If the author dates the onset of serious hardening of the arteries in rock to Sgt Pepper, I think he's on solid ground.