Wild Frank Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 The Prog Thread. Just wondering if there are any Progressive Rock fans out there. I lost contact with the genre recently and wondered if there were any good new bands to pick up on. I love early Genesis, Floyd and also Marillion (Pre and Post Fish). The only 'proggy' band I pick up on these days are 'The Decemberists', whose latest record I am loving a lot. Top five Prog Albums: * Genesis - The lamb Lies Down of Broadway;* Marillion - Clutching At Straws;* Pink Floyd - The Wall;* The Decemberists - The Crane Wife;* Yes - Close To The Edge. There are a British band called 'Archive' which I would recommend. They started out as a trip-hop band but morphed into a prog outfit with twenty minute songs and concept albums. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jff Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 I like a lot of '60s/'70s prog bands: Yes, King Crimson, Focus, Rush, etc. I have several of the Gabriel era Genesis albums, but I haven't spent much time listening to them, so they're still somewhat uncharted territory for me. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jff Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 This might wind up being an unpopular thread. I think there were some prog fans on here before the forum went dark last week. Maybe they haven't come back yet, but hopefully they will and will chime in when they do. Anyway, before I got sidetracked by work I meant to mention in my previous post that a lot (maybe even all) of the current/recent music I've heard which gets described as "prog" or "progressive" has left me cold. To me it feels overly polished and clinical...like it's too well played or too well recorded. Some of these bands include Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree, Tool, and to a lesser extent, and maybe for a different reasons, The Mars Volta. Part of it might have to do with the "loudness wars" in which cds are mastered too loud, which makes complicated and busy music, such as prog, difficult and tiring to listen to. Even Rush fell into this trap with their Vapor Trails cd. Surely one reason I'm not into the newer stuff is because I got into prog when I was a 9th grader learning to play drums, and people like Neil Peart and Bill Bruford were the drum heroes to late '80s high school kids. To hear them, you had to check out Rush and Yes (or King Crimson). Now that I'm pushing 40, despite still enjoying and regularly listening to the '70s bands I'm no longer inspired by displays of extreme technical mastery. If I were a beginning drummer now, I'd probably get most of my inspiration from the likes of Ringo, Al Jackson Jr., and the motown drummers. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 I have listened to Rush and Yes since I was a kid, but I never used the label prog rock. I just call them rock bands. Which is sort of odd I suppose, as I do use other labels - such as metal or whatever. I guess when I was introduced to Rush and Yes, the people that taught me about them did not use the label prog rock. I'm not much of a fan of polished rock music, but I do rather like those the bands I mentioned. I have been on a Moody Blues kick lately, I think they were also called progressive - at least at some point in their career, any how. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
calvino Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 Wasn't there a Prog Rock type thread going on somewhat recently. I did a quick search and came up empty, but I swore there was something similar. (Not saying a new one can't be started) edit: I think I am thinking of this onehttp://forums.viachicago.org/topic/28846-the-genesis-thread/page__hl__Genesis Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Vacant Horizon Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 i had a huge prog kick in the early 2000s. one of my really good friends is a prog freak so he let me borrow everything. EVERYTHING, old and new. favorites remain yes (yes album, fragile, close to the edge, relayer, going for the one), genesis (seconds out), floyd (animals, wish you were here), gentle giant (power and the glory), rush (himispheres). the new stuff is so badly produced. it's like they just love that late 80s sheen production. too bad. flower kings, spocks beard seem to be the big names in prog these days. theres a lot of it, but its so samey and nothing really compelling to my ears. and, produced badly. now, if the first few flower kings albums were produced the way the last few wilco albums were produced, that would be another story. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
intodeep Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 Would you consider Opeth progressive metal? Probably not huh. I like what those guys do though. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hardwood floor Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 I was raised on this stuff. Saw Yes about 20 times, Genesis 15 times, ELP 10 or 12 times, etc. BeBop Deluxe, Gentle Giant, King Crimson, Nektar, etc. The Genesis records especially hold up incredibly well, same with some Yes stuff. I don't listen all that often but when I do i'm always surprised how much I still dig this stuff Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mountain bed Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 I can't recall really hearing the term "prog" until well after the genre had seen its heyday. But I was weaned on the stuff as a teenager in the late '70s. It's still some of the best music ever in my opinion. I'm a freak for real musical chops, so the post- Pepper/pre-punk era remains a steady musical diet for me. One of the things that I find most depressing about the current state of popular music is the lack of real virtuosity in the instrumentation of the tunes. I know someone will bust my balls on that last sentence (and be able to cite specific examples) but by and large there just isn't a whole hell of a lot of extended solos and difficult musical passages to be heard on most easily available media these days. I personally am way more entralled (generally) by things that I know I could never ever in a million years be able to play, as opposed to a song that I could hear and immediately be able to figure out. Nice topic, btw to the OP. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Vacant Horizon Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 I was raised on this stuff. Saw Yes about 20 times, Genesis 15 times, ELP 10 or 12 times, etc. BeBop Deluxe, Gentle Giant, King Crimson, Nektar, etc. The Genesis records especially hold up incredibly well, same with some Yes stuff. I don't listen all that often but when I do i'm always surprised how much I still dig this stuff so isn't the top five prog bands, yes, genesis, floyd, elp, kc...? wish i could get into kc. theyve made some interesting music in the 90s and 00s, but again, bad bad production. Would you consider Opeth progressive metal? Probably not huh. I like what those guys do though. wouldnt they be death metal, or doom? i fund the genres of prog and metal fascinating. symph prog etc. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hardwood floor Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 so isn't the top five prog bands, yes, genesis, floyd, elp, kc...? for me, it's 1) Genesis, 2) Yes, 3) ELP, 4) Starcastle, 5) Nektar but i don't expect many people here to agree with me wish i could get into kc. theyve made some interesting music in the 90s and 00s, but again, bad bad production. other than the very early stuff - court of the crimson king, starless, red - just not interested in king crimson. their later stuff does nothing for me Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jff Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 Lately the KC I've been most into is the somewhat overlooked period between the first lineup and the Bruford/Wetton lineup...Lizard and Islands. There is some great music on those two records. I got to see KC twice on their double trio, Thrak tour, and they were amazing. Then I saw them on the next tour, after Bruford and Tony Levin left the band, and they were pretty pathetic. One of my favorite prog bands that hasn't been mentioned yet on this thread is Soft Machine. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dunnright00 Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 One of my favorite prog bands that hasn't been mentioned yet on this thread is Soft Machine. Reading through this thread I was thinking of two bands that may or may not fit in this category. 1.) Hawkwind (influenced by the metal thread mentioning Motorhead) and 2.) Soft Machine So Hawkwind may be considered more Metal? and Soft Machine more Jazz or fusion? In any case, both were pretty influential in the genre. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 I can't recall really hearing the term "prog" until well after the genre had seen its heyday. But I was weaned on the stuff as a teenager in the late '70s. It's still some of the best music ever in my opinion. I'm a freak for real musical chops, so the post- Pepper/pre-punk era remains a steady musical diet for me. this is a good point and quite true. Back in the day we called much of what is now considered classic rock as "progressive" rock, which is where the term came from. That included Jethro Tull and a whole host of bands like that including Yes, Emerson Lake and Palmer, and King Crimson. Radiohead is a prog group as far as I am concerned. (there are elements of Wilco that could be called prog as well...) Anyone remember Lee Michaels?? LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 I was listening to some Hendrix tracks that Lee Michaels played on earlier today. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mountain bed Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 ...and now we delve into the subgenres within the subgenre.. A lot of Rock (that is, not AM teenybopper fodder, but serious rock LOL) from that little window post-Beatles/pre disco period could be considered "progressive" for the most part. When we think of "prog" we think of the bands that have been mentioned more than once here, but there is a real blurring of distinctions between those bands and other artists mining what would be more descriptively called "Art Rock". For example, I would call KC "progressive", but Roxy "art rock" even though Fripp and Eno collaborated with each other frequently, and were definitely kindred sprits musically. Bowie HAS to be considered a visionary, progressive artist. But he falls more into an "Art" (or "Glam" if you prefer) category for me. And a musician like Jeff Beck - what to make of him? He certainly expanded the vocabulary of electric guitar (therefore "progressive"), but most would call his post Yardbirds stuff "fusion". Even though you find his albums in the Rock bin at the store. I guess what I'm saying here is I'm getting more and more confused as I type. Perhaps even a small headache is coming on.. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Heartbreak Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 I would even consider some of Zappa's stuff to fall loosely into that prog-rock category: highly complex, and difficult enough to play that high caliber musicians were required. There's a little connection to King Crimson and Bowie, too, as Adrian Belew played with FZ and left for Bowie's band, then went (I think) to KC for a while. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PopTodd Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 Iron Maiden. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jff Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 There's a little connection to King Crimson and Bowie, too, as Adrian Belew played with FZ and left for Bowie's band, then went (I think) to KC for a while. A while = 25+ years. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Vacant Horizon Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 okay, so we have, doom metal, which is actually stoner rock. i find that interesting, since doom does not seem linked with getting high. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tinnitus photography Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 okay, so we have, doom metal, which is actually stoner rock. i find that interesting, since doom does not seem linked with getting high. no, i would put stoner rock and doom into different categories. doom is much slower...listen to early melvins for a taste of where that came from. stoner rock is definitely more 'rock' in its execution. back on prog, i think i am gonna go see Van Der Graaf Generator this summer. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jff Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 I'm bumping this thread. I've decided to re-read this, and am now at the 'Lizard/Islands" era. Good read, although I must have a first edition as there are typos all over the place: ...Which has led me to listen to the McDonald and Giles album a couple times over the weekend. You know how every once in a while an album will be annointed as a lost classic? Love's "Forever Changes", the Zombies "Odessey and Oracle", Beach Boys "Smile", etc.? I think McDonald and Giles will one day receive that dubious honor. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Calexico Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 God, some of that King Crimson stuff is so good. Red is a great album from them. Also maybe check out a British band that have been going for a while, Porcupine Tree. Lots of prog influences in their music but still highly accessible and enjoyable. Opeth are another great band but more towards the metal edge than anything else. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mountain bed Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 I'm bumping this thread. I've decided to re-read this, and am now at the 'Lizard/Islands" era. Good read, although I must have a first edition as there are typos all over the place: ...Which has led me to listen to the McDonald and Giles album a couple times over the weekend. You know how every once in a while an album will be annointed as a lost classic? Love's "Forever Changes", the Zombies "Odessey and Oracle", Beach Boys "Smile", etc.? I think McDonald and Giles will one day receive that dubious honor. That book is a really good read. I remember after I read it I emailed the author, telling him how much I dug his scholarship and passion for the music. He actually wrote me back - a VERY nice, long letter. I dunno if he ever got it out, but he did tell me he was working on a bio of Eno. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hardwood floor Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 Red is one of my favorite records ever. First saw Crimson in 1974 with Wetton and it was mindblowing. Fripp lost me from Discipline on, but up through Red, what a mighty band Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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