Progressive Rock

[TypeO]

Also: best prog album of the 90s, Tool can't hold a fuckin' candle to Cynic's "Focus".

That's a BOLD statement.

And just enough to make me check it out... thanks, muh man!

Anyway, back on topic, my best friend is strong into prog, he goes to "ProgPower" in Atlanta every year. So I get a taste of what it's all about. For me, prog metal has a lot of upside – very melodic, often a delicate balance of power and melody, and often features intricate guitar solos.

The only downside for me is many prog metal bands make me think of Iron Maiden.

Not that that's a bad thing, Maiden is OK with me, but too many with that same style sound gets repetitious fast, just like death/black metal and speed metal with their demon vocals and way-too-fast beats.

One of my favorites is Ark Burn The Sun

It sounds at different times like Ronnie James Dio, David Coverdell, and a little Bruce Dickinson as well (but just a little :lolo:).

HIGHLY recommended.

For old school, I was a huge Yes fan - Going For The One remains one of my favorite songs/albums of all time.

And like many bands, they are divided in my mind as pre-80s Yes and post-80s Yes.

There is no debate about pre-80s Yes. It's all certified legendary.

Post 80s is another matter, but I still love 90215 and Big Generator.

90215 was brutally overplayed, but the bottom line is it was a tremendous album.

City of Love stands out for me as an awesomely pounding groove-jam, with the added bonus of not getting radio play as a single.

Hold On, Changes, and Leave It are awesome, albeit overplayed (at the time) cuts.

Big Generator had Shoot High, Aim Low, my favorite, as well as Love Will Find a Way and Holy Lamb.

I still jam a Yes playlist at work from time to time.

I also have an unnatural tolerance for ELO as well, what can I say.

Showdown, Can't Get It Out Of My Head, Livin' Thing, Telephone Line, Don't Bring Me Down stand out.

Shutting up now...

[zosodude13]

I also have an unnatural tolerance for ELO as well, what can I say.

Showdown, Can't Get It Out Of My Head, Livin' Thing, Telephone Line, Don't Bring Me Down stand out.

Shutting up now...

Speaking of an ELO type prog band, anyone have any recommendations on Supertramp, specifically the album Crime of the Century?

[ZeppFanForever]

Speaking of an ELO type prog band, anyone have any recommendations on Supertramp, specifically the album Crime of the Century?

How's it going "zosodude13?" In my opinion, SUPERTRAMP'S CRIME OF THE CENTURY album is one of the band's top 2 best albums (The other album is BREAKFAST IN AMERICA.) that they ever recorded. Songs such as "School," "Bloody Well Right," "Dreamer," "If Everyone Was Listening" and "Crime Of the Century" to name a few, are a true testament of SUPERTRAMP at their absolute best. Also check out SUPERTRAMP'S BREAKFAST IN AMERICA album if you haven't done so yet, that is another great SUPERTRAMP album. ROCK ON!

[TypeO]

Also: best prog album of the 90s, Tool can't hold a fuckin' candle to Cynic's "Focus".

I gave it probably 4 or 5 full listens today at work, and it's not bad.

But I just can't sign off on the "Tool can't hold a candle" to them.

Still, not a bad album at all.

I'll definitely continue to listen to it.

[~tangerine~]

I have always loved a few Progressive Rock artists. I guess if you classify ELO and Supertramp in that genre, they were the first i listened to when i was age 10. I considered them pop/rock. Pink Floyd were my first true Progressive rock love. I found Pink Floyd at the same time i discovered Led Zeppelin. To me it was heavy rock.... but Pink Floyd do get ranked high on Progressive rock artists lists, so i will include them. Genesis are one of my top 5 all time favorite bands.... I still love YES (saw them 7 between 1979 - 1989). Other favorites include: Traffic, The Moody Blues, King Crimson, Peter Gabriel, Jethro Tull... i also like some classical music

Bigdan, the progressive artists aren't too intelligent for you i know you can hold your own!

[ninelives]

I have always loved a few Progressive Rock artists. I guess if you classify ELO and Supertramp in that genre, they were the first i listened to when i was age 10. I considered them pop/rock. Pink Floyd were my first true Progressive rock love. I found Pink Floyd at the same time i discovered Led Zeppelin. To me it was heavy rock.... but Pink Floyd do get ranked high on Progressive rock artists lists, so i will include them. Genesis are one of my top 5 all time favorite bands.... I still love YES (saw them 7 between 1979 - 1989). Other favorites include: Traffic, The Moody Blues, King Crimson, Peter Gabriel, Jethro Tull... i also like some classical music

Bigdan, the progressive artists aren't too intelligent for you i know you can hold your own!

I never really thought of ELO, Supertramp, Traffic or Tull as prog rock. Gabriel I would say possibly in his very early days but later on I think he moved into a very different direction. I think of bands like ELP, Renaissance, Floyd, Yes, early Genesis etc. more when I think of the term prog rock

[TypeO]

I never really thought of ELO, Supertramp, Traffic or Tull as prog rock. Gabriel I would say possibly in his very early days but later on I think he moved into a very different direction. I think of bands like ELP, Renaissance, Floyd, Yes, early Genesis etc. more when I think of the term prog rock

I kinda question how much old school prog rock and prog metal have in common, since prog metal seems to have evolved from 80s metal like Iron Maiden and speed/thrash metal.

In fact, I'm a little unsure of the OPs intent, or if the intent was to consider both.

I've kinda covered both in my replies, I guess.

[BIGDAN]

Bigdan, the progressive artists aren't too intelligent for you i know you can hold your own!

"Hold me own", only when my "Man Servant" has the day off.

Hi Tangerine, glad to see you.

Thats just my idea of fan, but in the days of my youth when it all began, Prog Rock Guys in my part of town turned their noses up at Blues Rock Groups like Led Zeppelin, these were the Guys who were going to Uni, like my brother, noses up their asses in my opinion.

You have to remember, in England we had a lot of snobbery amongst the working class then, still do, everyone seems to want to be Middle Class, Working Classs Values are almost forgotten, and this was their jibe at mostly Working Class Bands that played Blues Rock.

Here's a little ditty i would like to sing them, sung to the the theme of "The International"

The Middle Class can kiss my arse,

I've got the foremans' job at last.

I'm out of work and on the dole,

You can stuff the red flag up your hole.

'Twas on Gibraltors rocks so fair,

I saw a maiden lying there,

And as she lay in sweet repose,

A puff of wind blew up her clothes.

A sailor who was passing by,

Tipped his hat and winked his eye,

And then he saw to his despair,

She had the red flag flying there.

Regards, Danny

PS. As for being inteligent, i look at it this way,

Being Inteligent in the Good Old Days of the East End means "Not Getting Caught" right? So therefor i'm from a People with a long History of Being Transported to the Colonies when they did get caught, right? And because i'm still here, living in London, that means my ancestors didnt get caught and Transported, right? So that makes me, because of my inherited genes, far more Inteligent that any of your Aussie, Yankee, Canadian, New Zealander, or South African's that were, dun it?

[~tangerine~]

I never really thought of ELO, Supertramp, Traffic or Tull as prog rock. Gabriel I would say possibly in his very early days but later on I think he moved into a very different direction. I think of bands like ELP, Renaissance, Floyd, Yes, early Genesis etc. more when I think of the term prog rock

I remember this topic a while ago and so at the time i looked into what bands are considered Progressive Rock and what meaning is given to the genre. This is one site that lists them:

http://digitaldreamdoor.nutsie.com/pages/b...rtistsprog.html

I think that some artists, like Peter Gabriel (even Genesis with their "Invisible Touch" album and later) changed their style. The Beatles even get a mention

Edited June 20, 2009 by ~tangerine~

[~tangerine~]

"Hold me own", only when my "Man Servant" has the day off.

Hi Tangerine, glad to see you.

Thats just my idea of fan, but in the days of my youth when it all began, Prog Rock Guys in my part of town turned their noses up at Blues Rock Groups like Led Zeppelin, these were the Guys who were going to Uni, like my brother, noses up their asses in my opinion.

You have to remember, in England we had a lot of snobbery amongst the working class then, still do, everyone seems to want to be Middle Class, Working Classs Values are almost forgotten, and this was their jibe at mostly Working Class Bands that played Blues Rock.

Here's a little ditty i would like to sing them, sung to the the theme of "The International"

The Middle Class can kiss my arse,

I've got the foremans' job at last.

I'm out of work and on the dole,

You can stuff the red flag up your hole.

'Twas on Gibraltors rocks so fair,

I saw a maiden lying there,

And as she lay in sweet repose,

A puff of wind blew up her clothes.

A sailor who was passing by,

Tipped his hat and winked his eye,

And then he saw to his despair,

She had the red flag flying there.

Regards, Danny

PS. As for being inteligent, i look at it this way,

Being Inteligent in the Good Old Days of the East End means "Not Getting Caught" right? So therefor i'm from a People with a long History of Being Transported to the Colonies when they did get caught, right? And because i'm still here, living in London, that means my ancestors didnt get caught and Transported, right? So that makes me, because of my inherited genes, far more Inteligent that any of your Aussie, Yankee, Canadian, New Zealander, or South African's that were, dun it?

Hi Danny, Very interesting. I can see your point of view. Growing up in Philadelphia, PA, i am glad i didn't have the same problem with bands like Genesis and YES. Their music was very influential on my teenage years and i still love it today. The nice thing was, FM radio in the late 70's, when i became a fan, would play all the Progressive bands with the Rock bands, and you didn't know there was any difference ... i don't recall when i first heard the term "Progressive" to see that Genesis would be categorized differently than Led Zeppelin, but it wasn't more than a few years ago that i became aware of this.

We all know, you are one of the smarties around here for certain!

[ninelives]

I remember this topic a while ago and so at the time i looked into what bands are considered Progressive Rock and what meaning is given to the genre. This is one site that lists them:

http://digitaldreamdoor.nutsie.com/pages/b...rtistsprog.html

I think that some artists, like Peter Gabriel (even Genesis with their "Invisible Touch" album and later) changed their style. The Beatles even get a mention

Thanks for posting the link. Interesting list - some I don't get but most I can see. I guess it's all in the interpretation.

[zosodude13]

I remember this topic a while ago and so at the time i looked into what bands are considered Progressive Rock and what meaning is given to the genre. This is one site that lists them:

http://digitaldreamdoor.nutsie.com/pages/b...rtistsprog.html

I think that some artists, like Peter Gabriel (even Genesis with their "Invisible Touch" album and later) changed their style. The Beatles even get a mention

I love digital dream door!!! It's a great site and it's a great list.

I guess progressive rock begins with adding jazz and classical influences, at least thats the trend I've noticed in those bands. Look at "21st century schizoid man" it's obviously jazz influenced and procol harum's "a whiter shade of pale" is based off a piece of work by Bach. I also look at the instruments. Some bands used a violin or a flute or something from the orchestra in a song as a added layer. But when bands like the Moody Blues featured a whole orchestra for a whole album on "days of future passed", it was a milestone in progressive rock.

I don't know if that defines progressive rock, but looking at what made the music different when it came out may help.

[ninelives]

I love digital dream door!!! It's a great site and it's a great list.

I guess progressive rock begins with adding jazz and classical influences, at least thats the trend I've noticed in those bands. Look at "21st century schizoid man" it's obviously jazz influenced and procol harum's "a whiter shade of pale" is based off a piece of work by Bach. I also look at the instruments. Some bands used a violin or a flute or something from the orchestra in a song as a added layer. But when bands like the Moody Blues featured a whole orchestra for a whole album on "days of future passed", it was a milestone in progressive rock.

I don't know if that defines progressive rock, but looking at what made the music different when it came out may help.

I think of what you're saying to a point as what makes music prog rock. To me it's always been for lack of a better word, very synth rich, lush if you will - extended jams, very produced in the vein of ELP, Yes etc.

[zosodude13]

I think of what you're saying to a point as what makes music prog rock. To me it's always been for lack of a better word, very synth rich, lush if you will - extended jams, very produced in the vein of ELP, Yes etc.

I agree with that too. Progressive rock had always been very rich, with many layers and details; as you said, lush is a great way to discribe it.

[Tristan]

Peter Hammill's Van der Graaf Generator,

"Man-Erg", "Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers"

i like the drum playing a lot, though Peter's wide tonal range, and lyrical depth are most appreciated

[zosodude13]

Peter Hammill's Van der Graaf Generator,

"Man-Erg", "Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers"

i like the drum playing a lot, though Peter's wide tonal range, and lyrical depth are most appreciated

huge VDGG fan! I only have the first 3 albums, but from what I know, I'm not sure if I would be interested in the talking heads-esque later albums the quite zone/pleasure dome and god bluff

and Peter Hammill's voice is one of the best in prog... he shines in songs like killer, which may be my 2nd favorite prog song next to 21st century schizoid man

Edited June 21, 2009 by zosodude13

[Aquamarine]

All of your jazz fusion artists (Miles Davis, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report, Traffic, Chicago......) all contributed to the development of rock. As much as blues and 'simple' punk rock did.

I have a punk rock album as my avatar and a tribute to a prog band in my signature. both shaped rock as much as the other.

Miles is jazz fusion???

[zosodude13]

Miles is jazz fusion???

To a degree.......

Bitches Brew and In a Silent Way have been discribed as fusion albums with some rock influence; compared to Kind of Blue and Sketches of Spain.

Those are the only albums I've heard by him so far so I don't know about any other albums he did. But in the late 60's and early 70's there was more if a rock influence in his work.

Edited June 21, 2009 by zosodude13

[greenman]

Theres the odd track I enjoy(I Talk To The Wind, Lady Fantasy, Aqualung, Fanfair for the Common Man etc) but overall I'm inclined to agree with BIGDAN. Ultimately prog rock wasnt really worthy of its name since it was largely a evolutionary dead end bar a few niche revivalists.

I wouldnt say that Pink Floyd fit into the modern narrow definition of Prog either bar maybe parts of Atom Heart Mother(the title track) and Ummagumma(the studio disk). For me the Floyd started off playing the kind of deconstrcuted rock that along with the Velvets gave rise to Krautrock(the truely proggressive/influential rock of the 70's IMHO) then moved onto atmospheric blues rock with a hint of jazz.

To me post rock bands like Talk Talk, Bark Psychosis, God Speed You Black Emporer etc do what the prog bands of the 70's were claiming to(mixing rock with classicial and jazz to produce "high" art) but far better being unburdened with needless and tastless virtuosity.

[ninelives]

To a degree.......

Bitches Brew and In a Silent Way have been discribed as fusion albums with some rock influence; compared to Kind of Blue and Sketches of Spain.

Those are the only albums I've heard by him so far so I don't know about any other albums he did. But in the late 60's and early 70's there was more if a rock influence in his work.

To me, Miles' early recordings were cool Jazz but then by Bitches Brew, he moved into fusion. I've sort of thought of him as the forefather of the movement even though compared to other artists such as John McLaughlin, Jean Luc Ponty etc., he had a lot more of a traditional jazz sound than they did.

[dazedcat]

Somebody mentioned Mahavishnu Orchestra on page two. I agree with that one.

Here's another great fusion band: Return To Forever. Listen to "Romantic Warrior"; it's jazz, it's rock, it's funk, hell it's even prog in certain spots.

RTF was one of the truly great bands from any era.

Regards;

[zosodude13]

Somebody mentioned Mahavishnu Orchestra on page two. I agree with that one.

Here's another great fusion band: Return To Forever. Listen to "Romantic Warrior"; it's jazz, it's rock, it's funk, hell it's even prog in certain spots.

RTF was one of the truly great bands from any era.

Regards;

I like Mahavishnu Orchestra. Have you listened to Soft Machine?

[ninelives]

Somebody mentioned Mahavishnu Orchestra on page two. I agree with that one.

Here's another great fusion band: Return To Forever. Listen to "Romantic Warrior"; it's jazz, it's rock, it's funk, hell it's even prog in certain spots.

RTF was one of the truly great bands from any era.

Regards;

Mahavishnu and Return to Forever are fantastic groups! I also like Chick Corea on his own and have seen him live. I'd also add Al DiMeola and Pat Metheny to the list. I like Jean Luc Ponty a lot too but sometimes his music is a bit too over produced and almost pop sounding for my taste.

[Jarlaxle 56]

I like Mahavishnu Orchestra. Have you listened to Soft Machine?

I don't know about him, but I have a copy of the remastered special edition of "Third". I like it very much, I'm going to check out their other albums in the future.

Edited June 21, 2009 by Jarlaxle 56

[~tangerine~]

Mahavishnu and Return to Forever are fantastic groups! I also like Chick Corea on his own and have seen him live. I'd also add Al DiMeola and Pat Metheny to the list. I like Jean Luc Ponty a lot too but sometimes his music is a bit too over produced and almost pop sounding for my taste.

I had a boyfriend in the late eighties who loved all the New Age Jazz (another term, lol) and we saw Pat Metheny Band 7, maybe 8 times. We also saw Jean Luc Ponty, Spyro Gyra (maybe 10 times) and a pianist i loved, David Lanz, to name a few. Very relaxing music to me.

Edited June 22, 2009 by ~tangerine~