Ian Anderson
Jon Anderson
Greg Lake
John Wetton
Peter Gabriel
Adrian Belew
Phil Collins
Roger Waters
David Gilmour
Geddy Lee
Justin Hayward
Gary Brooker
Syd Barrett
Other (name)
I left off some names that could have been included. Roger Daltry, for example. The Who were prog in my opinion but most see them as classic rock. (Same with Townshend, who was kind of a co-frontman.) I don’t consider Queen prog at all, so no Freddy on the poll. And just because Kiss recorded a rock opera they still suck imo.
I’d say that Greg Lake had the best voice by far. Peter Gabriel was the ultimate prog frontman (and evolved into one of rock’s greatest songwriters), even though some find him too obscure.
Regardless of what any critics say, Phil Collins does belong on the list and deserves consideration as one of the best. The first four Genesis albums with Collins as singer are simply classic (A Trick Of The Tail, Wind & Wuthering, And Then There Were Three, Duke), and Phil evolved into an incredible musical force. His voice on those four albums is beautiful and his drumming defied nature. And how cool is it for the frontman to also be one of rock’s greatest drummers. Go ahead and hate Sussudio if you must, but don’t deny that Phil Collins was an incredible frontman in one of the best bands in music history.
I think you have the list in the right order, at least as regards the first entry. Many of the rest produced great music, but in my book to be a prog frontman you need to be weird and Mr Anderson is truly weird.
Robert Wyatt. Certainly the most imaginative songwriter and lyricist of the genre, and one willing to push the envelope of the genre more than anyone else other than his bandmates.
I am not a Prog guy, so I ask as someone from the outside looking in: you don’t list them, but comment on them - Freddie Mercury or Roger Daltrey are even being considered…hunh?
I don’t think of prog frontmen doing…what to call it…“big selling” - Freddie’s over the top crowd gestures at Wembley; Daltrey’s big motions.
When I think of a prog frontman selling the band and music - something any great frontman must do - I think they do it via costumes, storytelling, technical excellence, etc. - i.e., via cerebral, cool things - not frenzied, rock-cut-loose huge moves.
I would be interested how you think about this if you are a prog fan.
From the list, I would have to go with Peter Gabriel. But then again, I went from liking him to deeply respecting him when he left Genesis and started working on his solo stuff and incorporating world music into his music…
Has to be Ian Anderson for me, I like “the Tull” they aren’t my favourite but I have to bow to Mr. Anderson as a prog rock icon. A filthy, bearded, smelly flute playing jester-scarecrow of an icon. Strange that he looks about 20 times better today than he ever did in his prime.
Just with the short list you have there it shows the wide range of music that could be considered prog. I would but James LaBrie on the list too so you can add some prog metal. I love his voice.
My favorite on the list is Ian Anderson, though I never thought of Jethro Tull as prog. A quick search assures me that everybody else does. Live and learn.
I’m going to cast my vote for Claudio Sanchez of Coheed & Cambria because, well, they are my favorite band. I like the guitar work that he and Travis do, he has a pretty unique voice/ singing style, and he’s created a pretty cool world with his lyrics that in (in my mind) are just vague enough for the listener to make his own interpretations of how the story is progressing, yet there is still a pretty coherent narrative…
Or… They rock, and he’s the cool dude out front with the awesome hair
I’ve gotta go with Peter Gabriel. His time in Genesis and his stage antics in his solo career to me define what it means to be a prog frontman: arty, intelligent, offbeat, creative and trying to make a meaningful statement with his performance.
I do think of The Who as prog for several reasons.
The musicianship of Entwistle/Moon equals anything Yes or King Crimsom had. In fact, I’d say that John Entwistle my be the greatest rock bassist ever. No drummer has ever been able to duplicate what Moon did. Bonham, Palmer, Peart, etc., are technically more talented drummers but they never matched Moon in other areas.
The Who recorded two rock operas. Tommy is considered one of the most important albums in rock’s evolution and played a huge role in the development of prog. Bands like Genesis, Rush, and King Crimson all say they knew the bar had been raised when Tommy came out. Quadrophenia is in the Holy Trinity of rock operas (along with The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway and The Wall). It’s also one of rock’s most brilliant albums.
By the early '70s, Pete Townshend’s songwriting skills had become incredibly sophisticated. He was no longer writing simple pop songs. He was using odd time signatures, complex song structures, and quirky lyrics. The Who By Numbers (an often overlooked album) has incredibly sophisticated music on it. Who Are You is an overlooked masterpiece (probably because Moon was in such bad shape at the time and the album is overshadowed by the title track). Guitar and Pen is an opera inspired classic that never gets radio play. Love is Coming Down is a tearful ending to a beautiful album. Who Are You qualifies a prog album in my book because of its complexity and sophistication. It’s really a prog album disguised as a classic rock album
The Who’s music was simply complex, sophisticated, inspired, and intelligent enough to be considered at least somewhat prog.
Queen I never got. They seemed more like a glam rock band to me.
Thank you everyone for not turning this into a “Phil Collins Sucks” thread.
They’re not the best singers of the bunch (Justin Hayward is my favorite singer on the list), but I’d put Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins and Ian Anderson at the top because they’re all such great showmen.
Especially Gabriel- the show he did at the Forest Hills Tennis Stadium in 1983 is still my favorite concert ever.
To be a great frontman, you have to be more than just a strong singer- you have to have some charisma, some stage presence. Most of the singers on the list don’t have inordinate amounts of that.
The reason Anderson and Gabriel are the best, IMHO, is that they have something that other prog rockers lack: authenticity. Prog’s biggest problem is its perceived overcalculation; they manage to counter this with genuine passion and spontaneity (and in Anderson’s case, sheer insanity). In other words, they bring the rock n’roll to prog rock.
I’ve always hated seeing Rush labeled as ‘prog’. It always seems a way to lazily define the band by one facet of their career. Toss in the fact that their stage show has usually been pretty minimalist with props (though a lot of backscreen…which they always said was needed because the three of them are very busy onstage) and it never made sense.
Of what I would call prog I’d be comfortable with Peter Gabriel. He sure likes the petty showmanship, though I’d say the entire band goose stepping the one time I saw them just seemed dumb.
From the list I guess I’d go with Ian Anderson. He held my attention more than any of the others in the list that I’ve seen, although Gabriel in Genesis came close.
But I’d much rather go see Peter Hammill again, with or without Van Der Graaf!*
This is him with the slimmed down VDGG trio in 2007 and this is him with the ‘classic’ line-up in 1972
And, of course, the top prog frontwoman must be Sonja Kristina!
Here’s Curved Air in 1971
