# Progressive Rock... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 3, 2002, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/progressive-rock/130612 "2002-10-03T00:14:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ZooMetropolis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e480ec/32.png) [@ZooMetropolis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZooMetropolis)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2002, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/progressive-rock/130612/1 "2002-10-03T00:14:09Z")
I’ve been in a Progressive wave the last year and I have to say that is great. I heard _Spock’s Beard - The Light_, and I think this is an excellent band. Has anyone got the chance to get their new album? How is it? Another band that gets my attention is **Rush** , and an excellent band that qualifies better as Progressive Metal is **Dream Theater**. I’m familiar with **The Flower Kings** and **Transatlantic** too, and I would like to hear some other bands. Any suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![benlormat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d26b3c/32.png) [@benlormat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/benlormat)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2002, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/progressive-rock/130612/2 "2002-10-03T03:14:49Z")
There’s many good prog rock groups. I’m sure you recognize most of the following: Camel Emerson Lake & Palmer Genesis Gentle Giant King Crimson Alan Parsons Pink Floyd Supertramp Yes and there’s my favorite: Triumvirat If EMI ever gets off their corporate ass and releases the remasters of this group, I would recommend you get : Spartacus, Illusions on a Double Dimple, Old Loves Die Hard, Pompeii, and A la Carte. Each album is worth every overpriced dollar they charge you. Also, for a more complete list of prog groups check out [this site](http://www.progarchives.com/). ben ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2002, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/progressive-rock/130612/3 "2002-10-03T04:50:43Z")
Marillion, PERHAPS Jethro Tull ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2002, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/progressive-rock/130612/4 "2002-10-03T05:10:19Z")
Queen had progressive leanings from time to time. ---
**Author:** ![thermalribbon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@thermalribbon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thermalribbon)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2002, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/progressive-rock/130612/5 "2002-10-03T15:53:56Z")
I do, really, I hate the stuff. But, uber-conservative that I am, while perusing [National Review Online](http://http://www.nationalreview.com/) , I came across this article about [Prog Rock in General and Spock’s Beard in Specific!](http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-karnick100102.asp) . Read it and enjoy! ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2002, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/progressive-rock/130612/6 "2002-10-03T16:19:52Z")
Well, I’m nearly out of my Prog-rock era … Genesis, Marillion, King Crimson were my poisons back in the day. Still drag out some Gabriel-era Genesis about once a year. Pick up every Gabriel-era Genesis for some good listenin’. There’s also Fish, the former lead singer of Marillion. He can be a bit heavy-handed at times, though. Marillion’s best album (with Fish): Misplaced Childhood. Marillion’s best album (with Steve Hogarth singing): Brave. Jethro Tull’s “Thick as a Brick” is a classic. Definitely get “Discipline” by King Crimson. A recent American band was/is Echolyn (they keep giving up and reforming again) and their spin-off group Always Almost/Still (started out as Still, then realized the name was taken. sad). Their stuff can be kind of hokey and derivative, but I still like listening to it. Prog bands to avoid like the plague, IMO: -Pallas -IQ -Finneus Gauge (another Echolyn spin-off) ---
**Author:** ![Dryga\_Yes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@Dryga\_Yes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dryga_Yes)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2002, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/progressive-rock/130612/7 "2002-10-03T22:36:46Z")
Prog rock was a music genre. As most music genres, it spawned some excellent stuff and metric tons of awful stuff. I like some prog rock bands (krautrock owns you, bitch). Mostly the ones who don’t consider themselves “more artistically mature” than every other band at the time because they can play in 7/8 and they use a symphonic orchestra, overdubbed guitars and fifteen remotely controlled mellotrons. For 14 minutes. There’s nothing wrong with complex music, but when complexity becomes a goal in and out of itself you can usually tell. I think prog generally works best when it’s being incorporated into an other genre, whether it’s Meshuggah playing raw metal riffs in 13/16, Radiohead’s textured rock sounds, Sonic Youth’s extended noise jams or Tortoise’s post-rockish electronica. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2002, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/progressive-rock/130612/8 "2002-10-04T01:28:04Z")
I have a soft spot for “Eldorado” by _Electric Light Orchestra_. They aren’t exactly a prog rock band, but this album surely was. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2002, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/progressive-rock/130612/9 "2002-10-04T02:33:21Z")
You do know that in any thread regarding progressive rock, all posts must take at least 12 minutes to read, right? 🙂 Spock’s Beard doesn’t have all the prog rock cliches – you know, overly symphonic tunes about wizards and other medieval crap – which is why I find them to be an anjoyable band. Same thing with Rush and Dream Theater. Other good bands to check out are Ayreon and Porcupine Tree, often mentioned in the same breath as Spock’s Beard. If Ozric Tentacles isn’t the ultimate prog rock band name, I don’t know what is. ---
**Author:** ![grendel72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/91b2a8/32.png) [@grendel72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grendel72)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2002, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/progressive-rock/130612/10 "2002-10-04T02:41:33Z")
When I think prog-rock, I think of those bands that invariably had album cover art by Roger Dean and I usually couldn’t stand them… but if **Tortoise** is prog-rock, I guess I’m all about that. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2002, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/progressive-rock/130612/11 "2002-10-04T03:21:15Z")
I was a fan of what you’re calling “progressive rock,” though when the bands you describe were playing, it was called “art rock.” (“Progressive Rock” was a radio format and included anything that wasn’t top 40 – what might now be called “alternative” plus anything a little quirky. It was back when DJs chose the playlists, not marketing executives. But I digress.) Groups like Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Renaissance (not the one you’re thinking of), Rick Wakeman, Yes, Soft Machine (criminally overlooked, and one of the best of the genre), Macdonald and Giles, Procol Harum, and The Moody Blues put out some first-class music and it was too bad the genre died. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2002, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/progressive-rock/130612/12 "2002-10-04T04:15:09Z")
I lived and breathed progressive rock … Many great ones have been mentioned above: ( **King Crimson** , **MacDonald and Giles** , **Triumverate** (although the vocalist’s accent is a _bit_ hard to take, and of course **Pinkfloyd** ). Some not yet mentioned: **Gryphon** (especially _Red Queen to Gryphon Three_) **Eloi** **Vangelis** (before Chariots of Fire) **Strawbs** **Barclay James Havest** **Tangerine Dream** (hybrid of progressive and electronic) I would also include **Mike Oldfield** and the absolutely amazing, superb **Robert Wyatt** (especially _Rock Bottom_) ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2002, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/progressive-rock/130612/13 "2002-10-04T05:39:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by benlormat \* > \*\*and there’s my favorite: > > Triumvirat > > If EMI ever gets off their corporate ass and releases the remasters of this group, I would recommend you get : > > Spartacus, Illusions on a Double Dimple, Old Loves Die Hard, Pompeii, and A la Carte. Each album is worth every overpriced dollar they charge you. > > ben \*\* [They have](http://www.cdnow.com/switch/from=sr-1396036/target=buyweb_products/ArtistID=TRIUMVIRAT). ---
**Author:** ![Forbin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5e9695/32.png) [@Forbin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Forbin)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2002, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/progressive-rock/130612/14 "2002-10-04T07:28:11Z")
What about **Kansas**? Are they prog rock? They were my favorite band when I was a teenager. ---
**Author:** ![Dragon\_Phoenix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@Dragon\_Phoenix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragon_Phoenix)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2002, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/progressive-rock/130612/15 "2002-10-04T07:58:44Z")
Agree with many names already mentioned, in particular the older Genesis (Selling England by the pound, A trick of the tail) and Camel (start with Mirage or Moonmadness). Not mentioned yet: the Dutch band **Kayak**. Try to get hold of the album Merlin, it is an absolute masterpiece. ---
**Author:** ![sly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@sly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sly)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2002, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/progressive-rock/130612/16 "2002-10-04T11:06:10Z")
You could cross over to modern jazz which, IMO, is sonically superior to prog-rock. It seems to me prog artists are influenced heavily by a mix of metal and jazz. I’m a fan of proggresive but when I want to hear something a little more frenzied, I’ll spin something from Herbie Hancock, Spyro Gyra or Chick Corea. Just a thought. Sly ---
**Author:** ![Dryga\_Yes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@Dryga\_Yes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dryga_Yes)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2002, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/progressive-rock/130612/17 "2002-10-04T14:55:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by grendel72 \* > \*\*When I think prog-rock, I think of those bands that invariably had album cover art by Roger Dean and I usually couldn’t stand them… but if **Tortoise** is prog-rock, I guess I’m all about that. \*\* Well, they’re as much prog-rock as Sonic Youth or Meshuggah. 🙂 They’re kind of influenced by it, as are pretty much all post-rock bands. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2002, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/progressive-rock/130612/18 "2002-10-04T14:58:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Forbin \* > \*\*What about **Kansas**? > Are they prog rock? > They were my favorite band when I was a teenager. \*\* Some people, myself included, think so. ---
**Author:** ![Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilvert_s_Pagan)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/progressive-rock/130612/19 "2002-10-08T01:20:09Z")
Damn. Sorry I didn’t catch this thread quicker. A few points to add (all of which are, of course, **IMHO** ): Typically, the music of the genre was challenging, and the performers had genuine talent. Talent and compositional ambition eventually became unseemly, which led to the dreck of the early 80’s. Ugh. **King Crimson** is still very much alive and well, and, ummm, _still progressing_. The earliest Crimson sounds dated as well (thanks to the Mellotrons), but was amazingly daring when it came out in 1969. But the 1973-1974 albums still sound fresh to my ears: Lark’s Tongue in Aspic, Starless and Bible Black, and Red. Some rock writers have said that the last song on Red, _Starless_, closed the book on Prog. Crimson successfully evolved in the early 80’s - I agree with the recommendation for Discipline. Guiding light Robert Fripp thinks of Crimson as more of an idea than a group, and he continues to follow his muse. Their current releases are very heavy-metal tinged, and they were the opening act for **TOOL** last year. (Tool freely admits to Crimson’s influence on their work.) I was a big **ELP** fan in my youth, but most of it now sounds very dated. Brain Salad Surgery was their best. The early music of **Kansas** certainly qualifies, especially the three Kerry Livgren compositions on Song for America. But they moved more squarely into pop. Same with **Genesis** … Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot, Wind and the Wuthering, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, A Trick of the Tail, and Selling England by the Pound all qualify - once both Steve Hackett and Peter Gabriel left, the Prog label really didn’t apply anymore. Certainly Hackett and Gabriel’s solo efforts qualify as well. Some others who dabbled in Prog included **Frank Zappa** , particularly in his One Size Fits All/Roxy and Elsewhere period, Deep Purple bassist **Roger Glover** on his album Elements (which is really really really hard to find), **Gong** , and others. Eventually, the line blurs between Prog, Fusion, and other genres. Someone doing cool stuff now: Mike Keneally. I think his CD **Dancing** is brilliant. Shit! It only took me two and a half years to hit my 100th post!!!:smack: ---
**Author:** ![Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilvert_s_Pagan)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/progressive-rock/130612/20 "2002-10-08T01:30:00Z")
:smack: :smack: :smack: …and then I have to use my _101st_ post to correct my math … I’ve been an SDMB member for **three** and a half years… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/progressive-rock/130612.md?page=2)