Progressive Rock...

To respond to part of the original message:

I love most flavors of rock (emphasis on hard & melodic) but I never really got into prog. I listen to the bands that have prog leanings (Kansas, Rush, early Styx) but never got into the heavy duty stuff (early Genesis, Yes, ELP) for whatever reason.

I picked up the new Spock’s Beard double album “Snow” because someone who is also not into prog loves it. I was literally listening with my mouth open in shock - I loved it from the git go. It’s definitely prog - 6 minute long instrumentals in even longer songs that all flow together - but it also rocks. The level of musicianship is incredible, and I love the lead singer’s voice (his name escapes me now). Most music that’s popular at the moment is made by “strummers and hummers” and this is far, far removed from that. There’s real talent there! Lush harmonies… meaningful lyrics… the quiet parts are alive with power rather than empty, sparse but not barren… the music got into my brain and I hummed it all day long.

Excellent stuff. I’m starting my quest for more music like it, both in Spock’s Beard’s back catalog and other bands. I’ve been taking notes from this thread, worry not.

So in a nutshell - I love “Snow”. I don’t think it’s very typical prog rock (from what little I know about it) and I can’t compare it for you to “The Light”, but I love it, for what that’s worth.

Brandy

Come on you guys (I’m assuming it’s just about all guys posting in a prog-rock thread), how can you leave out UK? First it was Bruford/Holdsworth/Wetton/Jobson then it morphed into Bozzio/Jobson/Wetton.

A couple other bands I remember are Nektar and Matrix. I don’t know if Matrix ever broke out of the Northeast (or even New Jersey for that matter). Matix may have been a little too jazzy, a la Dixie Dregs but now we’re moving into fusion.

My second concert ever was Horslips.

And please don’t leave out the women: Kate Bush, Jane Siberry, Laurie Anderson. They satisfy my definition of progressive, anyway.

I guess Primus would count, and maybe possibly any band that Mike Patton sang with, like Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Tomahawk, the list goes on…

Of course there that time that Kiss put out a prog album, Songs from the Elder, but it FLOPPPPPPPPEDDD!!!