# For prog rock fans: A four part history of the genre



## EricABQ (Jul 10, 2012)

Slate has been running a series on prog rock that is actually pretty interesting. I know nothing of the genre, but I enjoyed reading the articles nonetheless. It even made me want to checkout some of the music.

This link is to part 1. You can get the other parts by following this link.

http://http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/prog_spring/features/2012/prog_rock/history_of_prog_the_nice_emerson_lake_palmer_and_other_bands_of_the_1970s_.html


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Checking out the music is the best way to go about it. Forget about the rock critics and their smug attitudes. I recommend the music of Gentle Giant. It's highly inventive stuff with great melodies. They never bothered with the overblown side long epics. Try their albums, The Power And The Glory, and Free Hand. The critics loved to bash ELP, but their first 4 or 5 albums are great. You can't go wrong with Tarkus, Trilogy, or the self titled debut.

King Crimson is another one of the major bands. Their first two albums featured Greg Lake on bass and vocals before he left to start ELP. Their music is quite a bit darker, and I would say influenced more by 20th century composition and jazz. Although they're never really overtly jazzy, with the exception of some of the music on Lizard.

Other major albums to consider:

Yes-Fragile; Close To The Edge
Genesis-Selling England By The Pound; A Trick Of The Tail
Jethro Tull-Thick As A Brick
King Crimson-In The Court Of (this one is considered the first full blown Prog rock album)
Frank Zappa and the Mothers-Uncle Meat; Hot Rats, One Size Fits All
Bruford-One Of A Kind, ex Yes drummer's 1979 classic feat. Allan Holdsworth, Jeff Berlin,
and keyboardist/composer extraordinaire Dave Stewart. (Stewart was in three phenomenal
bands in the 70s including Egg, Hatfield & The North, and National Health. Very accomplished
quirky English progressive music that didn't get much attention by critics or radio.

To learn more, visit Progressive Ears Forum. A very active forum full of prog, jazz, and classical fans.
Many of the members are highly accomplished musicians/composers.
http://www.progressiveears.com/default.asp?bhcp=1


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## regressivetransphobe (May 16, 2011)

Critics are useless once you enter a certain stage of music savvy, but without the critics, all you have left is The Noise, and you just end up listening to The Beatles or something.


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## samurai (Apr 22, 2011)

Nothing wrong with the Beatles in my book, especially from *Rubber Soul *on.


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## EricABQ (Jul 10, 2012)

The articles themselves were not hard on prog rock I thought. They tried to explain why the public and the critics turned against prog rock so strongly. I though they were good reads.


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## regressivetransphobe (May 16, 2011)

samurai said:


> Nothing wrong with the Beatles in my book, especially from *Rubber Soul *on.


I probably should have said Radiohead, come to think of it.

In a way, I think prog got so unpopular with a certain crowd just because they needed something to hate. Pop culture goes in cycles. One year complexity is "a breath of fresh air", the next year it's "pretentious, full of itself", etc. It's interesting how the politics-of-the-week distort things and split people into camps over the most mundane stuff. I don't see how anyone could hear Yes' Close To The Edge and not at least think it has its charms, now that that idiom isn't saturating the market.



> Also, please ask a fan how he (yes, usually he) feels about Yes and ELP and Jethro Tull being stonewalled from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame while the Red Hot Chili Peppers -the Red Hot Chili Peppers-make it in.


hurrr females can only enjoy dance music hurrrr lol
Anyway, everyone knows the "hall of fame" is a joke.


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

starthrower said:


> King Crimson-In The Court Of (this one is considered the first full blown Prog rock album)


it must be said that the definition of what is progressive rock is not very clear. Frank Zappa's Absolutely free is an album made an year before and to me sounds totally like a prog album.


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## EricABQ (Jul 10, 2012)

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/prog_spring/features/2012/prog_rock/prog_music_today_nearfest_kanye_west_and_the_fans_who_still_love_prog_.html

The fifth installment.


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## Vesteralen (Jul 14, 2011)

I know "Tales from Topographic Oceans" is considered to be where prog rock jumped the shark, but I kind of liked it.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

norman bates said:


> it must be said that the definition of what is progressive rock is not very clear. Frank Zappa's Absolutely free is an album made an year before and to me sounds totally like a prog album.


Well there's "Prog Rock" as a stylistic genre, and then there's progressive music. Zappa belongs to the later as far as I'm concerned. If some of these prog nerds don't hear mellotrons and fantasy/mystical lyrics, it's not prog to them.

But at least there were people in the music industry that would sign bands doing creative music back then. Today the prog scene is all underground. There are some great bands out there. Disctrict 97 from Chicago combines catchy pop melodies with sophisticated arrangements and musicianship.


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## paulc (Apr 18, 2011)

> I know "Tales from Topographic Oceans" is considered to be where prog rock jumped the shark, but I kind of liked it."


CTTE, TFTO, Relayer...it's all good. :lol:


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