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Progheads Uncloset Yourselves (and bring your capes!)

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  • Progheads Uncloset Yourselves (and bring your capes!)

    I've been wanting to write this post, a paean to progressive rock, for quite some time. This desire was fueled by our fun, short-lived Muxtape game during which Mel, in response to Spock's Beard's "June," said, "I did not know they still make this kind of music today."

    For the uninitiated, where most rock and roll is based on the blues (which, like all good American music, has its roots in African-American slave music), with its twelve-bar structure and verse-chorus-verse-bridge-chorus arrangement, prog takes its influences from other places, most frequently from classical music. Common elements in prog rock are extended instrumental solos, very long songs with multiple movements, key changes, tempo changes, and an emphasis on technical skill.

    Critics call it pretentious and cerebral, saying it takes the sweat and hormones out of rock and roll. Punk rock is often said to have saved rock and roll from disco, but it was also a response to the popularity in the 1970s of prog.

    Fans love the interplay of instruments, the excellent musicianship, and the model of the rock song as a composition, rather than merely a three-minute space on the radio.

    I love love love love love prog, and am happy to say that it is not dead. In the 1970s, bands like Gentle Giant, Genesis, Yes, ELP, and King Crimson sort of defined the genre.

    Those bands influenced a lot of musicians who are today making killer music. I've put together a mixtape at 8tracks.com for people interested in hearing some of what's out there. The first time you listen to it, you'll hear it in the order I suggest, but after a first listen, plays will be randomized. Obviously, you can fast-forward past anything that sounds lousy.

    The songs:
    1. Yes: Roundabout. 1971. I put this here so people could hear what I'm talking about, in case anyone didn't know.
    2. Spock's Beard: The Doorway. 1996. My favorite current prog band.
    3. Presto Ballet: The Mind Machine. 2008. Current infatuation. Band used all-analog instruments and recording equipment.
    4. Tiles: Back and Forth. 2008. Band gets compared a lot to Rush. You can definitely hear the influence.
    5. Kaipa: Solitary Pathway. 2007. Swedish band.
    6. Pallas: The Blinding Darkness. 2001. Scottish band.
    7. The Tangent: Follow Your Leaders. 2006.
    8. IZZ: The Mists of Dalriada (live). 2007. New York prog band.
    9. Dream Theater: Panic Attack. 2005. American prog metal. On an instrument-by-instrument basis, I think this is the most talented band in the world after Yes.
    10. Symphony X: Revelation (Divus Pinnae ex Tragoedia). 2007. Symphonic metal from California.


    Okay, so I know I'm not the only proghead on HT. Anyone else want to come out? What were some of the killer shows you've seen? Are you as eager to see Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett get back with Genesis as I am? What albums have you spun a million times? Don't leave me hanging!
    But I'm disturbed! I'm depressed! I'm inadequate! I GOT IT ALL! (George Costanza)
    GrouchyTeacher.com

  • #2
    Re: Progheads Uncloset Yourselves (...and bring your capes!)

    Glad to see your mention of the classical influence, and also that you listed Yes among your faves. Did you know that Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman was such a child prodigy that he performed with the London Philharmonic... at the age of 12?!?!!
    You can click this link to see a Rick Wakeman solo that will show why Scriv (and many others) love this stuff.
    And Scriv, you can add Procol Harum to that list of classically influenced bands from the 70s.

    (I've got another story about Yes from the 1970s, but will save it for another time so as to avoid the dreaded 'thread drift.')
    .
    .

    That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

    Comment


    • #3
      After being a Crimson fan from the early 70s, and them being the all time best of the genre, for me, it's hard to give other proggers a fair listen w/out comparing and usually being greatly disappointed. But I try.
      And I'll certainly be giving the 8track list a listen, asap. Thanx!
      The original line-up with Greg Lake on bass/vocals was incredible, and you can hear them in live '69 at www.wolfgangsvault.com
      You know all this, Scriv, so I'm just blabbing for my own enjoyment.
      From the etheral and emotive singing in Epitath to the bone jarring of 21CSM in these shows, it's easy to see why Pete Townsend remarked that KC were the most incredible music machine he'd ever witnessed. Hard to beat dualing mellotrons on stage! Then in '73 they once again re-grouped with my favorite line up, which I saw a few time in So. Cal before they called it quits in Jan. of '75, and they in many ways surpassed the originals with even more muscle, technique, song writing, and improvisational verve. No better example of their urgent sanity can be heard from the '74 Central Park show, where Fripp barely constrains his excitement and is a rare example of him pushing the band throughout. They are absolutely on fire!

      A dream came true when Peter Gabriel set off on his first solo tour with an all star lineup behind him, starting in NY and ending in LA, where I caught him for 2 nights. The second evening I made sure to be early and was 2nd in line to get THE seat, just a mere few feet in front of Fripp and his trusty Gibson Les Paul Custom, who for maybe the first times in the whole tour sat at the stage edge, instead of hiding behind the stage curtain.
      Early examples of this tour's set can also be found at da Vault.
      At shows end, I reached over and snagged his drinking glass as a souvenir. Dry red wine.

      Saw Yes at the LA Forum, opening for Black Sabbath in '71, w/Bruford on the kit. Pretty much a tie between them, but I was there for Sabbath. Yes was never as good afterwards, even tho Alan White is incredible.

      Caught ELP a few times, and was at the 1st California Jam for their incredible finale. Again, I was there for Sabbath (and Black Oak), who committed the cardinal sin of playing before nightfall. Unforgiveable.

      Capatain Beyond is a fave forever. Saw them twice at the Hollywood Bowl.

      Lot's of rock bands in the 60s/70s could be termed prog then, and to an extreme degree today, compared to the above-ground rock music heard. But Mars Volta seems to be a contender, WolfMother are more hard rock but are beyond those limits. I'm just not putting in the listening time any more to discover the new stuff. My bad. But nobody today puts out like KC. Who ever breaks a bass string today?
      https://www.facebook.com/Bobby-Ingan...5875444640256/

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Progheads Uncloset Yourselves (and bring your capes!)

        Originally posted by Ron Whitfield View Post
        I was there for Sabbath (and Black Oak), who committed the cardinal sin of playing before nightfall.
        When you say Black Oak, I'm pretty sure you're referring to southern-rock band Black Oak Arkansas and their inimitable, charismatic and outrageous lead singer Jim Dandy.
        Back in my college days I produced a few benefit concerts, and one lineup was electric violin whiz Sugarcane Harris, the Chambers Brothers, and Black Oak Arkansas. The lead singer of a local garage band was at that one, and he decided to use Jim Dandy as his role model. The garage band was called Van Halen, and the lead singer was, of course, David Lee Roth. (They were still teenagers then, and played at many local parties and small local clubs.)
        Yeah, we were college classmates, along with another local boy... Kenny Loggins.
        But none of the above would be called a "proghead."
        .
        .

        That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Progheads Uncloset Yourselves (and bring your capes!)

          I'm not the biggest prog rock fan on earth, but when I am in the mood I do like to listen to my old Tangerine Dream, Yes, Alan Parsons Project and Emerson Lake & Palmer albums. My exposure to the art form is mainly from 1970s bands and perhaps a few from the 1980s.

          Don't know who is producing this kind of music today, but now that I know that there is one mix out there, I'll have to give it a spin. I like listening to this music in the night.

          One of my favorite concerts I saw on TV long, long ago was ABC's old "In Concert" show where they had Rick Wakeman perform his entire "Journey to the Center of the Earth" suite/album complete with orchestra and visuals (from old dinosaur movies of long ago). I bought the album because of the concert.

          A few years ago I was lucky enough to be in the 2nd row of the Yes concert at Blaisdell Center. Was seated right in front of Wakeman and his bank of keyboards.... Jon Anderson and Steve Howe were further down to the left of Wakeman. The concert was long and great. All the "hits" and more.

          Several months ago on my Finetune page, I threw together a kind of lame 70 track progressive rock mix Enjoy.

          .
          I'm still here. Are you?

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Progheads Uncloset Yourselves (and bring your capes!)

            Scriv....

            THIS IS GREAT!! This music feels good; I really like it. I love the changes, the soft and loud, the guitar and the keyboard and synthesizers.

            DH wandered over to see the YouTube video once he heard Rick Wakeman. Said, "oh, yeah, he wrote Grumpy Old Rock Star" and watched the fingers fly over the keyboards.

            Why the cape for progheads?

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Progheads Uncloset Yourselves (and bring your capes!)

              Originally posted by LikaNui View Post
              The garage band was called Van Halen, and the lead singer was, of course, David Lee Roth.
              They were another So. Cal product, and I saw them before DLR became their singer.
              I'll take Jim Dandy any day, but VH will be in the Hall Of Fame and Black Oak won't. But then it seems neither will Dick Dale, and many other's that would be no brainers for immediate induction.
              https://www.facebook.com/Bobby-Ingan...5875444640256/

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Progheads Uncloset Yourselves (and bring your capes!)

                Back to prog rock...

                Try listen to Porcupine Tree. Nice mix of psychedelia and metal for me. Every album is a little different with lineup changes and such.

                I am partial to the Sid Barrett Pink Floyd days as well.

                I already know that you listen to Rush and Tool so no need to rehash that.

                Best show: Porcupine Tree at the Aladdin in Portland last year. I probably would have failed a piss test afterwards and truthfully, I did not partake. The air was thick.
                You Look Like I Need A Drink

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Progheads Uncloset Yourselves (and bring your capes!)

                  I hope all progheads are familiar with Gary Davis' retail web-shop, The Artist Shop. You will, as I have done, blow far too much money on his offerings of classic and contemporary progrock.

                  Have seen many shows by Yes, a couple from Tangerine Dream, and an intimate small-club one from Rick Wakeman. Have chatted with Alan White (who lives up this way, which is why Yes often rehearses pre-tour in the Seattle area) and Rick Wakeman, and got to talk with one of my producer idols, Alan Parsons, earlier this year.

                  Discovered ELP, Yes, Genesis, Gentle Giant, Amon Duul, FM, Synergy, Tangerine Dream, Mike Oldfield and many more starting around eighth grade, through my days working in a record store/head-shop during college. Wakeman's "Six Wives of Henry VIII" would have to be amongst my Desert Island Discs; Emerson, Lake & Palmer's "Trilogy" might be there as well. I studied synthesizer technology due to this kind of music.

                  High recommendation of a band you've probably not heard: IQ - start with the album "The Seventh House."

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Progheads Uncloset Yourselves (and bring your capes!)

                    Originally posted by Ron Whitfield View Post
                    A dream came true when Peter Gabriel set off on his first solo tour with an all star lineup behind him, starting in NY and ending in LA, where I caught him for 2 nights. The second evening I made sure to be early and was 2nd in line to get THE seat, just a mere few feet in front of Fripp and his trusty Gibson Les Paul Custom, who for maybe the first times in the whole tour sat at the stage edge, instead of hiding behind the stage curtain.
                    Love stories like this. Keep 'em coming.

                    Lot's of rock bands in the 60s/70s could be termed prog then, and to an extreme degree today, compared to the above-ground rock music heard. But Mars Volta seems to be a contender, WolfMother are more hard rock but are beyond those limits.
                    Yes, Mars Volta are probably the frontrunners, creating truly unique music. They don't even have a field: Nobody's putting out anything like their stuff.

                    Originally posted by LikaNui View Post
                    (I've got another story about Yes from the 1970s, but will save it for another time so as to avoid the dreaded 'thread drift.')
                    If it's about Yes, I don't see how it would be irrelevant. Bring it on. Although Yes probably doesn't make my top ten favorite bands, it's the band with my favorite guitarist, my favorite bassist, and my favorite keyboardist (well, that last one changes all the time, to be honest; lately it's Jon Lord). What ridiculous musicians!

                    Originally posted by mel View Post
                    A few years ago I was lucky enough to be in the 2nd row of the Yes concert at Blaisdell Center. Was seated right in front of Wakeman and his bank of keyboards.... Jon Anderson and Steve Howe were further down to the left of Wakeman. The concert was long and great. All the "hits" and more.
                    That's right; I was at the same concert, just a few rows behind you. The band even did the seldom-heard-in-concert "Owner of a Lonely Heart," which Steve Howe famously hates. The YesWorld forums were buzzing like crazy when fans around the world heard (from fans who were at the Honolulu show) that the band was doing this song. Everyone wanted to know who was singing the background vocals. I was happy to share that they were handled nicely by Chris Squire.

                    That's still one of my favorite concerts. Saw them when they were here before without Howe and Wakeman; that show was terrific, too. But this one was just amazing.

                    Originally posted by cyleet99 View Post
                    THIS IS GREAT!! This music feels good; I really like it. I love the changes, the soft and loud, the guitar and the keyboard and synthesizers.

                    Why the cape for progheads?
                    Glad you like it! Yes, the changes are one of my favorite things about this music. One of the things people cite when making fun of this music is its pomposity. Some of the musicians (Rick Wakeman of Yes, most notably) were known for wearing capes on stage in the 70s.


                    Originally posted by nachodaddy View Post
                    Try listen to Porcupine Tree. Nice mix of psychedelia and metal for me. Every album is a little different with lineup changes and such.

                    Best show: Porcupine Tree at the Aladdin in Portland last year. I probably would have failed a piss test afterwards and truthfully, I did not partake. The air was thick.
                    I love Porcupine Tree, but being a fan is a full-time job I decided I couldn't afford. They put out new albums every month, it seems like, with new special editions and stuff all the time. I like the metallic edge. So a band like Porcupine Tree sells concert tickets in Portland, huh? One of my great disappointments is that bands like that never play here, and I guess I don't blame them.

                    Originally posted by Leo Lakio View Post
                    High recommendation of a band you've probably not heard: IQ - start with the album "The Seventh House."
                    I have a few things from IQ, but it's not on this computer for some reason. This might be slightly off-topic, but do you recognize the fingerprints of your favorite producers on music even when you don't know it's them? I have friends who can tell a T Bone Burnett production without knowing a thing about the music or musicians. I know I love his work, but I can't for the life of me point to anything specific. I even asked Booker T when I met him at Borders several years ago what it was that made T Bone good but he had more to say about the environment in the studio than the actual sound of the recordings.

                    I'll take a moment to give shout-outs to a few of my favorite bands who haven't yet been mentioned here. Kansas is definitely a fave, and I've spent a lot of time (and money) collecting Kerry Livgren's other projects. He's currently working with the original (pre-recording) lineup of Kansas, something called Proto-Kaw, and they're doing some great stuff. "Point of Know Return" is one of my favorite songs of all time.

                    Only this past summer, I discovered Nektar. Definitely not in the same league as most of these other bands we've discussed, but interesting music worth checking out. It bugs me that I'd never heard of them before.

                    John Wetton's UK was inconsistent but always worth checking out. I have to say that if it weren't for the success of Asia in the early eighties, I might never have heard of UK.

                    One progressive band I'm eager to explore beyond the stuff I've heard on the radio is Supertramp. Anyone got a recommendation for a good place to start if I want their best, proggiest stuff?
                    But I'm disturbed! I'm depressed! I'm inadequate! I GOT IT ALL! (George Costanza)
                    GrouchyTeacher.com

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Progheads Uncloset Yourselves (and bring your capes!)

                      Originally posted by scrivener View Post
                      This might be slightly off-topic, but do you recognize the fingerprints of your favorite producers on music even when you don't know it's them?
                      In a few cases, especially (to stay on topic) Trevor Horn (Yes, Art Of Noise, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Seal, Buggles, Asia, ABC, Pet Shop Boys, etc.) Alan Parsons, I felt, also had a certain "sound" during his heyday. I used to buy albums from bands/artists I knew nothing about, simply because I enjoyed and respected a certain producer's work.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Progheads Uncloset Yourselves (and bring your capes!)

                        Last night I finally downloaded Gentle Giant's Octopus, the album many critics say is the beginning of the band's best period. It was my first experience with Gentle Giant and I'm so excited about it. More later. Gotta teach.
                        But I'm disturbed! I'm depressed! I'm inadequate! I GOT IT ALL! (George Costanza)
                        GrouchyTeacher.com

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