h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I'm currently planning a big article on the progressive rock of the 70s ie Pink Floyd, Yes, King Crimson. Some of the music is rubbish, but i'm looking for researchers opinions on the genre, so I can think about what style to write the article in. Views appreciated

A pig awful noise, a thorough blockage in the system that was given the necessary enema by a man laughing into a microphone and intoning 'I wanna be Anarchy.'

The *only* musician to have survived the entire period with any credibility is, starngely, the man who committed some of the worst crimes of the genre, Peter Gabriel.

The problem with Prog is that it developed into so many different directions.



Deep Purple were unquestionably the pioneers of prog, they took the raw earthy sounds of bands such as Golden Earring and Iron Butterfly, began orchestrating them, and achieved a successful result. However this orchestration often being mis-read as instrument w**king, lead to several other Masturbatory Morons: Floyd, Yes, Genesis etc. etc.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the tracks, a lot of very advanced work was taking place on turning rock songs into works of art - somewhat delicate, but integrally sound (unlike the MMs). Think Roxy Music, Supertramp (currently one of my favourite bands), Fleetwood Mac. All these fall under the same 'prog' header, yet couldn't possibly be accused of meaningless noise.



B

Well I like it and I know I'm not alone. Very fond of early Genesis, Floyd, ELP, Aphrodite's Child, Barclay James Harvest and good old Yes; I have listened to prog since I were a little girl. It may be worth giving newer prog bands such as Spock's Beard and Dream Theater a mention too. What are views on more peripheral (ie verging on) prog bands such as Sky, Hawkwind and these days, Tool?

The part of prog that attracts me is the orchestration and melodies. Plus its always entertaining trying to sing along with Jon Anderson.

Howzat?!

firstly what do you see as prog rock aka sympohic rock*?

I trow in few names*:
- Alan Parson Project
- Camel
- Electric Light Orchestra
- Emersom, Lake & Palmer
- Gentle Giant

* source: pop encyclopedia

I like melodic side of this music, but also bombastic way it is brought.

one other thing it "invented" is the consept album. the album had story or theme.

In my mid to late teens I was all over prog rock like a cheap suit. Took me a while to convert from the glam bands though (I can't believe I'm saying this out loud ).

Genesis, Pink Floyd, ELP, Gentle Giant, Focus, Wishbone Ash (do they count? I guess they do), PFM, and more I can't recall right now. Never could get a handle on Yes though.

I have a bunch of stuff to do right now, but I'll be keeping a close eye on this conversation

It might be worth mentioning in your entry that as prog rock became ever more elaborate, especially bands like ELP - anyone remember seeing Keith Emerson playing a piano that was fixed to a pole coming out of the wall and which spun round? - it was given the name 'Pomp Rock'.

Oh, and after having seen (post Peter Gabriel) Genesis at Earls Court in June 1977, I went to see The Stranglers a few months later. Never looked back after that

Yes, well the Stranglers managed to "progress" rock in a completely unmentionable direction, didn't they?

B

Hmm, I'd take Black and White and The Raven over the complete works of Yes, Genesis, King Crimson, ELP and other prog-rock musical doodlers any day, myself.

second that. I'm a prog fan but one of my all time fave albums is The Raven.

Well, Johnny Rotten did say The Stranglers were "Just hippies with short hair", but what I meant was that after seeing them, I never went to see another band like Genesis

Yeah, no-one's ever since achieved that degree of boredom...

Except perhaps Radiohead...

B

Cat Power

Like Gosho I too was all over Prog Rock.

I liked or idolised most of the bands mentioned so far.
I cringe at the likes of Rick Wakeman's Six Wives and King Arthur albums even though I owned both.

Sky have been mentioned here and IMO they came at it (as it where) from the other direction as paid classical musicians having an outing in the pop world. Good though!

Can I also mention the Canadian band Rush who started in the early 70's and have just released another album in May 2002. That is survival but not on a par with the likes of Sir Paul Mac, Bob Dylan, Riff Pilchard to name but a few.

turvy

what about the Pentatorqe?

You mean Dave Greenslade's "Pentateuch" ?

The word pretentious comes to mind. As does OGWT, weird album covers which were turned into posters for student's bedroom walls and strange light effects for the live shows.
Incidentally, Bob Fripp comes out with a fair degree of credibility.Man.

Prog rock by no means has the monopoly on pretentious. There's plenty of that in other types of rock, classical, jazz..... pretty well every kind of music there is really.

It was prog-rock that broke the mould, and moved through to the far side of pretentious, though. Aka w**king

B

Can anyone who married Toyah 'It'th a Mythtery' Wilcox *really* be said to have any credibility?

His guitar on Blondie's Fade Away & Bowie's Scary Monsters was exceptional. As for Ms Wilcox if you'd heard some of the things she used to spout on her sex prog, definitely