>
>> Someone raised the question about whether Genesis was prog or not.
>> Listen to early Genesis . . . maybe even mid-Genesis.
>
>The recent postings on older prog groups like Genesis and Yes have peaked my
>interest.
>
Glad to hear it. There's a lot of great stuff to be found.
You mentioned that you're starting to like some older prog music --
which bands?
>My background mainly consists of listening to metal, but I'm starting to
>really appreciate some older prog rock music. I'd love to know two or three
>albums that some of you guys/gals consider to be the cornerstones of
>progressive rock. I'm thinking along the lines of Genesis, Yes, ELP, King
>Crimson, etc., but all opinions are welcome.
>
You'll get a different answer from everyone you talk to, but here's
my take on the "classic" progressive rock bands. I'd say there are seven
"cornerstone" prog bands from the '70s and I've listed what I'd recommend
as a starting CD and follow-up CDs for each of them:
Band Start with Album Follow Up with Albums
---- ---------------- ---------------------
Yes Classic Yes Fragile,
Close to the Edge,
Relayer,
The Yes Album,
90125
Genesis Selling England by Foxtrot,
the Pound Lamb Lies Down on Broadway,
Trick of the Tail
ELP Brain Salad Surgery Trilogy,
Tarkus
Jethro Tull Aqualung Thick as a Brick,
Minstrel in the Gallery,
A Passion Play,
King Crimson Discipline Red,
Thrak
Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon Animals,
Wish You Were Here
The Wall
Rush Moving Pictures Hemispheres,
2112
There are of course many, many other older prog bands worth
mentioning -- I had a hard time only choosing 7 -- but I think the
above bands set the standard. They made the initial inroads on what
prog-rock was all about and influenced much of what came after. They're
the albums that you'll find in most prog fan's collections. It's
interesting to note that all of those bands have released new material
in the past few years, though arguably not up to their earlier standards.
It was a fertile time for prog-rock.
Here's a brief paragraph to give you an idea of what each band
is like:
Yes -- Complex music with great dynamics and vocals. Both guitar and
keyboards are prominent and the bass playing is amazing. They
have a kind of classical feel to them. I chose "Classic Yes",
which is a collection of their songs, to start with because I
think it has a good, representative selection of their work.
"Fragile" and "Close to the Edge" are wonderful. "Relayer" is
more experimental. For their eighties style, try 90125.
Genesis -- They build a strong atmosphere and what seems simple turns out
to be quite complex. Guitar and keyboards work together along
with superb vocals. "Selling England..." is probably the most
representative of the Peter Gabriel-era albums.
ELP (Emerson, Lake and Palmer) -- These guys were the first to go all out
with the keyboards. They have a classical style and even "cover"
some classical pieces. They have a somewhat experimental sound.
"Brain Salad Surgery" is their classic album, with the epic
"Karn Evil 9".
Jethro Tull -- Tull is less classically oriented with more influences from
rock and blues. They can rock with tunes like "Aqualung" or "Cold
Wind to Valhalla" and they can be quite proggy, like in "Thick as
a Brick", with lots of dynamics. Ian Anderson's strong vocals
are phenomenal, as is Martin Barre's guitar work. "Aqualung" is
not all that proggy, but it's a strong album and is accessible.
"Minstrel in the Gallery" combines many of their rock elements
with prog complexity. "A Passion Play" is probably their most
progressive album, but is harder to get into.
King Crimson -- These guys set the standard for experimental progressive
rock. Their music isn't necessarily that melodic which makes it
hard to get into. They can be atmospheric and then very aggressive
with their music. The vocals aren't as important as for most of
the other bands in this list. Robert Fripp is the foundation of
the band, and Tony Levin (see LTE) has been their bass player
for a while. They have four distinct phases so it's hard to
choose any single album to start with. I personally like
Discipline the best, so I chose that one. "Thrak" is somewhat
reminiscent of LTE (often very aggressive), but more
experimental. "Red" is a good example of their second phase.
Pink Floyd -- Most of you are probably familiar with these guys. They
set the standard for the more atmospheric style of prog-rock.
They didn't leave behind making great songs though. "Animals"
is probably one of their most progressive albums, with long
instrumental sections that build a lot of power. The vocals
are superb, blending well with the music and lifting it beyond
being just atmospheric.
Rush -- Another band that most everyone probably already knows. These
guys were among the first to take the heavier rock and make
complex music out of it. Along with the earlier hard-rock bands,
I feel these guys set the stage for prog-metal. They made some
epic songs (like 2112) while also maintaining great melodies
and strong music. Again the vocals fit very well with the
music. They're probably the closest in style to DT of the bands
listed. "Moving Pictures" is representative of both their
strong song writing and their prog elements. For the more
prog-oriented, try Hemispheres or 2112.
One thing to keep in mind when trying out these bands is that
they're not DT. They aren't generally as heavy or as modern sounding.
Also, while these are among my favorite bands, you probably won't like
them all -- I'm not as much into King Crimson for example. It will
probably take some time to appreciate their styles, but it's worth the
effort.
Every once in a while I wish that I could be just discovering
these bands again. It's great fun... Enjoy!
Steve
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