Is Prog Rock Dead?

drphoto · « **Reply #40 on:** 24 Apr 2010, 07:12 pm »

Couple of of prog rock channels on iTunes internet radio. I regularly tune in while I'm doing my online pharmacy work.

If the OP likes Genesis, I suggest the "When in Rome" concert vid. Typical great Genesis visuals, decent sound and the boys do a lot of the old material. Yeah, I know Phil took a bad rap for his some of his cheesy solo stuff (and Invisible Touch) but he's a compelling front man with a good voice and he's one hell of a drummer.

I wish PG and Genesis would set aside their differences and do a reunion tour before it's too late. They did do that brief reunion to re-record "The Carpet Crawlers", what 10 years ago now? and it was really something special.

werd · « **Reply #41 on:** 24 Apr 2010, 07:16 pm »

Quote from: FULLRANGEMAN on 24 Apr 2010, 05:37 pm

Hi,
In my opinion Progressive Rock become into Ambient Music. There is some good old Prog.Rock bands worth buy in CD format tough as:
Alan Parsons Project, Pink Floyd, Yes, Focus, Tangerine Dream, Kluster/Cluster, Embryo(a Jazz-Rock band), Faust, Rush, Ash Ra Tempel, Agitation Free, Brian Eno, Roxy Music, The Can, Conrad Schnitzler, David Silvyan, ELOY, Nektar, Edgar Froese solo albums, Emerson Lake Palmer, The Nice, Gentle Giant, Gila, Harmonia, J ean Michel Jarre, Klaus Schulze, Kebnekajse, Moody Blues, Michael Rother, NEU, Procol Harun, POPOL VUH, Patrick Moraz, Penguin Cafe Orchestra, Peter Hammill, Van Der Graaf Generator, Queen, Rick Wakeman, Supertramp, Santana Band, Steve Roach(desert's ambient music, allways a extraordinary soundstage), Triunvirat, Vangelis, Walter Carlos, XHOL and
should be others more.
But like all in art and life, musical value is a personal feeling.
Gustavo

Hi

Remember Asia, another great 80's prog rock. I think Tool has enough complicated rythyms to classify them as Prog also. Not always though. But not all prog sounded like prog all the time either so......

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #42 on:** 24 Apr 2010, 07:28 pm »

Quote from: werd on 24 Apr 2010, 07:16 pm

Hi

Remember Asia, another great 80's prog rock. I think Tool has enough complicated rythyms to classify them as Prog also. Not always though. But not all prog sounded like prog all the time either so......

Maybe some Hardcore/HeavyMetal bands reach some evolution after all this years training and become Progressive bands!! Maybe...
Most of these Punk/Robo Pop bands are in music only for money and fame!

Jim N. · « **Reply #43 on:** 24 Apr 2010, 08:26 pm »

No, but it smells funny (apologies to Frank Zappa).

Prog's heyday was the 1970's. By the 80's it was reduced to near cult status. It's still out there but you have to look pretty hard for it. In the 70's prog bands could sell out stadiums and large arenas in the US. By the 80's the audience for it had dwindled substantially.

In the 70's there were FM stations here in LA that played a lot of prog: KNAC (you could hear Gentle Giant and other experimental music), KDAY (AM/FM station that played a lot of Zappa, Yes, ELP. Yup, "Yellow Snow" or "Dyna-Mo Hum" on AM radio), KMET, KLOS (late night). Those stations all changed / tightened their formats and prog lost almost all radio exposure.

Classic prog was essentially a musical dead end. Virtually all the big 70's prog bands abandoned the 20 minute epics for shorter, more melodic material by the end of the decade.

The problem is the definition itself. It had to progress into something else. How can you call it progressive if it's a rehash of what Yes / Genesis / ELP / Tull / etc were doing in 1973? There are a lot of progressive metal bands and bands that go for the "classic prog" sound. I consider Tool, Fates Warning, Dream Theater, Shadow Gallery all progressive bands.

In the mid-late 70's the people I hung out with who listened to prog started getting in to fusion. I stayed with it ever since even though it was never as popular as prog and has also waned from its peak popularity. Fusion spared me what I consider to be the weakest part of classic prog: inane, gibberish, pseudo-intellectual lyrics.

What got me into prog in the first place was the musicianship. That led me to fusion and jazz.

If you're late to prog then go back to the 70's bands. Look through the site progressive ears, which has a huge amount of prog (past and present) info. Pick up early Porcupine Tree (Up the Downstair, The Sky Moves Sideways). Expand your definition of prog.

Seek and ye shall find....

werd · « **Reply #44 on:** 24 Apr 2010, 08:40 pm »

probably the most successfull Prog album i would have to say is Rush's Moving pictures. Prog really peaked at that time but quickly faded.

mritschdorff · « **Reply #45 on:** 24 Apr 2010, 09:03 pm »

A few more...

Blodwyn Pig
Brand "X"
Zazu
Refugee
The Strawbs

Larkston Zinaspic · « **Reply #46 on:** 25 Apr 2010, 02:32 am »

Whether or not Prog is dead is probably in the mind of the beholder.

Some of the most entertaining concert-going experiences I've had were the Genesis recreation shows staged by a band called The Musical Box, when they were touring with Martin Levac on drums a few years back.

http://musicalbox1.wordpress.com/the-musical-box-from-genesis-to-re-creation-2005/

BrassEar · « **Reply #47 on:** 25 Apr 2010, 03:46 am »

Quote from: drphoto on 24 Apr 2010, 07:12 pm

I wish PG and Genesis would set aside their differences and do a reunion tour before it's too late. They did do that brief reunion to re-record "The Carpet Crawlers", what 10 years ago now? and it was really something special.

It's already too late. Phil is retired from drumming due to a spinal injury. Peter was the roadblock (and the only roadblock) for the 5 man Lamb reunion tour.

http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/story/spinal-injury-kills-collins-drumming-career_1115573

The revised carpet crawlers was great but they never met in the studio, they just recorded their parts and sent them in for production and editing.

Genesis is over. Glad I saw them in the seventies and eighties. Fantastic live band.

tesseract · « **Reply #48 on:** 25 Apr 2010, 07:47 am »

Rush is on tour again. I'm going to catch them at The Starlight Theater in KCMO on July 1st.

"Moving Pictures" will be played in it's entirety.

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #49 on:** 25 Apr 2010, 04:36 pm »

Quote from: BrassEar on 25 Apr 2010, 03:46 am

It's already too late. Phil is retired from drumming due to a spinal injury. Peter was the roadblock (and the only roadblock) for the 5 man Lamb reunion tour.

http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/story/spinal-injury-kills-collins-drumming-career_1115573

The revised carpet crawlers was great but they never met in the studio, they just recorded their parts and sent them in for production and editing.

Genesis is over. Glad I saw them in the seventies and eighties. Fantastic live band.

Bad news sorry. Add to it, in 2009 I read a news Phil Collins informed the public, he is with deafness problems.
http://www.thedeafblog.co.uk/2006/03/phil_collins_is_latest_rock_st.html
Gustavo

drphoto · « **Reply #50 on:** 26 Apr 2010, 02:15 am »

Damn shame about Phil He was a hell of a drummer. Growing old sucks. I don't fear death (no way of knowing, but I figure it's a lot like going to sleep) but getting old scares the hell out me.

Sorry...off topic again.

BobM · « **Reply #51 on:** 26 Apr 2010, 01:10 pm »

There will always be an audiance for any kind of music. Prog isn't dead, although it is not played on the radio anymore. Just look at the people selling out ELP or Rush concerts, or the increasing popularity of Porcupine Tree. There's lots of energy in this genre, especially if you visit the prog-related websites like

www.progressiveears.com

Enjoy,
Bob

mitch stl · « **Reply #52 on:** 26 Apr 2010, 05:38 pm »

If Progressive Rock is dead, it's been that way for a long time.

National Lampoon nailed the style to the cross 35 years ago with their "Goodbye Pop" LP. Of course, every other pop/rock style was treated with equal disrespect on that record.

If you haven't heard it, run a copy down. It is lots of fun.

simoon · « **Reply #53 on:** 26 Apr 2010, 07:46 pm »

Not only is prog not dead, but it has continued to progress. There is a certain amount of new prog bands that do sound like the 70's bands, as sort of a retro-tribute sort of style.

But there are PLENTY that are doing new things, using the 70's bands as jumping off points.

Indukti - heavy King Crimson meets TOOL, from Poland. Great violin.

Echolyn - From the US. Their earlier CD's ('Suffocating the Bloom' and 'As the World) have been compared to Gentle Giant on speed (without the Medieval influence). I can sort of see it. The later ones are a little more song oriented, except for Mei, which is one long 40 minute piece.

Underground Railroad - sort of sounds like Genesis put through a blender. The leader, Kurt Rongey studied modern composition, so they do some pretty sophisticated stuff, but still within mainstream of progressive, with only slight avante-garde leanings.

The Thinking Plague - one of the best avante-garde progressive bands around. 'The History of Madness' is a brilliant CD.

Anglagard - From Sweden. More on the retro side (KC, GG, Genesis influences) but played with so much energy and quality, they make it sound very fresh (despite the fact that their only 2 CD's were recorded in the early 90's).

Deus Ex Machina - from Italy. One of the best active progressive bands around. Supper high energy, progressive fusion, with some slight avante-garde leanings. MAJOR chops, a vocalist with 5 octave range, all the pieces are there.

After Crying - from Hungary. another of the best modern progressive bands. Their early releases were in the 'chamber prog' vein, but they later added a guitar player and cranked up the intensity. A great combo of keys, cello, trumpet, guitar. The keyboardist and cello player (also plays bass) are graduates from music conservatories. The depth of composition and musicianship is readily apparent in this band. They have a great live CD with John Wetton on a couple of tracks.

Present - From Belgium. Avant progressive. Dark, brooding, 20th century influenced progressive. Not for the faint of heart.

One Shot - from France. Most of the band is from the current Magma lineup. World class fusion, but with a distinct Magma slant. James McGaw on guitar is brilliant.

Sleepytime Gorilla Museum - From the US. Another avante progressive band. Very hard to describe.

DFA - From Italy. Kind of like a more fusion oriented Ozric Tentacles, with some Happy The Man influences.

Pain of Salvation - From Sweden. Prog-metal, but not in the Dream Theater vein. Their first 4 CD's are all among the best of the genre, anything after 'Remedy Lane' is strictly YMMV, as they have seemed to go off the rails.

This just barely touched the surface of the modern progressive music.

There's tons of great new stuff out there. Not to mention the great progressive metal, technical-metal, fusion that's happening.

Some other names off the top of my head; OHM, Uncle Moe's Space Ranch, Mcgill/ Manring/Stevens, Spaced Out, Forgas Band Phenomena, Spiral Architect, Cynic, Gordian Knot, Helmet of Gnats, ExhiVision, Horey Kone, Isuldar's Bane, Riverside, Flying Food Circus, Miriodor, Hamadryad, Octafish, Karmakanic, Richard Hallebeek, Andromeda, Orphaned Land, Kenso, Spastic Ink...

I can't even begin to touch on the number and variety of great progressive and fusion bands out there in all genres.

BobM · « **Reply #54 on:** 26 Apr 2010, 07:56 pm »

Quote from: simoon on 26 Apr 2010, 07:46 pm

Some other names off the top of my head; OHM, Uncle Moe's Space Ranch, Mcgill/ Manring/Stevens, Spaced Out, Forgas Band Phenomena, Spiral Architect, Cynic, Gordian Knot, Helmet of Gnats, ExhiVision, Horey Kone, Isuldar's Bane, Riverside, Flying Food Circus, Miriodor, Hamadryad, Octafish, Karmakanic, Richard Hallebeek, Andromeda, Orphaned Land, Kenso, Spastic Ink...

I can't even begin to touch on the number and variety of great progressive and fusion bands out there in all genres.

Magenta, Tipographica, Beardfish, IZZ, Mars Volta, Porcupine Tree, Riverside, Sylvan, Big Big Train, Umphrey's McGee, RWPL, Phideaux, Transatlantic, IQ, Dream Theater, Big Elf, Abigail's Ghost, Katatonia, Pineapple Thief, Moth Vellum, .........

simoon · « **Reply #55 on:** 26 Apr 2010, 08:04 pm »

Quote from: BobM on 26 Apr 2010, 07:56 pm

Magenta, Tipographica, Beardfish, IZZ, Mars Volta, Porcupine Tree, Riverside, Sylvan, Big Big Train, Umphrey's McGee, RWPL, Phideaux, Transatlantic, IQ, Dream Theater, Big Elf, Abigail's Ghost, Katatonia, Pineapple Thief, Moth Vellum, .........

Penny's Twisted Flavour, Mars Hallow, Quasar Lux Symphoniae, Haken, Zero Hour, Myrath, H2O, Oblivian Sun, Planet X...

simoon · « **Reply #56 on:** 26 Apr 2010, 08:08 pm »

Quote from: Larkston Zinaspic on 25 Apr 2010, 02:32 am

Some of the most entertaining concert-going experiences I've had were the Genesis recreation shows staged by a band called The Musical Box, when they were touring with Martin Levac on drums a few years back.

I've seen them twice. Fun times.

But there's way too much great new progressive music available to be pining for a cover band to tour, or replaying the classics from the 70's over and over.

DARTH AUDIO · « **Reply #57 on:** 26 Apr 2010, 08:14 pm »

Abigails Ghost
Anathema
Anubis Spire
Beardfish
Believe
The Black Noodle Project
Blackfield
Blind Ego
Chance:Risiko
Days Between Stations
Demians
Djam Karet
Dredg
Enochian Theory
Ephrat
Fjieri
Fromuz
Frost
Gazpacho
Guilt Machine
Heavy Water Experiments
Henry Fool
Jelly Fiche
Jolly
Kauan
KTU
Liquid Scarlet
Lunatic Soul
Makajodama
Mandrake Project
Nil
No-Man
Nosound
OSI
Oceansize
Osada Vida
Overhead
Parzivals Eye
The Pineapple Thief
Porcupine Tree
Portal
Ppry
The Psychedelic Ensemble
Pure Reason Revolution
The Rebel Wheel
Riverside
RPWL
Seven Steps to the Green Door
Spaced Out
The Third Ending
Tow Truck Two
Travelhouse
Votum
Wobbler

Sorry for the long post, but some great music in this list.

Wayner · « **Reply #58 on:** 26 Apr 2010, 09:50 pm »

By some of your posts, progressive rock is anything that any one did. You might as well call the Mamas and Papas progressive rock, they were doing shit that no one else was, so was Dillon. How about the god damn Beatles?

Now if you asked a baby boomer what prog rock was, they would probably answer Yes, or Pink Floyd or Genesis....someone like that. But if you call Tool a band in the same catagory, not even close. For me Tool sucks so incredibly bad, they aren't even in the same league. Can you scream any louder or hit the drums any harder (with out busting the heads?) so, the term is very age specific.

To me, the term prog rock actually came from "art rock". These were bands that did LPs with a story. The listener was expected to listen to the entire LP, front to back in one sitting, to understand the story. Genesis, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, is a perfect example of this. It's a rock opera. So is Tommy the Who, and Queen, A Night at the Opera.

Wayner

JoshK · « **Reply #59 on:** 26 Apr 2010, 10:04 pm »

Quote from: Wayner on 26 Apr 2010, 09:50 pm

By some of your posts, progressive rock is anything that any one did. You might as well call the Mamas and Papas progressive rock, they were doing shit that no one else was, so was Dillon. How about the god damn Beatles?

Now if you asked a baby boomer what prog rock was, they would probably answer Yes, or Pink Floyd or Genesis....someone like that. But if you call Tool a band in the same catagory, not even close. For me Tool sucks so incredibly bad, they aren't even in the same league. Can you scream any louder or hit the drums any harder (with out busting the heads?) so, the term is very age specific.

To me, the term prog rock actually came from "art rock". These were bands that did LPs with a story. The listener was expected to listen to the entire LP, front to back in one sitting, to understand the story. Genesis, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, is a perfect example of this. It's a rock opera. So is Tommy the Who, and Queen, A Night at the Opera.

Wayner

Personally, I think this post shows your closed mindedness (and your age?). Nobody said you have to like anything. There is certainly a hell of a lot I don't like.