Confessions of a Prog Rocker

[Dave Weystoner]

I've just realised that all 6 CDs in my car player at the moment could be classified as prog rock: 2 x Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, 2 x Joe's Garage, One Size Fits All and a Yes compilation. Is one's selection for the car a refection of one's true tastes? I know I'm getting long in the tooth, but I hadn't noticed that I had regressed quite so much. Is this how it starts? How long before I go all the way back past prog and start longing for Vanilla Fudge, The Nice, Country Joe etc and then on to, God help me, Pat Boone, The Inkspots and The Laughing Policeman?

Must get out me Kaftan and beads.

Dave

[stasis]

Is that on 8 track?......Relax, there's nothing to be embarrassed about there. The Lamb is still one of my favorite albums, it is due to be released along with the other Genesis Gabriel era albums on SACD in November, you never know it might become fashionable again.
Have you still got your own hair? If I remember rightly the kaftan and beads look is crowned by a dodgy hairstyle. You wouldn't want to look silly know would you.
regards stasis.

[Dave Weystoner]

Thanks for the support Stasis. My Lamb CD is an Argentinian Virgin import bought on Amazon, and I must say the sound quality is not what I remember from the vinyl version - very sibilant, and the strident tracks sound like Peter Gabriel is singing through a school sports day Tannoy system. I've still got the album in the loft, along with my old 401/SME/V15. It's tempting to set it up again, if I can borrow a phono preamp, and do some A/B comparisons.

Dave

[Matt_C]

I like prog, but I'm from the "nu skool" or prog - other than YES, I've never heard of anyone in your first post (except Pat Boone, but only cos of his comedy records!)

I'm far more recent than all that tho, probably cos I'm only 26! Dream Theater, Lamb Of God (prog-ish metal, gotta love it!), Porcupine Tree (cross between a proggy Radiohead and Opeth, without the death metal part), Opeth (VERY-prog Death Metal!), Floyd (obviously), Mars Volta, that kind of stuff....

Can't beat a bit of Porcupine Tree to unwind to and the end of a long day, or Opeth to make you think, or Lamb Of God if you just wanna get i na voilent mood! DT are an all-weather prog band, some is quite prog, some isn't, some is very technical, some less so.....

I do like it when music makes you think

[brian s]

There's no way I would regard Zappa as prog rock. The man was outstanding in a way most prog rockers couldn't even begin to touch.

All the best
Bri

[quarry2006]

Originally Posted by Matt_C

I like prog, but I'm from the "nu skool" or prog - other than YES, I've never heard of anyone in your first post (except Pat Boone, but only cos of his comedy records!)

I'm far more recent than all that tho, probably cos I'm only 26! Dream Theater, Lamb Of God (prog-ish metal, gotta love it!), Porcupine Tree (cross between a proggy Radiohead and Opeth, without the death metal part), Opeth (VERY-prog Death Metal!), Floyd (obviously), Mars Volta, that kind of stuff....

Can't beat a bit of Porcupine Tree to unwind to and the end of a long day, or Opeth to make you think, or Lamb Of God if you just wanna get i na voilent mood! DT are an all-weather prog band, some is quite prog, some isn't, some is very technical, some less so.....

I do like it when music makes you think

You've never heard of Genesis? They had a lot of hits in the eighties; can't believe you missed them. Without them we'd have had none of the bands you're listening to now. Yes, Genesis have a lot to answer for, really (I can't bloody stand "nu prog").

And Zappa? He's a new one to you too? Blimey; trade in all your Dream Theatres and Porcupine Trees for one Zappa album. You'll never look back.

[Matt_C]

No I've heard of Zappa and Genesis - but I did say I hadn't heard of anyone in the OP's first post

[karkus30]

Originally Posted by quarry2006

You've never heard of Genesis? They had a lot of hits in the eighties; can't believe you missed them. Without them we'd have had none of the bands you're listening to now. Yes, Genesis have a lot to answer for, really (I can't bloody stand "nu prog").

And Zappa? He's a new one to you too? Blimey; trade in all your Dream Theatres and Porcupine Trees for one Zappa album. You'll never look back.

Genesis were far from being the band that inspired todays prog metallers. I would say that it was Pink Floyd,King Crimson and not forgetting the Moody Blues/Beatles welded to Black Sabbath and Iron maiden. Genesis were certainly part of that scene along with Yes, Jethro Tull, The Nice and ELP.

There is a debate as to what prog music in the 21st century actually is. I can certainly hear prog elements (as they were in 1970) in DT, Porcupine Tree and to some extents Tool. But mostly its metal and you can hear the beginnings of it in a few examples by Yes(yours is no disgrace)and King Crimson (Larks Tongues) with ELP really going for a heavier sound.

I dont think many mainstream bands are truly progressive, they are more like echoes of the past. Bands like Battles and Nerve (with Jojo Mayer) are beginning to drive things in a new direction, progressive music that is borrowing far less from the past (probably the reson that many people struggle with it) and the neo classical bit has been dumped in favour of more modern strands of music such as D and B, HipHop and Rap allied to the true genius of Don van Vliet and Zappa.

[overkill]

Originally Posted by karkus30

Genesis were far from being the band that inspired todays prog metallers. I would say that it was Pink Floyd,King Crimson and not forgetting the Moody Blues/Beatles welded to Black Sabbath and Iron maiden. Genesis were certainly part of that scene along with Yes, Jethro Tull, The Nice and ELP.

There is a debate as to what prog music in the 21st century actually is. I can certainly hear prog elements (as they were in 1970) in DT, Porcupine Tree and to some extents Tool. But mostly its metal and you can hear the beginnings of it in a few examples by Yes(yours is no disgrace)and King Crimson (Larks Tongues) with ELP really going for a heavier sound.

I dont think many mainstream bands are truly progressive, they are more like echoes of the past. Bands like Battles and Nerve (with Jojo Mayer) are beginning to drive things in a new direction, progressive music that is borrowing far less from the past (probably the reson that many people struggle with it) and the neo classical bit has been dumped in favour of more modern strands of music such as D and B, HipHop and Rap allied to the true genius of Don van Vliet and Zappa.

Tbh it's difficult to define 'what' prog was? Although it was widely chastised (by the media) in the late 70's and 80's, it was never 'one sound' that involved lot's of, to quote one music biz ****head, 'tons of meaningless noodling'.

The scene was so diverse, and yes Zappa was part of it, that it took in Jazz, neo-classical, heavy metal, electronica, folk (shudder), and with bands as wide apart as Tangerine Dream and Spyrogyra under it's umbrella it's hard to say, who, if any of them, influenced the likes of Tool et al, in any but the most general way. I find it hard to see how the likes of Dream Theater are classed as prog at all? They sound to me like a less mainstream version of VH rather than a band influenced by the likes of KK, VDGG, etc.

As such I agree that while there is a progressive 'air' about say, the likes of Tool and Opeth, in that they are willing to experiment with keyboards, multi layered vocals, weird time signatures, etc, they are not prog as it was between 1967 - 77.

Progressive yes, 'prog' no.

[Dave Weystoner]

Thanks for your replies, though I have no knowledge of the 'nu-prog' bands many of you have mentioned: my dalliance with the 70's era bands led me in a different direction, through players like Bill Bruford and Chick Corea, into jazz. Keith Emerson's piano playing on Brain Salad Surgery directly led me to a lifelong search for the perfect jazz piano track that would recreate the excitement of Keith's playing- Keith Jarrett, Michel Petrucci, Brad Medlhau, Bill Evans et al.

When I go back to Genesis and Zappa, I can trace my jazz preference in the tracks that I like/don't like.

Dave

[karkus30]

You should have a listen to Screaming Headless Torso combines Jazz, Funk and Rock.

[stasis]

[QUOTE=overkill;7760603]Tbh it's difficult to define 'what' prog was? Although it was widely chastised (by the media) in the late 70's and 80's, it was never 'one sound' that involved lot's of, to quote one music biz ****head, 'tons of meaningless noodling'.

I thought prog rock was anything that your girlfriend thought was wierd because you couldnt dance to it.
regards stasis.

[karkus30]

[QUOTE=stasis;7763745]

Originally Posted by overkill

Tbh it's difficult to define 'what' prog was? Although it was widely chastised (by the media) in the late 70's and 80's, it was never 'one sound' that involved lot's of, to quote one music biz ****head, 'tons of meaningless noodling'.

I thought prog rock was anything that your girlfriend thought was wierd because you couldnt dance to it.
regards stasis.

That makes all music weird if I have to dance to it

[Toon-man]

Prog Rock............Close To The Edge..by Yes sums it up.... brilliant...

[overkill]

[QUOTE=stasis;7763745]

Originally Posted by overkill

Tbh it's difficult to define 'what' prog was? Although it was widely chastised (by the media) in the late 70's and 80's, it was never 'one sound' that involved lot's of, to quote one music biz ****head, 'tons of meaningless noodling'.

I thought prog rock was anything that your girlfriend thought was wierd because you couldnt dance to it.
regards stasis.

Well, I can't 'dance' to 'dance music', so....................