Top 10 Progressive Rock Albums

Started by John Black, January 29, 2016, 01:04:27 AM

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Kevin M


ssimoes

#26
Choosing only 10 prog albums is a tough task. And my favorites for some of the bands listed in the article are different. I'd include the following, in no particular order:

Yes - Fragile (fav) and Relayer (2nd fav)
King Crimson - Red (fav) and Discipline (2nd)
ELP - Brain Salad Surgery (fav)
Triumvirat - Illusions on a Double Dimple, Spartacus
Camel - Mirage, Moonmadness
Gryphon - Red Queen to Gryphon Three
Gentle Giant - Three Friends, Octopus, Free Hand
Focus - Focus III
Steve Hackett - Voyage Of The Acolyte (absolutely fantastic!!!)
Alan Parsons - I Robot (I'd also include Eye in the Sky and The Turn of a Friendly Card, though more pop)
PFM - Photos of Ghost (OK, a 'better of' album but... it's great!)
Jon Anderson - Olias of Sunhillow
Captain Beyond - Captain Beyond (some would say that this one is not prog but... IMHO...)

Hummm... I'm also behind the times regarding progressive rock :)
I sure forgot a lot of albums and many others mentioned here I never heard off. I'll sure look for them.
I agree... this is a great topic.  :D
In the beginning there was the "MASCHINE"
the survival and the organization of the planet depend upon the "MASCHINE"
the future and the past depend upon the "MASCHINE"... the past?
but who wanted the "MASCHINE" ?

ssimoes

#27
Since I posted the last message I tried to 'upgrade' my prog rock appreciation and the best way I've foud was listening web radios dedicated to the genre (the best I found so far is Morrow.com, by the way). And, in fact, there are many fine new (or even not so new) prog bands out there :)

Among many fine tracks and albums there is one I've heard repeatedly since then. It's the 2006's album 'The Dark Third' from a band called 'Pure Reason Revolution'. A really pleasant surprise for me (and even this is already 10 years old).

BTW... can some kind soul explain to me the difference between 'Progressive Metal' and the other 'Something Metal' kind of music. It really baffles me why there are so many 'Metal' categories if they are all so similar. I mean, when you raise the level of speedy and heavily distorted guitars in music it's like putting some banana in a fruit smoothie: everything tastes like banana after that, isn't it? Just kidding :)

In the beginning there was the "MASCHINE"
the survival and the organization of the planet depend upon the "MASCHINE"
the future and the past depend upon the "MASCHINE"... the past?
but who wanted the "MASCHINE" ?

Kevin M

Quote from: ssimoes on April 14, 2016, 06:08:33 AM
Since I posted the last message I tried to 'upgrade' my prog rock appreciation and the best way I've foud was listening web radios dedicated to the genre (the best I found so far is Morrow.com, by the way). And, in fact, thare are many fine new (or even not so new) prog bands out there :)

Among many fine tracks and albums there is one I've heard repeatedly since then. It's the 2006's album 'The Dark Thrird' from a band called 'Pure Reason Revolution'. A really pleasant surprise for me (and even this is already 10 years old).

BTW... can some kind soul explain to me the difference between 'Progressive Metal' and the other 'Something Metal' kind of music. It really baffles me why there are so many 'Metal' cathegories if they are all so similar. I mean, when you raise the level of speedy and heavily distorted guitars in music it's like putting some banana in a fruit smoothie: everything tastes like banana after that, isn't it? Just kidding :)

Kind of hard to tell which is which sometimes. I would categorize Metallica as metal and Dream Theater as progressive metal, if that helps.

hading

Quote from: ssimoes on April 14, 2016, 06:08:33 AM
BTW... can some kind soul explain to me the difference between 'Progressive Metal' and the other 'Something Metal' kind of music. It really baffles me why there are so many 'Metal' cathegories if they are all so similar. I mean, when you raise the level of speedy and heavily distorted guitars in music it's like putting some banana in a fruit smoothie: everything tastes like banana after that, isn't it? Just kidding :)

I have to confess that as prog drifts over into prog metal my interest level dips, but I'd say that there's the obvious - that prog metal seems to draw on prog influences. One tangible thing is that as far as I know keyboards are more prominent than in some other sub-genres of metal. But again, I'm not really a metal guy.

admin

Lemme and Motörhead = Heavy Metal


John Petrucci and Dream Theater = Progressive Metal

ssimoes

Hey, THX for the attention folks.
How about these?







I think that my confusion arises from the fact that many of these acts do many different kinds of tracks.
For instance, the first time I heard 'Fluff', no one would convince me that it was from Black Sabbath.

In the beginning there was the "MASCHINE"
the survival and the organization of the planet depend upon the "MASCHINE"
the future and the past depend upon the "MASCHINE"... the past?
but who wanted the "MASCHINE" ?

Kevin M

Quote from: ssimoes on April 14, 2016, 10:59:07 AM
Hey, THX for the attention folks.
How about these?







I think that my confusion arises from the fact that many of these acts do many different kinds of tracks.
For instance, the first time I heard 'Fluff', no one would convince me that it was from Black Sabbath.

These things can be subjective. Might be best to simply enjoy the music without getting too caught up in the label. :-)

ssimoes

Quote from: Kevin M on April 14, 2016, 11:05:29 AM
These things can be subjective. Might be best to simply enjoy the music without getting too caught up in the label. :-)

I certainly do that. I think I never thought any label of my own, you know.
I was just wondering how the people spots all those differences in what, at least for me, looks mostly the same  ???

In the beginning there was the "MASCHINE"
the survival and the organization of the planet depend upon the "MASCHINE"
the future and the past depend upon the "MASCHINE"... the past?
but who wanted the "MASCHINE" ?

admin

#34
It's confusing ,(if not embarrassing ) even at the Grammy's Jethro Tull once won best Heavy Metal Band back in 1989
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammy_Award_for_Best_Hard_Rock/Metal_Performance_Vocal_or_Instrumental

Placing labels or "writing about music is like Dancing about Archetecture" -  to paraphrase Frank Zappa

billbax

My favourite prog albums.

1.  Lizard - King Crimson


2. In a Glass House - Gentle Giant.  Love Ray Shulman's bass tone, sounds almost acoustic.



3.  Argus - Wishbone Ash.  No quite prog-rock, but close enough.  Andy Powell is the master of the band's Anglo-Saxon sound, and deserves more recognition than he gets.  Accept nothing less!


I'm done...

Bill

chrish

#36
I was checking out a youtube live performance of what looked like a high school band playing the Yes tune 'Awaken' and the drums piano, bass and lead guitar nailed it big time. Not an easy thing to do.  So what would be the list of the top 10 progressive rock songs for that era? imo, Yes would have two on that list,'awaken' and 'close to the edge'.

DreamTheory

Quote from: chrish on April 14, 2016, 03:36:08 PM
I was checking out a youtube live performance of what looked like a high school band playing the Yes tune 'Awaken' and the drums piano, bass and lead guitar nailed it big time. Not an easy thing to do.  So what would be the list of the top 10 progressive rock songs for that era? imo, Yes would have two on that list,'awaken' and 'close to the edge'.

+1 to that... Yes fans go round and round in circles about which album is the best, but I think there is a lot of agreement that these two songs are masterpieces.
electric: Epiphone Dot semihollow body, acoustic: mahogany jumbo, recording: Cubase Artist 11 or Tascam DP008

ssimoes

I think it's impossible to list only 10 albums, much less only 10 songs  :)

Hmmmm.... let me try.... Starless, Islands, Lizard, I Talk to the Wind (King Crimson), Ripples (Genesis), Summer '68 (Pink Floyd),
Jerusalem, Still... you Turn me On (ELP), Roundabout, Soon (Yes), Hide in Your Shell, Rudy (Supertramp), I Robot (Alan Parsons)...etc

10 songs?... no way!!!
In the beginning there was the "MASCHINE"
the survival and the organization of the planet depend upon the "MASCHINE"
the future and the past depend upon the "MASCHINE"... the past?
but who wanted the "MASCHINE" ?

Autana

#39
Despite the categorical it may seem the term "progressive rock" I agree about not becoming label obsessive, although necessary to define certain boundaries lest someone comes to include ABBA or Isaac Hayes next to King Krimson.

My list of course includes many listed above, and add some others I remember with warm feeling.

FLASH -  this band grab my atention with OUT OF OUR HANDS album.

Wikipedia
Flash was an English progressive rock group, formed by former Yes guitarist Peter Banks and vocalist Colin Carter in August 1971. Bassist Ray Bennett and drummer Mike Hough completed the line-up.

At 20:00 ~ 20:30  sound like a "morphing" between Yes and Wishbone Ash, note the use of twin guitars.

FLASH - OUT OF OUR HANDS 

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Mindmirror - Ekseption - they swins easily between the waters of progressive and jazz, meeting with academic classic.

Ekseption was a Dutch rock band active from 1967 to 1989, playing mostly-instrumental progressive rock and classical rock.

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Premiata Forneria Marconi -- Appena Un Po'
Italian band with a very interesting approach to fusion progressive elements. Performed a successful US tour in 70's.

This haunting mellotron-led epic opened the seminal 'Per Un Amico' (1972), which helped pave the way for Italy to become one of progressive rock's foremost powers, and PFM one of its foremost groups.


! No longer available


Quote from: billbax on April 14, 2016, 12:39:46 PM
Wishbone Ash.  No quite prog-rock, but close enough
Bill
Vas Dis - OGWT 1971 - Wishbone Ash    video posted in YouTube by Martin Turner ex Wishbone Ash.

Although it was already mentioned here by Bill, this imaginative 6/8  theme is worth seeing. Wishbone Ash is a primal influence and very important for my early steps on the music starway as part of the concept of instrumental progressive rock with jazz/rock/blues/fusion nuances, dont you think Bill? :)

Youtube someone comment, which I agree to myself
QuoteOne of the major influences on my guitar playing ability. They never got the recognition that they deserve. One of the best bands EVER! 

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From my born country, Venezuela, we have Vytas Brenner Ofrenda, most likely they are completely unknown for you.
Vytas Brenner (19 September 1946 – 18 March 2004) was a Venezuelan musician, keyboardist, guitarist and composer. He was born in Tübingen, Germany. Like many European Jews on the wake of World War II, his family migrated to Venezuela in 1949 when he was 2 years old.
In 1972 Brenner formed his own band, "La Ofrenda" (The Offering) and recorded 5 very successful LPs until 1979. With "Ofrenda" he started his pioneer work with compositions for combinations of electric and electronic instruments (synthesizers) with acoustic instruments and piano; and blending Progressive-Symphonic Rock, Latin rhythms, and Venezuelan traditional themes, with astounding results.

Vytas Brenner y su Ofrenda - Tragavenados 

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Fear just pulls you out of being true to music, which is coming from a place of love. Love is the opposite of fear. I stay away from anything fear-related.
- Tal Wilkenfeld -

hading

If I were to name the one band that is perhaps a little more obscure that I'm enthusiastic about it would be echolyn.

They started up in the prog revivial of the 90s and invited comparisons to the likes of Gentle Giant. The third album, As The World (which incidentally I'd put on my top 10 list), was on a major label (Sony), but they didn't have any idea what to do with that kind of music. As best I can tell they continued on with their lives and also continued to get together and put out killer music, though as to be expected it's not the same as that of their youth. Forsaking any attempt at fame and fortune in favor of doing the music they want to do, which for whatever reason connects with me. I've seen the term prog-Americana applied to it, and I don't think that's a bad label for it, if it must have one.

joaobraga


Many of my favorite bands have already been mentioned.

There is also one band that I like a lot that I think it´s not been mentioned yet.
They remind me so much the influence of many other bands I have been listening through the years.

They are Swedish and no, it's not ABBA  ;)
Kaipa is their name and although their first album is from 73
I just start listening them recently.

They have a new album a couple of years back, these are from 2003 and 2007:





hading

Quote from: joaobraga on April 15, 2016, 10:16:48 AM
They are Swedish and no, it's not ABBA  ;)
Kaipa is their name and although their first album is from 73
I just start listening them recently.

I'm not familiar with them, though I have heard the name. Roine Stolt did some other great stuff do, of which I'm most familiar with The Flower Kings. I'm surprised he's not mentioned more in prog guitar circles.

Autana

Quote from: joaobraga on April 15, 2016, 10:16:48 AM
Many of my favorite bands have already been mentioned.

There is also one band that I like a lot that I think it´s not been mentioned yet.
They remind me so much the influence of many other bands I have been listening through the years.

They are Swedish and no, it's not ABBA  ;)
Kaipa is their name and although their first album is from 73
I just start listening them recently.


I had not heard of Kaipa. Great  band overall sound and production, there are some outstanding guitar and synth works!
GR-55, GP-10, GI-20, Godin xtSA, GodinNylon MultiAc, Giannini classical, 3 GK-3'd gtrs, Cube 80XL, Primova GKFX-21 (x2)

Fear just pulls you out of being true to music, which is coming from a place of love. Love is the opposite of fear. I stay away from anything fear-related.
- Tal Wilkenfeld -

DreamTheory

Prog people and modern jazz fans please be sure to check out Art of Life music. The guy that owns and operates it is the most knowledgeable music afficionado I ever met, and totally dedicated. He mastered a 1978 recording with Allan Holdsworth playing 12 string with Danny Thompson, called Propensity. What a jewel! http://www.artofliferecords.com/cdcatalog.html

As for favorite prog albums, Enigmatic Ocean (JLP) would have to be an all time great. On the slightly more obscure side I liked Queens and Cues by National Health, The Rotter's Club by Hatfield and the North, UK by UK. Yeah I have a Brit thing. Hard to pick a Holdsworth album. iou? Velvet Darkness? Sands? Atavachron? But I don't think something has to be obscure to be good. So yeah Kansas and Rush had some great long pieces. Di Meola's Splendido Hotel was incredible, I played that and albums from that period so many times I could hear them in my head. What about Bruford: One of A Kind.

Songs of Water is a new band I like, they do a lot of "world" music and they use authentic ethnic acoustic instruments. Sort if the opposite of V guitar, really.  New Age post rock chamber music? I don't know what the heck genres are any more. There is some cool computer game music out there though.
electric: Epiphone Dot semihollow body, acoustic: mahogany jumbo, recording: Cubase Artist 11 or Tascam DP008

chrish

Anyone remember the 1975 Jade Warrior album 'waves'? Quote from the sleeve '' fade in with long chord of Fm.ish made by ping-ponging single notes from Tom's music master pocket organ onto home revox and playing tape at half speed and making whale rise by distortion + 7 1/2 ips echo''. The album was full of ambient textures mixed with rock themes. Definitly progressive.

CodeSmart

Quote from: Autana on April 15, 2016, 12:59:59 PM
I had not heard of Kaipa. Great  band overall sound and production, there are some outstanding guitar and synth works!
I saw them playing last summer. Great!
I think they started in 1973 and now playing again.
But I got more gear than I need...and I like it!

Chumly

Quote from: ssimoes on April 14, 2016, 06:08:33 AMBTW... can some kind soul explain to me the difference between 'Progressive Metal' and the other 'Something Metal' kind of music.
"People want to classify and say, 'OK, this is a gangster film.' 'This is a Western.' 'This is a... ' You know? It's easy to classify and it makes people feel comfortable, but it doesn't matter, it doesn't really matter." - Martin Scorsese
I think it's much more interesting to live not knowing than to have answers which might be wrong. - Richard P. Feynman

arkieboy

I'm not a fan of 'top 10' kind of things.  Much better if they were '10 things you should listen to in this genre'. 


There's all sorts of curios and oddities in the prog oeuvre worthwhile tracking down. 


Here's a few off the top of my head
- The Wake, iQ.  I saw iQ with their original front man on this tour and dismissed them as a bit derivative.  A couple of years ago I picked up a copy of this on CD and the songs have a real naive charm I totally missed at the time.


- The Underfall Yard, Big Big Train.  Picked up on these guys on a 'Prog' cover CD.  I prefer my bands to have a tighter cast (5 members max) so they've left me behind recently, but this has some magnificent moments.  English Electric 1 is also pretty splendid


- Once Around the World - It Bites.  A great prog-pop album.  Coda on Yellow Christian and the race sequence in the title track can duke it out with the best.  More recently, Map of the Past is also worth your time.



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Antonuzzo

Quote from: Kevin M on January 29, 2016, 10:40:03 AM
Nothing past 1981 in that list...what a pity!  Plenty of great progressive rock has come out in the last 35 years. :-)

I was thinking just this. I'd kind of expect to see Queensryche or even the Von Hertzen Brothers in there. Or hell, even Suede! Night Thoughts and The Blue Hour are full-on concept albums.

And wot, no Steve Hillage?