We were talking a few months ago about what \'prog\' is. This might help a little:
sourceTop 25 Prog Rock AlbumsOur primer to the classically influenced and virtuosic genre.
by Spence D.
February 23, 2007 - Progressive Rock or Prog Rock for short, is perhaps one of the most simultaneously revered and reviled of all the genres of modern rock \'n roll. Revered for the instrumental mastery of many of the musicians who helped define the movement, which originated in the late \'60s, flourished in the \'70s, and was revived via a "Neo-Prog" movement in the late \'80s. Reviled for the very same reasons, since the musicians in question often exhibited verbose virtuosity that bordered on the self-indulgent. Or so the movement\'s main detractors claimed.
Whatever your feeling toward Prog Rock, one thing is for certain, it dominated the musical landscape for more than a decade and introduced the world to a more complex version of the "noise" that your parents hated.
While the origins of Prog Rock were centered in England, it quickly spread across Europe and eventually infiltrated North America, leaving more of an imprint on Canada than the States, however.
For the sake of this list, which is intended as a primer to the genre, we tried to include as wide an array of Prog Rock that we could. Thus you\'ll see Italian bands co-mingling with Canadian rockers, with a few Yanks lurking in the corners, and naturally quite a number of Brits representing lovely.
Enjoy!
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IGN MUSIC\'S TOP 25 PROG ROCK ALBUMS
25. Magma - Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh (A&M, 1973)French bred Magma may be one of the more difficult Prog groups to get into. Why? First and foremost all of their lyrics are sung in a language they created themselves. Secondly their music tends to reverberate with a grandiose (and incredibly complex) otherworldly operatic vibe. As the age old adage goes "You either love or hate the opera…" So to it is with Magma. That said, the group built upon the basic tenets of the movement and created some interesting, and albeit difficultly intriguing, music.
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24. Porcupine Tree - Up The Downstair (Delerium, 1993)Loosely part of the "Neo-Prog" revival of the late \'80s and early \'90s Porcupine Tree has always been one of those groups that lets their feet dance in a variety of genres, ranging from psychedelic to trance/ambient to lilting pop, and of course Prog. Frontman Steven Wilson is a guitar virtuoso and specializes in crafting deft and complex melodies. While the band\'s sound has morphed over the years, this is their best representation on the Prog front.
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23. U.K. - U.K. (EG, 1978)Perhaps the first bona fide Prog Rock supergroup, U.K. was formed by ex-members of King Crimson, Yes, Roxy Music, and Soft Machine in 1977. Featuring electric violinist Eddie Jobson, bassist John Wetton, guitarist Allan Holdsworth, and drummer Bill Bruford, the group kicked out lush epics like "Thirty Years" and "Mental Medication" with elements of linear jazz mobilization and classical fusion intersection rippling throughout.
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22. IQ - The Wake (Sahara, 1985)Another of the "Neo-Prog" revivalists, IQ, along with Marillion, helped bring back the grandiose aura of classic Prog when they emerged in the early \'80s. However, unlike their forefathers, IQ went for more of a stripped down sound, relying heavily on the use of mesmerizing repetition (listen to their seminal classic "Corners" for the best example of this). They also utilized some of the coolest artwork of the day for their album covers, another throwback to the vintage \'70s period of the genre.
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21. Renaissance - Ashes Are Burning (One Way, 1973)As their name implies, Renaissance borrowed from a myriad of musical stylings, most centered around the Renaissance time period. Naturally they updated the ancient song cycles and injected them with grandiose flourishes of modern rock \'n roll aesthetics. This, their fourth release, is one of their more fully realized, featuring glorious piano work and emphatic vocals that draw upon elements of chamber music and traditional European folk idioms. The rich three-octave ranged vocals of Annie Haslam made the group one of the few with a female frontperson.
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20. Kansas - Leftoverture (Kirshner, 1976)One of the few American progenitors of Prog, Kansas went for a unique rural folk infused/Heartland rock-meets-Euro Prog stylings kind of feel with their music. Elements of American boogie-woogie, Southern Rock, and ho-down honky-tonk (most prominently heard via the excessive use of fiddle) melded themselves to intricate keyboard passages. They paid tribute to the genre with their cool cover art and curiously "ironic" album title, as well.
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19. The Moody Blues - On The Threshold Of A Dream (Polydor, 1969)Residing on the kinder, gentler edge of Prog, The Moody Blues instilled the genre with a more lush orchestral approach. Granted many of their peers borrowed heavily from the Classical arena (utilizing elements of Baroque, Romantic, and Ecclesiastical music), The Moody Blues were almost like the Burt Bacharachs of the Prog world. This isn\'t meant as a dis, either. They crafted richly complex pop movements that were rooted in psychedelia, classical, and rock. While they unleashed many a fine album during this period, this is the one that features the grand ode to Timothy Leary.
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18. PFM - Per Uni (Numero Uno, 1972)One of the few Italian proponents of the movement, Premiata Forneria Marconi (aka PFM for those who missed the acronymic reduction) had the distinction of being signed to ELP\'s Manticore record label (how\'s that for an endorsement?). As with Magma, the band didn\'t sing in English. Unlike Magma, they used a "real" language (i.e. their native tongue of Italian). The combined aggressive flute, skirling guitars, and impressive keyboard workouts to create some of the most edgy Prog of the day. Oh yeah, for those concerned with crazy trivia, the band\'s full name comes from the bakery that sponsored them when they were first getting started.
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17. Amon Duul II - Phallus Dei (Repertoire, 1969)Some might argue that Amon Duul II belong in a Krautrock sub-category. Unlike their fellow German rock brethren (Hawkwind, Can, Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, to name a few) Amon Duul II prescribed more to the blueprint of Prog than anything else. Sure, they had the improvisational undertones of jazzy psychedelia, but at the heart of their sound was an undeniable glow of Prog. While the band issued a few "classics," it\'s their first album proper that really sets the tone for their spacey excursions into the outer limits of Prog.
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16. Camel - The Snow Goose (Deram, 1975)Like many of their British comrades, Camel arose during the height of the movement in 1972. With this 1975 release the band made one of the more ambitious albums of the period by crafting what was essentially an instrumental concept album. The 16 track album was based upon Paul Gallico\'s novella and followed the emotional storyline of the book via music (there are no lyrics, per se, although a few tracks feature "wordless" vocal accompaniment).
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15. Angels\'in Heavy Syrup - III (Circular Reasoning, 1995)This Japanese trio may very well be the requisite "black sheep" of the genre. Consisting of singer and bassist Mineko Itakura, guitarist Mine Nakao and for this release Tomoko Takahara on flute, drums and percussion and second guitarist Fusao Toda. The result is a gossamer tainted excursion into ambient laced Prog. Delicately intricate and hauntingly ethereal.
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14. FM - Black Noise (One Way, 1977)One of the numerous Canadian Prog outfits (along with Rush, Saga, and others) FM is perhaps the least known from the Great White North. The band released an incredibly hard-to-find live disc prior to this, their first "bona fide" studio album. Anchored by Nash The Slash on electric violin and fronted by Cameron Hawkins, along with drummer Martin Deller, they unleashed a strangely beguiling brand of Prog that had hauntingly delicate undertones matched by jazzy excursions and flights of synthesized fancy.
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13. Focus - 3 (IRS, 1972)This Dutch Prog outfit\'s third release is centered around the 13-miniute, 55-second magnum opus "Answers? Questions! Questions? Answers!" and concludes with the whopping 26-minute, 19-second "Anonymous Two." The band, which was founded by vocalist/keyboardist/flutist Thijs van Leer is perhaps best known as the launching pad for guitarist Jan Akkerman.
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12. Triumverat - Mediterranean Tales (Across The Water) (EMI, 1972)This German Prog outfit released a number of intriguing albums including Illusions On A Double Dimple and Spartacus, but this, their debut still remains the best example of their signature sound. Borrowing from Mozart on the opening salvo, "Across The Waters: Overture/Taxident/Mind Trippe/5 O\'Clock Tea/Satan" and culminating with the keyboard driven thrust of "Broken Mirror" Triumverat deliver a classic Prog vibe.
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11. Caravan - For Girls Who Grow Plump In The Night (Decca, 1973)Founded in the mythologically rich Canterbury section of England, Caravan began as a jazz infused psychedelic outfit before morphing into more traditional Prog fare. The band never lost their jazz fusion chops, though, employing wonderful nuances of rhythm and groove into their singular brand of the movement. Furthermore, with song titles ranging from the Lovecraft derived "C\'thulu Thulu" to the fart/dick joke irony of "He Who Smelt It Dealt It" on down to "Derek\'s Long Thing," not to mention the album title no less, Caravan proved that Prog could have a bawdy sense of humor even while rolling out the intricate, often self-indulgent grooves.
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10. Rush - 2112 (Mercury, 1976)Undeniably the Canadian Godfathers of Prog, Rush evolved from a bare bones barroom rock band into a full-fledged Prog trio before shifting off into more streamlined synth enhanced fare by the late \'80s. This album showcases Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neal Pert in fine form as they delivered a conceptual album based on the writings of Ayn Rand. While tracks like "A Passage To Bangkok" may not be exactly Prog, the first side of the album, a whopping 20-minute, 33-second suite broken into seven sections, more than qualifies as a benchmark of the genre.
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9. Gentle Giant - In A Glass House (Dressed To Kill, 1973)Like most of their contemporaries, Gentle Giant formed in the late \'60s and rooted through classic Blues rock avenues and Psychedelic overtones before dialing in their signature Prog sound. While their albums
Octopus and
Three Friends are generally regarded as their masterpieces of the genre, this is the album that Columbia Records in the U.S. deemed too uncommercial for Stateside release!
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8. Nektar - A Tab In The Ocean (Bellaphon, 1972)Another German outfit that straddled the divide between Psychedelia, Krautrock, and Prog, Nektar has a number of intriguing albums to their credit, but none capture the imagination more than this, their debut full-length. In true
**** Prog fashion, the album consists of only five tunes with such phantasmagorical titles as "King Of Twilight" and "desolation Valley."
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7. Jethro Tull - Thick As A Brick (Chrysalis, 1972)As the foremost proponents of the more folk inspired branch of Prog, Jethro Tull helped infuse heavy doses of medieval skullduggery and traditional British folk elements into the genre. Much of this was due to frontman Ian Anderson\'s extended use of the flute, not to mention generous portions of mandolin and other like-minded classical instruments. For their fifth studio release and the album following their breakthrough Aqualung, the band went hell-bent for leather on the conceptual tip. The album contains two tracks: "Thick As A Brick" on Side A and "Thick As A Brick" on Side B. Naturally each track is really a suite broken up into several distinct movements. That the album was originally released with a full newspaper styled cover took the concept even one step further, engaging the audience both visually and aurally.
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6. Emerson, Lake And Palmer - Brain Salad Surgery (Atlantic, 1973)While ELP had three excellent studio albums plus one intense live one to their credit prior to the release of this early \'70s gem, it\'s here that they really coalesced their signature sound and took it to gloriously new levels of intensity. First up there\'s the wildly twisted cover art courtesy of H.R. Giger. Then of course there\'s the wonderfully out-there "Karn Evil 9," the track that anchors the album and has become one of the many classics of the ELP canon.
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5. Marillion - Misplaced Childhood (1985)Arguably the leaders of the Neo-Prog revival that took place in Britain during the mid-\'80s, Marillion may not have been as instrumentally intricate as their forefathers (Genesis, Yes, ELP) but what they may have lacked in virtuosity, they more than made up for in brilliant imagery and lyrical depth. Frontman Fish bore a strong vocal resemblance to Peter Gabriel, but beyond that his lyrical fortitude was much more emotional and personal. In fact, the first three Marillion albums consisted almost entirely of Fish\'s grappling with bad break-ups and missed romantic opportunities. It all comes to a head here with such classic tunes as "Lavender," "Heart of Lothian/Wide Boy/Curtain Call," and "Childhood\'s End?" What\'s more is that Marillion made excellent use of their album art providing fans with an ongoing visual menagerie consisting of a harlequin, a magpie, and a chameleon. Simply classic.
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4. Yes - Close To The Edge (Atlantic Records, 1972)Deciding on which Yes album to include on a list of essential Prog albums is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Both
The Yes Album and
Fragile are bona fide classics of the genre, not to mention just plain classic albums regardless of genre. But in terms of being
**** Prog to the gills, one cannot top Close To The Edge (except perhaps with
Tales From Topographic Oceans). In true blue Prog fashion the album consists of three tracks, the first two of which are mini-suites broken into distinct movements.
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3. Aphrodite\'s Child - 666: The Apocalypse Of Saint John (One Way, 1972)Hailing from Greece Aphrodite\'s Child has the distinction of being one of the first groups that noted keyboardist Vangelis belonged to. While the group issued a few albums in Europe, this was their lone breakthrough. And what a breakthrough it was. A massive double album centered around themes of Biblical proportions (as the title so plainly attests to). Featuring such wonderful gems as "The Four Horsemen" and others it\'s an interesting album in that the bulk of the tracks clock in at the 3-minute mark (virtually unheard of for a Prog album). That said, these "mini-songs" all blend together making the album work as a succinct whole.
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2. King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crimson King (EG, 1969)In most circles King Crimson\'s debut platter is regarded as the album that spawned the Prog Rock movement. Conversely, King Crimson founder Robert Fripp has generally made it known that he detests such a classification. Regardless, this classic line-up (KC changed frequently over the years) consists of Fripp, Ian McDonald, Greg Lake (pre-ELP), Michael Giles, and Peter Sinfield (who would later contribute lyrics to ELP). Consisting of a mere five tracks, the album contains the seminal "21srt Century Schizoid Man" as well as the introspective "I Talk To The Wind" and the wonderfully epic title track.
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1. Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway (Atco, 1974)What really needs to be said about Genesis\' magnum opus? This was the last album featuring enigmatic frontman Peter Gabriel. It was also the album that represented the quintessential Genesis line-up: Gabriel on flute and vox, Phil Collins on drums, Tony Banks on keyboards, Steve Hackett on guitar, and Mike Rutherford on bass. Not only that, but it was a sprawling conceptual album detailing the adventures of one Rael who at one point in the storyline has his
**** lopped off, places it in a vial, and then wears it around his neck only to have it eventually snatched away by a greedy raven! This album is epic beyond epic, with Banks incorporating recognizable hymns from the church, Gabriel tackling strange visions of New York, Collins drumming up a storm, Rutherford maintaining a nimble stance on the bass, and Hackett delivering one of the greatest guitar solos ever on "The Supernatural Anaesthetist." Seminal. Classic. Essential. Period.
HONORABLE MENTIONSAlan Parson\'s Project - I, Robot Ambrosia - Ambrosia Atomic Rooster - Death Walks Behind You The Enid - Aerie Fairie Nonsense
Goblin - Susperia Gong - Camembert Electrique Guru Guru - UFO National Health - National Health The Nice - Nice Riverside - Out Of Myself Saga - Silent Knight Soft Machine - Vol. 2 Transatlantic - Stolt Morse Portnoy Trewavas Uriah Heep - Demons and Wizards Van Der Graaf Generator - Pawn Hearts Can\'t believe they missed: Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells Dream Theater - Metropolis Part 2: Scenes from a Memory
