Prog Rock Thread

I love some classic progressive rock, bands like Yes, ELP, Atomic Rooster, etc. I didn't see a thread dedicated to prog, so I figured I'd make one.

So, what are your favorites of the genre? and anything else related to prog you'd like to share I guess.

Prog is such a diverse subgenre. It has so many other spin-offs and classifications that it's debatable as to what's prog and what isn't these days. But whether or not some of them are considered truly "prog", I love quite a lot of bands that I think fit into it quite nicely.

Obligatory bands that I have to love by law:
Rush
Yes
ELP
Genesis (not a big fan, but I like them fine)
Pink Floyd
King Crimson
Jethro Tull
Mars Volta...possibly

Lesser known bands/and "debatably prog" bands:
Klaatu
Subject Esq.
Alan Parson Project
Supertramp
Sahara
Journey (pre-Steve Perry)
Styx (pre-Tommy Shaw)
Laundry
Traffic
Captain Beyond
Atomic Rooster
Gentle Giant
Radiohead
Soft Machine
Jadis

early Styx, Rush, Camel



those would be my faves I guess.





Not a huge fan of this genre though. I prefer progressive metal.

ANGEL's first 2 albums before they went all out glam-pop.(but I still like all their albums)
STYX mid 1970s
also
Be-Bop Deluxe, YES, ELO, Genesis, ELP, King Crimson, Camel, Moody Blues , Asia

I am into Anekdoten, Moon Safari, Grobschnitt.

exact33 wrote:

I am into Anekdoten, Moon Safari, Grobschnitt.

Yeah!!!!! Someone else who likes Anekdoten!!!!!!! Have you ever heard their side project they did with a couple of members from Anglagard, Morte Macabre?

Just some examples:

Premiata Forneria Marconi
Banco del Mutuo Soccorso
Eloy
Kansas
Styx(they still had progressive moments until Cornerstone)
Rush
Yes
Genesis
Camel
ELP
Gentle Giant
Jethro Tull
King Crimson
Caravan
Henry Cow
Anglagard
Anekdoten
Marillion
Pallas
Twelfth Night
However
Saga
Ambrosia(the first two and a half albums are filled with excellent prog!!!!)
Zazu
Touch(1969, not the AOR band)
ELO
Barclay James Harvest(Moody Blues-ish type of prog)
Moody Blues(pre-Octave)
Rare Bird
Fields
Hands
Yezda Urfa
Kayak
Nektar
Le Orme
Van Der Graf Generator
Pink Floyd
Porcupine Tree
Proto-Kaw
Renaissance
David Sancious(Bruce Springsteen's Original Keyboardist)
Starcastle

Oooh, forgot to Mention Nektar. I really like that band.

Oh, thank you Shawn. I searched Progressive Rock in the search box, and that was not one of the results.

Also, they are a bit more hard rock progressive, though probably not really metal.



King's X



I really like those guys.



Also,



Porcupine Tree







good stuff there ...





And course I'm a major fan of Symphony X, Shadow Gallery, Dream Theater, Secret Sphere, Pagan's Mind, etc etc. But that's progressive metal.

I would also throw in Haken but they might be more metal than rock..

Honestly, Camel kinda impressed me. I wasn't expecting much but I picked up an album and it's SCHWEET!

Chewie has this one covered quite well in his post.

King Crimson is still my favorite overall and still the measuring stick I tend to use to judge other prog rock bands by.

A couple not on Chewie's list: Gong & Can.

King Crimson is a band I've always wanted to check out ... but have been leary of doing so because my love for prog only goes so far.



I love a few bands though.



I just don't like all the keyboard wankery. And the fretboard wankery.





Rush is one of my all time fave bands though. Is King Crimson more in the Rush camp ... or are they more like Yes and Genesis?

King Crimson changed their sound and personnel every couple albums, so there isn't "one" Crimson sound.

They are some of the noisiest and least accesible of all those bands, which I why I like them.

They are for about 20% of the population, they generally confuse or scare off the average listener.

S.D. wrote:

Chewie has this one covered quite well in his post.

King Crimson is still my favorite overall and still the measuring stick I tend to use to judge other prog rock bands by.

A couple not on Chewie's list: Gong & Can.

Really? Mine is Yes(Fragile thru Relayer). BTW, Jon Anderson is still mad at Fripp for stealing Bruford

And I still missed a few...........

Stomu Yamashta's Go (featuring Steve Winwood, Klaus Schulze, Al Di Meola, Michael Shrieve, Pat Thrall & Rosko Gee. How's that for a supergroup!!!!!!!!!)
Steve Hillage
Focus
Magma
Spock's Beard
Cathedral (There's a US 1978 Symphonic Prog band and a US 1990s Neo-prog band)
Ad Infinitum
FM (the Canadian one)
and on & on................

Progressive Rock is my other musical love!

Can, I never listened to, but know of and I only have Time Is the Key by Pierre Moerlen's Gong.

King Crimson rules. I only have about 5 albums, but I would rank them up near the top. I think I got into them so easily because I was a big fan of The Mars Volta beforehand, and they definitely borrow from Crimson in their sound.

Porcupine Tree is also one of my top bands...and Yes, and Genesis, and Pink Floyd. Rush too, of course.

I'm impressed that so many people here listen to prog rock.

I was listening to progressive rock BEFORE I discovered metal, now I've returned to it almost full time.

Chewie. The reason I like Crimson so much is the improv aspect. Their live recordings (and there are TONS available from their website) are always better than the studio versions and they never play a song exactly the same way twice. They are much closer to jazz in that respect than most other prog bands and that's what makes them special.

My favorite lineup is the 1972 band (Islands) which featured Boz Burrell on bass/vocals and Mel Collins on sax/flute. I have a live recording from a Denver radio station where they improv over "The Creator Has A Masterplan". Great stuff.

Some of my faves

Alphataurus
Bloodrock (they began as hard rock, but the "Passages" era is great prog)
Camel
FM (right- the canadian one- awesome band)
Eloy
It Bites
Keats
Multi-story
Planet P
Trillion
UK
Web/Samurai

these are from the melodic end of the spectrum- not real strange or anything

Camel is gorgeous music, "pretty prog" if there was such a term. Love it.

Crimson had a lot of very mellow and orchestral pieces throughout their career as well. "Song Of The Gulls" from Islands comes to mind, as does "Starless" and "In The Court of The Crimson King". But they would blow your head off on the next track....

I know jack & sh*t about prog music, but the one group that I like that I don't think has been mentioned is Riverside.



They've been described as the Polish version of Porcupine Tree. And not in an ass-backwards, Polish joke way either. Very good, slightly more metal than rock, but not so harsh that fans of both couldn't enjoy. Highly recommended by this ass-hat.



http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=1287

Definitely a prog fan, here. Got hooked on my older brother's Kansas albums as a kid so they are definitely a sentimental favorite for me. Most of my faves have been named, but when in a prog mood, I go for Spock's Beard, Gentle Giant, Kansas, Porcupine Tree, ELP, Yes, Peter Gabriel, Genesis, Neal Morse, ... I have listened to Camel but don't own any yet. The want list is in a perpetual state of growth...

Geez, forgot Rush, Budgie, and Pink Floyd.

Voivod did some great prog albums:

Dimension Hatross
Nothingface
Angel Rat
The Outer Limits

All of them are must haves IMO

King Crimson is my favorite out of prog rock, also Stone Temple Pilots, but they're a bit heavier (which, in a way, shouldn't be a problem for this forum xP)