PROGLUCKY

Ronald Couture

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

SPECIAL COLLABORATOR: Progarchives.com Founder / In Memoriam

Member since: 1/31/2004 • Forum posts: 89 • Last visit: 6/1/2015 10:58:02 AM EST
Location: Canada

Progressive Biography

MY PROG TASTES:
I enjoy many styles of prog rock: neo prog, folk prog, space rock & prog metal. My favorite artists are from the early days: BARCLAY, JAMES & HARVEST, ELOY, JETHRO TULL, The MOODY BLUES, PINK FLOYD, The STRAWBS but the symphonic flavour of GENESIS' music has always attracted me most. I'm an avid music man -- I love to discover new bands, and there is so many in the world.

In my opinion, recent years have brought us some very good and memorable Prog Rock music!

''Progressive Rock is a music made for the dream,
the escape, to feel a multitude of emotons.''

MY WEB SITE (ProgArchives.com) :
I have loved progressive rock (and generally progressive music) from all over the world for over 40 years. My knowledge of progressive music has greatly increased in recent years, thanks to my good friends like Bruno Aun a designer who reintroduced me to the Internet, and a very dear friend M@X (Prog Archives Administrator and WebMaster). These "archives" were inspired (and continue to be driven) by Max's and my desire to promote our passion for this music via our own Web site. Today, Prog Archives brings me a lot of info, new "net" friends, and pleasure, as I continue to discover many great artists from every corner of the earth, and thus learn and more and more about the music I so love.

Here at PROG ARCHIVES, we are proud to serve fans of progressive music with any information we can: band, biography, discography, song titles and durations, pictures of the album covers, helpfull reviews and samples* from some of the finest artists of the prog scene, from the time-honoured past to the exiting present. Progressive music is full of vibrant and pleasant memories and associations for fans like me, as we find ever more cross-connections within its (still expanding) scope. Thanks to the Internet, the progressive movement is experiencing a revival of interest from a dedicated, sophisticated and growing audience.

*NOTE : These are not full albums. If you like what you hear from the samples, please buy the full-lengh releases!

WHAT IS PROGRESSIVE ROCK?

"Progressive rock was largely a European movement, and drew most of its influences from classical music and jazz fusion, in contrast to American rock, which was historically influenced by rhythm & blues and country. Over the years various sub-genres of progressive rock - or prog - have emerged, such as symphonic rock, art rock, neo progressive and progressive metal."

MY STORY WITH PROGRESSIVE ROCK

If I remember correctly, my first experience with the vast underground "prog scene" was around the mid 70s; when a fondness for GENESIS' "Foxtrot" led me to purchase the rest of their albums. You know how it is at school though, friends introduce you to strange new ideas and influences, and gradually you become hooked to this new kind of music. So it was with me. I listened intently to all the new sounds and styles with intrigue and delight. My collection of prog rock LPs was fairly extensive and growing, as I bought about three new prog LPs each week, whenever my finances would allow.

At Sherbrooke University in Quebec, my eagerness to explore music led to quite a large collection of great bands and albums, including GENESIS (Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot, Selling England By The Pound), PINK FLOYD (Dark Side Of The Moon, Animals, Wish You Were Here), ELOY (Dawn, Ocean), The STRAWBS (Hero And Heroine, Grave New World), BARCLAY JAMES & HARVEST (Everyone Is Everybody Else, Time Honoured Ghosts), JETHRO TULL (Thisk As A Brick, Aqualung), The MOODY BLUES (Days Of Future Passed, On The Threshold Of A Dream), RENAISSANCE (Scheherazade And Other Stories), SUPERTRAMP (Crime Of The Century). I am also fascinated by Italian progressive rock (BANCO, Le ORME & PFM), as well as other non-English European prog, and the expanding American scene.

I continue to expand my knowledge and appreciation for this rock genre which offers so many diverse styles and creative elements. My passion for prog rock has grown to encompass many groups, and lately I've realized that more and more of my favorites come from the neo prog, symphonic prog, prog metal and space rock sub-genres. The next phase of my musical explorations took me into the realms of newer acts like MARILLION (Script For A Jester's Tear, Misplaced Childhood, Marbles), ARENA (The Visitor, Immortal?), AYREON (Into The Electric Castle, The Universal Migrator Part 1 & 2), CAMEL (Mirage, Harbour Of Tears), DREAM THEATER (Images & Words, Octavarium), IQ (Subterranea, Dark Matter), LANDS END (Natural Selection), PAIN OF SALVATION (The Perfect Element Part 1), PENDRAGON (The Masquerade Overture) PINEAPPLE THIEF (Variations On A Dream), PORCUPINE TREE (Lightbulb Sun, In Absentia, Deadwing). In my opinion, recent years have brought us some very good and memorable prog rock!

My favourite prog rock bands/artists include :
As you'll see above, some of my favorite progressive-oriented music is made by such often-cited bands as ARENA, AYREON, CAMEL, DREAM THEATER, ELOY, GENESIS (Gabriel-era), IQ, JETHRO TULL, LANDS END, MARILLION (Fish-era), PENDRAGON, PINEAPPLE THIEF, PINK FLOYD, PORCUPINE TREE, The STRAWBS, and others.

Some other favourite bands and albums (alphabetically) :
ALAN PARSON PROJECT - Tales Of Mystery And Imagination Edgar Allan Poe / BANCO - Their self-titled debut, & Darwin ! / CARAVAN - In The Land Of Grey And Pink / Le ORME - Felona E Serona / PFM - Storia Di Un Minuto & Per Un Amico

I also love some of the new bands that are active now :
ABARAX - Crying Of The Whales / ANEKDOTEN - From Within / ANGLAGARD - Epilog / AUFKLARUNG - De' La Tempesta... L'Oscuro Piacere / CLEPSYDRA - Fears / COLLAGE - Moonshine / ETERNITY X - The Edge / The FLOWER KINGS - Retropolis & Space Revolver / GALAHAD - Following Ghosts / HARMONIUM - Si J'avais Besoin d'une Cinquieme Saison / I.C.U. - Now And Here / MAGENTA - Revolutions / MYRIAD - Floating On Ascending Plains / NOLAN & WAKEMAN - Jabberwocky / PALLAS - The Dreams Of Men / PENDRAGON - Believe / OVERHEAD - Metaepitome / RAIN - Cerulean Blue / SHADOW GALLERY - Room V / SHAKARY - Alya / SPOCK'S BEARD - V ... and many more!

Personal collection :
I have replaced pratically all of my prog vinyl (500) with CDs, presently 800 + and still growing!!!!

IN CONCLUSION :

PROG ARCHIVES is the result of some friends' passion for progressive rock, a kind of music that, in case you didn't know it, crosses and combines many musical genres (jazz, classic, folk) resulting in an unique, original and often challenging style. Our "project" is open to everyone who wants to add his or her own contribution. Anyone who loves prog can review here, exchange opinions and find other prog lovers to share their thoughts and passion for this excellent music with. In fact, the site's pages have the express purpose of letting you enter step-by-step into the fantastic "prog world".

Finally, we appreciate your support, and your feedback is very important to us, because we are constantly striving to improve Prog Archives. Please note that we have a small staff, and all of us have primary jobs in the "real" world, so we work very hard make this site the best it can be in our spare time!

My love to you all :-)
Keep on proggin!

Ronald Couture (ProgLucky)
ADMINISTRATOR & FOUNDER OF PROG ARCHIVES
Quebec (CANADA)

Last updated : 15:00 (07/04/12)

Reviews distribution by sub-genre

	Sub-genre	Nb of reviews	Avg rating
1	Crossover Prog	10	4.50
2	Neo-Prog	8	4.50
3	Symphonic Prog	7	4.43
4	Psychedelic/Space Rock	6	4.33
5	Prog Folk	4	3.50
6	Progressive Metal	3	4.67
7	Eclectic Prog	2	5.00
8	Experimental/Post Metal	1	5.00
9	Rock Progressivo Italiano	1	4.00
10	Various Genres	1	4.00
11	Heavy Prog	1	5.00