Brand new to Prog Rock

Hello

First can I say that this forum is freaking awesome and I'm gonna be here every day until I die.

I am a huge Pink Floyd fan and I recently bought the Mojo magazine on Prog Rock. Out of that I bought Foxtrot by genesis, Close to the edge and relayer by yes.

So now I'm wondering where to go next? Which band and album? Something similar to Pink floyd and those two yes albums. I am a big fan of longer pieces and epics.

King Crimson, ELP?

 

Thanks in advance

cyggie is biased for rush. take his advice with caution.( @ cyggie)

king crimson is an acquired taste. if you don't really like the 1st album, be wary of going any further. much of the same can be said for ELP.

as always i recommend neo-prog: Marillion and Pendragon (new cd soon) are good starting points.

stonebeard is biased towards neo-prog (as am I).

Anyway, to clarify his King Crimson statement. The band went through many transitional periods throughout the 70's and so the sound of each of these line-ups is completely different. The debut has a very symphonic sound, while later albums like Red have a very grungy and heavy sound. In the 80's, they created their own sound, with wild guitar synths and impeccably structured music. In the 90's, they took the 80's sound but made it 10x heavier.

Another good band to go for is Gentle Giant. I recommend you get Octopus or Free Hand (The Power and the Glory is also very good).

stonebeard wrote: Cygnus X-2 wrote: stonebeard is biased towards neo-prog (as am I). ....... Cygnus X-2 wrote: Another good band to go for is Gentle Giant. I recommend you get Octopus or Free Hand (The Power and the Glory is also very good). GG is very, very, eclectic...more so than KC. they're good...but can be tough to get into

That's a very wide array of emotions displayed up there...

Wow so many responses already and no one agrees!

Being as new as I am to this can you please specify a band and album as I really don't know much at all!

Also what is neo-prog? whats the difference?

Sorry for being so stupid

Cygnus X-2 wrote: All right: King Crimson In the Court of the Crimson King Red ELP Tarkus Brain Salad Surgery Rush A Farewell to Kings Moving Pictures Gentle Giant Octopus The Power and the Glory Oh, and Neo- Prog can best be defined in the Prog Rock? section of the homepage. Or if you use the search tool and type in Neo-Prog, there should be a discussion about what Neo-Prog is.

May i just add:

KC:

Discipline

GG:

Freehand

ELP:

ELP

I don't listen to RUSH...as some people know

fender101 wrote: Also what is neo-prog? whats the difference? Sorry for being so stupid

It's not stupidity, if you don't know something that is new to you. I think it describes 80's music influenced by 70's prog, but I'm not sure, as I don't like Marillion.  But it's worthy to check the FAQ sections of these terms, as you are encouraged in the previous posts.

If you like the mellotron sounds for example in songs "Watcher of The Skies" and "And You and I", try some swedish 90's progbands, ÄNGLAGÅRD (anglagard), ANEKDOTEN, LANDBERK, MORTE MACABRE and PAATOS. You can find mp3 examples of them from their pages at "prog archives" section.

If you have a broadband internet connection:

• Go to www.last.fm and create an account (you don't even have to give them an email address).
• Install their radio player software and configure it to use the account you just created.
• Start the player and enter your favorite band's name. And behold, it will play lots of interesting songs by bands related to the band you entered.

It works, it's free, it's amazing!

Edited by MikeEnRegalia

fender10 wrote: I never realised how many styles and in fact how many prog rock bands there are! This is going to be alot more difficult than I thought!

But isn't that fun? So much goodies to be found and listen!

As usual, the mainstream stuff is recommended, and some of the small,
but none-the-less, excellent stuff is not mentioned:

If you are OK with Italian lyrics: PFM and Banco are among the best.
Nexus from South America is great.
Cast from Mexico has some great albums.
Citizen Cain form Scotland are great.

As to earlier recommendations: Gentle Giant are great but certainly not
for someone expecting "mainstream" friendly music. Very complex.
Rush is an acquired taste. Hard rocking, but the vocals are disagreeable
to many.
And if you visit this site more than a few times you will hear a lot (too
much) about Dream Theater. They too are great-very talented, complex
and creative. they just can not live up to the hype given to them on this
site.

Enjoy