How did you find Prog?

Wouldn't you know that at the tender age of 12 or 13 my brother having bought a brand new stereo, sets it up in the living room, sits me on a chair in front of the speakers and plays just for me, Thick as a Brick, complete with the album cover to peruse as I listen.  What a great brother!! 

Realistically, I suppose it was when Arthur Brown released "Crazy World of Arthur Brown" I loved that song, but I was only 10 at the time so I had no idea about music or genres or albums or anything for that matter. But when ELP released their first album that's when I knew I had too learn about this "sound" I was hearing. We used to have a summer hang out group at a local high school. They let us use the cafeteria to play games (Risk) and listen to tunes. I guess it was a way to keep us out of trouble. Anyway, a friend who was a year or two older than me put on Emerson Lake and Palmer's first LP. The minute The Three fates started I was hooked. I couldn't get to the album cover quick enough to see who this was. And as much controversy as I know it creates in the progressive community "I LOVE ELP"
There I said, for all the world to hear. And yes I know their flaws and yes I think Greg's a bit of a pussy with all the love songs. But they're great and I miss them. I'm looking forward to hearing Emerson's new work with Mark Bonilla.

Realistically it was 1968 when "The Crazy World of Athur Brown" was released I absolutely loved "Fire". However i was only 10 at the time and had no idea about music or music genres or anyth9ing for that matter. But in the summer of 1970 while hanging out at a local high school drop in centre a friend who was a year or two older than me put ELP's first album on. As soon as I heard The Three Fates I was hooked. I couldn't get to the cover fast enough to find out who was making this incredible music. I've been a fan ever since. It even lead me into the music industry as I became friends with one of Canada's great unsung progressive bands BUSKER (see PA listing). I eventually became their sound engineer and still work with the keyboardist Steve McCann on his solo projects.

I think it found me. The first song I ever remember is I Want to hold Your Hand By the Beatles. First album I ever bought Was Help ( Mono) and the first real Prog album was JethroTull  Aqualung when I was 11 years old. I remember one of the albums  that I already owned had on the paper sleeve around the record other current albums released, and Aqualung was one but as I type this post Who's Next was bought around the same time as well and L.A woman by the Doors.

I pretty much heard it from the time I was little, but I didnt know what "prog" was. and when I was 8 or 9 years old I was into the Genesis and Yes hits of the day(in the early 80's). so when I started buying tapes with my paper route money around 1986 I bought some older stuff quite by accident and thats what did it. I pretty much liked metal back then but I was a closet prog/psychedelic fan. I think thats why to this day I still love the band Crimson Glory. they arent really my def. of prog but they have parts that are. thne it became trendy to like psychedelic music and even Floyd but not prog in general. but yeah, having parents who litened to it when it was in its prime(even though I couldnt appreciate it) made a huge difference. "take the long way home" by Supertramp will forever remind me of being 4 years old and going to the county fair up in charlotte MI

Hi,

Edited by moshkito - February 13 2009 at 14:31

I'd have to disagree that progressive rock was an Internet term. Prog rock was definitely a term in common usage in the 70s to describe the likes of 70s bands like Genesis.

In terms of discovering prog rock, if you are a 50 something, then you were brought up with it in England, progressing from listening to pop bands into something more interesting. It was a typical thing to be sharing records and going round to each other's houses as teenagers to listen to new LPs. The release of a new LP like Tubular Bells involved as much rumour and hearsay as publicity machines. You would hear of a group like Pink Floyd, but not know what they were aside from something to be aspired to as a pimply teenager tiring of the Sweet, Mud or Slade.

I was shocked when I first heard Dark Side of the Moon - I had assumed Pink Floyd would be some inaccessible avant garde music, and to discover what it was by hearing a tape in a friend's car was musically life changing. Selling England By The Pound was pretty much a cross-over LP though, it was liked by a lot of my friends who would not really be into the more difficult stuff, so quite a few people were tempted across the divide by "easy listening" records like those two. JT more of an acquired taste. Weather Report I discovered through their chart hit and having a mate who was into them jokingly asking if anyone wanted to go and see this "difficult" band. I loved it, completely different to what I was expecting, and a rabbitted on about it for weeks - seeing Jaco Pastorious live (three times in the end, including the famous 8:30 tour) was bedwettingly amazing.

Remember that there were not any prog rock radio stations in the UK, so the only way you discovered new bands was word of mouth, and we were relatively poor in those days so buying an LP was a major purchase which required saving for and deliberating over.

Pink Floyd, from Progressive Rock was Floyd, in the Rock world was the great Queen, love Queen.

But I remember clearly, I live in Brazil, and a friend asked me to translate to portuguese one of the lyrics from Animals, if my mind doesn't trick me was Pigs (3 Different Ones).

Well I put the cd and I look to the cover and I said to myself: 'Only 5 songs? It's a demo or something like that?!" heheheh I didn't like it, but for a kid with 12 years old I think it's normal don't like from the first time, I translated the song, and give the album back to my friend, and time passa away.

I think one year later, a friend of mine ask me to borrow my Mr. Bad Guy LP (1st Freddie Mercury solo album) to him. When he give it back to me, we're chating, I said that I have The Wall and other albuns, and he said: 'man, you HAVE to listen The Wall!'

And like so many people talk about this album i decided to give it a try.
But you know, an double album, concept album, my english was medium at that time, my first time with The Wall was not a GREAT experience, but for some strange reason, I decided try again later, and again, and again, And everytime I listen to that LP I discover new sounds.

After some months we moved from the south of Brazil to São Paulo, a great city, and I was totally alone, after scholl I had nothing to do, so I start listen all the LPs from my parents and brother, and The Wall have the deepness and loneliness I was feeling that moment. Help me alot!

After that I bought some albuns:

The Yes Album (Yes) don't blow me in the beginning but after a time, BUM! hehehe

Thick As A Brick (Jethro Tull) caught me since the beginning till now is one of my favorites.

Ashes Are Burning (Renaissance) is great, even today I love it.

Tales Of Mystery And Imagination Of Edgar Allan Poe (The Alan Parsons Project) was great, blow me away, and does it even today 10 years later.

Trilogy (Emerson, Lake & Palmer) the day I listen it for the 1st time, I was in the living room alone, just with a lamp on the LP starts, and that low noises come in, I turn the volume high, when I did it a plane pass above my house and the volume of the LP becomes higher, it gives me creeps till this very day when I remember

This was my firsts experiences with Prog, was ten years ago, and now, what can I say, I have a website just for this 'kind of life'

Sorry for the English


Edited by ProgShine - February 24 2009 at 22:04

While I find Dream Theater to be a bold and forward current driver of the genre, though a bit metallic for my tastes from time to time, I wish to point to Anglagard as perhaps the reviver of the genre. Their work which seems to have distilled the essence of 70s prog and released a bit more than a decade ago now reinvigorated the music. That and the advent of the internet which arrived in the form of usable browsers and web sites like this one!

I heard Pink Floyd's Money on the radio many years ago (I was around 4 or 5), and I loved it. I then asked my dad what other bands were like them, and he gave me some Yes albums. I never really understood lyrics or the concept at that age, but I loved listening to them. It kept growing from there.