Top 10 Accessible, Radio-Friendly Prog Songs - Progressive Rock Music Forum

In no particular order, here are my top ten accessible, radio-friendly prog songs:

1. Arena - Enemy Without

2. Echolyn - Winterthru

3. ELO - Can't Get It Out of My Head

4. The Flower Kings - Vox Humana

5. Galahad - Julie Anne

6. Genesis - Follow You Follow Me

7. IQ - One Fatal Mistake

8. Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)

9. Marillion - Dry Land

10. Pain of Salvation - Second Love

The Dark Elf wrote:

Saperlipopette! wrote:

The Dark Elf wrote:

I considered what prog music (and prog bands) actually has been played on radio (considering many of the selections by other posters have never been played on the radio, or at least not since the mid-70s, and have at least a hint of commercial appeal):

Although ELP sold millions of albums back in the 70's I've never heard Karn Evil 9 on radio (I have however heard every band on my own list though). In fact I've never heard half of the songs on your list on radio where I live. You think the whole world listens to Kansas just because you do? But its no surprise as I've gotten used to both brits and americans thinking other countries has no cultural identity on their own.

Karn Evil 9 was played to death on American and Canadian airwaves, and I believe that most sentient posters here recognize and have heard the songs on the radio from the list I posted. I've never really listened to Kansas at all, but evidently the album Leftoverture went 6x platinum around the world, indicating that even knuckle-dragging dolts from your country bought the album.

Otherwise, I don't give a damn about your feelings of insignificance, cry about your inadequacies elsewhere.

Haha. Sorry I missed your reply... five years ago. Yep, well deserved and I have no excuse for my infinite stupidity.

Dapper~Blueberries wrote:

1. Fantastic Place - Marillion

2. Owner Of A Lonely Heart - Yes

3. Kayleigh - Marillion

4. Elephant Talk - King Crimson

5. From The Flame - Leprous

Elephant talk really ?

updated list:

Pendragon - Starfish and The Moon

Muse - Verona

Southern Empire - Hold On To Me

Big Big Train - Alive

IZZ - Don't Panic

Isobar - Elves are go!

It Bites - This Is England

Lonely Robot - A Model Life

Frost* - Pocket Sun

The Mute Gods - Tardigrades Will Inherit The Earth

Here's another list:

Tony Banks - Water out of Wine

Sylvan - Worlds Apart

Supertramp - Logical Song

Peter Hammill - Just Good Friends

Steve Hackett - Hoping Love Will Last

Tori Amos - Crucify

Grobschnitt - Snowflakes

Camel - West Berlin

Kraftwerk - Taschenrechner

Irmin Schmidt - Roll On Euphrates

Saperlipopette! wrote:

...

Although ELP sold millions of albums back in the 70's I've never heard Karn Evil 9 on radio (I have however heard every band on my own list though). In fact I've never heard half of the songs on your list on radio where I live. You think the whole world listens to Kansas just because you do? But its no surprise as I've gotten used to both brits and americans thinking other countries has no cultural identity on their own.

Hi,

Without trying to sound mean, all of DE's list was played on the FM band in Santa Barbara and LA, for sure. The problem might be that in Podunk, TN you will never here any of it, because of too much Country Music, or something like it.

You might not even be aware of it, but in the 70's several bands in LA sued the top radio stations because their material was not being played, and they won the thing, though many of the stations merely put up a couple of hours per week for some of these bands, many of which that were a part of the Penelope Spheeris specials. But there were, in LA several stations that played a lot of "imports" as so much of this stuff was known then (Genesis was all "imports" until SEBTP in terms of the release times!).

Even though Santa Barbara is not a major market like LA, I can post a quick list of Space Pirate Radio material for 1975/1976/1977/1978 and 1979 ... even though that listing of mine is likely to not even be half the number of bands ... and it will give you a much better idea of how much of this stuff was well known in the LA area, and places like Moby Disk sold this stuff and the "imports" ... and did really well at least through much of the 1980's when the distribution of these changed somewhat and stuff was available in America.

By then, I think many of these bands had gotten "beyond" the radio thing, and things like TD and KS that were more "eccentric" were not heard much, but I can tell you that Guy played them all ... in their entirety, too!

"Accessibility" for radio, was a joke ... and Guy used to post some of the insults and jibes he took for being so adamant about all these things, and he never got credit for getting many bands on the air that he should ... including Average White Band (introduced with a spoof on the radio bosses! "it will never be a hit!"), Supertramp, Golden Earring, Gentle Giant, Roxy Music, Peter Hammill/VdGG, Nektar, TD, KS and so many more ... impossible to list them all!

And the music itself, just about did not need radio after 1985 ... many did it on their own, including the likes of Marillion that got the fan club to pay for their studio time for at least 2 albums, that helped them stay alive ... as sales took off! Not to mention a certain SW that started a band in his garage on his own and sold cassettes, until one day the suits began knocking his door down because it was selling BIG!

Edited by moshkito - September 16 2023 at 10:26

Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
www.pedrosena.com

Saperlipopette! wrote:

...

Anyway Guy Guden and his Space Pirate Radio didn't exist in my part of the world in the time of my formative years. I know he's still at it. I've never been a radio person though. We traded music, created our own clubs, and INTRODUCED leftfield music to each other. Something I haven't stopped doing.

Hi,

Not exactly on topic ... but Guy's show has never been for a "radio person" at all. And this was one of the parts that he took a lot of flack for. The show is, was, a lot more of a conceptual mix, way back when about all European music ONLY, and now, it is by far the best mix of music with the listing of artists encompassing over 70 years ... and in many ways the ONLY really "progressive" show out there that is not tied to a silly definition and sound.

So it all depends on what one feels is "radio-friendly", because in many ways that means ... a format, and a sound that is recognizable to everyone's ears. I am not sure that the folks responding are aware of the massive difference in that concept, but the OP is not, I don't think, interested in "different" ... it's looking for stuff that he will play when he gets in front of a microphone, I guess! Wink

Edited by moshkito - September 16 2023 at 23:01

Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
www.pedrosena.com

moshkito wrote:

Saperlipopette! wrote:

...

Anyway Guy Guden and his Space Pirate Radio didn't exist in my part of the world in the time of my formative years. I know he's still at it. I've never been a radio person though. We traded music, created our own clubs, and INTRODUCED leftfield music to each other. Something I haven't stopped doing.

Not exactly on topic ... but Guy's show has never been for a "radio person" at all. And this was one of the parts that he took a lot of flack for. The show is, was, a lot more of a conceptual mix

The only time I do listen to radio is while driving to our cabin. Then we always listen some show with a conceptual mix in one way or another. "Radio shows that's not for radio persons" aren't hard to find. Not where I live. Not anymore.