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    Posted: November 29 2023 at 12:12
Here's the list I have complied (organized by length)

Long Distance Runaround
Think of Me with Kindness
Wonderous Stories
Cross-Eyed Mary
Solsbury Hill
Nights in White Satin
Lucky Man
The Night Watch
Elephant Talk
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
Golf Girl
Frame by Frame
A Day in the Life
Whiter Shade of Pale
I Talk to the Wind
Money
Aqualung
I've Seen All Good People
Time
Ocean Gypsy 
Pilgrims
21st Century Schizoid Man
Turn of the Century 
Dancing with the Moonlit Knight
Roundabout
Epitaph
Siberian Khatru
Firth of Fifth
And You And I
The Musical Box
Heart of the Sunrise
The Sleepwalkers
Cinema Show
Pigs (Three Different Ones)
Starless
Shine On You Crazy Diamond (6-9)
Lady Fantasy
Shine On You Crazy Diamond (1-5)
Awaken
Close to the Edge
In Held Twas In I
Thick as a Brick (Pt. 1)
Nine Feet Underground
A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers
Supper's Ready
Echoes
Song of Scheherazade
Tubular Bells
Tarkus (Live)
Karn Evil 9 (Live)

if you have any suggestions to add or remove, let me know, I'm trying to limit it to 50 songs of varying lengths and styles. 
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Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time...
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You can't get anyone into prog. It might not be for them. And that's cool.

Good list, but all songs are from the progasaurs. Maybe add some more modern bands/artists... such as, Wippy Bonstack, Bubblemath, The Aristocrats, Thank You Scientist. And no more than two songs per band?

Do you not consider fusion, prog? Many great songs to pick from.

Edited by Grumpyprogfan - November 29 2023 at 13:34
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I do think what is best to try depends on the individual. I think it's good to pay attention to what someone else likes and then try to fit it to someone with those musical interests. A beauty of Prog (or Prog umbrella music) is that it is so diverse. An issue I have with the opening list, a lot of which did turn this Gen Xer onto Prog, is its lack of diversity. There is the replication of artists and I think it both lack temporal as well as stylistic diversity. And it is so very Anglo-centric where there is a world of interesting music that could fit out there.
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Originally posted by Frets N Worries Frets N Worries wrote:

Here's the list I have complied (organized by length)

Long Distance Runaround
Think of Me with Kindness
Wonderous Stories
Cross-Eyed Mary
Solsbury Hill
Nights in White Satin
Lucky Man
The Night Watch
Elephant Talk
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
Golf Girl
Frame by Frame
A Day in the Life
Whiter Shade of Pale
I Talk to the Wind
Money
Aqualung
I've Seen All Good People
Time
Ocean Gypsy 
Pilgrims
21st Century Schizoid Man
Turn of the Century 
Dancing with the Moonlit Knight
Roundabout
Epitaph
Siberian Khatru
Firth of Fifth
And You And I
The Musical Box
Heart of the Sunrise
The Sleepwalkers
Cinema Show
Pigs (Three Different Ones)
Starless
Shine On You Crazy Diamond (6-9)
Lady Fantasy
Shine On You Crazy Diamond (1-5)
Awaken
Close to the Edge
In Held Twas In I
Thick as a Brick (Pt. 1)
Nine Feet Underground
A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers
Supper's Ready
Echoes
Song of Scheherazade
Tubular Bells
Tarkus (Live)
Karn Evil 9 (Live)

if you have any suggestions to add or remove, let me know, I'm trying to limit it to 50 songs of varying lengths and styles. 
A great compilation! There are no songs I'd want to remove from your list and the only songs I'd add are Northern Lights and Owner of a Lonely Heart which introduced me to the music of Renaissance and YES. Thumbs Up
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My only issue with the list is that it didn't make it past 1977 otherwise great list. Smile

If you do another fifty then please add some post 70s prog like kayleigh, pull me under, stardust we are, retropolis, jordrok or the doorway. 
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I always thought Supertramp's Crime of the Century album as a good gateway album for introducing prog. This is only anecdotal evidence, but a lot of YouTube reaction videos seem really positive upon first listens to songs from this album.

Otherwise, my inner practical joker would pick the Steve Miller Band's Bongo Bongo. Embarrassed
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Originally posted by progaardvark progaardvark wrote:

I always thought Supertramp's Crime of the Century album as a good gateway album for introducing prog.

I kinda agree, I listened to it long ago, I did not even know what prog or progressive rock or art rock was. It was just an album from the 70s, from 1974. I thought it was quite original and I enjoyed it a lot. I still do. Tongue
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The following selection is listed in no particular order.



Island "Empty Bottles"
Egg "The Song of McGuillicudie the Pusillanimous (or Don't Worry James, Your Socks Are Hanging in the Coal Cellar with Thomas)"
Yes "The Gates of Delirium"
Genesis "Mad Man Moon"
Jethro Tull "Aqualung"
Van der Graaf Generator "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers"
King Crimson "The Court of the Crimson King"
Family "The Weaver's Answer"
Gong  "Wingful of Eyes"
Marillion "Ocean Song"
The Nice "Diary of an Empty Day"
Emerson Lake & Palmer "Karn Evil 9"
Caravan "Where but for Caravan Would I?"
The Soft Machine "Hibou, Anemone and Bear"
Khan "Mixed Up Man of The Mountain"
Hatfield and the North  "Shaving Is Boring"
Supersister "A Girl Named You"
Moving Gelatine Plates "The World Of Genius Hans"
Steve Hillage "Lunar Musick Suite"
Picchio Dal Pozzo "Seppia"
Cos "L'Idiot Leon"
Gentle Giant "The Boys in the Band"
Steve Hackett "Shadow of the Hierophant"
Peter Hammill "Forsaken Gardens"
Anthony Phillips "The Geese and the Ghost"
Camel "Lawrence"
Renaissance "Touching Once (Is So Hard to Keep)"
Premiata Forneria Marconi "Appena Un Poco"
Smak "Put od balona"
Ange "Dignité"
Flamengo "Pár století"
England "Poisoned Youth"
Indexi "Blago"
Touch "Seventy Five"
Korni Grupa "Not an Ordinary Life"
Spirit "Space Child"
Galaad "Sabličre"
Spring "Golden Fleece"
IQ " Further Away"
Split Enz "Under The Wheel"
Circus "The Bandsman"
Mike Oldfield "Ommadawn (Part Two)"
Time "Za koji život treba da se rodim"
Saga "To Whom It Concerns"
Il Balletto di Bronzo "Introduzione"
Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention "Inca Roads"
SBB "Wolanie O Brzek Szkta" 
Aphrodite's Child "Aegian Sea"
Hawkwind "Magnu"
Dream Theater "In the Name of God"
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Quote SBB "Wolanie O Brzek Szkta"
*szkła

But personally I'd pick a different SBB track, Ze Słowem Biegnę Do Ciebie.
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Originally posted by Hrychu Hrychu wrote:

Quote SBB "Wolanie O Brzek Szkta"
*szkła

But personally I'd pick a different SBB track, Ze Słowem Biegnę Do Ciebie.
Thanks for correcting me. By the way, "Memento Z Banalnym Tryptykiem" is also a great song by SBB.
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MzBT is the greatest SBB song ever IMHO, but it's not a good starting point for a non-prog listener.
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Originally posted by Hrychu Hrychu wrote:

MzBT is the greatest SBB song ever IMHO, but it's not a good starting point for a non-prog listener.
I believe that we should start with demanding treatments. One will like it or not. 
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I wouldn't pick any longs songs (over 10 minutes at all)

I think a great ELP track for getting anyone acclimatised or interested in prog is the track Trilogy. Its starts off all melodic and quiet and when you're hooked in goes all 'techno' and the synth takes over. You are either totally in or out at this point or at least curious if nothing else!

Either that or The Yes Album , the three longer tracks are perfect.

King Crimson - only the debut and stick with side one only!

Genesis - A Trick Of The Tail (the whole thing). Perfect introduction to prog. Melodic and no noodling or overlog tracks.

On the metal side of things go for Stargazer by Rainbow. That blew me away as a 15 year old when I first heard it. 
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Originally posted by Lumenko Lumenko wrote:

The following selection is listed in no particular order.
Island "Empty Bottles"
Egg "The Song of McGuillicudie the Pusillanimous (or Don't Worry James, Your Socks Are Hanging in the Coal Cellar with Thomas)"
Yes "The Gates of Delirium"
Genesis "Mad Man Moon"
Jethro Tull "Aqualung"
Van der Graaf Generator "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers"
King Crimson "The Court of the Crimson King"
Family "The Weaver's Answer"
Gong  "Wingful of Eyes"
Marillion "Ocean Song"
The Nice "Diary of an Empty Day"
Emerson Lake & Palmer "Karn Evil 9"
Caravan "Where but for Caravan Would I?"
The Soft Machine "Hibou, Anemone and Bear"
Khan "Mixed Up Man of The Mountain"
Hatfield and the North  "Shaving Is Boring"
Supersister "A Girl Named You"
Moving Gelatine Plates "The World Of Genius Hans"
Steve Hillage "Lunar Musick Suite"
Picchio Dal Pozzo "Seppia"
Cos "L'Idiot Leon"
Gentle Giant "The Boys in the Band"
Steve Hackett "Shadow of the Hierophant"
Peter Hammill "Forsaken Gardens"
Anthony Phillips "The Geese and the Ghost"
Camel "Lawrence"
Renaissance "Touching Once (Is So Hard to Keep)"
Premiata Forneria Marconi "Appena Un Poco"
Smak "Put od balona"
Ange "Dignité"
Flamengo "Pár století"
England "Poisoned Youth"
Indexi "Blago"
Touch "Seventy Five"
Korni Grupa "Not an Ordinary Life"
Spirit "Space Child"
Galaad "Sabličre"
Spring "Golden Fleece"
IQ " Further Away"
Split Enz "Under The Wheel"
Circus "The Bandsman"
Mike Oldfield "Ommadawn (Part Two)"
Time "Za koji život treba da se rodim"
Saga "To Whom It Concerns"
Il Balletto di Bronzo "Introduzione"
Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention "Inca Roads"
SBB "Wolanie O Brzek Szkta" 
Aphrodite's Child "Aegian Sea"
Hawkwind "Magnu"
Dream Theater "In the Name of God"

You might scare some people away with some of those songs. 
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I would probably recommend this 3CD compilation. Smile

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Songs don't get you into prog - prog finds you and swirls around you, and once you're hooked there is no escape.
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Originally posted by richardh richardh wrote:

I wouldn't pick any longs songs (over 10 minutes at all)
...
Genesis - A Trick Of The Tail (the whole thing). Perfect introduction to prog. Melodic and no noodling or overlog tracks.
...

Hi,

I'm not sure that length is such a problem as we can imagine. I've never heard of anyone saying "noodling" to Beethoven, Mozart or Tchaikovsky. Music is music, and it has a different feeling and idea for different listeners. In my case I started with classical music at 10/11 and rock music came later. I had no aversion to long material and was already enjoying things like opera ... and it was all beautiful material, regardless of noodling ... I suppose we could consider Piccini guilty in Turandot for using 3 stooges for one minute, but in the end, it might have been a leitmotif that was needed in the middle of heavy handed material.

Melodic ... my first Genesis listen and album, was ... SEBTP ... and it is probably the best of the albums ... specially if we let go the "idea" of what "progressive BS" is or isn't. I have never really met anyone that is into progressive music, and not into the rest of music at all ... that just seems wrong, and really sad to the music itself and its creators. We might as well brand them ... a bit sick in my book!

Considering that I have been with Guy Guden and Space Pirate Radio from the early days as roommate from 1972 on, and then on the first SPR show in January 1974 ... over almost 50 years, the number of folks that have loved the show and heard the different material is so out there ... and so far and away in this galaxy, it's not even funny. But, it's there ... and the only thing it says is that it is about the music ... and music ... and music ... and it doesn't matter what kind it is ... nowadays, folks can even hear some Miles ... and a backwards Herb Alpert ,,, but in the end, what attracts you to it is some sound that clicks with your imagination, and not my choice or anyone else's ... we might think otherwise, but it's really hard to say that we are simply listing our favorites ... we're not even taking into consideration what the projective listener likes and listens to ... heck my sister played for the Symphony in Santa Barbara (Harp!!!) ... and I was hoping to have her listen to some jazz and rock with it, so it was "viable" instead of a freak instrument so big that it was a pain in the arse to bring in to the symphony! Nope. Never ... and she was the one that brought Alan Stivell from France and blew my ears on it in 1971 ... a couple of years later, she quit playing all along, and never returned to music! 

Again, based on the incredible history of Space Pirate Radio, anything we think will sound ... off key when its time comes ... and the person looks away and doesn't even bother listening to 3 or 4 measures!

PS: One funny bit. You know one thing that was an ear turner in Guy's shows? ... I mention it all the time, but you guys wouldn't believe me ... stuff played backwards, that was ... what is that? ... and nothing gets your attention better than one of those moments ... you have no idea what this is when you have not heard any of it ... unless you pay attention to TD and EF had a few effects hidden in there, or realize that what Vangelis just did was use t-spoons! In all of his albums!!!!! 


Edited by moshkito - November 30 2023 at 05:14
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Here is another possible route, this time to symphonic prog:
1. Try Boz Scaggs' Lido Shuffle. See if they take interest to the arpeggiated keyboard solo.
2. If they do, try Electric Light Orchestra's Daybreaker. This is essentially a very similar arpeggiated Minimoog riff that is the central piece of a short instrumental. 
3. If that is a hit, then try Firth of Fifth. If they like that, they'll probably enjoy most of the symphonic prog genre. Having said that, I'm still not sure the jump from Daybreaker to Firth of Fifth is too much of a jump or not.

Another possible pop song that could kick things off is Toto's Rosanna (specifically the keyboard/guitar solo part of the song).

Every individual is going to be different. Some need baby steps, some will take to prog immediately.
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Originally posted by Cristi Cristi wrote:

Originally posted by progaardvark progaardvark wrote:

I always thought Supertramp's Crime of the Century album as a good gateway album for introducing prog.


I kinda agree, I listened to it long ago, I did not even know what prog or progressive rock or art rock was. It was just an album from the 70s, from 1974. I thought it was quite original and I enjoyed it a lot. I still do. Tongue


This is one of those albums that I really must give a listen to….
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