The most archetypal classic Progressive Rock? - Progressive Rock Music Forum

This update says:

Yes - 9

King Crimson - 8

Genesis - 7

ELP - 4

Jethro Tull - 2

Pink Floyd - 1

as voted by David_D, Valdez, felonafan, Logan, The Dark Elf, Easy Money, jamesbaldwin, AFlowerKingCrimson, mathman0806 and richardh

quality over quantity, and all kind of PopcoRn almost beyond

Yes for being Symphonic (best example Tales From Topographic Oceans)

Genesis for Crossover (best example A Trick Of The Tail)

ELP for Eclectric (best example Brain Salad Surgery)

King Crimson for Experimental (best example Larks Tongues In Aspic)

Pink Floyd for Psyche (best example Wish You Were Here)

Jethro Tull for Heavy Prog (best example Aqualung)

ELP are by far the most misunderstood band of the classic era. They rarely get enough credit. BSS was an insane album that took us on a rollercoaster of a ride through English poetry, hymn, progressive electronica, classic English ballad, English music hall, Symphonic and Avant jazz. They had no boundaries and were exactly what prog was meant to be. Ultimately they relied too much on the creativity of one guy and he was drained by 1974.

However they all are the archetypal bands of prog and represent all the major strands of prog. (IMO)

Edited by richardh - November 23 2024 at 21:36

jamesbaldwin wrote:

...............

In short, King Crimson are much more experimental than EL&P. And they kick-started Prog with their first album. They went through various musical phases, often changing their sound, whereas EL&P always remained the same. KC are definitely more difficult than El&P. But like Pink Floyd they are admired far beyond prog.

However, both choices seem legitimate to me.

.............

Very nice with your thorough reasoning and explanation. One can vote for up to all 6 bands, so you can vote for ELP too, if you want to.

quality over quantity, and all kind of PopcoRn almost beyond

So by now:

Yes - 7

King Crimson - 7

Genesis - 5

ELP - 3

Jethro Tull - 1

Pink Floyd - 0

as voted by David_D, Valdez, felonafan, Logan, The Dark Elf, Easy Money, jamesbaldwin and AFlowerKingCrimson

quality over quantity, and all kind of PopcoRn almost beyond

I think that Yes and Genesis are on the podium.

Pink Floyd came from psychedelia, they were prog only in passing, they are much more than prog.

Jethro tull before Thick As a Brick were mainly folkblues, they too were prog in passing.

Now that leaves EL&P and King Crimson.

Both can aspire to the podium, as importance for prog. EL&P came from Nice, from adapting classical music to rock, and they were very successful.

King Crimson have never adapted classical music to rock, they come partly from psychedelia, partly from the avant-garde, partly from melodic romantic rock and, from their second album onwards, partly from jazz.

In short, King Crimson are much more experimental than EL&P. And they kick-started Prog with their first album. They went through various musical phases, often changing their sound, whereas EL&P always remained the same. KC are definitely more difficult than El&P. But like Pink Floyd they are admired far beyond prog.

However, both choices seem legitimate to me.

I choose King Crimson, because in my opinion without them, prog would be lost far more than it is with EL&P.

-King Crimson

- Yes

- Genesis

Amos Goldberg (professor of Genocide Studies at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem): Yes, it's genocide. It's so difficult and painful to admit it, but we can no longer avoid this conclusion.

Then it says:

Yes - 5

King Crimson - 4

Genesis - 3

ELP - 2

Jethro Tull - 1

Pink Floyd - 0

as voted by David_D, Valdez, felonafan, Logan and The Dark Elf

quality over quantity, and all kind of PopcoRn almost beyond

I think of ELP as the quintessential Prog band (a sound so associated with Prog fro good or bad), followed by Yes and King Crimson in its own way. And of course Prog-Genesis has been incredibly influential and does deserve mention. I had not associated Pink Floyd with Prog so much when growing up.

Edited by Logan - November 23 2024 at 13:31

Valdez wrote:

The Moody Blues oft neglected but really deserve more.

Discussion is of course very welcomed, but especially of "The Big Six".

quality over quantity, and all kind of PopcoRn almost beyond

Psychedelic Paul wrote:

Can we only vote for three?

David_D wrote:

You can vote for all of these bands you want, .........

quality over quantity, and all kind of PopcoRn almost beyond

Can we only vote for three?