Progressive 80s artists: music ahead of its time
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Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Prog Music Lounge
Forum Description: General progressive music discussions
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=134170
Printed Date: January 09 2025 at 10:42
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Topic: Progressive 80s artists: music ahead of its time
Posted By: Logan
Subject: Progressive 80s artists: music ahead of its time
Date Posted: January 06 2025 at 16:31
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This is about progressive music and music that relates to Prog at least (and you think could be in PA ideally, if not already). It is about innovative and creative music. I might well move it later. The 80s often gets mucked, but there was remarkable music being made and new forms of music coming out. I found the Post-Punk scene very fertile, and forms of New Wave, experimental music... A particularly remarkable one for me (and I want toy to rectify his not being in PA) is Glenn Branca. He was doing post-rock kinds of stuff before post-rock really got going. Of course he was influenced by other music and guitarists. Here are a couple of examples that I think remarkable and fantastic... Here is Glenn Branca's "Lesson No. 1" off his 1980 EP (that EP is Prog to me, that and the longer "Dissonance"). And here is the title track off 1981'a Ascension, which I find bloody amazing (if one likes Swans, and post-rock like Godspeed.... this is more likely to appeal than if you like, say, 80s Camel). Do you think that ahead of its time, what are some of the ones that you would mention? Note: I will do this in the Prog lounge, was going to in General Music Discussions because I want a focus on the kinds of music in PA and that at least you think could be in PA. |
Replies:
Posted By: Lewian
Date Posted: January 06 2025 at 18:40
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Cassiber were a cool 80s band. Here's a very interesting 2024 release, which is a sampler of collaborations they did at the time: https://cassiber2.bandcamp.com/album/collaborations" rel="nofollow - https://cassiber2.bandcamp.com/album/collaborations
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Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: January 06 2025 at 19:14
I haven't listened to this is YEARS. Such a wunnerful piece of music! Branca should definitely be on PA. This is indeed the template for post-rock. If someone did it before Branca, I'd like to know. He's why Trans Am and Maserati exist. ------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |
Logan wrote:Posted By: siLLy puPPy
Date Posted: January 06 2025 at 20:22
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^ i agree that Glenn Branca is prog but more importantly i deem him and
the Durutti Column to be the first post-rock artists, NOT Bark
Psychosis -------------  https://rateyourmusic.com/~siLLy_puPPy |
Posted By: octopus-4
Date Posted: January 07 2025 at 11:52
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Does this apply? ------------- I stand with Roger Waters, I stand with Joan Baez, I stand with Victor Jara, I stand with Woody Guthrie. Music is revolution |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: January 07 2025 at 12:02
| ^ It does for me. Great stuff! And quite the cover. Great post-punk with post-rock qualities. Reminding me somewhat of Joy Division amongst other things by the way, which I love. |
Posted By: Saperlipopette!
Date Posted: January 07 2025 at 12:51
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While RIO/Avant and Zeuhl or the 1980's feel fresh and innovative to me even today, it's none of it was really ahead of its time. But here's few suggestions: The Residents - Mark of the Mole (including Intermission & The Tunes of Two Cities). Most of the trilogy has a certain industrial concept-feel to it, that doesn't really resemble much music I know of made back then. I feel that I've heard similar or comparable electronic soundscapes, beats and machinery etc... all the time thoughout the last three decades. Talk Talk - Spirit of Eden. I guess there's still nothing quite like it, but I think a certain approach to sound and what a rock song could be, was heard here that feels rather unique for its time. Although combining from many traditions old and new, Dead Can Dance whole 1980's career is filled with music that wasn't really out there prior to their existence. Within the Realms of a Dying Sun, Spleen And Ideal, The Serpent's Egg... these kinds of musical fusions were perhaps heard in bits hare and there before Brendan and Lisa entered the scene. But there was no albums filled with music like this. Kate Bush - for The Dreaming and Hounds of Love in particular. Every "strange, artsy and artistic woman" in music ever since has been compared to her. She's like the motherlode. |
Posted By: Finnforest
Date Posted: January 07 2025 at 12:51
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I would think Talking Heads would qualify as musically progressive, not "prog." I think Minutemen took punk rock in a progressive direction. Kate, Cardiacs, XTC?, Happy Rhodes just to name a couple more. ------------- ...that moment you realize you like "Mob Rules" better than "Heaven and Hell" |
Posted By: Grumpyprogfan
Date Posted: January 07 2025 at 13:31
Of course I'm going to mention, Allan Holdsworth and the Pat Metheny Group.  Both ahead of their time in the 80's and even today. Timeless. |
Posted By: David_D
Date Posted: January 07 2025 at 14:31
Einstürzende Neubauten------------- quality over quantity, and all kind of PopcoRn almost beyond |
Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: January 07 2025 at 17:22
| Early Djam Karet. |
Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: January 07 2025 at 17:35
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Hi, Heck, Marillion would likely fit, though folks think that Fish was a copy ... and he was much more honest and true to himself and the work he did for many years. Djam Karet starts up in 1985, but the album that got their attention was in 1989 (Reflections From the Firepool) ... I also find it weird when folks think the 1980's weren't very good ... heck, Peter Hammill had some outstanding things on his own, alone! ------------- 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 |
Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: January 07 2025 at 17:44
Correct, it remains the favorite album of more than a few DK fans, Greg Walker included.
Ditto. I own hundreds of albums released in the '80s. ------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |
Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: January 07 2025 at 18:03
Hi, Very nice album all the way through ... ------------- 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 |
Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: January 07 2025 at 18:26
Hi, I really think that the lack of FM Radio in the 1980's ... was what hurt the most, but the music never died. There were too many bands that were out there, however, like FELT, there were many that we had never heard of, or about, and this band, I just heard for the first time ... 40 years later! FM radio losing its independence to the corporate world was an attempt to take music out of our hands (late 70's early 80's) ... and the Internet helped a lot (later), but it is becoming corporate owned and we need to start fighting that again. DJAM KARET was a part of my collection going back to 1990's ... on the album right after "Reflections" ... which got me to be on them ever since. ------------- 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 |
Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: January 07 2025 at 18:47
Same, Burning the Hard City is what hooked me (and I ordered it based on Wayside's description). They've been one of my favorite bands ever since. ------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |
Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: January 07 2025 at 20:25
I recently bought it and yes it is very solid. The Devouring and maybe a few others are also highly rated. Unfortunately the Devouring (which is a bit later anyway and a 90s and not 80s album) is out of print anyway.
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Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: January 07 2025 at 22:13
Agree and I also loved and still like Marillion's Seasons End album from 1989. Seemed to capture a lot for me that I felt at the time and an album that estued the typical 'Neo Prog' approach. I see that as being quietly innovative. I mentioned Iron Maiden on the sister thread and would still put them here for Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son. The birth of 'prog metal' perhaps. I would like to mention Jon and Vangelis. I've been listening to them over the last few days and they were making original music that still stands up (Horizon, The Friends Of Mr Cairo and State Of Independence are amazing songs just in their own right) I would agree on Talk Talk as mentioned earlier in the thread but China Crisis were on a par and were guided by Walter Becker. There were other great artsy pop acts such as Japan, A Flock Of Seagulls, Tears For Fears, Propaganda (my personal favourite) and even the likes of Duran Duran (for Save a Prayer), Frankie Goes To Hollywood (Relax and Two Tribes) and Simple Minds (Waterfront) were very interesting at times. |
Posted By: Cristi
Date Posted: January 08 2025 at 02:02
As much as I love the album, the birth of progressive metal did not start with it. USPM bands did that before Maiden (some of them being influenced by Maiden  )All sort of experimentation also was happening in thrash - Watchtower, Mekong Delta, Voivod that would influence other bands later on.
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Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: January 08 2025 at 02:08
| ^ Agreed, I think it was the other way round. The early PM US bands were influenced by early-80s Maiden, and then Maiden on SSOASS was influenced by them. |
Posted By: progaardvark
Date Posted: January 08 2025 at 04:26
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Over the last decade I've come to appreciate the 1980s more than I had in the past. It was mostly from discovering bands in the RIO/Avant-Prog areas, especially Present -- one of my absolute favorites. It's sad that their 2024 release will be their last, but what an album to end a discography with. It likely will be my #1 in my top 20 of 2024 once I finalize my list. Also a curiosity that came out in that decade: one of the best symphonic prog albums (in my top 10 at least) from Hungary's Solaris, Marsbéli Krónikák. What a debut! It seemed so out of place in 1984. ------------- ---------- i'm shopping for a new oil-cured sinus bag that's a happy bag of lettuce this car smells like cartilage nothing beats a good video about fractions |
Posted By: progaardvark
Date Posted: January 08 2025 at 04:37
I guess I was lucky to have two FM radio stations in Philadelphia in the 1980s (I grew up there): 93.3 WMMR and 94.1 WYSP. Both of them called themselves "classic rock stations," but they played a fair amount of prog and without them it might have taken me much longer to eventually discover all that great music. For a time, WYSP used to play 4-5 full albums on Sunday nights. They tended to play more "deep tracks" than WMMR, but both stations were played on my radio almost daily. We had another program on another radio station (I think from the University of Pennsylvania) called Star's End that played electronic prog, like Tangerine Dream, Richard Pinhas (remembering songs from his album Iceland), and Mark Shreeve. Those were broadcast late in the evening on Saturdays and I used to put my headphones on and turn out the lights as it was really spacey stuff. I was lucky. I don't know if other urban areas were as lucky. I'm guessing since you think there was a lack of FM stations, maybe other places missed out on this. ------------- ---------- i'm shopping for a new oil-cured sinus bag that's a happy bag of lettuce this car smells like cartilage nothing beats a good video about fractions |
Posted By: Lewian
Date Posted: January 08 2025 at 05:53
| As mentioned in the Bruford polls, I think that the Bruford's Earthworks albums of the 80s are very fresh, original, and creative. There was a unique warm use of melodic electronic drumming, and a nice fusion of prog, jazz, and more recent electronic elements with a bit of well dosed free experimentation thrown in. Not sure whether this can be called "ahead of its time" as I don't know of many people who took up this kind of thing later, but it was surely unique. (For some reason not so popular around here.) |
Posted By: Spookee
Date Posted: January 08 2025 at 06:13
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Begnagrad's 1982 album sounds pretty modern to these ears! |
Posted By: David_D
Date Posted: January 08 2025 at 06:15
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A couple have already been mentioned but anyway: Djam Karet (USA) - Reflections From The Firepool (1989) Fates Warning (USA) - The Spectre Within (1985) The “Gunesh” Ensemble (USSR) - Looking at the Earth (1984) Iconoclasta (Mex) - Reminiscencias (1985) P.L.J. Band (Gre) - Armageddon (1982) Solaris (HUN) - Marsbeli Kronikak (1984) Voivod (CAN) - Nothingface (1989) ------------- quality over quantity, and all kind of PopcoRn almost beyond |
Posted By: Spookee
Date Posted: January 08 2025 at 06:41
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Hawkwind was a very active band in the 1980s. Ahead of its time, Church of Hawkwind was quite innovative back in 1982. It is probably terribly underrated because of this. |