What not prog band would&#039;ve made the best prog?

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Posted: January 23 2021 at 00:03

^ Living Colour should be in prog-related, should not bother anyone. Stern Smile

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Posted: January 22 2021 at 23:57

BarryGlibb wrote:

Forgot......Living Colour...magnificent band who could easily release a prog album. In fact, they already have a number of tracks on previous albums that would fit the prog category.

I absolutely agree with you, and I know quite a few people who consider them prog. It all depends on where you set your boundaries. There is no black and white between what is or is not prog, so much as a massive grey area. It’s all subjective.

One of thre prog groups I follow on FB has posted about Living Colour before, I’m sure you can imagine what the comment section looked like, but for all the offended progheads that couldn’t accept LC as having prog aspects, there were a surprising number of people willing to agree.

And, harking back to my earlier post, while I have never seen Duran Duran, per se, posted on a prog group, I have seen Arcadia posted (which is more or less DD in different clothes).

What is or isn’t prog will always cause debate, but I think anything that is being debated must have the capacity to be a full-on prog band, even if we acknowledge they are borderline at best.

Hence why, for me, a lot of the bands mentioned here are predictable nominees. They are the bands that have always flirted with prog, and are recognised for doing so. I admit I’ve been trying to find the less predictable bands, when I make my suggestions,

I’ve thought of another band to add to the two I suggested in my last post (Bad Religion and Duran Duran). Suede. Albums like Dog Man Star, and their most recent teo, Night Thoughts and The Blue Hour, definitely show the potential for a great prog band, in my opinion,

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Posted: January 22 2021 at 23:42

I'm not sure if I agree with this even though the guitarist Vernon Reid has acknowledged Robert Fripp as an influence. I do hear some eclecticism in their music but not any more than say the Red Hot Chilipeppers or Pearl Jam.

Edited by AFlowerKingCrimson - January 23 2021 at 00:08

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Posted: January 22 2021 at 23:16

Forgot......Living Colour...magnificent band who could easily release a prog album. In fact, they already have a number of tracks on previous albums that would fit the prog category.

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Posted: January 22 2021 at 19:42

BarryGlibb wrote:

Definitely Big Country...a brilliant band...some of their longer songs and especially the 12" singles were very prog leaning. BC comprised four extra-special musicians.

on a related subject, perhaps Runrig?

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Posted: January 22 2021 at 17:22

The first album of Foals is quite proggy (or math rocky) at times, and some proggy elements show up on occasion in their later work. I think they'd be very well able to come up with something that qualifies as briliant prog while still being as outrageously catchy as they often are... in fact injecting more prog would be a quite promising direction to go on from where they are. (I doubt that this is how they themselves see it unfortunately.)

Sufjan Stevens has quite a bit of stuff that scores above 80/100 on the progometer, and he may come around the corner with even more at any moment... or do something totally different.

Edited by Lewian - January 22 2021 at 17:26

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Posted: January 22 2021 at 16:32

suitkees wrote:

dr wu23 wrote:

Blacksword wrote:

Not sure they done anything strictly speaking prog rock, but XTC or Talk Talk would have been good prog peddlers.

Agree with you on XTC...I think Partridge and the gang could have easily done some prog if they had wanted to.

They actually did, no? Under the Dukes of the Stratosphere moniker... (don't know if they're on PA, though).

The Dukes of Stratosphear were more or less a tribute to psychedelia and not really prog at all. I know some psych is considered prog by some but this stuff was the more singles oriented kind of psych as opposed to long winded freakouts. You are right in that the Dukes of Stratosphear were XTC under a different name though.

Edited by AFlowerKingCrimson - January 22 2021 at 16:34

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Posted: January 22 2021 at 16:25

A few more: Men at Work, REM, The Cure, U2, Tears For Fears and the Fixx. A lot of eighties bands were just around in the "wrong decade" imo. Also, A Flock of Seagulls who had a track on their 1982 album which has a melody that more or less ripped off "the revealing science of god." Just try to tell me some of those new wavers weren't at least at little bit influenced by or inspired by prog. I dare you. Tongue

Edited by AFlowerKingCrimson - January 22 2021 at 16:28

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Posted: January 22 2021 at 15:35

Definitely Big Country...a brilliant band...some of their longer songs and especially the 12" singles were very prog leaning. BC comprised four extra-special musicians.

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Posted: January 22 2021 at 14:55

suitkees wrote:

dr wu23 wrote:

Blacksword wrote:

Not sure they done anything strictly speaking prog rock, but XTC or Talk Talk would have been good prog peddlers.

Agree with you on XTC...I think Partridge and the gang could have easily done some prog if they had wanted to.

They actually did, no? Under the Dukes of the Stratosphere moniker... (don't know if they're on PA, though).

Kinda invented Psych outfit complete with silly names.. bit like 'On the Sunday of Life' by Porcupine tree..

But 25 o clock is a fantastic (mini) lp in its own right; a real sign of their inventive playfullness!

The Damned did a similar thing (Give the Knife to Daddy, Cindy by Naz Nomad and the nightmares) but nowhere near as succesfully..

Actually, the Damned are a good shout for this thread.. the Black album has some very prog moments (Curtain call)

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Posted: January 22 2021 at 14:03

dr wu23 wrote:

Blacksword wrote:

Not sure they done anything strictly speaking prog rock, but XTC or Talk Talk would have been good prog peddlers.

Agree with you on XTC...I think Partridge and the gang could have easily done some prog if they had wanted to.

They actually did, no? Under the Dukes of the Stratosphere moniker... (don't know if they're on PA, though).

The razamataz is a pain in the bum

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Posted: January 22 2021 at 13:59

I'll probably say Lou Reed (as a solo artist).

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Posted: January 22 2021 at 13:39

Super Furry Animals!

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Posted: January 22 2021 at 12:31

Hrychu wrote:

Toto for instance.

I agree. Apparently they came close at times.

Also, Steely Dan, XTC, The Tubes, Led Zeppelin and ELO(I know some consider ELO prog but more like art rock imo).

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Posted: January 22 2021 at 12:04

Prince and Bernie Worrell.

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Posted: January 22 2021 at 12:03

I don’t really understand why Scott Walker’s first albums preclude him from being considered prog. There are plenty of bands and artists who had albums that were less (or not) prog in their discographies in the PA database. His latter albums are almost inarguably progressive, starting with his contributions to the final Walker Brothers album. That album alone has been a major stated influence for many prog bands and artists, let alone what he has done since.

I’ve always thought Duran Duran would have made a great prog band. They came close at times, to be fair, and particularly on their albums. Like many bands, the well-known singles aren’t entirely representative of what you might find on the albums.

Blur is another band that had that same dichotomy - where the singles pointed one way, and the album tracks another. I never had any real interest in Blur, until someone played me one of their albums, and I realised there was more to them than the singles suggested.

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Posted: January 22 2021 at 11:40

progaardvark wrote:

Off the top of my head...

I think Billy Joel could have pulled off a prog album. David Bowie could have pulled off one too.

ELO started off in mix of prog and pop. If they had gone in the prog direction, I think they could have pulled off a decent album or two.

Scott Walker would also be high on my list too if he had started with the avant-garde stuff right after Scott 4.

Intersting. On a similar note, I think Elton John would've done super well with prog.

Porg for short. My love of music doesn't end with prog! Feel free to discuss all sorts of music with me. Odds are I'll give it a chance if I haven't already! :)

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