Early British Prog vs American. Discuss.

I guess it depends what you think is disparate? It’s all subjective, and all depends on what measure you are judging how disparate or not either of the two scenes were. But I think there was an early US prog movement, that simply occurred a little later than the UK prog movement. The US prog movement perhaps doesn’t appear as much of a movement, purely because the progressive rock scene (for all that it was appreciated overseas), was a mainly Europe and especially British (and British Commonwealth) phenomenon. There are a number of reasons that have been given for why there was not as overt a movement in the US. Geographically, the smaller area of the UK allowed a lot more cross-pollination and appreciation, while the US bands pretty much remained in their own pockets. US musicians also tended to have a blues background, while Europeans were often more likely to be influenced by classical music. This can even be seen in the pre/proto prog of psychedelic music. There is often a distinct difference in sound and influence between UK and US psychedelia. The music industries were also quite different within the UK and US.

Regardless, I think there is a generally agreed upon (but by no means definite or inarguable) early Uk prog movement (from around 1969 to 1973?). The equivalent in the US is more from, say 1973-1977, with bands like Dixie Dregs, Happy the Man, Journey, Kansas, Starcastle, Styx, etc. You could call them disparate, but I’m not convinced they’re any more disparate than the big six of UK prog? 🤷🏻‍♂️