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CTTE for me, though it hardly makes my top 30.
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Originally posted by Quinino Quinino wrote:

Double album
Cover by Roger Dean
Lots of synths
Enigmatic lyrics
Huge diversity of tempos & moods
Melodic yet complex
Divides opinions among afficionados & connoisseurs
Symphonic to the core
One of the best singers + One of the best guitarist + One of the best bassist + One of the best keyboardist + One of the best drummer

What else can you desire, Mr Bungle ?


Mr Bungle.
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There's no one definitive prog album for me, and I'm happy about that.

Edited by Boojieboy - September 17 2018 at 16:54
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probably "Fairy Tales" by Mother Gong


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Pawn Hearts - overblown and wonderful
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Originally posted by Cosmiclawnmower Cosmiclawnmower wrote:

Originally posted by Mortte Mortte wrote:

Wigwam Fairyport for me. Not just prog, it includes everything I need from the music!
 

I LOVE Fairyport!!!! But they are asking for the quintessential 'Prog' (got it right this time!) lp not 'Progressive' lp (ok ok lets not start up that old chestnut again I hear you cry!)
Of course I know stereotypical prog sounds like Yes CttE or Genesis Selling England. But why would I tell that, everyone knows that? I think best prog sounds just like Wigwam in Fairyport.
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Originally posted by Cosmiclawnmower Cosmiclawnmower wrote:

Originally posted by Cosmiclawnmower Cosmiclawnmower wrote:

Originally posted by cstack3 cstack3 wrote:

  • Drenched with Mellotrons 
  • Soaring lead guitar parts, preferably played on a Gibson guitar (ES 335, Les Paul etc.) 
  • Racing bass guitar parts, preferably on a Rickenbacker 4001 with round-wound strings and plectrum
  • Sublime vocal harmonies 
  • Tight, exquisite drumming. 
Close To The Edge meets all of these criteria for me.  Few bands have mastered that formula, particularly the vocal harmonization.  
 

I agree with the above entirely; certainly Yes and most likely 'Close to the edge' is the most quintessential 'Prig' lp. 
 

Man, some typos are just.. well weird, ironic, a bit spooky... you see my inner self just didn't really believe what I was trying to say.. and as is often said, the truth will out!

I had to look up the meaning of "prig," it is a rather hilarious mistake!  Well done!!Clap
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Originally posted by cstack3 cstack3 wrote:

 

Real Mellotron is a groaning, unpredictable mess that lends a great deal of drama to prog music.  Since the tapes were recordings of humans playing notes on real instruments, one can hear bow inflections, breath and other subtle sounds that give the 'tron a very organic, human sound vs. the synths used by guys like Geoff Downes (ugh!).  

 
Great description of the mellotron sound Charles, but you should add that they are always slightly out of tune due to the tapes stretching and the drives always running a touch too slow.
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Originally posted by Mortte Mortte wrote:

Originally posted by Cosmiclawnmower Cosmiclawnmower wrote:

Originally posted by Mortte Mortte wrote:

Wigwam Fairyport for me. Not just prog, it includes everything I need from the music!
 

I LOVE Fairyport!!!! But they are asking for the quintessential 'Prog' (got it right this time!) lp not 'Progressive' lp (ok ok lets not start up that old chestnut again I hear you cry!)
Of course I know stereotypical prog sounds like Yes CttE or Genesis Selling England. But why would I tell that, everyone knows that? I think best prog sounds just like Wigwam in Fairyport.
 

Sorry I hope you didn't think I was being patronising, I certainly wasn't meaning to be.. I meant to put a winky face after but am not allowed it seems! Your reply is spot on and exactly what I meant (in a light hearted way). As Nogbad said 'its not in his top 30 but still has the all the hallmarks of THE Quintessential 'Prog' lp' and I think that's what the OP was looking for, not our personal favourites.

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Originally posted by micky micky wrote:

Originally posted by Quinino Quinino wrote:

Double album
Cover by Roger Dean
Lots of synths
Enigmatic lyrics
Huge diversity of tempos & moods
Melodic yet complex
Divides opinions among afficionados & connoisseurs
Symphonic to the core
One of the best singers + One of the best guitarist + One of the best bassist + One of the best keyboardist + One of the best drummer

What else can you desire, Mr Bungle ?

you do realize that you described, perfectly, that the truly enlightened and wizened consider THE quintessential prog album

http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=83286

I disagree with pickles and ice cream!

So a band without keyboards (let's say Guru Guru) can't be progressive.

A band without a drummer (several folks bands!) can not be progressive!

A band without a bass guitar ... can't be progressive! All those folks musicians are playing sheep dip'age!

A band without a singer can not be progressive! That means we have to listen to inane lyrics and stupid ideas, that are not anywhere near literary quality and have no weight or value in them whatsoever. Try Stairway to Nowhere for a bit!

This, should be about the whole thing, the whole piece of music, not that it has to have all 4 or 5 of those things.

I'm really tired of this "racist" comment about "progressive" music, and how it can not be this or that without having the right color (always funny and weird), the long hair (no curls or braids or _____), or some other idiotic comments that have nothing to do with the composition of the work itself.

So, it can't be a "symphony" without 12 violins, 4 bassoons, 3 piccolos, 2 cellos, 2 flutes, 2 of those large drum things that never get played, several chairs of course, a few women in the orchestra ... women in progressive music ... oh, my gawd, those folks at PA will poo their pants! And a conductor at the front, since RW is too busy playing another synth instead! Maybe the ghost of Mr. Lord will come buy to conduct the thing, but he prefers to play!

The whole definition has become such a joke that it has gotten sick, not musically intelligent at all, and on top of it you get a goon saying that some instruments make "progressive music" ... and it's like saying that the folks behind it are just a bunch of mannequins showing off the new fashions.
 
C'mon folks ... get better and smarter than that! You've been at this a long time and still stick to the same silly definition that is not about music at all ... it's about a couple of bands ONLY!
Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
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Wooooooooo,  Mr. Mister is lecturing us...again !

C'mon Pedro, put a smile on your face, go out and enjoy life while you can - it's just music Cool
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Originally posted by Cosmiclawnmower Cosmiclawnmower wrote:

Originally posted by Mortte Mortte wrote:

Originally posted by Cosmiclawnmower Cosmiclawnmower wrote:

Originally posted by Mortte Mortte wrote:

Wigwam Fairyport for me. Not just prog, it includes everything I need from the music!
 

I LOVE Fairyport!!!! But they are asking for the quintessential 'Prog' (got it right this time!) lp not 'Progressive' lp (ok ok lets not start up that old chestnut again I hear you cry!)
Of course I know stereotypical prog sounds like Yes CttE or Genesis Selling England. But why would I tell that, everyone knows that? I think best prog sounds just like Wigwam in Fairyport.
 

Sorry I hope you didn't think I was being patronising, I certainly wasn't meaning to be.. I meant to put a winky face after but am not allowed it seems! Your reply is spot on and exactly what I meant (in a light hearted way). As Nogbad said 'its not in his top 30 but still has the all the hallmarks of THE Quintessential 'Prog' lp' and I think that's what the OP was looking for, not our personal favourites.
Donīt worry, I am not absolutely serious in this and donīt feel hurt about your comment. Anyway I think seriously quintessential prog sound become 1969-71. It develop next years, but I think not in better direction. Essential to me is the hammond-style organ sounds, mellotron and using of brass, woodwinds & other acoustic instruments. At the moment I donīt remember any album from those years where are those all. There are no mellotron in Fairyport, but there are all those other elements. Also I really love the drum sounds of Ronnie Österberg, also music includes all the elements I love in prog, great melodies, right amount of complexity and great playing, also that album adds the feeling of Finnish nature that you canīt find anywhere else than in Finnish prog!

Of course there are still lots of subjective, but is it really possible find the objective quintessential prog album that everybody all over the world can accept? Of course I can admit Yes CttE sounds something most of the people think prog sounding, but is that really the purpose of this thread?
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Originally posted by SteveG SteveG wrote:

Originally posted by cstack3 cstack3 wrote:

 

Real Mellotron is a groaning, unpredictable mess that lends a great deal of drama to prog music.  Since the tapes were recordings of humans playing notes on real instruments, one can hear bow inflections, breath and other subtle sounds that give the 'tron a very organic, human sound vs. the synths used by guys like Geoff Downes (ugh!).  

 
Great description of the mellotron sound Charles, but you should add that they are always slightly out of tune due to the tapes stretching and the drives always running a touch too slow.

Excellent!  "How do you tune a Mellotron?"  "You can't." 

Yeah, the effects of tape stretching, temperature, voltage oscillations, mechanical variations etc. made for an amazingly difficult instrument on the road for guys like Fripp, Wakeman etc.  Still, I love the sound!  Tony Banks once compared the sound of the 'Tron to that of an old movie soundtrack when it comes out of television speakers, and I really get that analogy.  
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Originally posted by SteveG SteveG wrote:

Originally posted by cstack3 cstack3 wrote:

Real Mellotron is a groaning, unpredictable mess that lends a great deal of drama to prog music.  Since the tapes were recordings of humans playing notes on real instruments, one can hear bow inflections, breath and other subtle sounds that give the 'tron a very organic, human sound vs. the synths used by guys like Geoff Downes (ugh!).
Great description of the mellotron sound Charles
It is a wonderful description.
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I would have trouble picking just one since there are many that we all could name.....but since this is all subjective anyway.... I'll say ITCOTCK....it was prog when it all sort of started and it has many of the various prog styles on one album.
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Originally posted by Atavachron Atavachron wrote:

Originally posted by SteveG SteveG wrote:

Originally posted by cstack3 cstack3 wrote:

Real Mellotron is a groaning, unpredictable mess that lends a great deal of drama to prog music.  Since the tapes were recordings of humans playing notes on real instruments, one can hear bow inflections, breath and other subtle sounds that give the 'tron a very organic, human sound vs. the synths used by guys like Geoff Downes (ugh!).
Great description of the mellotron sound Charles
It is a wonderful description.


Thank you all!  I love the 'tron, from the moment I first played one (1975) to present (I use the same iPad Mellotron app used by King Crimson). 

Anything that could be done to a Mellotron, Mike Pinder has done.  Spilled drinks into them, had them fall apart onstage etc. 

The delicate tapes could be thrown out of alignment with just a gentle nudge, and they sometimes broke, stretched or recoiled improperly. Changing temperatures (an unfortunate reality on tour) led to moisture buildup on sensitive components and caused warped key stems. Pinder's own machine once flopped open right at the start of a show, spilling its tapes onto the stage like a pile of magnetic spaghetti. (He got it back up and running in 20 minutes.)
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Well right now my favorite is MDK. But as far as the 'Quintessential Prog Album' for me there's always been three.. Close to the Edge, Selling England by the Pound, and Brain Salad Surgery. If I had to pick just one it's Selling England. 
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Gatefold Sleeve



Edited by Atavachron - September 18 2018 at 16:49
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Originally posted by moshkito moshkito wrote:

I'm really tired of this "racist" comment about "progressive" music, and how it can not be this or that without having the right color (always funny and weird), the long hair (no curls or braids or _____), or some other idiotic comments that have nothing to do with the composition of the work itself.


Nobody making "racist" comments about "progressive" music - you're just jumping to that conclusion and getting offended by something nobody actually said.

Nobody is saying that you can't be prog without certain aspects, but the plain truth is, if you listen to the albums most commonly associated with prog rock (e.g., the top 50 on PA), you will notice a lot of similarities beyond the compositions itself. Things like Mini-Moogs, Mellotrons, Hammond organs, Rickenbacker basses, extended songs, classical/jazz influences, etc.

You have to realize that prog and "progressive" are not used synonymously. Yes, prog obviously comes from the word "progressive", but there are also stylistic connotations with the genre of prog. And of course, there are always exceptions to the rules; bands without keyboards, bands without long songs, etc, but I don't think anyone's claiming otherwise.
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Originally posted by moshkito moshkito wrote:

Originally posted by micky micky wrote:

Originally posted by Quinino Quinino wrote:

Double album
Cover by Roger Dean
Lots of synths
Enigmatic lyrics
Huge diversity of tempos & moods
Melodic yet complex
Divides opinions among afficionados & connoisseurs
Symphonic to the core
One of the best singers + One of the best guitarist + One of the best bassist + One of the best keyboardist + One of the best drummer

What else can you desire, Mr Bungle ?

you do realize that you described, perfectly, that the truly enlightened and wizened consider THE quintessential prog album

http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=83286

I disagree with pickles and ice cream!

*snip*

*no more needed to be said*

you lost me at pickles and ice cream. I haven't had a wiff of a joint in weeks and damn your posts man are like contact highs. I suddenly got the munchies.
 

I have no idea what you were trying to say Pedro.. but goddamnit man.. I do love you brother and someday you are I are going to get together. I'll bring the booze, and you bring whatever sh*t you are smoking, snorting and injecting and we will tear up the town.
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