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

Off the top of my head...

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.

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.

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).

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)

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.

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.

on a related subject, perhaps Runrig?

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.

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,

The question was "what non prog band would've made the best prog?".

So Living Colour (i.e. non prog band) to me could have released a prog album...no problem.

Especially if they had tracks of the calibre of below...This Is The Life....don't tell me this is not prog:

Anyway, just because a band has one or two prog or proggish tracks here and there it doesn't mean they are prog or even could be prog. Or maybe it does. What matters is what they have done. If you like it then that should be good enough for you. 

Anyway, not everyone agrees on what is or what is not prog so we all have to accept that. I've had people try to tell me that Styx and the Fixx(not the same person)were prog. Sometimes I think people just call music they like prog. It's almost as if the music has to be prog in order for them to like it. 

No problem at all. I was just answering the question that was posed and I firmly believe LC could release a really good, fully-fledged prog album if they felt so inclined; not that they are prog nor should be put in any of the prog categories on PA...though I would love them just to be here in prog-related.

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

To an extension, we should look at the prog-related section of the DB to find the best examples of answers to the OP's question.

The Dark Elf wrote: The Allman Brothers and Grateful Dead certainly had proggy moments.

especially in their jam things for tboth bands, but Terrapoin Station alone could earn The Dead at spot in the prog-related

Cristi wrote: ^ Living Colour should be in prog-related, should not bother anyone.

wouldn't this open the door for RHCP and, even stretching it a little, RATM?

I like all three bands, BTW

AFlowerKingCrimson wrote: Anyway, just because a band has one or two prog or proggish tracks here and there it doesn't mean they are prog or even could be prog. Or maybe it does. What matters is what they have done. If you like it then that should be good enough for you.  Anyway, not everyone agrees on what is or what is not prog so we all have to accept that. I've had people try to tell me that Styx and the Fixx(not the same person)were prog. Sometimes I think people just call music they like prog. It's almost as if the music has to be prog in order for them to like it.

well I'd tend to agree more with Glibb's suggestion of LC, especially when looking at your suggestions in the previous page (see below)

AFlowerKingCrimson wrote: 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.

I guess you could even suggest that PIL could be prog-related because of one or two tracks.

FTM, citing Neil Young, because of Cortez The Killer or Hurricane, would even make sense or Crosby's If Only I could Remember My Name could also entitle him to a spot in PA's Prog-related.

But I'm not sure that "being around in the wrong decade" is a valid argument, though: Split Enz was making prog albums in the 70's and were total unknown but broke big with the electro-pop new wave in the 80's

I don't think so. 

Why RATM? 

Hey, I think Stevie Wonder could have done a full on prog album. I'm sure there's lots of artists who could have if they wanted to. Of course some might be better at it then others. I don't really disagree with LC. Knowing who Fripp is and liking his playing is certainly a step in the right direction. 

Boston - classic rock/AOR sound with some prog leanings.

The premier American progressive rock band isn't on PA?  Sad.  Bigly sad.  

EDIT: Wait, don't pay attn to me right now, just finished smokin a big bowl of some flower buds or something.

Beatles... I made myself laff! the rantings of a wasted dude 

It's you guys that live in the wrong universe......I'm good, thanks champ! 

Saxon

The Police

Heart

Rainbow

Einstürzende Neubauten - experiment with various non-musical sounds and use different objects and materials as instruments, sometimes conceptually within songs. If their music was more complex there'd be no question of them being prog. 

Type O Negative - had they ditched pop influences and concentrated on more experimental material that featured on their first two (or three if you count Origin... as separate) albums they'd be post-metal classic. 

2 LIVE CREW

Just kidding of course!

Real answer

IRON MAIDEN

QUEEN

LED ZEPPELIN

BLACK SABBATH

early METALLICA

I really consider them not so much prog at all, so the answer is not as cheeky as it may seem, but the other ideas more people could relate to are Bauhaus around "Burning from the inside" and Fields of the Nephilim with their "Elizium"

As one of the biggest Floyd fans on the planet, I 'd tend to agree they were never as proggy sounding as some of the other great 70's prog bands such as ELP, Yes, Genesis, Camel, Caravan, Focus, etc.

Floyd were just Floyd, and maybe they transcend all genres and belong in their own space... similar to the likes of David Bowie, Kate Bush, and Prince (for example).

Yes, ELP, Genesis & King Crimson

  

Joe Jackson

Alice Cooper

Talking Heads

Larry Gowan

I Mother Earth

Billy Joel

and many many more !

I'd love to see her reprise "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway!" 

I'd not considered LG doing prog but I'm sure she'd make a good job of it, being another artist who is not only extremely creative and skilled as a musician, but also transcends all musical genres.

I think a lot of pop stars could make a good job of prog. Lorde being the first to come to mind (and she would have come to my mind before GaGa, too).

They'd have to know what it is first, wouldn't they? 

That wouldn’t be a problem, as they’ve both said in interviews about the prog bands they like.... 😄

I've got to see this to believe it.  And then probably have a heart attack or something. 

you are? how? 

I almost pulled you up on it after your first retort, but decided to leave it. But you’ve now questioned the idea of these two pop stars three times. If the joke was ever funny, it’s wearing a bit thin.

I never implied that they would not understand prog, I guess I implied they do not know what it is. 

Excuse my doubts and lame jokes, I blame the mainstream pop scene, little to nothing for me to enjoy. 

Julia Marcell, who has not really released anything I would call prog previously, released a quite beautiful prog pop album last year. Gaga and Lorde could easily do the same. And I definitely believe all three would be more than capable of putting out a full on prog album.

The Opium Cartel’s album from last year, Valor, definitely reminded me of Lorde’s music at time. I said as much to Jacob Holm-Lupo, and he said that he and his daughter (who sings on one track on the album) are both big fans of Lorde, so he took that as a compliment.

I'll echo Bowie, Queen, Prince, The Who and the like

I will also say I agree artists like Lorde and Lady Gaga would probably make some valuable prog or prog-esque music if they decided to try

Call me Paul, but I’ve always considered Duran Duran to be prog pop. They definitely were influenced many by prog bands (as stated in several interviews over the years), and they were far more accomplished musicians and songwriters than a lot of people give them credit for. The main influences may not be considered truly prog in terms of PA, but they have consistently been given as Roxy Music, Pink Floyd, Queen and Kraftwerk, which is still more prog than a lot of pop groups.

When Duran Duran took a break and split in two, Arcadia provided further evidence of the prog influence and appreciation of Duran Duran. Added to the DD trio of Simon, Nick and Roger, you had guest musicians with fusion and prog backgrounds including David Gilmour, Carlos Alomar, Andy MacKay, Herbie Hancock, David Van Tieghem, and Masami Tsuchiya.

And when Duran Duran got back together, Zappa alumnus Warren Cuccurullo was first a session musician, and then full band member. My top three favourite DD albums are all ones with Cuccurullo onboard. In the vein of Tel Aviv (a great instrumental on the debut album), Cuccurullo adds some great menace to Lake Shore Driving on the Big Thing album.

Hearing their debut album "Fresh fruits for rotting vegetables" I hear nothing of the proverbial three chords punk attitude. There are moments (quite many) when they operate on King Crimson level of musicianship.

But honestly, in all reality, The Beatles broke up before the whole prog rock movement had really started, so if they had stayed together then they might have ended up making some prog rock music, i dont know. I mean, "She's So Heavy" is kinda proggy, so i could see them doing it. I think it would have been pretty cool to see The Beatles doing prog rock.

There were a plethora of British pop bands of that era who had the prog influence - as well as Duran let's consider Japan, Tears For Fears, OMD, Thomas Dolby. Indie poppers The Icicle Works were probably the proggiest of the lot, discounting leftfield weirdoes like Stump and Durutti Column who had a variety of non-mainstream influences and tick the boxes for musically adventurous and experimental rather than overtly proglike. And of course The Fall were basically a krautrock band from Prestwich.

Van Halen

I think this might apply to Orchestral Maneouvers in the Dark also. Albums like "Architecture and Morality" came very close to being considered prog. 

OMD eventually ended up traveling down the "radio freindly" route like so many others of that era, like Simple Minds as well as The Thomson Twins. 

Without reading through all of the responses, i would say that many of the prog related acts on PA could've easily made fully fueled prog albums

Black Sabbath

David Bowie

Rainbow

Iron Maiden

Metallica

Queen

Led Zeppelin

Talking Heads

Muse

Steve Vai

just to name a few

as for bands NOT on PA at all

hmmm.. 

Maybe

Tears For Fears

Velvet Undergrond

Tom Waits

Portishead

Sonic Youth

Pere Ubu

Stereolab

Blur

Xiu Xiu

DNA (and most no wave bands actually)

Tuxedomoon

Foetus

The Pop Group

Melt-Banana

As long as you don't mention Asia or GTR then you're good

Alice in Chains

Screaming Trees

Soundgarden

Sunny Day Real Estate

Following on from that, the same could be said for some of the “Brit-Pop” bands. Again, people are often familiar only with the singles that gained the most airplay, which are often not truly representative of what the bands are capable of. I always loved Suede, but thought Blur weren’t for me, until someone “made” me listen to their albums. When I finally did, I realised what I had been missing. I’m still not much of a fan of many of their singles, but I love almost all of their albums (their debut has never grabbed me, but they hadn’t yet found their own sound, and weee still following the “baggy” trend of the successful British bands of the day). Suede’s last two albums have been very highly praised by several prog sites, as they reassess a band they once dismissed.

For me, Suede and Blur are no more or less prog than Radiohead and Mansun. Pulp are nowhere near as prog-ready as the aforementioned three, but I definitely think Jarvis could write some first rate prog if he felt like it. There’s enough eclecticism and experimentation in Pulp’s sound to make me believe that, even if it’s not used in a prog manner, it could be if they were so inclined.

Back to America, and in a similar vein to the “Britpop” bands, Garbage could probably make a prog album. They haven’t come close, but they could do it, I’m sure. Then there are artists like Doug Martsch (Built to Spill) and Mark Eitzel (solo/American Music Club), who could probably easily write an intriguing and enjoyable prog album. They aren’t prog by any stretch of the imagination - but they could be!

On the other hand, Extreme came close (and some would probably argue that they are prog), but perhaps stayed too close to the accessible and mainstream for a lot of people to consider them prog. (They’re definitely more prog to me than something like Asia.) Keeping in that metal zone, the much reviled Guns n’ Roses could do prog, if they all wanted to, but while some of their members tend towards the grandiose and bombastic, others like to K.I.S.S. Jane’s Addiction is another band that could have gone full-on prog, if they felt like it.

Across the border, bands like I Mother Earth and Our Lady Peace prog pretty much as The Tea Party. One of them is here, while the other two aren’t. They’re all about as prog as each other to me. Maybe even Moist, at a push. They’re not so obviously capable of prog (to me), but David Usher’s solo albums show a greater variety of sounds, so I don’t think it’s an impossibility to think Moist could make a decent fist of a prog album. Perhaps I might add .moneen. to this list.

Just like “grunge”, there are a lot of “nu-metal” bands that could easily be prog. Some are almost “prog-ready” and some are nothing like it - but definitely show signs that they could be. Bands like Faith No More, Korn and System of a Down.

Finally, in the vein of Bowie, I think Iggy Pop and Lou Reed could easily be prog if they felt like going fully in that direction.

I haven’t read any posts on this thread before commenting, so I suspect that several (possibly even all?) of the bands I’ve suggested here, may already have been suggested.  In fact, I even hope that is the case, because that means some people share my thoughts.

(I could definitely add more bands and artists, but I’m aware of how long this post is already. And I’ve also deliberately left out some artists in each of the above “categories”, to see if anyone says “what about….?”)

Listening to the extremely sophisticated arrangements/songwriting on Curtis Mayfield's Super Fly OST (or Curtis mm...), Marvin Gaye - What's Going On (or his Trouble Man OST), The Temptations "psychedelic soul-rea" - and I could add a lot more soul/funk-artists... I think of it as just another approach to creating progressive music. They would have made excellent "prog rock" if they wanted to.

Fleetwood Mac, Thin Lizzy, Heart, Sparks most profilic 1970's bands surely could if they would but chose a different path...

The combined talents of Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas - I mean if you listen to her full albums, it's already progressive (in a Radiohead sort of way). And she can rock out too, if she wants to.

The Unthanks, Michael Kiwanuka, Inflo (the "brain" behind Sault... I think + producer for Cleo Sol, Adele, Little Simz + Kiwanuka...)

- but I'm more thn happy with what they are doing

I’ve always equated the Enz with Genesis and Queen. All three are no more or less prog to me than the others. All three were more overtly prog in their early years/albums (generally in the ‘70s) even during their more mainstream and accessible “pop” years (generally in the ‘80s), there was still plenty of prog still there. It was merely less obvious, and all three have had their later work compared unfavourably with their earlier work because of it. Conversely, all of them had far greater commercial success with their less overtly prog sound - although Queen and the Enz did fare better on the charts with their earlier material than Genesis.

I might well be derided myself for this but I would add Pearl Jam to that list.

Not by me. They were one of the “what about…” bands I deliberately left out, to see if someone would bite. I originally had them listed, but figured it would be more fun to leave them out.

I absolutely, totally, definitely believe PJ could make an excellent prog album. It may not have been apparent with Ten, but subsequent albums have shown it is easily within their capabilities. (My favourite PJ albums, by the way, are Riot Act and Binaural.)

I also looked back, and realised I have contributed to this thread more than I thought. I seem to have posts on every page, and had already suggested Blur (along with Duran Duran, Lorde, and others….)

I’ve not heard it yet, but it’s only because there’s been so much good music that I haven’t had time. Given there’s not a PJ album I don’t like, I know I will like Gigatron, too.

What’s your favourite PJ off-shoot? There are so many (and several which are rather proggy), but my favourite is probably Stone Gossard’s “Bayleaf” album.

I havn't had that much to do with any off-shoots, except maybe "Mad Season", which Mike McCready was part of.

The only other thing that comes to mind is Eddie Vedders soundtrack to "Into the Wild".

Eddie Vedders "Long Road" is one of my favorite songs also.

 

Their first two albums, particularly their debut "Steamboat Annie" had very definite prog leanings and at times even sound like a proto Nightwish without the bombast.

I agree with everybody's suggestions but then would have to add that, to me, I've considered all of these bands as proggy all along. 

I've not seen mentioned XTC and any and all Trevor Horn produced bands (Seal, Frankie, Propaganda, ABC, Art of Noise, etc.) or Cocteau Twins and all 4AD label mates, Jesus and Mary Chain, Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, so many African bands, like Fela and Sunny Adé and Hamzi El Din; so many form India including: Ravi Shankar, V. Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan, Zakir Hussein; The Gipsy Kings, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Antônio Carlos Jobim, Al Kooper, Ry Kooder, Garth Brooks, Amy Grant (with Neal Morse), The Eagles, Al Stewart, Steve Miller, Def Leppard, Whitesnake, Bon Jovi, Peter Schilling, Nina Hagen, M(artha) & M(uffins), Gang of Four, Falco, The Wiener Sangerknaben, Hildegard von Bingen, Thomas Tallis, Palestrina, Vivaldi, Fauré, Satie, for sure Brahms, Ralph Vaughn Williams, Elgar, Britten, & Delius, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, even J.S. Bach and Franz Joseph Haydn would've tried at least and album or two if they could've.   

Glad to see some R&B bands mentioned: Stevie, the Isleys, Alicia Keys. I'd add Prince, Marvin Gaye, Barry White, The Temptations, Gil Scott-Heron, Quincy Jones. 

Glad to see Fields of Nephilim and The Cure getting some love. Souixie could've probably done it, as well. She's the one I would have loved to see do The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. 

Man! That was fun! I could go on! (I've got a very vivid and wild imagination.)…