Cover art by Matt Howarth

 

http://www.progressiverock.com/ - http://www.progressiverock.com/

 

 

Progressive rock has been the object of many essays and guides but “The trawberry bricks guide to progressive rock” written by Charles Snider (2007) figures among the top of the list due to a brilliantly documented work. This practical book conciliates descriptive, analytical and critical approches, focusing the subject on the golden era of progressive rock, also reserving a place to the historical roots of this musical scene. Before opening the guide with a representative list of classic (pre) progressive albums published between 1968 and 1979, Charles Snider starts the essay with a prologue appropriate to a discussion around the historical situation / musical context and about specific aesthetic / formal elements that distinguish progressive rock to conventional, standard pop music.  The restrospective list and reviews that accompagny the guide cover all the progressive rock musical spectrum (from symphonic prog, jazz rock, art rock to krautrock and electronic prog). This essay is obviously focused on the  giants of progressive rock but it also gives an important mention to obscure bands that are now cult (Clearlight, Heldon, Far East Family Band, Birth Control...). Consequently this guide can ravish all fans of prog rock classic period. It contributes to an ecclectic, global comprehension to the developpement of the genre. This is a massive, complex collection but there’s only one negative point I would like to notice: When the author speaks about the emergence of prog rock musical identity I estimate that too many attention is given to low musical pop-ish aspects introduced by the Beatles...I would like to read a more exhaustive chapter about the influences of high musical spheres that don’t belong to rock music, I mean classical music, free-jazz, sixties minimalism, raga meditations and avant garde.  

 

Highly recommended and definitely a good introduction to progressive rock magical / timeless musical world.

 

 

Philippe Blache

Terrific lists! I must get this ASAP

 

how how how?

 I have read "The Strawberry Bricks Guide to Progressive Rock" and contrast to Philippe opinion in which he is way off base it's the Beatles who should deserve a major credit for starting Progressive Rock. Sgt Pepper is the first album on The Strawberry Bricks Guide to Progressive Rock timeline.

 

George Harrison introduced the raga and sitar, while John Lennon offered up odd time signatures. George Martin performed what might be the first organ solo (technically harmonium) in a rock context, on the Beatles’ “The Word”. Here’s the point: Although short lived as a movement, psychedelia gave the artist carte blanche to experiment and expand the boundaries of their music. Rubber Soul quickly gave way to the exciting Revolver that culminated in the psychedelic classic “Tomorrow Never Knows”

 

Art Rock – The broadest of categories, this refers to direct descendants of the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. I’d like to think of this as “sophisticated rock music” and use it to capture those bands that definitely avoid that which would make it prog rock, but are certainly of the era.

 

Back to Philippe comments. The Beatles were the first rock band to use the studio as an instrument in its use of Psychedelic rock in electronic/ backward tape effects and the applying the classical form of Hindustani music. How many rock bands were using 5/4, 3/4 and 4/4 or 5/4/, and 5/8 time signatures in the same course of one song before Sgt Pepper? How many bands were using modes like the Dorian Mode or Lydian Mode?  "A Day in the Life" broke new ground by  using an avant style type of orchestration and combining 2 completely different tunes in different keys, sung by 2 different singers and played at 2 different tempos...what an amazing step toward a larger scope of composition. "A Day in the Life" and "Within You Without You" is in my mind with no doubt are Progressive Rock status.

 

Then George Harrison played the sitar, tamboura, swarmandal, and recording the guitar backwards.  Jeff Beck and Roger McGuinn were not playing Indian instruments and George was the first rock guitarist to play these instruments.

 

I know not everything the Beatles did can be classed Proto-Prog and they were also others who contributed but Philippe comments are simply wrong. The Beatles explored classical music, sixties minimalism, raga meditations and avant garde all in 1966. All genres have a starting point and yes others expanded this by late 1967 but there is no "Tomorrow Never Knows" or "Love You To" being produced at this time and I would not call these songs low pop quality song. “Strawberry Fields Forever” upped the ante for pop music and producers were destroying studio’s to keep pace with the Beatles.

 

 

I disagree.

 

The Beatles merely did what was already out there ... in essence they were bored with pop music and they let us all know ... and they decided to do something different.

 

That was that ... did it have progressive elements to it?

 

I actually think ... NO ... you can see and check out Let It Be (if that jerk ever allows the movie to be released!) ... to realize that there was no musical "progressiveness" here ... there was just the friction and communication between 4 people and another person or two in the mix ... like Billy Preston and Yoko ... etc, etc ...

 

But the Beatles helped where they could ... even having and quoting someone like Frank Zappa ... did more to expand the tastes and variety of music than anything else ... all in all the Beatles were pop music and they could not break out of those constraints within the form they had and were in.

 

The addition of sitar and other "foreign" and different instruments is not big deal ... music in Europe is the biggest mix bag you ever heard in your life ... turn on the radio, flip the dial ... hear 10 different nations ... you don't get that in America with its top ten only ... and the difference influences what you do ... so when you hear an Operatic singer using a rock band and singing like an aria ... it is not "progressive" ... it is a logical extension of the musical elements into the new day ... adding a Fender guitar to Albinoni or Vivaldi is our way of saying ... this is the 20th century violin ... nothing more ... there is nothing progressive in that ... it's just natual growth.

 

But what is never discussed, and deserves far more attention to its work, is the very experimental scene in the arts in London and Paris and Munich ... which sprouted a lot of artists and film makers and actors and also some musicians ... although for some reason most of the rock musicians did not have the discipline to get theatrical unless your name was Bryan Ferry and David Bowie and you wanted to do Jacques Brel of Kurt Weill .... two names that should be considered extremelly progressive ... and no one ever has the balls to say it and even connect how they affect rock music and its stylings of vocal characterizations ... it's no longer "acting" ... it's "living" ... and there is a difference.

 

To break it down in an academic sense calling this scale this or that ... has got to be the most over rated discussion in my book ... like a Dorian crap was not used 1000 years ago ... it was ... with a different instrument ... and we don't ahve a recording of it ... so what? The scale has absolutely nothing to do with the person that played or sung it ... it's what they felt ... and sometimes there are "not enough notes" ... or "too many notes" ... go see Salieri in that movie if you don't believe me!

 

Progress ... in the sense of "change" and showing us something new and different ... that is progressive ... but if all we get is the same thing with just a different scale on the same musical staff ... and we call it "progressive" ... such bollocks!

So ... it's gift to progressive was a Hammond Organ in a blues key?

 

3. Soft Machine - Volume Two (Probe 1969)
Definitly ... and what it really brought us was the opening up of that "jazz" field into something fun and entertaining ... and the rest of the Canterbury folks had the humor and fun and great music as well.

 

4. King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King (EG 1969)

I accept this one.

7. Yes - Fragile (Atlantic 1972)
I think Fragile established the band. Close to the Edge sealed it.

 

8. Jethro Tull - Thick As A Brick (Chrysalis 1972)
More important and not appreciated, and JT's most progressive album is the one that most JT fans can not stand ... "A Passion Play" is fabulous and I for one would like to stage it in its entirety.

 

9. Aphrodite’s Child - 666 (Vertigo 1972)
I often think that this is one of the most important of the albums never heard. It had in it many things that ... no one did at the time ... and on top of it ... it had an orgasm ... even the Beatles didn't have that!

 

10 Gentle Giant- Three Friends (Columbia 1972)
No disagreement here.

 

12. Gong - Flying Teapot (Virgin 1973)
I would mark this as the Flying Teapot Trilogy.

 

13. Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells (Virgin 1973)
Yes. However, this was not really progressive ... unless you consider the musical progressions and scales! That ought to wake up some academics! Hergest Ridge and Ommadawn were far more experimental and creative.

 

14. Le Orme - Felona & Sorona (Charisma 1973)
I would not think of this as progressive. I do think of Le Orme as some very nice and enjoyable music ...

 

15. Manfred Mann’s Earth Band - Solar Fire (Warner 1973)
I love this album ... but Glorified Magnified is actually much more important. This is however a very nicely done album and actually shows (again) Manfred's love of classical music ... itself not really progressive ...

 

16. Magma - Mekanïk Destrukïw Kommandöh (A&M 1973)
Without a doubt the most unbelievable musical creation of the day ... the most unusual ... and to get a chance to see these in concert ... you will have tears in your eyes in the end like so many of us had in SF in 1999!

 

18. Ange - Au-delà du Délire (Philips 1974)
One of the best rock albums ever done. And beautifully sung too.

 

19. Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway (Atco 1974)
Excellent choice.

 

22. Nektar - Down To Earth (Passport 1975)
Recycled is the progressive album ... and totally off the wall with Larry Fast all over ... sadly , the strength and power needed to survive this album was never to be seen on a stage and I'm sure that by that time Roye was already burn't out. Down to Earth is really a come down compared to this album prior. And Recycled is one of the most progressive and insane rock albums ever done ... I do wish they had not trimmed down Marvellous Moses from their concert rendition that was harder and more rock oriented than it was pop'y.

 

25. Van Der Graaf Generator - Still Life (Charisma 1976)
I really think that VGG could be here ... it's hard to bypass H to He and such ... but even more important and demonstrative in unbelievable ways is "The Silent Corner and Empty Stage" is much more important ... and off the wall ...

 

28. Kansas - Leftoverture (Kirshner 1976)
Needs to be dumped. This is a popular album/song. Over rated. Still nice, mind you ... just very nice ... but there is nothing progressive in here.

 

30. PFM - Jet Lag (Elektra 1977)
Weird that this is listed and their much superior Photos of Ghosts and The World Became the World are not. PFM is more classically minded than they are progressive, btw. And this album shows the new lead singer from Acqua Fragile ... and when this band dropped their excellent vocals for one singer, and destroyed a very nice small band with 2 extremelly nice albums.

 

31. Hawkwind - Quark, Strangeness and Charm (Charisma 1977)

Hawkwind, could, and probably should ... be mentioned as progressive .. if anything their music changed ... and it still had punch and kick and it could still rock and then some. Of more importance than this album is the fact that Michael Moorcock was involved in their early days and helped formulate a thing or two, that Hawkwind took with them and still have and use. Space Ritual is this band.  But it is really hard to dismiss Electric Tepee and It is the Business ... as those two albums are unbelievably fine ... and excellent rock assaults albeit so heavy that they are weightless ...

 

32. Tangerine Dream - Cyclone (Virgin 1978)
No. The one that needs to be here is ATEM and then PHAEDRA. Those two blew out the electronic harshness that was around in those days.

 

Not mentioned ... but should be here ...

 

Amon Duul 2 - Wolf City.

Quite simply one of the best rock albums ever done from beginning to end.

 

Klaus Schulze -

Black Dance era - This really took electronics into a stage that most people could not understand or see. It really was not "classical music for the masses" ... as in top ten beethoven ... and as such is way more progressive and experimental.

 

Egberto Gismonti - No Caipira

 ... meet Villa lobos STravinsky Bossa Nova accoustic guitar and the most fascinating mix you ever heard. So much so that people in this board are actually afraid to listen to it ... progressive is just another word after you hear this.

 

Terje Rypdal/David Darling - Eos

I remember dad and mom being proud of seeing Casals, Stern, Segovia ... and so many other classical dignitaries. This album is what you and I should/could be listening to when we are the same age and appreciating "classical music" ... this is ... the VERY BEST chamber music concert you will ever hear in your life ... and it is an electric Fender and a bass ... and if you thought Jimi was good ... shame on you ... people like Terje do Jimi more credit and beauty than you and I could possibly imagine. And Darling also "made" a couple of Carlos Nakai albums sound good ... the rest are not as good.

 

Roy Harper

Talk about progressive ... this guy is the most out there poet in music ... and so progressive that few can stand with him in a room ... he's way too intelligent for us I imagine .. check out his web site ... and this guy plays a guitar and sings ... WOW ...

 

 Well I have to disagree with you respectfully.

 

 

I feel the Beatles were certainly progressive when especially George Harrison was working at a sophisticated level of extrapolating Indian scales to the Western setting, something no one else had done in rock music as compared to efforts like the Byrds or the Yardbirds.  "Love You To",  which is certainly derived from classical Indian, "Within You Without You",  "The Inner Light",  and even "Norwegian Wood" follows the raga khamaj avarohana is an  unaltered raga were in the Indo/Prog category.

 

I still do not agree. And George at the time was quite experimental and the likelihood is that this is what he heard that later was called this or that on a regular music scale so we have a name for it. He also was a very typical western man with the sitar in hand and did not master it, which kinda tells you that he could do a few things but nothing else, and if he was getting confused with the count and scales, which are not 4/4 inclined like most of the music he played and was familiar with ... otherwise he would have played a lot more eastern music in his own work, which he did NOT. He also experimented with electronics heavily ... and you might check out "Lectronic Sound". It really tells you more about "George" than it does his music ... !

 

You don't go into meditational music, or a sitar, by studying scales when the instrument and specially the "ragas" are designed to bring out the music and feeling inside the person. And that music might, or might not, have the feeling or idea that you -- YOU -- thought of. I think the question for George was ... what can we add and double up with this piece here to make is "musical" for our audience, and in that sense ... yes, the Beatles are very good and quite progressive. But the nature of the composition itself is not progressive at all.

 

The point was that "pop music" was not known as being intelligent, well defined and composed and on top of beautifully done, and The Beatles broke that mold really good ... pop musicians can do this too! ... has to do with the music, not the style was their point ... I accept that. And I think that is something that a lot of "progressive" minded folks are afraid of. Not being accepted. And the best way to discuss this music is to show it's valid progression in "time" and "place" to help validate its existence. The comment about mixing music and scales is esoteric to say the least since not many of us in the western world are versed in eastern musical concepts and idioms and conversely similar to the other folks from the eastern countries. And both can mix, just like anything can mix, and in the late 60's and early 70's the experimental thing was ... "anything is music" ... and "sound is music" ... otherwise things like Faust and many other experimental bands come off like a bunch of kids playing with toys ... well, to be fair, who's to say that music can not come out of that?

One thing that I absolutely loved was the cover concept. Thank God no dragons, elves or sky wizards or Roger Dean copycat artwork. 

I know about your book. The thing is I know most of what's in it so it would be of no real value to me. If I see it in the library I'll check it out though. Or if you ever do a version of more recent prog. Anyway, good luck with it though.

Also, being that these days it seems that mostly newer prog is what is on the radar of most prog fans it's good to expose at least some of them to the older bands and albums they might not otherwise know about so kudos for doing that.

 

It's a good book and a must for every coffee table. My only grumble.................................More pages pleaseBeen around and collecting the progressive underground of the late 60's early 70's for years and this book has been a real eye opener. Thank you for a marvellous reference book.