Classic Era Prog Epics

Carol Of Harvest - Put On Your Nightcap (Germany/1978).

Hi,

I think CAN is better known today than yesterday, however, it was not because of their work, but their name being mentioned all the time, and folks that gave Tago Mago half a listen, and immediately screamed progressive. It wasn't at all progressive. It was a "part" of the same styled artistic scenes in theater, film and other arts at the time, and CAN was a good representative, but Damo's busking is "better" than Klaus's improvisations which are famous, and the number of folks that ended up working with Wim Wenders and others ... and we don't like to know that the theater history of those days was full of experiments in sound and vision and placement, many of these ideas became some nice content for a lot of what we became to know as "krautrock".

So, in a sense, CAN is not "progger", until LANDED when they pulled out all the stops, with one problem, and Holger did it again in his first 2 solo albums ... he wore his mind and the TEAC's to the ground with cuts and cuts and more cuts and blends that were nuts but absolutely and totally far out ... and we don't talk of "Landed" as progressive, because many folks here can't listen to it, as it doesn't sound like any of the top 5 bands!

The problem/issue is placing a lot of these things IN CONTEXT ... not as a matter of preference. And too many of the replies and comments are about preference, not the art of it at all! And in this sense, CAN will never get anywhere, because it is not a top 5 or 10 band that had a big single on the radio! WE still think that is the part that makes them "progressive" ... and the reason why the same band is listed 10 times in the top 100!

Like I said "generally", for maybe us mentally disturbed proggers we would not need the classics to like CAN. I became mental after joining PA and had already been in touch with Genesis, PF and Rush.

Do you think more people today like CAN vs say 40yrs ago?

You list two Birth Control albums but I don't see Backdoor Possibilities, which I consider their strongest. It doesn't seem well known and is certainly not for everyone, but anyway, great album in my view. I don't like their other material remotely as much although some (Plastic People) is OK.

Otherwise my favourites are Shamal, Grand Wazoo, and most stuff listed by KC (Lizard!), VDGG (Childlike Faith!), Pink Floyd (AHM), Novalis (2nd and 3rd album), Curved Air. Further on to Steve Hillage (Lunar Musick), Magma, Grobschnitt, Baker St. Muse...

My post was sarcastic and rude. That was unnecessary and stupid, and I'm sorry. 

I appreciate your championing of lesser known bands, but I still think bigger and best known bands are that for a reason, and the main reason is the quality of their music (whether throughout their career or a "golden era" or whatever). Yes, there are others factors at play as well, but you don't get big by being bad at what you do. 

Now, I don't of course mean that unknown bands are worse, but they are not automatically better or more worth listening than the best known bands. When you start listening to something new, in this case Classic Era Prog Epics, I think it's best to start with the best known stuff. Again, there's a reason why it is the best known. 

Sorry if all this is obvious and I'm preaching to the choir but just my two cents. 

There are many here I have not heard of either.....but I would probably start with the classics and go onto the more obscure.

ELP~Tarkus

KC~any of them

Pink Floyd~Atom Heart Mother

Rush~Xanadu

Rush~La Villa Strangiato

Do you like dark symphonic prog? If so, check out:

 

 

Arachnoid - Le Chamadère (1979)

 

 

 

However, the highlight track for me is:

 

Arachnoid - Toutes Ces Images / Segamisec Setout (1979)