Need a few pointers

Hi guys, im new here, and im fairly new to prog too.

I've heard a bit of Dream Theatre and Yes, and i recently bought Queensryche Operation:Mindcrime, and i love it.

I was wondering if anyone could give me some bands/albums i should try. im into the newer kind of prog, like Steve Vai, Liquid Tension (if those are even prog, i wouldnt know, i just love it.)

thanks guys

Darkprophet:

Welcome to the site.

It sounds like you are into a more "current" sound.  However, you might also want to check out the "grandfathers" of prog - the seminal groups from whom all other groups ultimately sprang.

The eight seminal groups, and the albums I would recommend, are:

King Crimson: In the Court of the Crimson King, Islands, Starless & Bible Black, Red.

Pink Floyd: Piper at the Gates of Dawn, Meddle, Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals.

The Moody Blues: A Question of Balance, On the Threshold of a Dream

Genesis: (Peter Gabriel era): Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot, Selling England by the Pound, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway

Genesis: (Phil Collins era): Trick of the Tail, Wind & Wuthering, And Then There Were Three

Yes: Time and a Word, The Yes Album, Close to the Edge, Going for the One

Gentle Giant: Three Friends, Octopus, In a Glass House, The Power and the Glory, Interview

Jethro Tull: Thick as a Brick, Minstrel in the Gallery

ELP: ELP, Trilogy, Brain Salad Surgery

This is by no means a complete list of even the albums by these groups, and I'm certain other members will challenge my choices, or give you others.

The next (almost up to current) "era" is what we call "neo-prog."  Among the best groups in this category are Marillion, IQ, Pendragon, Ark, and a number of non-english-speaking groups, especially from Italy (including PFM, Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, Il Balletto di Bronzo, Museo Rosenbach, Alusa Fallax, Deus ex Machina) and the Nordic countries (Anglagard, Aufklarung, et al).  Probably the best neo-prog group is Marillion, which has had two distinct eras; one led by the singer-songwriter Fish, the other by the singer-songwriter Hogarth.  The best of Fish-era Marillion are probably Misplaced Childhood and Clutching at Straws; of the Hogarth-era, Brave and Afraid of Sunlight.

What you might want to do is take a little time to read some of the reviews of the specific albums mentioned, or of various albums by the various groups.

It's alot, but it's worth it!

Have fun!

try Spock's Beard, Flower Kings, Ayreon and Porcupine Tree, they're among the major prog bands today.
There's also bands like A.C.T., Ad Infinitum, Planet X, Evergrey, IQ, Yoke Shire, OSI, Gordian Knot, Spastic Ink, Zero Hour, and King Crimson have released some awesome records recently (mainly "The Power To Believe" on my mind), and just keep on expanding your views! That a GREAT many artists out there today!

Thanks for all the replies, guys, sure is a big list!

I think Transatlantic and Marillion would be my first purchases. I've also found my dads record collection, which has just about every artist maani named. King Crimson, Yes, Jethro Tull... heaps more.

I guess I'll lock myself in my room for a while with a few good albums, drive my folks crazy

thanks again guys.

Anekdoten is essential to me. Vermod the first for "sons/daughter of Krimson", Nucleus for the relatively hard  but perhaps most rewardingalbum, From Within for a band progressing, and most recently Gravity (2003 release)  for further progression with some softening of edges.

Certif1ed wrote: The 24-Bit Remastered version of "Script for a Jester's Tear" is one of the most magnificent tomes ever, IMO - and I would definitely recommend "Fish-era" Marillion over "Hogarth-era", since the latter does not seem as progressive, to my jaded ears! You really can't go wrong with early Camel.

Never a great Marillion fan. While I liked their first album - it screamed Genesis at me and a good period of Genesis at that.  But  I guess I preferred Fish in small doses, while the instrumental breaks lacked some of the dynamics I wanted.  I largely gave up on them after  purchasing 3 vinyl albums - I think also I felt there was a bit of a sell out as they focussed on the singles chart market in the 80's. Similarly, the feeling Genesis selling out as they largely stop progging, aiming instead  at the stadium rock market - especially Collins superstardom.  I have a Hogarth period Marillion on CD, which I like but perhaps for what I hear as gloomy version of Supertramp.  I suppose my problem with neo-prog is that I tend to  hear the roots and references.

I'm also sure there are a significant number of prog fans (certainly the older generation) who will categorise Camel as second rank prog. Their earlier albums have something of the easy listening, softer edge prog  about them. Perhaps this was due to the lack of vocalist and the tunes/instrumentation not quite being interesting enough to hold one's attention for 40 minutes or so - there was plenty else around that did. (I did try with "Snow Goose"). But again, that reflects my tastes:  I prefer my prog to be  harder edged (while providing something fresh).

 ^ This should be good!!!! 

Let the pantomime commence:

Oh yes they did!!!

why do you think they were called neo-prog?

Do I hear:

 

Oh No They Don't!

Stop Stop! No need to go any further. You play Marillion up your end of the playpen and I'll play something I enjoy, my end.

 

Dick Heath wrote: Now seriously: Oooh - I'm not going to let you get away with that! As an obvious  fan of Marillion I would hope you would defend them and tell me why you like them - and hopefully there may be something in what you write which turns me on. It may surprise you but I'm very open minded and I'm here for my education but you'll have to work hard to change my opinion gained from broad exposure to prog over a long time  - but surely one of the functions of this website? You'll find I'm doing something similar wrt Soft Machine elsewhere. Being educated, educating? "Instrumental breaks lack dynamics?" The dynamics make the hairs stand up on the back of my neck!! Give me an example or two from the first three albums so I can back and perhaps revise my ideas.

Dick, go with your gut feelings man, your previous post on this thread was concise and echoed my own thoughts with regard to Camel and Marrillion precisely. When you're right, you're right!

Dick Heath wrote: why do you think they were called neo-prog?

That doesn't even begin to imply that they sounded like Genesis - and anyway, who wants that kind of argument? Not me - although I will say

NI!

To the next person who makes that kind of comment!

Hair raisers on "Script..." now, where do I begin?

"So here I am once MORE..." - the piano coming in on "MORE" does it for me every time! Then the simple chord progressions that accompany the voice for the next few bars...

OK, bigger drama needed, since I hear the entire album in a microcosm of hair-raising episodes, and the title track is packed with them, unrelenting bliss!!!

The two singles are great, if you can somehow blot out the overplay they used to get, but the remaining 4 are outstanding - the guitar solo in "Chelsea Monday", the keyboard solo in "The Web", but the Big One, for me, is the guitar entry just after "Approach, Friend" in "Forgotten Sons" - I get goose bumps simply writing about it. Also, during the fade-out, you can hear the children's choir singing "Ring-a-ring-a-roses we all fall down, Rule Britannia, Rule Britannia...".

Nothing elaborate or technically masterful - except the quality of the songwriting;  natural yet dramatic harmonic progressions that break few boundaries yet sound fresh, exquisite formal structures, beautiful song-like melodic fluency, sublime counterpoint and magical timbres (getting my own back on the opinions front!). And that's just the 1st album in a tiny nutshell.

I'm perfectly happy to do a blow-by-blow via Personal Messenger or email, for anyone that has an interest and isn't taking the ps, although I'm also happy to taunt the latter category...