Definitive prog band - Progressive Rock Music Forum

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Tormato

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Posted: April 18 2007 at 13:20

YES defined prog rock with CLOSE TO THE EDGE and confirmed it with THE GATES OF DELERIUM

I like Tormato, so shoot me! Every person in the world can't think the same.

Ixtlan

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Posted: April 18 2007 at 15:13

I would say they also destroyed it with Tormato

armapo

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Posted: April 18 2007 at 17:20

Surely King Crimson: before "In the court..." the Progressive Rock was another thing...

Armando

paolo.beenees View Drop Down

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Posted: April 18 2007 at 17:27

The Beatles

Dim

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Posted: April 18 2007 at 17:39

The beatles are one of the bands that you define as indefinate prog loser! It it true, I am sure most of us would consider king crimsons in the court would be the first real prog album, and yes did destroy they're progness with 90125, but I'm aiming for early to mid seventies when prog was in its prime.

Ixtlan

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Posted: April 18 2007 at 17:47

Here's a good analogy:

YES is the Neil Armstrong of prog bands, the rest are airplane pilots!

Fight Club View Drop Down

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Posted: April 18 2007 at 18:02

I would probably go with King Crimson too. They represent all the good aspects of prog for which we all love the genre as well as all the bad aspects that people hate the genre for. Also one can find pretty much any sub genre of prog somewhere in their catelog. They've managed to touch upon everything from jazz style prog to hard rock.

StarsongAgeless View Drop Down

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Posted: April 18 2007 at 18:55

I couldn't agree more. Concept albums are also not something that defines progressive music, really. They exist in all genres... hehe just look at "Trapped In The Closet" - not quite a concept album, because it's actually just a really long song with a ton of parts, but it's definately not prog.

Still, my definitive prog band is Yes, not King Crimson, just a matter of opinion.

Hmm... apparently I quoted a post incorrectly. I was responding to someone saying that concept albums are over-done in prog.

Tormato wrote:

YES defined prog rock with CLOSE TO THE EDGE and confirmed it with THE GATES OF DELERIUM

I agree %100. Do you recognize my display name? It's not from either of those albums, but I'm guessing you know what it is.

Edited by StarsongAgeless - April 18 2007 at 18:57

Failcore

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Posted: April 18 2007 at 20:19

Tommydouglas wrote:

Yes is my favourite band, but Gentle Giant seem to exemplify the Platonic Prog-rock band. To have a truly prog-rock band you have to have hints of medieval English style madrigals and GG has it in spades plus all the other stuff--time sig. changes and four-part vocal harmonies with cool keyboard pyrotechnics.

GG! I also second Zappa and KC. So many great artists, how can you narrow it down to one? Shocked

floydisgod View Drop Down

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Posted: April 18 2007 at 23:23

ELP or King Crimson, but for me ELP is all the pretentiousness and negative image of prog while King Crimson IS prog...

White Shadow View Drop Down

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Posted: April 19 2007 at 00:57

micky wrote:

chofel wrote:

I have to say Genesis !!! In their work from the knife until Winds & wuthering I think they did everything

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

this isn't about your favorite band.... Wink

Genesis were playing town Halls when the big boys were defining prog...

ok? I'll admit that this isn't about favorite bands which is why I didn't state them, but what the hell does playing in small venues have to do with anything? Also, I'm pretty sure Genesis was recording prog at about the same time everyone else was(Trespass- 1970). Yes came out waith Time and a Word which is good but is nowhere near as prgressive as Trespass. ITCOTCK had one year on that. So what. I didn't name Genesis but don't put them down because they were right there at the front lines with everyone else. My answer is there isn't one defining band. You could make valid points for why each of them is the defining one, including Genesis. So, don't try to act smart in the future and shut up while you still haven';t made yourself a fool.

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White Shadow View Drop Down

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Posted: April 19 2007 at 00:59

Ixtlan wrote:

Here's a good analogy:

YES is the Neil Armstrong of prog bands, the rest are airplane pilots!

I think that was a sh*tty analogy

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raindance2007 View Drop Down

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Posted: April 19 2007 at 07:26

Probably Gentle Giant. Complex and Catchy. Strong song writing.10 years of excellence. I think Crimson are way off the mark. I can only find about 7 or 8 strong songs between the albums In the court of the crimson king, Lizard, Islands, Larks, Red and Starless. That's 6 whole albums with an average of 1-2 strong songs on each and the occasional cool song. Poseidon is the classic which I love, but the other 6 are just solid albums and not much more. The band weren't even around in the 2nd half of the 70s either.

Edited by raindance2007 - April 19 2007 at 07:27

Soundscape42 View Drop Down

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Posted: April 19 2007 at 08:57

Hello there,

I am a newbie as well although I have been investigating this website for some time. I do not have a hands down answer for definitive prog. I agree that the forerunners such as KC, Genesis, Yes, Floyd, GG, Zappa all offered something that defines what we now call progressive music. But whoever we nominate the father of prog was not attempting to create a new genre of music, they were attempting to embrace rock as an art form, and incorporate the best of all that was already holy within the music realm. The took a dash of classical, and helping of jazz, the beatles layering and psychedelia, folks ability to tell a story, mixed it with a cultural dialogue and spoke to topics that had never been expressed with words and music like mythology, politics, high fantasy, environmentalism, and created a pastiche that blew everyone's mind for years to come. It all comes down to defining prog rock, well the aforementioned bands are definitely at the roots of the system which spawned all of our favorite music, and influenced everything to come. So as many of them started within the same time frame it comes down to who caught your attention the most. For myself, I have to say Genesis caught my attention as soon as I heard them, and ITCOTCK was a mindblowing experience as well. But I am a youngun so all of these bands came as a result of a retrospect. I got to Genesis through Abacab, and King Crimson through ELP's From the Beginning, and Piper came as a result of discovering the Wall. So for many of us, probably the definitive prog band was the first band we researched...and here I return to Genesis.

Listen to the best prog rock new and old at www.thedividingline.com and check out my show Soundscape at www.thedividingline.com/ss.

Certif1ed

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Posted: April 19 2007 at 09:04

It's interesting to note that most of the bands (and fans of the music) appeared to reject usage of the term "Progressive Rock" to describe the music at the very time that the definitive Prog Rock bands defined Prog Rock...

I think that Prog Rock became defined as the first wave came to an end, and people started rejecting it for the same reasons the original fans loved it - all the pretentiousness and pomp (GREAT!!!!).

Prog Rock in the late 1970s was a term used with a sneer - and still is, to some extent.

In other words, I don't think it was the bands as much as the audiences that defined Prog Rock - but, somewhat contrarily, to define what it is, you need to have a good understanding of the bands who were first associated with it.

King Crimson were (arguably, but consensually) first, so ITCOTK is what defines Prog Rock.

Everything else is relative to that seminal album.

The important thing is not to stop questioning.

Philéas

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Posted: April 19 2007 at 09:48

King Crimson is my choice aswell.

Froth

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Posted: April 19 2007 at 14:26

schizoid_man77 wrote:

I am a major yes fan and that is how I would define prog, they use weird time signatures, make 20 minuete, epic, layered songs, and they are all around musically talented. Despite they're lack of concept albums Yes (to me) is a definative prog band.

Yes are the definative prog band. they define its successes and failures in equall measure.

Losendos

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Posted: April 20 2007 at 01:30

My vote is for Yes .

I don't think Robert Fripp ever embraced the idea of prog and his avant gard ramblings were an embarrasment to prog lovers for the most part . Consider Moonchild or the second side of ITWOP . How can you explain away such crap?

Yes were not there at the start but I think from the first notes of The Yes Album that makes you take notice. Throw in the ethereal lyrics and Roger Dean artwork and they are through and through prog and still doing prog today.

Yes fully embraced the idea of prog (they were not afraid of being labelled ) and when they qere at their peak (1972 ) the music world was in awe. When they made Tales the prog enterprise began to collapse . Tales is the definitive album amongst proghaters . So Yes' peak is prog's heyday and their decline gives prog's enemies the ammunition they need. 1977 the excellent GFTO is the last year of a great era and In 1978 the poppish Tormato signals the death of the era.

They are not necessarily my favorite band but when people think prog they think first Yes and then 70s Genesis. Genesis identity has become murky over time but not Yes

How wonderful to be so profound

Norbert

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Posted: April 20 2007 at 02:59

It hardly can be narrowed down to one band. Maybe King Crimson, for making the first real prog album, but even that is debatable because many claim Freak out by Zappa or Piper by Floyd as the first real prog album.

Edited by Norbert - April 20 2007 at 04:09

tuxon

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Posted: April 20 2007 at 04:33

King Crimson for progressiveness.

Yes for making it popular

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