British Prog is the best??

Valdez wrote: Originally posted by tszirmay This is kind of a funny thread because rock music in general was motored by the British Invasion anyway.     Sorry but it's the other way around... ask any of the British "Invaders"  who their influences were and you will find Little Richard,  Chuck Berry , Bill Haley,  Carl Perkins,  even Elvis.  These ROCK artists were the ones they were listening to in their early teens.  What the Brits did to good ol' rock n' roll  was to "Civilise" it by bringing schooled musical training into the equation,  more intelligent and introspective lyrics, even "STRINGS" for crying out loud.  The Brits took rock and prettied it up quite a bit. Made it better IMO.

Edited by tszirmay - June 17 2008 at 22:15

Good, better, best - who's to say. Not I ,but I sure do like it.

Now, prog in Aus. in the 70's . You gotta remember, it's all ass -about here downunder . No wonder we were slow on the uptake, but we did get it happening with some interesting little bands, defying the famous cultural cringe syndrome that pervaded those days.

My admiration extends to the UK though, not just the Brits, as great as they were/are !

After a quick review of my geography/history, I mean that I would like to include all of Ireland in my admiration society [not just the north which, by implication, I have done ].

[ I appear to be coming down with something again . Old habits die hard]

The T wrote: Yes! We better not start trying to defend each other's country's contributions to prog music or somebody here will have to...    Let's say the British were the original pretentious artists; the Germans a lot of beer-induced experimentalists; the French were anti-social language-haters who had to communicate in new tongues; Italians the most fertile ones; and Americans the ones who waited till everybody else died so they could actually be at the top of the prog mountain... holding hands with the Swedes, the Canadians and some LatinAmericans.. with the notable exception of my country men, of course.....

Let's face it: The Germans were more induced by sweet smoke.

Certif1ed wrote: BaldFriede wrote: Let's face it: The Germans were more induced by sweet smoke.   http://thibault.ducray.free.fr/sweetsmoke/   Really?

I was speaking figuratively. 

Hawkwise wrote: Garion81 wrote: I am so tired of the USA getting crapped on in threads like this.  I grew up in Orange County, California in the 70's graduating High School in 1974.  We had 5 bands playing symphonic progressive rock from 1972-1978 never getting signed. (ask Micky I gave him samples of some of the bands practice tapes) I remember a concert where all 5 played at and it drew 5000 kids and none of these groups had a deal.   That was 5 bands in one small part of the country.  I contend most American prog died on the vine and was never signed because the music industry was already consolidating the avenues of styles.  (The only real experimental music in the US came out of the 67-70 Psychedelic bands and other The Doors, The Byrds and Touch but even still much of this music was still processed for hit radio) The only reason we had Kansas was because they had drawn Don Kirshner's notice BEFORE Kerry Livgren joined the band.  It was Livgren that added the symphonic elements to the group.  It was a total fluke. Before people criticize this band I have heard more people in the US say their first introduction to prog, several dozen in the last year or so,  was through Kansas. Maybe they were not influential on an international level but here they certainly were.    (For all of you who say they were a copy cat band I suggest you pick up an album called Proto-Kaw Early Recordings From Kansas 1971-3 and see how much earlier some of the songs the famous Kansas recorded were actually written and hear how Livgren was using more experimental music with no synths or mellotrons)     I would put up the recordings of Happy the Man against any band from Europe in the 70's as well.  They may well have the most Euro sounding of all the American groups.    No we were not well represented in the 70's on record but the current wave of bands are as good or better than anything out there now. I put IZZ, Echolyn, Helmet of Gnats, Frogg Cafe, Umphreys McGee up as more of progressive band than PT.  The Tanget is an international band with a terrible singer so don't try to get British ownership there.  As for cheese there is nothing cheesier than Neo in my mind.  Galahad (British) anyone?    That said it was the Britsih who popularized the sound.  Whether or not it is the best is entirely subjective.    I am not trying cause a war but at I am least trying to defend and educate what was going on in the US in the 70's     Kansas wasn't  that  called  AOR  Adult Orientated Rock   along with the likes of Journey and Styx  Sorry but Kansas where never in the same league as any the Prog Bands from the UK and Europe , Funny enough i just bought  Leftouerture  on Vinyl (in Bargain bucket 4 bucks)  and i would say is a very week sounding  album , sounds like a band trying to be Prog but just not getting it (what ever it is ?)  what lets it down the most is the very poor Vocals the Vocals  just have no  Character  to them  and lyrically its poor to Just not  in the Same League as the Prog from the UK and Europe

Edited by boostermeijer - June 18 2008 at 11:52

Hawkwise wrote: Kansas wasn't  that  called  AOR  Adult Orientated Rock   along with the likes of Journey and Styx    Sorry, but Kkansas was called AOR only by people who exclusively heard ther Biggest Hits or The Best Of Kansas compilations that had the most commercuial stuff.   BTW: Adult Oriented Rock is an invention of missinformed people, AOR means ALBUM Oriented Rock, and it's a Radio format used to give a cjhance to bands that based their sound in the album as a whole concept instead of dedicating their careers in search for the hit single. Sorry but Kansas where never in the same league as any the Prog Bands from the UK and Europe , Funny enough i just bought  Leftouerture  on Vinyl (in Bargain bucket 4 bucks)  and i would say is a very week sounding  album ,   I bought in 1979 Genesis Live in US$2.99 and they gave me for one extra cent Wind & Wuthering, the price doesn't mean anything ecept that the album is not a mass phenomenom, it may sound weak for you, but.......not for most of the Progheads.  sounds like a band trying to be Prog but just not getting it (what ever it is ?)  what lets it down the most is the very poor Vocals the Vocals  just have no  Character  to them  and lyrically its poor to Just not  in the Same League as the Prog from the UK and Europe   Steve Walsh poor vocals? Please, he had one of the most powerful vocals in the market even Steve Hackett called him to collaborate with him, he had a drug abuse problem that destroyed most of his vocal chords but that was after the 80's, in the 70's there were very few in his level.   Trying sound Prog and not achieving it? Hey have you heard Miracles Out of Nowhere with the interplay between keyboars and violin plus the double lead vocals between Robby Steindhadrt and WalsH' If this is not Prog, then Prog doesn't exist...Probably you stayed with Carry on My Wayeard Son as most of the people who criticize Kansas did.   Now abut the lyrics, Do you believe that the search for a spiritual path the band was looking for 9is poor?   Then what's your opinion about lyrics by Yes who say nothing?   In the first case iall the lyrics are deep and in the case of Yes it's simply phonetic poetry, each band had their style, Walsh and Livegren may not have the excellent Gabriel or Lake accent, because they are from Topeka, not from London

Hawkwise wrote:

Americans put the ROCK in progressive rock,   Very Amusing

Wow - so much to read!  I expected a reasonable response in this thread, but not to this level - I can't keep up with it all.  I haven't been able to get to the PC for a few days due to work and my son returning from download (and going on metal hammer forum!)

I guess Prog is a bit like football (soccer to you Americans) - the Brits invented it and were best at first, but then the rest of the World took it up and made it their own.  Now we can't even qualify for Euro 2008!

Whatever the arguments there's fantastic Prog all around the World, and its on the rise again.  I feel there is a new wave of progressive music (the so-called third wave), and its becoming cool again after years in the doldrums.  My metalhead children do like Porcupine Tree, Opeth (yes I know a Swedish band!), the Mars Volta, Oceansize etc...These bands are leading the wave----->>>>

This is an exciting time in Progressive music - really moving forward, and all around the World too!

As for British bands other than Porcupine Tree (who are totalllly amazing and well cool now), try Oceansize, Amplifier and Pineapple Thief - these are truly amazing bands - and no cheese

One of the great things about Prog is the international aspect.  Great bands from all over the world and my collection continues to grow in the number of countries I have represented.  In the 70s I knew about the well known groups most of which came from the UK, so of course they are some of my favorites.  Now I have new favs from everywhere.  I don't believe in Best, for me music is not objective so there can be no best other than I know Britsh Prog best.