Neo prog bands, is there a real problem?

2.      Neo-Symphonic: Somewhere in the mid '70s, a new sound began to emerge. The Classic era bands reached a peak of complexity and experimentation that was hard to accept by most fans, albums like Relayer by Yes or The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway that today are considered masterpieces by own right, required a bit of time before being accepted by the audience.

The only alternative was to slow down or if possible place reverse speed and start to simplify a bit the sound and they took it,  in the case of Genesis it was a natural evolution because Peter Gabriel left the band and the sound of Phil Collins is much more transitional.

In the case of Yes it was a bit forced being that the complexity of Patrick Moraz had changed the sound of the band radically, so Rick Wakeman returned but he also had changed his sound giving the first steps towards the New Age music that he embraced in the 80’s and the final product was friendlier, the same happened with ELP that returned to their fan base after a 4 year sabbatical with Works, which included a very soft and ballad oriented Lake side.

General time frames: This period starts between  1975 and 1978 with the release of such albums as “A Trick of the Tail”, “Going for the One”, “Voyage of the Acolyte” or the already mentioned “Works Vol. I” and ends around 1990 with the fading of the Neo Prog peak.