Modern Prog Suggestions ?

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   Hi Folks,

I'm new to the forum and am looking for some suggestions on good modern
prog bands to give a listen to. For a little idea of what I'm looking
for read on:

I grew up with my stepfather constantly playing The Moody Blues (of
which I have 8 of their 1st 9 albums). After that I was never able to
find the richness of music that they had - in modern music. Then, a
couple of years ago, someone suggested that I try The Alan Parsons
Project - and I immediately was hooked. I then looked more into the
prog genre and have aquired many more albums in that time: Renaissance,
early Genesis, King Crimson, ELP, etc. After some reluctancy, I then
bought "Godbluff" and "Octopus". Those were both superb and now have
added "Pawn Hearts", "Still Life", and all of the GG albums from
"Acquiring the Taste" up through "Free Hand". As aggressive as VDGG and
GG are; it surprises me that I like them so much. I also have several
Marillion and Spock's Beard albums which I like. About the only prog
band I've listened to that I don't care much for is Yes - with the
exception of "Relayer", which is superb. I have "Fragile" and "90215"
or "90152" or whatever its called and don't care for either of those.

So, with those ideas, what are your suggestions ?

Thanks,

Mark

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beartooth91 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Newbie Joined: September 27 2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 3	Topic: Modern Prog Suggestions ? Posted: September 27 2004 at 13:01
	Hi Folks, I'm new to the forum and am looking for some suggestions on good modern prog bands to give a listen to. For a little idea of what I'm looking for read on: I grew up with my stepfather constantly playing The Moody Blues (of which I have 8 of their 1st 9 albums). After that I was never able to find the richness of music that they had - in modern music. Then, a couple of years ago, someone suggested that I try The Alan Parsons Project - and I immediately was hooked. I then looked more into the prog genre and have aquired many more albums in that time: Renaissance, early Genesis, King Crimson, ELP, etc. After some reluctancy, I then bought "Godbluff" and "Octopus". Those were both superb and now have added "Pawn Hearts", "Still Life", and all of the GG albums from "Acquiring the Taste" up through "Free Hand". As aggressive as VDGG and GG are; it surprises me that I like them so much. I also have several Marillion and Spock's Beard albums which I like. About the only prog band I've listened to that I don't care much for is Yes - with the exception of "Relayer", which is superb. I have "Fragile" and "90215" or "90152" or whatever its called and don't care for either of those. So, with those ideas, what are your suggestions ? Thanks, Mark

Dick Heath Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Jazz-Rock Specialist Joined: April 19 2004 Location: England Status: Offline Points: 12818	Posted: September 27 2004 at 13:26
	Welcome Beartooth I strongly suggest that you fish around the archives for guidance, because your type of request comes up about every 4 weeks here. Experience suggests you better have a lots of spare cash or extended credit, because you will be inundated with suggestions (good, bad and indifferent). However, words rarely provide a description of the listening experience of the music, so this method is a bit of lottery - one person's perfect album is another's cup of fish. However, those reviews which draw parallels/make references with other bands, may be used for as a guide to the music of bands you've never heard - but not everybody hears the same things. If you are lucky you may discover a specialist in the music locally, then you can go visit and sample before you purchase. Check out the sound samples offered on some websites; (Amazon some times provides, but the small indie prog labels are more likely to, e.g. Unicorn Records, the most recent site I checked ). From the bands you've named you seem have pretty broad tastes so a dip into the review section, looking for the bands with a large collection of releases combined with a significant number of 4 or 5 star ratings could the starting point for you.

gdub411 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: August 24 2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 3484	Posted: September 27 2004 at 13:43
	If you really dug The Moody Blues and The Alan Parsons Project try The Church

greenback Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: August 14 2004 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 3300	Posted: September 27 2004 at 14:12
	Try Collage - Moonshine!

Bryan Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: April 01 2004 Status: Offline Points: 3013	Posted: September 27 2004 at 14:21
	See if you can track down Hybris and Epilog by Anglagard. You should be able to get them off the internet, and trust me when I say IT'S WORTH IT!

Easy Livin Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin Joined: February 21 2004 Location: Scotland Status: Offline Points: 15585	Posted: September 27 2004 at 14:44
	I'd suggest Arena and Pendragon. Rich on melodies like the Moodies, but with a more prog orientation.

richardh Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: February 18 2004 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 29298	Posted: September 27 2004 at 17:41
	I always bang the drum for IQ and Magenta whenever anyone starts one of these threads.Also Anglagard is a good call.Scandanavian prog is very decent in fact as there is also Par Lindh Project and Flower Kings.Then's there's the American bands Magellan and Glass Hammer.I suppose most of these bands are accused of being 'Neo Prog' but I like them. Edited by richardh

tuxon Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: September 21 2004 Location: plugged-in Status: Offline Points: 5502	Posted: September 27 2004 at 23:59
	90125 is If I remember correctly the name of the yes album your reffering to. but if you like "Relayer" than don't write of Yes, they've created some wonderous stories. Maybe a dive in neo-prog will provide you with wat you're looking for. Marillion's "a script for a jesters tear", or a little more dark "Fugazi", Arena "the visitor", Pendragon, "The masquerade overture"
	I'm always almost unlucky _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Id5ZcnjXSZaSMFMC Id5LM2q2jfqz3YxT

ProgRocker Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Newbie Joined: July 25 2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 36	Posted: September 28 2004 at 00:36
	As someone already mentioned, The Flower Kings are an excellent band. My personal recommendations to start off with are either "Space Revolver", "Flower Power," or "Retropolis." And also, don't give up on Yes!! I don't care that much for "Fragile" either, but "Close To The Edge" is a top-notch release from start to finish, and "The Yes Album", "Tales From Topographic Oceans," and "Going For The One" are great too. Skip the first two, because even though I like them, they tend to be patchy in parts and aren't as strong as the rest of their catalogue. And also, "Magnification" is a fine release, as well. The best thing to do is probably to browse the index of this site(as someone already stated); there are so many great bands out there, you can never keep up with them all!

Pixel Pirate Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: September 11 2004 Location: Norway Status: Offline Points: 793	Posted: September 28 2004 at 03:30
	And if you like Moody Blues you should check their (more or less) contemporaries,Barclay James Harvest. They were labelled "poor man's Moody Blues" so often in the early 70's that they eventually wrote a song with that title! Their 70's albums should be right up your alley, "Time Honoured Ghosts", "Octoberon" , "Gone To Earth" and "Live Tapes" are the ones that stand out. And my personal favourite of all of their albums,although I know many people hate it, "Eyes Of The Universe".
	Odi profanum vulgus et arceo.

ProgRocker Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Newbie Joined: July 25 2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 36	Posted: September 28 2004 at 19:18
	Another band that I really enjoy who wrote some prog(at least when they started out) is Crack The Sky. Their first four albums(and the Live Sky album) are essential to any record collection, IMHO. Since then, they've put out some fine pop albums(by pop, I don't mean Britney Spears and Michael Jackson, god forbid! I mean like John Lennon and Peter Gabriel.) They actually just released a new cd a few months ago called "Dogs From Japan", which is(in my opinion) the best album from them in 14 years. You can pick it up from www.crackthesky.com or Amazon Marketplace(that's where I got my copy), and while you're at it, there are free bootlegs available from the official website(in case you want to hear what they sound like.)

sigod Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: September 17 2004 Location: London Status: Offline Points: 2779	Posted: September 29 2004 at 08:00
	Welcome to the party. Try mid 90's Porcupine Tree (Signify) and The Flower Kings (any album). They've got lots of great melodies and know a thing or two about composing a good prog tune. You could try browsing the Progarchives as the list of prog reviews is second to none.
	I must remind the right honourable gentleman that a monologue is not a decision. - Clement Atlee, on Winston Churchill

ShrinkingViolet Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: April 11 2004 Location: Scotland Status: Offline Points: 433	Posted: September 29 2004 at 09:16
	Try Mostly Autumn...Porcupine Tree and IQ...

beartooth91 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Newbie Joined: September 27 2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 3	Posted: October 03 2004 at 08:11
	Thank You to everyone for the suggestions. I did download Yes' "Close to the Edge" and was pleasantly surprised. Its very good. Mark