Andrew WK - RIO/Avant-Prog

And what do you get when you listen to albums like The Wolf or Close Calls with Brick Walls? You get a very interesting blend of the bombastic anthemic stylings of Bruce SPRINGSTEEN, combine it with the compositional chops and quirks of Frank ZAPPA, and add years of classical training. That is to say, you have one of the most important and underappreciated figures in recent prog history.

He has also successfully blended music with performance art in ways that would make acts like GENESIS or THE RESIDENTS blush with envy. His music, and his entire career make up a big overarching philosophical statement. The overall message being that one should love who they are and love life for what it is. His most recent album, 55 Caddilac consists soley of a series of classical piano improvisations, with the overall message being that it is "an album recorded by a free man". With nothing but the piano as an instrument, Andrew WK tells the story of someone obtaining a classic car and loving every minute of it. With no lyrics he describes everything, from seeing the car for the first time, that moment of the eninge beginning, and the thrill of drving at night.

His music can be very dense and multilayered, but it must be noted that there are no session musicians at work here. Every instrument is performed and produced by Andrew WK himself. And with the exception of his first album, he is also the sole writer of all his recordings.

I know I'm required to provide a sample of the artists music to demonstrate why they should be added. How about I reccomend  his entire discography. That's right. Andrew WK's entire discography is streaming for free on the front page of his own website. http://www.andrewwk.com/. No "30-second samples", no "hot tickles", he puts it all out there cold.

But if you really want to hear why Andrew WK should be included, I recommend starting with Close Calls With Brick Walls. It's the best Frank Zappa album that Frank Zappa had no involvement in. It's everything prog should stand for. It's an amazing musical journey that not only explores the boundaries of music, but of life. Listening to this album, you may actually learn something about yourself.

So, in conclusion, I consider it a crime that this artist hasn't been included already. Not only would his inclusion create lots of additional hits for the site because of the artists popularity, but it's also more musically viable than so many other things out there in mainstream music right now. It's challenging, it's exciting, it's fun. It's everything prog should be. It's everything I believe prog can be.

We can not (all members of the team) buy all his albums to evaluate him...

Thanks, we will check. I'll post it in the team thread right now.

I listened to a good chunk of Brick Walls, and I seem to be out of step with the majority of this site on what constitutes "progressive", so I'll remain silent on that, but I'm 100% positive that is not avant-garde in any possible way. There was a piano intro that reminded me of part of One Size Fits All (don't remember the specifics of either) and there were a couple other half-moments of Zappa, but the only other connection was goofy lyrics. The rest of it was pop-rock and tacky keyboards.

If something is so subtly avant-garde that I can't tell it's avant-garde on my first listen, then it's not actually avant-garde.

Still, dude's status as having a hit single a decade ago will cause many to pass judgment prematurely