Getting a newbie into prog

An internet friend of mine who I've been in contact with for some time (and who has always held a dislike for prog) has decided to investiage prog a bit more.  He has asked me to choose 20 prog albums for him to listen to over the next few months in an effort to appreciate the genre.  He already likes Pink Floyd and King Crimson, isn't big on Yes, thought there were a few good tracks on Genesis' Selling England by the Pound, and HATES Rick Wakeman with a fiery passion.  He also refuses to acknowledge krautrock as a subgenre of prog.  With those guidelines set in place, please help me come up with some albums to suggest to him!

Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd (the hook of prog)

The Wall - Pink Floyd (the reel...also determines if the person likes concept albums)

Scenes from a Memory - Dream Theater (bags metal fans!)

Fragile - Yes (get him to listen to "roundabout" and "heart of the sunrise" and possibly "South Side of the Sky" without telling him it's Yes -- he may like it without preconceived notions)

2112 - Rush (great intro to epics, with a hard rock edge to it)

that's all I have to offer, sorry

Tie him to a chair and play your entire collection of progressive rock. Don't feed him while doing this.

Edited by Joren

Souds like yes went way over the dudes head (happened to me at first too) let him hear yes when you thunk the time is right because thats intricate stuff, i know if i never heard any Floyd or Rush before i would have know idea what i was listening to.

At least he like Selling England by the pound.

Useful_Idiot wrote: HATES Rick Wakeman with a fiery passion.  No wonder as there is nothing very exciting in Wakeman's solo work.    With those guidelines set in place, please help me come up with some albums to suggest to him! Try to convert him to easy to listen progressive music first : Marillion (Fish-era only), IQ, Ambrosia, Sagrado Coraçao Da Terra, Saga, Supertramp then go progressively towards more ambitious bands : Jethro Tull, Renaissance, Camel, Happy The Man, Kansas, Transatlantic, Le Orme, Banco, King Crimson, ELP, Los Jaivas. And if he is a young teenager and is keen on metal try to make him discover classic metal prog bands : Queensryche, Fates Warning, Watchtower, Dream Theater then Altura, Pain of Salvation, Ice Age, Tool, Angra, Aghora, Cynic. Add some electronic music like Tangerine Dream or Klaus Sculze to make him take a breath again and end with some Zappa or RIO, like Henry Cow or Univers Zero.

You might like to bring a little of everything to the table. If possible, try to burn all the greatest songs of every band on just a few CD's, so he can mix and match and see what he likes. Anything with the Knife or in the Cage by Genesis is a good start, and Yes's CTTE, you can't go wrong. Kansas's PONR and COWS be oky doky too... There's atleast one song for every person!

penguindf12 wrote: Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd (the hook of prog)

It casted its spell on me... so I'm thinking instead of 20 records, play him this album 20 times in a row. He'll end up asking for seconds...

 

... and well, I'm also thinking these will definitely make him think of Prog as a religion:

• "From Within" - ANEKDOTEN
• "Solar Music" - GROBSCHNITT
• "Relayer" - YES (no Wakeman for him then!)
• "Detrás del Umbral" - NEXUS
• "Hybris" - ÄNGLAGARD
• "Narcissus Goes to the Moon" - VISIBLE WIND (I insist man! )
• "Ocean" - ELOY
• "Wood of Tales" - MALIBRAN
• "Mirage" - CAMEL
• "Three Friends" - GENTLE GIANT

 

Now, let's just sit down and wait for the results...