Was prog actually popular in the 70s??

Cactus Choir wrote: progbethyname wrote: 90125 of Yes's career was their commercial hit, but to say that album is more successful than Relayer or Close to the edge would be a mistake. We should be clear that on an artistic, defining moment in prog music's history those albums are the real 'successors.' I'd still say Yes was at its most consistently successful in both commercial and artistic terms in the 70s. 90125 was their top seller, but was the only album to make the US Top 10 in the 80s whereas they had several in the Top 10 in the 70s - Fragile, CTTE, Tales and Relayer.

Nothing to say about your post. Just wanted to pass compliments on your GROOVY AVATAR - I was one of those unfortunate souls who loved BOTH ELP and the Clash simultaneously and was considered suitable for sectioning under the mental health act by both the Punks and the Hippies (no bad thing really, not belonging to a tribe...)

sukmytoe wrote: If album sales had anything to do with the quality of music then I guess "prog" would be in trouble as it would mean that Michael Jackson's music was of a far better quality than anything that we like here. Heavy sales equates to selling many albums to many people and Justin Bieber will know all about that. You sell more music to musical airheads than you do to serious listeners as there are way more airheads out there who are interested in fads and catchy jingles as opposed to more complex music that you have to spend time with to get what it's about. 90125 and the like were never meant for the serious prog listener - they are aimed at the masses.

Yyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeeeeesssssssss!!!

^ We all know MJ was an entertainer like no other--  at least most of us do.

progbethyname wrote: sukmytoe wrote: If album sales had anything to do with the quality of music then I guess "prog" would be in trouble as it would mean that Michael Jackson's music was of a far better quality than anything that we like here. Heavy sales equates to selling many albums to many people and Justin Bieber will know all about that. You sell more music to musical airheads than you do to serious listeners as there are way more airheads out there who are interested in fads and catchy jingles as opposed to more complex music that you have to spend time with to get what it's about. 90125 and the like were never meant for the serious prog listener - they are aimed at the masses.   !!!

Sure, it's apparent that music aimed at accessibility tends to lose something in complexity. Look at what is #1 at the movie box office every week--a blockbuster rather than an art film.
My main point, though, is that record sales are a rough guide to whether you're connecting to your potential (not just assured) audience--significant when record companies were the big swinging dicks they were then. When a confluence of crossover fans (here meant as those not regular purchasers of your music), critics (to the extent they influence demand) and diehard fans all indicate that appeal through buying and sharing, I'd say quality has been achieved.
Since you mention 90125, I believe such a confluence occurred--prog fans alone can't account for the popularity it enjoyed. And I give Yes--especially Squire and Rabin--credit for doing what they felt was necessary to remain viable. After all, they'd been gone for 3 years. Had it not been the phenomenon it was, the band itself might not have survived 3 decades (!) since.

In the 70's, I never heard of the term "prog rock."  Yes, ELP, King Crimson etc. were usually referred to as "art rock" or "theater rock" or something.  

chopper wrote: Lord_Adon wrote: If prog were popular it would have been called pop. It was but it wasn't.

progbethyname wrote: sukmytoe wrote: If album sales had anything to do with the quality of music then I guess "prog" would be in trouble as it would mean that Michael Jackson's music was of a far better quality than anything that we like here. Heavy sales equates to selling many albums to many people and Justin Bieber will know all about that. You sell more music to musical airheads than you do to serious listeners as there are way more airheads out there who are interested in fads and catchy jingles as opposed to more complex music that you have to spend time with to get what it's about. 90125 and the like were never meant for the serious prog listener - they are aimed at the masses.   Yyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeeeeesssssssss!!!

Nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnoooooooooooooooo!!!

Was never exceptionally popular in Denmark, if we are talking Yes Genesis King Crimson ELP VDGG GG, and compare to Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Status Que, Nazereth, Slade , Sweet. Ect.

Edited by tamijo - April 27 2013 at 10:06

Unless my memory is playing dirty tricks on me, the label "progressive rock" (let alone "prog") didn't use to be the primary descriptor of great many bands that we are discussing here on PA today. 

Dean wrote: progbethyname wrote: sukmytoe wrote: If album sales had anything to do with the quality of music then I guess "prog" would be in trouble as it would mean that Michael Jackson's music was of a far better quality than anything that we like here. Heavy sales equates to selling many albums to many people and Justin Bieber will know all about that. You sell more music to musical airheads than you do to serious listeners as there are way more airheads out there who are interested in fads and catchy jingles as opposed to more complex music that you have to spend time with to get what it's about. 90125 and the like were never meant for the serious prog listener - they are aimed at the masses.   Yyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeeeeesssssssss!!! Nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnoooooooooooooooo!!!   A lot of really dumb things can be said on this subject and all of it to do with elitism and pretentiousness - the whole mindset that what you like is better than anything everyone else likes because you are a better person and have better taste and better appreciation of music. Calling people who buy music you don't like "airheads" is playground taunting and best left there.   I own Thriller, I can't say that I liked it much after the first two or three plays and it sits in my album rack unplayed since 1983, but I do recognise its quality on all levels, I can also recognise that a lot of music that we call Prog falls short even if I do like it a lot and play it regularly.   The age-group and social profile of the people in the 70s who were into Prog are the same demographic who listen to whatever was considered "serious" music in later decades - those people didn't listen to Donny Osmond or Bananrama or the Spice Girls or Justin Bieber. When making these comparisons you have to compare like with like - comparing the best of one genre you like to the worse of another that you would never buy regardless of which decade you were born in is specious, just as comparing whatever is "in" with the current generation of young white male well-educated types (I dunno, I'm too old to even guess what they listen to but I bet it's not Justin Bieber) to the teeny-bopper music of the 70s is fallacious.

You don't wanna know what they listen to. You would cry in your soup. I say soup because you claim to be 'so old' so I assume you have no teeth. Lol. Na seriously though Dean you are very open minded and offer a lot of great insights to topics that revolve around youth or experience. Are you of the BOOMER generation?