the queen of prog?

I'd pick either Annie or Sonja Kristina from Curved Air -- I prefer Renaissance as a band, but there's something about Sonja's sly, sexy persona that would make for an even more compelling queen of the genre. In a lot of ways she was the British prog equivalent of Grace Slick.

Kate Bush with her amazing comeback. No any other options for me here.

Edited by sadoctopus - November 27 2014 at 06:20

Argonaught wrote: ... which kind of proves the point that "prog" is of men, by men, and for men Kate Bush would probably be the most imperial female figure of prog, if she had anything to do with prog (alternative eclectic art-pop isn't quite prog). ... Annie wins, therefore, and not by default. She is the only one I can think of who is a fantastic music-maker, not weird, incontestably "prog", and has done more than enough to earn the title.

Woah...

So unless a thread is insanely long, I read the whole thing before I post... if I post.  I couldn't let this one go even though it was stated a few pages back.  Since then there's been a lot of randomness, so I think this is still relevant anyway.

Let's get this over with - I am female.  And I LOVE prog. (And I'm not even a lesbian!) This is a direct counter-example to prog being for men... since I am not a man.

Here's the thing that seems weird at first - I think the "of men, by men" statement is mostly true.  Almost overwhelmingly so.  It makes me wonder why.  I have thoughts... none are guaranteed to be correct, but I think in general it is more difficult for a female musician to be taken seriously in the music industry than it is for a male one.  Singing seems to be the exception to the rule, but even this is over-sexified to the point at which the singer is more like an object on display on the stage than a source of music.  It often irks me that most people want something to look at with their music.  For me, it's just the sound and I really couldn't care less what the person on the stage looks like.  This "of men, by men" statement could probably be applied to just about any musical genre.  Geez, when was the last time you saw a female name credited as the composer of a movie's soundtrack, or a conductor?  I'm coming up with a big fat 0.  I bet they're out there, but I've never run across one and I am a person who looks for music.

Before this turns into rambling nonsense (I''m really trying not to go off-topic here... bring it back around to "queen of prog"), what I'm trying to say is that there's an overwhelmingly large amount of pressure for a female musician to be sexy because that's what people looking at her want to see.  There's pressure for men, too.  But I see plenty of guys up on stage who are a total mess in various different ways, and it doesn't break the deal.  If a woman came out on stage with ::gasp!:: no makeup... that would probably be a dealbreaker.  All of these women that are being discussed are pretty (or were pretty 40 years ago).  I don't think I've ever seen a singer or otherwise in an even minorly successful band that was even slightly overweight.  And now, the kicker - a woman who is always made-up and image-conscious with how she dresses, moves, etc.... is not taken seriously because she is a "fake."

Kate Bush is one of very, very few women who have managed to walk this razor-thin line between being easy on the eyes and being fake.  Others I can think of are Tori Amos and Sarah MacLachlan.  There are strong similarities between these three artists - all compose on acoustic piano (not always, but a lot), all tend toward acoustic instrumental arrangements, and all three overwhelmingly tend to write songs about specific human beings.  Bush and Amos blow MacLachlan away with the creativity of their arrangements.

Notice none of these three are labeled as "prog" - but musically you could make a very strong argument for Tori Amos because many, many of her songs do not follow the verse-chorus structure, there are progressive arrangements almost constantly in the keyboard parts because she has some excellent chops, and a great deal of her songs run 7 minutes plus.  Nowhere in the definition of prog does it say that "you have to be playing your awesome parts on synthesizers - real pianos don't count!"  Does Tori Amos sound like Yes, King Crimson, Rush, ELP, or Dream Theater?  No.  But they don't sound like each other, either.  She's also not looking to be labeled "prog," maybe because it's bad for business or maybe because that's just not how she defines herself... and that's fine.  And it's fine if we don't label her prog, either.  But If I had a vote, even though I *love* Kate Bush, I would vote for Tori Amos, because I feel her music is on average more in the prog zone.

Wow that was long.  Too many thoughts, crowded brain.  I'll try to keep the rest short.  Maybe a bulleted list?
- I adore Annie Haslam's voice.  But as a songwriter when she tries it doesn't work out.  I wouldn't put her in the same class as Bush or Amos, though I think she grinds Tarja Turunen into the ground.
- Betty Thatcher was the lyricist for Renaissance.  She was a poet.  I just felt like she deserved an honorable mention for the amazing words to "Can You Hear Me," "Touching Once is so Hard to Keep," "Day of the Dreamer," and so many others.  Would not ever suggest her to be the queen of prog, though... but if you put her together with Annie Haslam you start to assemble part of a Kate Bush!

It's hard to get past Kate Bush really ( and I don't mean that to be any joke about her current look) as an artist. I would like more female artists to listen to and I must give Tori Amos a try. One that never gets discussed (I find this very surprising fact)is Natasha Khan (aka Bat For Lashes). She has put out 3 lovely albums and has created a sound that is all her own. Maybe not 'proggy' enough for many but i adore her for what its worth. 

After that recent thesis posted by the stone-age-less 'female' .....glad you're not a lesbian.....but Prog was never 'designed' for a 'male only' crowd. It's there for all and sundry to enjoy......
......but then I've had a few drinks, mowed lawns, and I'm totally knackered........

Edited by Tom Ozric - December 10 2014 at 05:11

Star_Song_Age_Less wrote:  Geez, when was the last time you saw a female name credited as the composer of a movie's soundtrack, or a conductor?  I'm coming up with a big fat 0.  I bet they're out there, but I've never run across one and I am a person who looks for music.

Haven't read the whole thread yet, but off the top I would add Laurie Anderson and Joni Mitchell to the other very strong female forces in progressive music I see mentioned

I am not saying she is the queen of prog rock. What I am saying is if you have not heard her music......you should.