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The best prog album of all time?
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Foxprog View Drop Down
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    Posted: May 17 2019 at 10:56
Okay folks, the same old discussion but this time albums get eliminated easily. In my opinion, if you are looking the best album of all time, it can't have a single "bad" song. For example,

Selling england py the pound, I know what I like for me is somehow always a little turndown... (Steve Hackett live last week was great tho!!) That means it drops automatically off the list. It has some masterpieces but they do not replace the "bad songs".

Close to the edge, on the list. Siberian Khatru is maybe the only one but then it's also a really solid track.

Pawn Hearts, on the list. Lemmings is the weakest link but still a classic one too.

Pink Floyd? I love all floyd albums but all of them have weak links, money, shine might get little bit boring, wall has some but Animals maybe? For me animals is the most solid work of floyd and might get a place on the list.

Thick as a brick, prolly the list, only part I disagree little bit is the drum solo on the beginning of the 2nd part.

If you decide the best album of all time like this, then there is not going to be many albums to choose from. Which classic albums should be eliminated and which included? What do you guys think :D
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Close to the Edge no doubt.
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Umma Gumma. No doubt.
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none of the usual suspects. there are so many better ones that unfortunately are too obscure. I would vote for "Fairy Tales" by Mother Gong


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Close to the Edge would probably be my choice. I think The Yes Album and Moving Pictures are strong candidates as well but they are a little less proggy.  I think CTTE checks all the boxes. 

Edited by Argo2112 - May 17 2019 at 11:55
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Need to give that mother gong a listen
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It's impossible to determine which is the best anytime, all of the time.  It all depends on so many factors and there are too many essential albums.

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That is ultimately true. Top five could be way more easier to rank than just the number one.
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Originally posted by TCat TCat wrote:

It's impossible to determine which is the best anytime, all of the time.  It all depends on so many factors and there are too many essential albums.

exactly Clap
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I can't pick my absolute alltime favorite but Wobbler - Rites at Dawn has no bad songs on it. Also, Once and Future Band's self titled album.
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Univers Zero - Ceux De Dehors
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Notwithstanding the fact that everyone has different opinions about what is essential.


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The one that probably influenced more musicians than any other to get into prog -

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Edited by Atavachron - May 17 2019 at 15:05
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No such thing. Exists in the mythical universe of the individual mind.

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Originally posted by siLLy puPPy siLLy puPPy wrote:

No such thing. Exists in the mythical universe of the individual mind.
Eloquently stated !!
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Ok, well, 

We have to understand what it means best prog album of all time. 

It could mean 

1) the most progressive opera, or 
2) the most beautiful progressive opera. 

That is to say, there is a FORMAL aspect of respect for those canons that make "progressive" some rock music, and there is an AESTHETIC aspect that relates to the beauty of music, and that is transverse, not only about Progressive, but all kinds of music. 

We must talk about what is art.
What did Lukacs say about Emile Zola, "naturalist" writer?

Naturalism is a precise type of literature, which had as a program that of transforming the novel into a scientific experiment, where the characters moved according to the environmental Conditionings and Genetic, that is, according to Darwin's theory. Scientific positivism was the soul of naturalism, and therefore Zola was striving to narrate a story in a completely objective way, as a scientist, without putting any romance, without representing any hero but only people who corresponded to the average Statistics. 

Well, what did Lukacs say about Zola? He said that his naturalist art, so conceived, limited the beauty of many of his works (the desire to respect certain formal canons limits the aesthetic beauty) but fortunately Zola often, unintentionally, broke the canons of naturalism, and dashed his Characters not in a goal but romantic, getting involved, and precisely for these violations of the canons of naturalism he has achieved great results as a writer or he has written very beautiful novels. 

Behold, I believe that this applies to every art, including prog: the most progressive work, the one that respects every canons of progressive rock (changes of rhythm, long songs in suite style, instrumental solos etc.) will hardly be the most aesthetically Beautiful. It will be the most "proggy". But the most ingenious, original, inspired, in all likelihood, will be a work that has not been written according to the standards of progressive. 

For example, every albums that you have quoted is very proggy. Classic prog. Are they the best prog albums of all times? I would answer No (but Pawn Hearts, in my opinion, could be candidate, together with In The Court of...). Instead, I believe they represent in a perfect way the canons of prog.

In particular, "Close to the Edge" is a very representative work of progressive, it respects all the canons and the patterns of prog, it's perfectly proggy, but in my opinion it is aesthetically much less beautiful than a work like "Rock Bottom", which none of us would take as a perfect example of progressive work. 




Edited by jamesbaldwin - May 17 2019 at 18:50
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For me it is easily Close to the Edge. Indeed Siberian Khatru is it's "weakest" track, but it is still very good. And it almost the description of prog itself.
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I'd say Close to the Edge.   It was a "perfect storm," a band of amazingly talented musicians who found their groove together & captured lightning in a bottle.  

Bruford's drumming on the album is under-appreciated in my opinion, it is some of his very best work!  

I saw them on the Yessongs tour, Sept 22, 1972.   I was expecting to hear the AM radio hit "America" and hadn't heard a single song off of CTTE, so imagine my surprise!!  They played like the devil was chasing them.  

There are many worthy albums to mention (Foxtrot, SEBTP, etc.) but they all have some minor weak point or slow song....CTTE had none.  
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Personal opinion aside I believe it is "close to the edge" by Yes. It would still probably make my personal top ten. It's number one on here and mentioned a lot of times over the past ten years and has a cruise named after it for a reason.
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Points: 236 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Foxprog Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 18 2019 at 00:36
In the court of... is also a contender. Five great songs, unfortunately moonchild's 9min jammin section gets sometimes a little boring. Same problem with providence in Red. Maybe Larks then?

Camel - Mirage?

As you said, CTTE checks all the categories and could be the one :)
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