Classic Era Prog Epics

And all of these I DID GET at the time, not later! They were a serious part of the early Space Pirate Radio days from January 1974 on. I don't think that most folks have any idea how it felt to actually know and hear so much of this stuff played on radio ... and the station was a commercial FM station!

I would include a lot of AD2 and CAN in here, and definitely a lot of Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze, because without them I think a lot of the music would seem very hollow and short winded.

I don't really like to consider one thing "epic" only to have some folks suggest that there are way too many passages in the music that are meaningless. I would rather those folks didn't bother listening to any of this and simply go back to their top ten and cardboard solos.

Interestingly, in later times, Can became quite popular among many music geeks (OK maybe they were always a musicians' band) who otherwise wouldn't appreciate prog classics.

Hi,

IN almost every case, it is "best known" because England and America sold so many from these bands, and the rest of the European contingent could not even get their albums done. In Germany, almost all bands were going elsewhere (some in Spain, others elsewhere) to get results. Eventually things leveled off some, however, the sales glut and media in both America and England, were far more helpful to the music than otherwise. In America the media would have been the FM radio band, that pretty much show cased so many of the "top 5" in Progressive Music until the FM Radio band rape in the early 80's when it all became just another hit station of "classics" which they all still are! But the "damage" was done, and these big bands took advantage of it. 

In Santa Barbara, for example, in 1974 at the number 1 FM station, Yes, Jethro Tull, ELP, got a lot of airplay along a lot of other bands that would not be considered or touched in the AM hit radio stuff at all. Things like Golden Earring, Triumvirat, Focus, and many others took a really good hold. But radio in Europe STILL did not have an "independent" like the FM Radio band was until the early 80's. It was still controlled, and even bands like Guru Guru have made fun of the schlagger something that we don't quite understand, and would not listen to when it showed up in the Tango Fango album ... that was a massive statement!

The sad thing, was when ELP created Manticore and pulled out 2 bands that had been well served as "imports", and so few folks bothered actually listening to it, (and many reviews said they did not even sound like ELP!!!!! How's that for moronic! ))) but both bands were already well established in Europe and they continued! Germany found many friends all over to get their music out, and a lot of stuff found itself in vogue, with Kraftwerk sort of leading the core, although Neu, Kraan, Eloy and a few others did OK in this country.

There is no reason why the "best" is better known, other than the fact that "they were there" and were able to take advantage of the situation. But if you were from a different country, you had no chance ... and many folks had not even heard the music! And worse ... they wouldn't, and STILL don't!

THAT IS BIZARRE AND WEIRD. I was already into PF, CAN, AD1 and AD2, Ange, Banco, PFM, Babe Ruth, Egberto Gismonti, Airto, Milton Nascimento, ELP and many other European bands WAY BEFORE Genesis AND Rush AND Fink Ployd. And we did not have any weird vibes or feelings about it ... it was all great stuff and different than what was available out there ... 

So saying that you can not get a feeling for something before this or that, is weird for me. Music is ALL OVER, and around the world, and unless you can't see that, it would be really difficult to expect all that other stuff to sound the same as the stuff that you liked, and grew up with, or heard, on the radio, after the FM Radio band rape! 

CAN, specifically is one that went through a real good experimental period that explains what became known as "krautrock", and you heard it on Tago Mago, and you could also see it in Werner Herzog films with improvisation all over the place and in theater and other films. All you are saying, for me, is that you never even thought that anyone could do anything else different which became the main drive in "progressive" as we know it today! AND, I can't honestly say that you are into the real progressive thing, when you can only mention the 3 you have heard, which leads me to believe you have not given the others as good an ear as you could.

AND that was the secret ... one DJ once interrupted Guy Guden in the middle of Golden Earring ... and his words" "It wasn't rock'n'roll!" ... Guy slowed down the song, and then said "Who cares! It's great music!" and then sped up the song again (similar to the break in the Live in Pompeii film on Echoes) ... and you gotta get a handle on this ... the name of the song? ARE YOU RECEIVING ME? 

And most, just like here, didn't and still don't because it is not something "they recognize" and "know".