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Well known 70s prog bands besides Genesis thread

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AFlowerKingCrimson View Drop Down
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    Posted: July 21 2024 at 11:08
Since Genesis now have their own thread this is a thread to discuss mostly 70s major and second tier bands not named Genesis. To start off with let's discuss these bands: Focus, Soft Machine, Caravan, Nektar, Gong, Magma, Renaissance, Eloy, PFM, etc. The focus should be on those well known bands that don't get as much attention as the top 6 or so most well known prog bands. It doesn't have to be just 70s but I figured that's a good starting point.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (2) Thanks(2)   Quote Jared Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 21 2024 at 12:04
I must admit, I think Genesis, Yes, Floyd, Rush and ELP in particular get too much exposure across prog sites and various Fb forums generally, it becomes rather repetitive. Of course I still play them, but possibly not as much as Camel, Caravan, Oldfield, Hackett, Eloy, Curved Air, Colosseum, Greenslade, BJH, Beggar's Opera, Tull, Moodies, Triumvirat, Renaissance, Nektar, MMEB, TD, KC, GG, VDGG & even Supertramp these days...
Music has always been a matter of energy to me. On some nights I believe that a car with the needle on empty can run 50 more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio. Hunter S Thompson
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Psychedelic Paul Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 21 2024 at 12:22
I'm guessing the primary Focus is on Symphonic Prog here, so I'll start with a group called Fruupp. Smile


FRUUPP       With a bizarre name like Fruupp, you might imagine this five-piece band are some obscure Krautrock outfit from deep in the heart of Germany, but no, they're some obscure Belfast-based outfit from deep in the heart of Northern Ireland. They have four albums to their credit with this album "Future Legends" (1972) being their first. Later albums were "Seven Secrets" (1974), "The Prince of Heaven's Eyes" (1974), and "Modern Masquerades" (1975). A fifth album was planned for 1976, but due to poor record sales and the emerging Punk/New Wave movement, Fruupp were consigned to the prog history books when they broke up at the end of the year. Progressive Rock has triumphed over the shortlived Punk-Rock era in the long run though, because Fruupp have gone on to become "Future Legends" in their time, with their marvellous brand of mellifluous melodic prog experiencing a well-deserved resurgence of interest on the Internet. The 2009 CD remaster of "Future Legends" includes the bonus track, "On a Clear Day", which classical buffs may recognise as being a proggy reworking of "Jupiter" from Gustav Holst's "Planets Suite"

"Future Legends" opens with the title track, a short classical piece of music which acts as a prelude to "Decision", a lively and rumbunctious number that gallups along nicely with a pounding rhythm and builds up to an impressively rousing finale. An awesome opening to the album. "As Day Breaks with Dawn" follows next, with a melodic classically-inspired opening, which breaks out into a powerful thrumming Genesis-like number with the singer sounding remarkably like Peter Gabriel. Yes, we're definitely in Genesis territory here, with a somewhat heavier sound, and very good it is too. Onwards now to Track 4 and "Graveyard Epistle", a song which begins as a melodic ballad before breaking out into some very proggy, heavy and intense riffing. In true prog fashion, there are constant changes of tempo, staccato breaks and a few key changes thrown in too, to keep the listener entertained and enthralled. We're halfway through the album now and this is sounding very good indeed!

Side Two opens with "Lord of the Incubus". It's a grand-sounding title and the music is impressively grand too, Again, it sounds like a song Genesis could have recorded in their classic prog years. There's a thumping rhythm section and the guitarist is really in his element here as he demonstrates his virtuosity with some masterly soloing. Track 6 "Olde Tyme Future" has a more sedate pace, with some beautifully melodic keyboard motifs. The cryptic lyrics are shrouded in mystery but with music this good, who cares about the lyrics anyway!? And now we come to the penultimate and longest song on the album, "Song for a Thought". It's a seven and a half minute long magnum opus which opens in fine rollicking style and then transposes into a laid-back mellow and melodic groove in the middle section. before the resounding and reverberant grand finale, which might just blow your socks off. It's melodic, it's dramatic, and it'll leave you feeling euphoric. The final song is a brief and gentle vocal reprise of the classical title track which opened the album. It's a perfect ending to a magical album full of proggy tales of mystery and imagination.

This is a very impressive debut album from this Northern Irish band that's likely to appeal to fans of the classic Peter Gabriel years of Genesis. It's hard to pick out a highlight of the album, because "Future Legends" is full to the brim with great songs. If you're looking for a band with the musical talent and melodic finesse of Genesis with a somewhat heavier edge, then you'll be in prog heaven with this superb album. This prog masterpiece is such a delight to listen to that you may be inspired to give Fruupp's following three albums a spin too. A must-have album for any discerning collector of classic British prog.




Edited by Psychedelic Paul - July 21 2024 at 12:31
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Jared View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Jared Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 21 2024 at 12:29
^^ thanks for that Paul, I thought you'd have a little something up your sleeve, funnily enough! LOL

I've not heard all their discography (which you clearly like); they have always struck me as being decent, 2nd tier fayre of the genre... might give them another try when time allows...
Music has always been a matter of energy to me. On some nights I believe that a car with the needle on empty can run 50 more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio. Hunter S Thompson
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote I prophesy disaster Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 21 2024 at 13:28
Last week, Doug Helvering of "The Daily Doug" finally completed his reaction to Pawn Hearts:
 
 
Lemmings, Theme One, Man-Erg, W:
 
 
 
 
Three years ago, he reacted to A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers:
 
 
 

No, I know how to behave in the restaurant now, I don't tear at the meat with my hands. If I've become a man of the world somehow, that's not necessarily to say I'm a worldly man.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Logan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 21 2024 at 13:47
If one considers RIO applicable:

Knock, knock?
Who's there?
An interrupting Henry Cow.
An interrupting Henry Cow wh...
Moo!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AFlowerKingCrimson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 21 2024 at 17:30
Originally posted by Jared Jared wrote:

I must admit, I think Genesis, Yes, Floyd, Rush and ELP in particular get too much exposure across prog sites and various Fb forums generally, it becomes rather repetitive. Of course I still play them, but possibly not as much as Camel, Caravan, Oldfield, Hackett, Eloy, Curved Air, Colosseum, Greenslade, BJH, Beggar's Opera, Tull, Moodies, Triumvirat, Renaissance, Nektar, MMEB, TD, KC, GG, VDGG & even Supertramp these days...

I think it's pretty safe to say that KC get just as much attention as ELP (if not more at least these days) and at least almost as much as Yes, Genesis, Rush and Floyd. GG, VDGG and Camel are just behind them imo and probably don't need much more attention imo.


Edited by AFlowerKingCrimson - July 21 2024 at 17:30
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Grumpyprogfan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 21 2024 at 19:37
Of the bands listed in the OP, I'll pick Gong. Love the Trilogy and Camembert Electrique with the amazing Pip Pyle on drums. And you can't go wrong with Gazeuse! with Allan Holdsworth on guitar.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote richardh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 21 2024 at 23:42
Nowadays I like Eloy more than Yes and Genesis. They have a harder sound I enjoy and loads of synths. 
I believe that PFM's first 3 albums are as important to prog as any Genesis album. Are they better? Maybe not but I listen to them a lot more than Genesis and Yes nowadays. Focus are a fascinating band that were very fluid and brought a fun element to prog. Their albums are a bit 'unfocused' ironically but regarded as one of the best bands to have at a festival. Most of the other bands mentioned in the OP I don't bother with that much. That's probably my loss. I much prefer Curved Air over Renaissance taste wise but they were again a bit unfocused. Air Cut is great though and one of my favourite 1973 albums, both featuring and launching the career of a 17 yr old Eddie Jobson who then went on to form UK and produced some of the best prog of the latter part of the decade.
Some other albums that are important to me from the seventies
Refugee - Refugee
Aphrodite's Child - 666
Hawkwind - Quark, Strangeness and Charm
VDGG - Pawn Hearts and Godbluff
Tangerine Dream - Force Majeure
Mike Oldfield - Ommadawn (but everything really!)
Vangelis - Heaven and Hell (ditto above)
Kate Bush - The Kick Inside
Socrates Drank The Conium - Phos
Camel - The Snow Goose




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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote richardh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 21 2024 at 23:48
Should also mention Triumvirat - Illusions On A Double Dimple, if only for Doug. Love that album!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Baldwin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 22 2024 at 00:37
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Saperlipopette! Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 22 2024 at 01:47

Originally posted by richardh richardh wrote:

I much prefer Curved Air over Renaissance taste wise but they were again a bit unfocused.
Curved Air is closer to me taste wise as well (I've grown to love Renaissance over the years too). Love all of their first four albums. I suppose I understand what you mean by unfocused, but in a way that's a part of their identity (so it's a focus on being unfocused). Whether psuedo classical symphonic prog, whimiscal folk, dreamy psychedelic, art rock or everything at once - I'm always along for the ride.
-The real reason I stopped at this comment of yours, is that I realized I've been wrong about something. I’ve been thinking that even for Prog bands a hit makes all the difference in the world
Originally posted by Jared Jared wrote:

I must admit, I think Genesis, Yes, Floyd, Rush and ELP in particular get too much exposure across prog sites and various Fb forums generally

-They've all had hits that helped at least a couple of their albums to sell in huge numbers. They are, if not household names, bands that even music interested people why don’t listen to any of their music, are still aware of their existance.
Originally posted by Jared Jared wrote:


Of course I still play them, but possibly not as much as Camel, Caravan, Oldfield, Hackett, Eloy, Curved Air, Colosseum, Greenslade, BJH, Beggar's Opera, Tull, Moodies, Triumvirat, Renaissance, Nektar, MMEB, TD, KC, GG, VDGG & even Supertramp these days...
If I think in general and not just prog sites «my theory» is still true for the Moodies, Oldfield, MMEB and Supertramp (+KC, who really belongs in the group of bands above) who still today are bigger artists in sheer numbers than the rest of this group. But Curved Air's Back Street Luv went to no. 4 in the UK - and their three first albums charted at 8ht, 11th and 20th place. I think Back Street Luv is a great song. Catchy as hell, yet representative for their sound. I would expect this to help the the not to fall into complete obscurity. Yet fifty years later they are most definitely completely obscure.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote presdoug Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 22 2024 at 08:40
Originally posted by richardh richardh wrote:

Should also mention Triumvirat - Illusions On A Double Dimple, if only for Doug. Love that album!
Right on, Richard, thank you!

Edited by presdoug - July 22 2024 at 08:40
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote presdoug Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 22 2024 at 08:47
Many of the 70s prog bands I listen to are not really well known at all,, but there are some that are pretty well second tier, that I do listen to avidly, like Triumvirat, Quatermass, Wishbone Ash, Nektar, PFM, Soft Machine, Atomic Rooster, Beggar's Opera, Colosseum, Banco
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Jared Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 22 2024 at 10:18
Originally posted by Saperlipopette! Saperlipopette! wrote:

If I think in general and not just prog sites «my theory» is still true for the Moodies, Oldfield, MMEB and Supertramp (+KC, who really belongs in the group of bands above) who still today are bigger artists in sheer numbers than the rest of this group.

I think you're right; for three of them were predominantly mainstream bands who for various reasons were adopted by the then prog fraternity who thought their music was sufficiently interesting without having released any completely progressive albums... only Mike can be considered truely progressive here, but then he's also released quite a bit of crossover pop-rock in his time.

Of the four, only MMEB don't seem to have stood the test of time; my mind has them still firmly back in the 70's and I can't remember the last time someone started a thread about them here, even though Solar Fire, Good Earth & Nightingales were all great albums..
Music has always been a matter of energy to me. On some nights I believe that a car with the needle on empty can run 50 more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio. Hunter S Thompson
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Jared Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 22 2024 at 10:20
Originally posted by richardh richardh wrote:

Should also mention Triumvirat - Illusions On A Double Dimple, if only for Doug. Love that album!

without a doubt their best, but I enjoy their first 5 quite a bit...
Music has always been a matter of energy to me. On some nights I believe that a car with the needle on empty can run 50 more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio. Hunter S Thompson
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AFlowerKingCrimson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 22 2024 at 14:02
Originally posted by Jared Jared wrote:

Originally posted by richardh richardh wrote:

Should also mention Triumvirat - Illusions On A Double Dimple, if only for Doug. Love that album!

without a doubt their best, but I enjoy their first 5 quite a bit...

I only have two and those are Illusions and Spartacus. I liked Illusions for a very long time until it dawned on me that the drum sound is not that good (a thud sound). For that reason I prefer Spartacus (the drum sound still isn't perfect but is at least better than Illusions). I wonder if anyone else has noticed this about the drums or is it just me? 

And why are we talking about Triumvirat when we could be talking about Eloy? Wink


Edited by AFlowerKingCrimson - July 22 2024 at 14:05
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Psychedelic Paul Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 22 2024 at 14:44
FANTASY: an English band from Gravesend in Kent. I've been returning to the fantastic music of Fantasy recently, a perennial Symphonic Prog favourite of mine, ever since I discovered them on ProgArchives several years ago. Fantasy only released one studio album during their brief lunchtime in the spotlight: the superb Paint a Picture (1973), but there were also two equally good archival releases, Beyond the Beyond (1974) and Vivariatum (1994). The dramatic music of Fantasy features beautiful symphonic soundscapes of ethereal Mellotron magic, which are so uplifting and inspirational to listen to that their albums could almost belong in the religious section of a record store. Smile


The five-piece English band Fantasy released their fittingly-titled debut album "Paint a Picture" in 1973. The album displays beautiful symphonic soundscapes of dramatic complexity, featuring charming organ and elaborate Mellotron melodies to make a masterpiece album of the era. The album featured seven bonus tracks in the re-mastered CD version released in 2005. "Paint a Picture" passed by virtually unnoticed at the time of its release, which is a shame, considering it's a beautifully-produced album which deserves far more recognition than it's received. The album is so uplifting and inspirational to listen to that it could almost belong in the religious section of a record store. Fantasy followed it up with an equally good album in 1974 titled "Beyond the Beyond" which wouldn't see general release for another 18 years. Their third and final album "Vivariatum" (1994) was up to a similarly high standard of musicianship and all three albums should appeal greatly to fans of early Genesis.

The album opens in dramatic style with the title track "Paint a Picture". The song features the magnificent distant-sounding rock organ, together with emotionally uplifting vocals and a gently rising crescendo of sound which puts the listener in an ebullient mood and makes a perfect introduction to what is a marvellous album. The second song on the album "Circus" continues in considerable style with some echoey-sounding vocals, intricate guitar playing and powerful drumming backed by the beautiful symphonic sound of the Mellotron. Track 3 "The Award" features plaintive-sounding vocals combined with a gentle melody which gathers in intensity as the song progresses. The song is another memorable addition to a fine album. Track 4 "Politely Insane" is an upbeat and uptempo number which chugs along joyfully at an impressive pace with some strident guitar chords. In a pleasant contrast of style, the next song "Widow" is a brief, gently melodic lament, as the song title implies, and nicely fits into the album as a whole. Track 6 "Icy River" is another memorable number with plenty to keep the listener entertained, including heavenly vocals, the ever-present sound of the powerful rock organ and some skilful and melodic guitar leads. Track 7 "Thank Christ" continues in similar fashion with a feel-good, uplifting sound and featuring some stylish vocal harmonies. Track 8 "Young Man's Fortune" is a real powerhouse of a song, featuring a throbbing rhythm section and sonorous organ playing. The album returns to a mellower mood in the first half of the penultimate number "Goblin Song", coming to life in marvellously-uplifting style for the finale. The final song "Silent Mine" features a religious-sounding organ combined with ethereal vocals to produce a very memorable conclusion to a superb album as a whole.

This melodic masterpiece of an album deserves pride of place in any Prog-Rock enthusiast's music collection. It's an album of contrasting styles which never fail's to maintain the listener's interest. A classic example of early-1970's English Symphonic Prog at its best.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Grumpyprogfan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 22 2024 at 16:23
The first five albums from Kansas are excellent.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote verslibre Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 22 2024 at 16:46
Originally posted by Grumpyprogfan Grumpyprogfan wrote:

The first five albums from Kansas are excellent.


They sure as hell are!!
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