This is strictly 60s and 70s BTW

I would say that any true prog fan should have at least one album from at least ten of the following bands, which I consider to be the main players.  Feel free to add and take away, but I can't see how any of these bands would be taken away.  Most of these bands continued for more than a decade and is part of the reason why some appear in the list.

Genesis, Yes, Pink Floyd, Camel, Van Der Graaf Generator, Focus, Ash Ra tempel, ELP, Gentle Giant, Caravan, Jethro Tull, Eloy, Gong, Hawkwind, King Crimson, The Moody Blues, The Soft Machine, Steve Hillage, Mike Oldfield, Can, Nektar, Barclay James Harvest and Jade Warrior.

I have many cds by all of those bands above and although I d/l from hundreds more, I need to be pointed in a good direction when it comes to 2nd-tier bands and purchasing actual cds.

Gentle Giant, Barclay james harvest, jade warrior, nektar and eloy are MINOR bands

Replace them by Soft machine, Amon dull, Agitation free, clearlight, and so many more...

...Popol vuh is a major band also

all their albums are excellent, contrary to many bands like Camel, or caravan which turn very bad in the late 70's...

oliverstoned wrote:  Amon dull,

Nice Freudian slip.....................

Trouserpress wrote: Gentle Giant a MINOR band?! They practically DEFINE Progressive Rock!!

You deceive me...

Carl floyd fan wrote: This is strictly 60s and 70s BTW I would say that any true prog fan should have at least one album from at least ten of the following bands, which I consider to be the main players.  Feel free to add and take away, but I can't see how any of these bands would be taken away.  Most of these bands continued for more than a decade and is part of the reason why some appear in the list. Genesis, Yes, Pink Floyd, Camel, Van Der Graaf Generator, Focus, Ash Ra tempel, ELP, Gentle Giant, Caravan, Jethro Tull, Eloy, Gong, Hawkwind, King Crimson, The Moody Blues, The Soft Machine, Steve Hillage, Mike Oldfield, Can, Nektar, Barclay James Harvest and Jade Warrior. I have many cds by all of those bands above and although I d/l from hundreds more, I need to be pointed in a good direction when it comes to 2nd-tier bands and purchasing actual cds.

Several in your list I've avoided replacing vinyl with CD, because simply I find they have grown dull with time, on one or all their recordings.

However, "2nd tier" - which might be read as "could have made it if they had the luck of many of those you listed":

Touch: Touch - IMHO the first American prog band.

T2: It'll All Work Out In Boomland - demonstrating a guitar-lead trio could play prog.

Spooky Tooth/Pierre Henry: Ceremony (weird scenes inside a gold mine)

Flash: Flash & Flash In The Can (the Yes-spin-off band)

Ibis: Sun Surprise (a largely forgotten Italian/English band of the early 70's)

Kraan: any of the first 5 or so albums - especially Live - all remastered by EMI of Germany in the last 3 years.

Magma: Mekanïk Destruktiv Kommandöh

Be Bop Deluxe - interesting mix of glam rock and prog, e.g Axe Victim (Bill Nelson is currently touring a reformed BeBop Deluxe and their albums have just been reissued again on CD)

I explain why i don't like this band:

Forgetting the painful lyrics which are too present, the music is too jerked, not

enough fluid and too repetitive.

I like repetitive music, like in "Camembert electrique" or in "Inventions for electric guitar" but in Gentle giant, i find it boring and indisgestible...

So, for all these (subjective) reasons, i find this band overated.

Sorry for the fans...

I'm in unkind mood today!

PF, Gong, Soft Machine defined Prog

...not Gentle Giant!

I agree their music can be cluttered and clinical at times, but for me they were true innovators in music, and they also excite and enthrall me in a way that likes of Gong and the Softs also do.

Pink Floyd is the "major" band I've always had some difficulties trying to get into, which is controversial, I know. I love side one of Atom Heart Mother and there are many snatches of brilliance on Umma Gumma, but Dark Side of the Moon and the Wall do absolutely bugger all for me. Sorry chaps.

Yes i agree with you

Dark side is the beggining of the end for PF

And Trace, Triumvirat  ? Kayak ? Mainstream bigtimers in their time. Renaissance ?

_________

Lunar

Lunarscape wrote: And Trace, Triumvirat  ? Kayak ? Mainstream bigtimers in their time. Renaissance ?

Kayak ?

Don't forget U.K.

The seventies couldn't end on a sharper note.

Oh, Todd Rundgren's Utopia. Gotta have that:

Check out the MP3 on the Bio page.

oliverstoned wrote: Trouserpress wrote: Gentle Giant a MINOR band?! They practically DEFINE Progressive Rock!!   You deceive me...

not 'deceive' but disappoint. You probably thought of the french word 'décevoir'.

oliverstoned wrote: PF, Gong, Soft Machine defined Prog ...not Gentle Giant!

Let's be contentious.

PF: defined prog????

On a historical basis they were late in the game. Until Meddle or even Dark Side Of The Moon, we first generation British prog fans, wouldn't have included PF under the heading of 'prog', they were 'English psychedelic' (beit the most important British psychedelic band of the late 60's and early 70's). I suspect it was the American discovery of PF, and need to find a category for their music, that 'prog' was first used.

lucas wrote: oliverstoned wrote: Trouserpress wrote: Gentle Giant a MINOR band?! They practically DEFINE Progressive Rock!!   You deceive me... not 'deceive' but disappoint. You probably thought of the french word 'décevoir'.

Absolutely

It's a "faux ami"

Carl floyd fan wrote: Holy Cow!  I just got Faust 4!  Man do they rock!!!  I love krautrock (Neu, Zao, Dyzan, Eiliff, guru guru, can, A.R.T., A.D.2, ect, ect,) but somehow missed Faust.  I think the song krautrock perfectly sums up the genre in one 11 minute song.  Faust should be added cause Faust 4 was on a major label, virgin.

Hello,

ZAO is not some krautrock

This is more in the jazz-rock field.

If you like krautrock, try Agitation free, Popol vuh, Between, The cosmic jokers,

Amon dull, Ash ra temple...

oliverstoned wrote: I like repetitive music, like in "Camembert electrique" or in "Inventions for electric guitar" but in Gentle giant, i find it boring and indisgestible...

To be honest, I am also a GG-non fan, but mainly because of the main vocals, whose appeal I cannot understand. OK for the vocals sung in canon, the more pleasant vocals (the second vocalist, which should use more often his vocal chords than the main one... sorry if I can't give them a name), and the use of medieval and renaissance motifs in their music but the result sounds very dated and very hard to enter in.

Bands that I like the most in the prog area :

Ambrosia (great vocal harmonies and diverse music on their first three albums)

Saga (they have one of the most creative and talented bassist with them)

Supertramp (unforgettable melodies)

Sagrado Coraçao Da Terra (the greatest surprise for me since I'm into prog)

Queensryche

Marillion (no comment)

IQ (I re-discovered them with their last and best album)

It Bites (Francis Dunnery was a real musical genious)

Mike Oldfield

Dixie Dregs (much more accessible than Mahavishnu Orchestra and much more eclectic and... simply better)

Jethro Tull (Ian Anderson has aa astonishing voice and Barriemore Barlow's drumming impresses me veru much)

Renaissance (both line-ups recorded fantastic albums)

Le Orme (sublime voice)

Gordon Giltrap ('The peacock party' is one of the best instrumental work ever recorded)

Anthony Phillips (one of the few artists that achieved "non-boring" acoustic albums)

I am really not keen on what I would call the more "extreme" prog : Anglagard, Soft Machine, Henry Cow and other "difficult" music.

Dick Heath wrote: oliverstoned wrote: PF, Gong, Soft Machine defined Prog ...not Gentle Giant! Let's be contentious. PF: defined prog???? On a historical basis they were late in the game. Until Meddle or even Dark Side Of The Moon, we first generation British prog fans, wouldn't have included PF under the heading of 'prog', they were 'English psychedelic' (beit the most important British psychedelic band of the late 60's and early 70's). I suspect it was the American discovery of PF, and need to find a category for their music, that 'prog' was first used.

Ok they were psyche at the beggining, more than prog

But don't forget that psyche is the ancestor of prog

Moreover,look at the video , or listen to the cd "London 66/67" by PF, and you'll understand how good and precursor they were...

Reed Lover wrote: Lunarscape wrote: And Trace, Triumvirat  ? Kayak ? Mainstream bigtimers in their time. Renaissance ? Kayak ?

Where did you get this picture of Kansas Reed Lover?

Actually I would suggest you look for any band that has 10 LPS or more that you don't own...buy it and see if you like it....they obviously showed some kind of staying power.....just make sure it isn't 3 studio,3 compilations and 4 lives....ya want to make sure 7 or more are studio LPS....that is how I do it.

danbo wrote: Or you get some idiot to send you some back-up discs....

....that sounds illegal!!!

lucas wrote: oliverstoned wrote: I like repetitive music, like in "Camembert electrique" or in "Inventions for electric guitar" but in Gentle giant, i find it boring and indisgestible... To be honest, I am also a GG-non fan, but mainly because of the main vocals, whose appeal I cannot understand. OK for the vocals sung in canon, the more pleasant vocals (the second vocalist, which should use more often his vocal chords than the main one... sorry if I can't give them a name), and the use of medieval and renaissance motifs in their music but the result sounds very dated and very hard to enter in. Bands that I like the most in the prog area : Ambrosia (great vocal harmonies and diverse music on their first three albums) Saga (they have one of the most creative and talented bassist with them) Supertramp (unforgettable melodies) Sagrado Coraçao Da Terra (the greatest surprise for me since I'm into prog) Queensryche Marillion (no comment) IQ (I re-discovered them with their last and best album) It Bites (Francis Dunnery was a real musical genious) Mike Oldfield Dixie Dregs (much more accessible than Mahavishnu Orchestra and much more eclectic and... simply better) Jethro Tull (Ian Anderson has aa astonishing voice and Barriemore Barlow's drumming impresses me veru much) Renaissance (both line-ups recorded fantastic albums) Le Orme (sublime voice) Gordon Giltrap ('The peacock party' is one of the best instrumental work ever recorded) Anthony Phillips (one of the few artists that achieved "non-boring" acoustic albums) I am really not keen on what I would call the more "extreme" prog : Anglagard, Soft Machine, Henry Cow and other "difficult" music.

salut Lucas,

You have quoted two things that i don't know and may interest me:

Dixie Dregs and Anthony Phillips

Could you describe more precisely his music?

oliverstoned wrote: lucas wrote: oliverstoned wrote: I like repetitive music, like in "Camembert electrique" or in "Inventions for electric guitar" but in Gentle giant, i find it boring and indisgestible... To be honest, I am also a GG-non fan, but mainly because of the main vocals, whose appeal I cannot understand. OK for the vocals sung in canon, the more pleasant vocals (the second vocalist, which should use more often his vocal chords than the main one... sorry if I can't give them a name), and the use of medieval and renaissance motifs in their music but the result sounds very dated and very hard to enter in. Bands that I like the most in the prog area : Ambrosia (great vocal harmonies and diverse music on their first three albums) Saga (they have one of the most creative and talented bassist with them) Supertramp (unforgettable melodies) Sagrado Coraçao Da Terra (the greatest surprise for me since I'm into prog) Queensryche Marillion (no comment) IQ (I re-discovered them with their last and best album) It Bites (Francis Dunnery was a real musical genious) Mike Oldfield Dixie Dregs (much more accessible than Mahavishnu Orchestra and much more eclectic and... simply better) Jethro Tull (Ian Anderson has aa astonishing voice and Barriemore Barlow's drumming impresses me veru much) Renaissance (both line-ups recorded fantastic albums) Le Orme (sublime voice) Gordon Giltrap ('The peacock party' is one of the best instrumental work ever recorded) Anthony Phillips (one of the few artists that achieved "non-boring" acoustic albums) I am really not keen on what I would call the more "extreme" prog : Anglagard, Soft Machine, Henry Cow and other "difficult" music. salut Lucas, You have quoted two things that i don't know and may interest me: Dixie Dregs and Anthony Phillips Could you describe more precisely his music?

Dixie Dregs : a "listenable" fusion band that can play jazz, rock, bluegrass and classic music. They feature the phenomenal Steve Morse on guitar (who also wrotes the composition) and drummer extraordinaire Rod Morgenstein. They are influenced by Mahavishnu Orchestra (same instrumentation, including the violin), the Allman Brothers, country music and Baroque music (especially Bach). Each title on their CDs is different from the other and the music is pure enjoyment.

Anthony Phillips : the music is mellow and acoustically driven. Albums like 'The geese and the ghost' and 'Wise after the event' feature a full rock-orchestration (with drums played by Phil Collins on the first one and by Mike Giles on the second one). We can draw a parallel between 'The geese' and Steve Hackett's first album. His Private Parts and Pieces are mainly solo albums, with mainly guitar playing but also piano.

oliverstoned wrote: Carl floyd fan wrote: Holy Cow!  I just got Faust 4!  Man do they rock!!!  I love krautrock (Neu, Zao, Dyzan, Eiliff, guru guru, can, A.R.T., A.D.2, ect, ect,) but somehow missed Faust.  I think the song krautrock perfectly sums up the genre in one 11 minute song.  Faust should be added cause Faust 4 was on a major label, virgin.   Hello, ZAO is not some krautrock This is more in the jazz-rock field. If you like krautrock, try Agitation free, Popol vuh, Between, The cosmic jokers, Amon dull, Ash ra temple...

I've heard and listened to all of those bands, except for Between.  I'll check them out.  The rest of those bands are awesome!

Carl floyd fan wrote: This is strictly 60s and 70s BTW I would say that any true prog fan should have at least one album from at least ten of the following bands, which I consider to be the main players.  Feel free to add and take away, but I can't see how any of these bands would be taken away.  Most of these bands continued for more than a decade and is part of the reason why some appear in the list. Genesis, Yes, Pink Floyd, Camel, Van Der Graaf Generator, Focus, Ash Ra tempel, ELP, Gentle Giant, Caravan, Jethro Tull, Eloy, Gong, Hawkwind, King Crimson, The Moody Blues, The Soft Machine, Steve Hillage, Mike Oldfield, Can, Nektar, Barclay James Harvest and Jade Warrior. I have many cds by all of those bands above and although I d/l from hundreds more, I need to be pointed in a good direction when it comes to 2nd-tier bands and purchasing actual cds.

Ash Ra Tempel - Just found out they include Klaus Schulse.If they sound like Tangerine Dream why not include them.Never listened to them,must investigate.Got lots of T.D. albums though.

Steve Hillage - if you include Khan.

Nektar - Melodic rock with Canterbury scene thrown in.non-essential I would have thought.

Jade Warrior - Wouldn't have said essential at all.

Barclay James Harvest - did they they really advance the Moody Blues music that much other influences are not really original.

Seems to me your selections have to much bias to the Canterbury scene.Essential to have a few from that scene,but not that many - you have not included Henry Cow,however,who put a more experimental jazz tinge in the music.

Family - should be included because they influenced both Yes & Genesis.

Colosseum - Prog jazz/blues/fusion - important to investigate the roots of that side of prog.

Vanilla Fudge - not really prog,but important as originators of organ driven heavy rock prog type music.

Spooky Tooth - building on the Yardbirds,Blossom Toes they could be said to be the first true blues organ/guitar driven prog group.Deep Purplish in sound.

If - J.W. hodgkinson(vocals) & Dick Morrissey(Sax) - unique sounds

Carl floyd fan wrote: This is strictly 60s and 70s BTW I would say that any true prog fan should have at least one album from at least ten of the following bands, which I consider to be the main players.  Feel free to add and take away, but I can't see how any of these bands would be taken away.  Most of these bands continued for more than a decade and is part of the reason why some appear in the list. Genesis, Yes, Pink Floyd, Camel, Van Der Graaf Generator, Focus, Ash Ra tempel, ELP, Gentle Giant, Caravan, Jethro Tull, Eloy, Gong, Hawkwind, King Crimson, The Moody Blues, The Soft Machine, Steve Hillage, Mike Oldfield, Can, Nektar, Barclay James Harvest and Jade Warrior. I have many cds by all of those bands above and although I d/l from hundreds more, I need to be pointed in a good direction when it comes to 2nd-tier bands and purchasing actual cds.

I don't know how many times I've read that list ....but.....

WHERE IS RUSH????

and who the heck are Ash Ra Temple??

Carl floyd fan wrote: oliverstoned wrote: Carl floyd fan wrote: Holy Cow!  I just got Faust 4!  Man do they rock!!!  I love krautrock (Neu, Zao, Dyzan, Eiliff, guru guru, can, A.R.T., A.D.2, ect, ect,) but somehow missed Faust.  I think the song krautrock perfectly sums up the genre in one 11 minute song.  Faust should be added cause Faust 4 was on a major label, virgin.   Hello, ZAO is not some krautrock This is more in the jazz-rock field. If you like krautrock, try Agitation free, Popol vuh, Between, The cosmic jokers, Amon dull, Ash ra temple... I've heard and listened to all of those bands, except for Between.  I'll check them out.  The rest of those bands are awesome!

between is very mystic, traditional and meditative, even more than popol vuh.

Dick Heath wrote: oliverstoned wrote: Dick Heath wrote: oliverstoned wrote: PF, Gong, Soft Machine defined Prog ...not Gentle Giant! Let's be contentious. PF: definitely prog???? On a historical basis they were late in the game. Until Meddle or even Dark Side Of The Moon, we first generation British prog fans, wouldn't have included PF under the heading of 'prog', they were 'English psychedelic' (beit the most important British psychedelic band of the late 60's and early 70's). I suspect it was the American discovery of PF, and need to find a category for their music, that 'prog' was first used. Ok they were psyche at the beggining, more than prog But don't forget that psyche is the ancestor of prog Moreover,look at the video , or listen to the cd "London 66/67" by PF, and you'll understand how good and precursor they were...   Floyd and Machine (Arthur Brown and later Hawkwind) were providing the semi-continuous soundtrack to the drug-induced trip of 66 and 67. Many of the out of town gigs Floyd did in the late 60's, went on for many hours; the not so hidden agenda being to see the freaks and hippies through to the other side of their journeys.  It took Floyd some time to get over the shock that Syd wasn't  with them anymore and realise British music had moved on, and you hear those albums released 1970 71 or so, as part of the search for a new direction, Umma Gumma being one of those albums at the crossroads.

Yes it's the hinge between psyche and prog...

lucas wrote: oliverstoned wrote: lucas wrote: oliverstoned wrote: I like repetitive music, like in "Camembert electrique" or in "Inventions for electric guitar" but in Gentle giant, i find it boring and indisgestible... To be honest, I am also a GG-non fan, but mainly because of the main vocals, whose appeal I cannot understand. OK for the vocals sung in canon, the more pleasant vocals (the second vocalist, which should use more often his vocal chords than the main one... sorry if I can't give them a name), and the use of medieval and renaissance motifs in their music but the result sounds very dated and very hard to enter in. Bands that I like the most in the prog area : Ambrosia (great vocal harmonies and diverse music on their first three albums) Saga (they have one of the most creative and talented bassist with them) Supertramp (unforgettable melodies) Sagrado Coraçao Da Terra (the greatest surprise for me since I'm into prog) Queensryche Marillion (no comment) IQ (I re-discovered them with their last and best album) It Bites (Francis Dunnery was a real musical genious) Mike Oldfield Dixie Dregs (much more accessible than Mahavishnu Orchestra and much more eclectic and... simply better) Jethro Tull (Ian Anderson has aa astonishing voice and Barriemore Barlow's drumming impresses me veru much) Renaissance (both line-ups recorded fantastic albums) Le Orme (sublime voice) Gordon Giltrap ('The peacock party' is one of the best instrumental work ever recorded) Anthony Phillips (one of the few artists that achieved "non-boring" acoustic albums) I am really not keen on what I would call the more "extreme" prog : Anglagard, Soft Machine, Henry Cow and other "difficult" music. salut Lucas, You have quoted two things that i don't know and may interest me: Dixie Dregs and Anthony Phillips Could you describe more precisely his music? Dixie Dregs : a "listenable" fusion band that can play jazz, rock, bluegrass and classic music. They feature the phenomenal Steve Morse on guitar (who also wrotes the composition) and drummer extraordinaire Rod Morgenstein. They are influenced by Mahavishnu Orchestra (same instrumentation, including the violin), the Allman Brothers, country music and Baroque music (especially Bach). Each title on their CDs is different from the other and the music is pure enjoyment. Anthony Phillips : the music is mellow and acoustically driven. Albums like 'The geese and the ghost' and 'Wise after the event' feature a full rock-orchestration (with drums played by Phil Collins on the first one and by Mike Giles on the second one). We can draw a parallel between 'The geese' and Steve Hackett's first album. His Private Parts and Pieces are mainly solo albums, with mainly guitar playing but also piano.

Thanks for that precise info

Dixie Dregs sounds great, i've never heard of them...

Anthony Philips sounds good also, although i am not found off Steve hackets

first effort, "voyage of the acolyte" not bad, but not transcending.

lucas wrote: Jethro Tull (Ian Anderson has aa astonishing voice and Barriemore Barlow's drumming impresses me veru much)

Does anybody know where Barriemore Barlow went after his time in Tull? I love his work and I'd be keen to know what became of him?

sigod wrote: lucas wrote: Jethro Tull (Ian Anderson has aa astonishing voice and Barriemore Barlow's drumming impresses me veru much) Does anybody know where Barriemore Barlow went after his time in Tull? I love his work and I'd be keen to know what became of him?

I know he collaborated with Robert Plant on one of his solo albums but that's all I know about him.

Moody Blues: founders of symphonic rock with "Days of Future Passed"

King Crimson: true founders of progressive rock

Yes: the masters of hippie-esque prog

Genesis: masters of symphonic rock

ELP: masters of the keyboard and glam prog (if such exists)

Pink Floyd: gateway to prog, prog populizers, space rockers

Jethro Tull: folk-prog masters (among other things)

Rush: pop proggers, hard prog rock masters (not quite "heavy metal")

Dream Theater: prog metal masters (and 90s prog gate)