The TEN albums that made PROG ROCK
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- čas přidán 28. 01. 2024
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Amazing -someone finally acknowledges the groundbreaking and innovative Moody Blues !!!!
Yes finally an aknowledgment of this great but oh so underrated band.
Yes, but listening to The Moody Blues in 2024 makes them sound very thin and dated.
It's been said for years ever since the prog label was invented.
AT last. Someone else who understands the importance of Zappa.
I love a lot of Zappa's work but much of it is so avant-garde and experimental I just cannot enjoy it like the melodic symphonic prog of English bands like Genesis and Yes. Undoubtedly a musical genius but not easy to warm to.
@@robertl6591I'm the opposite - I can listen to Zappa for hours an end, the never-ending complexity keeping it fresh and new. One album in particular, Apostrophe, I must have played 1000 times since I bought it in 1974. But Yes and Genesis? Sheesh man, they sounded old fashioned and turgid to me, even when they were first released - the passage of time has not improved my appreciation. But music means different things to different people. It's a good job we're not all the same.
Who could imagine??:-) Spot on!!
Days of Future Passed gave Classical music an enormous push in being a major influence on the genre !
Duch band Ekseption's First did the same.
Emerson Lake and Palmer?????
I agree that Stand Up is an incredible album.
this is my fav tull album and as JT is definitely my cult band it tells alot
Yes. That's a band worth a whole video.
I would say the prog rock starts in 1967 with four important albums ----- Days of Future Passed; Piper at the Gates of Dawn;
Sgt. Pepper; the first Doors album.
The first Cream album came out in 66. Most prog heads (myself included) don't generally put Cream under a prog umbrella, but if you actually listen to what they're doing on that record, it's undeniably forging something new in a rock context, (and it still doesn't sound like a nearly 60 year old record). The next year (1967) quite a few albums by other artists helped break things open, but if chronology counts, Cream can't be overlooked.
in many ways the albums which laid the groundwork of what became prog, but which aren't "really" prog (e.g. Cream, The Nice, The Pretty Things, or Procol Harum) are more genuinely progressive (in the sense of risk-taking and innovation) than many of the unambiguously "prog" genre albums released after 1973.
@@BrennanYoung She Loves You by the Beatles was progressive but no one called it that. The term progressive was used to label certain kinds of modern jazz and was never used to describe rock until the seventies as far as I know.
And if you throw in Disraeli Gears and the studio half if Wheels of Fire I think the case for calling Cream a proto-prog band is even stronger. I mean if it’s got cello, it’s gotta be prog, right?
@@BrennanYoung Good comment.
@@Hartlor_Tayley I would put the term Progressive being used for Pop/Rock bands at mid 1967. After The Beatles released Sgt Peppers almost all the popular bands of time were releasing LPs that began to be described as music that was 'Progressive'. I remember hearing that term being used a lot on BBCs Top Gear radio show (John Peel/Pete Drummond) - all of a sudden it was becoming the buzz word of the day.
I think Yes and Genesis could both be considered the quintessential Prog bands. Close To The Edge and Supper's Ready are arguably the greatest Prog compositions.
The Soft Machine, In the Court of the Crimson King, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Pink Floyd - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, Moody Blues -
Days of Future Passed, Frank Zappa - Freak Out!, The Nice - The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack, Gong - Magick Brother, Procol Harum, Caravan
"Piper" is not a prog rock album. It is a typical 60s psychedelic album.
I agree, but the list was albums that "made" prog rock and I'd argue that the whole Canterbury scene depended on this pschedelic influence. Soft Machine were Syd's solo backup band. @@stefanjohansson2743
Piper is a progressive album.
The term prog was certainly applied to genesis,yes,KC etc later on. But that doesn't mean piper wasn't progressive.@@stefanjohansson2743
Piper yes and also Stones Satanic Majesties or is that psychedelic?
It's unfortunate that the Wilde Flowers didn't release an album; that would have avoided having three Canterbury bands on your list. I think we have to pick The Soft Machine as the prototypical Canterbury album; Gong and Caravan came along a little later.
As the #1 Zappa and the Mothers fan my heart sang when you picked Freak Out as your first choice. This album and their 2nd Absolutely Free are unparalleled in their musical innovation and genre-bending freakiness !! Thanks !
Finally someone added the Moody Blues to the list of the beginning of Prog. Made quite shortly after SGT Pepper. I feel Moodies were very important. I find your comments about Zappa extremely interesting, the rest of the albums all make sense.
The Moodies transcend prog...The beautiful melodies and profound lyrics and musicianship, give them a outside the box genre...Listened to Threshold of a Dream this morning...Their best album only slightly ahead of Days of Future Past. IMHO
Yes, I liked the mention of the Moody Blues too. I was thinking more in terms of "In Search of the Lost Chord" which remains one of favorite albums, Prog, or No-Prog.
Seventh Sojourn - Great album with a Great title !!
My favourite album of all time: Seventh Sojourn, closely followed by Children's Children. Then the rest of the 'core seven' Moodies albums.
Pawn Hearts is a great choice! Man Erg is the cut in which a man plays 2 saxes at the same time! Talk about pushing the boundaries!
Yes basically took the beginnings of the genre and exploded it with The Yes Album, Fragile, and Close to the Edge. Just a phenomenal time in music.
Yes is progressive rock period!!
Thanks for this very interesting video and especially for putting Zappa, Moody Blues and King Crimson on the prog spot.
I was very happy to see the Moody Blues included in the list, but a bit disappointed that Renaissance not mentioned
To not put early Genesis on this list ( with Peter Gabriel ) , Nursery Crime . Foxtrot , and Selling England by the Pound -------- is pure sacrilege ! , I'm 76 and I lived through that ERA . Did you ?
Yep. And they still lift me right off the planet.
Agreed. I think of Gabriel/Hackett era Genesis as the epitome of progressive rock, and the fact that you neglected to mention this phenomenally brilliant band begs for an explanation from you.
Yes, I was expecting him to include Trespass (1970). It certainly wasn't the best Genesis album, but it set the basic template for the progression from Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot, and Selling England to Lamb Lies Down. Also released a year before The Yes Album and Pawn Hearts. I would have included it instead of the Van der Graaf album. I would have also been tempted to include Tubular Bells or a Gentle Giant album.
@@mirroryourmusic Gentle Giant! Yes!
Chill mate. I am 70 and I lived through this ERA but so what? Music analysis, critical thinking and proffering an informed opinion will always be valid regardless of any contemporary "advantage", real or imagined. There is no monopoly on opinion.
I would concede that Foxtrot could be added to the list, for the lyrics, musical transitions, time signature changes and arrangement on Supper's Ready alone.
Remember the list is on the creation of the genre and not the BEST or even favourite albums. Prog in the late 60s and 70s was a very broad church. I knew what I liked but didn't analyse beyond that. My journey started with Meddle, Argus, and In The Land Of Grey and Pink. I have seen Wishbone Ash, Caravan,Yes and Genesis live. I didn't know or care who influenced them at that time. I found this breakdown fascinating and apart from Soft Machine, have all the other LPs listed.
Peace.
Great to see The Nice getting mentioned, they were hugely imporant in the development of Prog Rock and inspired people like Yes and Genesis.
The Nice invented the prog rock. Simple.
ironically, The Nice (highly successful in their day) routinely get overlooked because ELP were simply *that much more* successful.
IMO if ELP had been less of a hit, The Nice would enjoy far more respect.
Or as Alan Partridge might say "Wings! Wings are the band The Beatles could have been"
@@BrennanYoung Andy Partridge. Wishing Andy would interview Andy. They have very compatible personalities and senses of humor.
They must have been listening to 'Ars longa via brevis' and thought '' BLIMEY'' that's it guys'
@@thatwilldonicely1314 If there's one album that desperately needs remastering it's Ars Longa Vita Brevis. There's some great music on it but it sounds like the band are playing in a room down the corridor from the recording studio.
An album that was massive and clearly influenced many in the prog scene, especially drummers, yet never gets any accolades is the self titled album by Blood, Sweat ,and Tears from 1968.
Great list Andy!! I'm in general agreement with all your picks!
Love the mention of Days Of Future Passed - still one of my most often, make me feel good no matter what, listens (including having Nights as my wedding song!) I love how the orchestra was integrated (regardless of whether they played together or not). It paved the way for future 'symphonic' rock that I now greatly enjoy, being a big fan of classical!
Crimson, Floyd, Beatles, Yes are all constants in my collection. Interesting take on Hendrix - his sonic experimentation certainly does fit the vibe of progressive!
As a Canadian and HUGE Rush fan, I completely understood and appreciated all their influences! Cheers.
Time and a Word is amazeballs esp astral traveller
I agree
Thank you Andy for your list - a true nostalgia trip for me. These were the albums we listened to as they came out, each one of them opening new doors of creativity as they pushed the frontiers of music further into the unknown. It was such an exciting time to hear musical styles that had never been heard before!
Arguably, ( with regard the pastoral , English Aesthetic), ‘Trespass’ should have been in,I think. But at 71, I think ‘Nursery Cryme’, definitely deserves its place. They may have been the new kids relative to K.C, ELP, Tull and Yes, but I think their refinement of all the individual elements of what make progressive rock what it came to be seen as, is at its most evident on that album.
Hogweed has it all !! - Definitely the Pinnacle of Prog !! 😁
And Genesis took that “English aesthetic” to the max with songs like Harold the Barrel and Fountain of Samalsis. Add on Musical Box and the way it was performed live, it was a quantum leap for prog.
It's very relaxing to listen to someone else rave about these records for a change. 🙂
For those of us musicians on the SF peninsula "ELECTRIC LADYLAND" when it came out was also happily reactionary. The Hammond B3 organ, Jimi's guitar being played clean like BuddY Guy. No more psychedelic, It brought elements of blues and jazz...black music. We applauded it because we had begun to play these musics ourselves. We thought Jimi was gonna lead the way toward a cosmic chitlin circuit.
Well explained list. I now have a far better grasp of the many, varied cultural and musical elements which contributed to the formation of the prog genre.
King Crimson would not have gained notoriety without the amazing voice of Greg Lake.
Indeed. They were also very much inspired by The Moody Blues. So much so that they enrolled their producer Tony Clarke to help out with In the court. It didn't work out though so Lake took over production duties. Crimso also bought the Moodies mellotron.
Yes indeed, Loved Greg's voice.^
Bit of a hazard statement, definetly Greg Lake has a little weight in K Krimson all around history. Great vocalist, didnt write much, didnt invent any sound he joined an alredy formed project left and replaced by great singers. He left an imprinting for sure
"The Least we can do is wave to each Other" by Van Der Graaf Generator is the true birth of the Apocalyptic vision of prog. "The Least we can do is wave to each Other" was released in February 1970 a year and a half before "Pawn Hearts" - six months before "Trespass" by Genesis - and only three months after "Court of the "Crimson King."
That album is also right up there with pawn hearts
VdGG were true ''Pioneers''
@@neilparnell5712 very influential especially in Italy. Or so I’ve read
You read well sir.@@Hartlor_Tayley
@@neilparnell5712 thanks
One band that was always breaking boundaries was The Yardbirds. Heart Full of Soul, I'm a Man, Shapes of Things, Happenings Ten Years Time Ago. Even Hendrix borrowed from The Yardbirds. And afterwards the first Renaissance album, with Relf and McCarty. I feel they needed to be mentioned.
Yesterday that I thought about this the other day, when another channel someone was saying how the Beatles didn’t care for Led Zeppelin, and the stones in careful Led Zeppelin when I came out… Just like they couldn’t understand the sonic onslaught that they represented. But then I thought you know, there was a lot of crazy and hard and interesting stuff with the Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin can be seen as an extension of that and I’m not gonna mention the fact that Pete Townshend doesn’t like Led Zeppelin.
Jeff Beck was a genius there
Little Games
Congrats on 20k subscribers, Andy! Quite an accomplishment!
Great list. I bit surprized there was no mention of the influence of The Left Banke for Walk Away Renee and Pretty Ballerina. Also, prog rock might not have been possible or at lease nearly as prolific without the invention of the Chamberlin/Melotron and portable synthesizers, particularly the Mini Moog.
"I Haven't Got the Nerve" made a fanatic of me.
Imo, “ Days “ from the Moodys is the closest to being a complete progressive album, among all of the early influence albums. Those timely and well executed inserts from the London Symphony Orchestra were such a bold, brilliant and original approach. Only during the amazing year of 1967 could such an album be released.
Man, don't ever apologize for "taking too long". Just keep the vids coming.
that was highly enjoyable, whether i could quibble with a few choices or not. your explanations for each selection are well thought out and support the choices. keep up the good (prog) work!
Excellent list, great to hear the wonderful and influential Moody Blues and the Nice included, a fair spread 💙!
I absolutely bloody loved this 'video'. Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it!
#10 - 1962... A change of cultural epoch, almost month by month. Bob Dylan mixes blues, jazz, folk... democratizing it by not being a virtuoso musician-making the point music is not going to be about just music anymore.
Progressive Rock comes out of Britain-1960s drawing from the blues & jazz scene. And wanting to be 'blown away' while using psychedelic drugs.
#9 - 1966... The Change over: What is this? 'Frank Zappa 'Freak Out,' the year of Revolver and Pet Sounds. Double album Freak Out is almost avant garden music. McCartney, "No Zappa, no Beatles." Zappa doesn't stop.
#8 - 1967.... Sgt. Pepper
Progressive? Are you kidding me? The Biggest Pop Album of the Year.
#7 - 1967.... Piper at the Gates of Dawn, Pink Floyd: Beatles + Sid Barrett. The predominant color of Prog Rock is the English Country Garden aesthetic.
#6 - 1967... Moody Blues... Jumping on the stereo concert album with full orchestra (spliced after the fact). 'Nights in White Satin'... a monster hit. Procol Harum.
Soft Machine and Hendrix in summer- December
#5 1968 The Nice...
#4 Court of the Crimson King
#3 Jethro Tull
#2 1971 Yes... the first Prog Heart
#1 Van de Graaff Generator
Thank you Andy. I truly appreciate your effort and so enjoyed this podcast.
As a longtime Prog fan and an American I'd never considered that my country had anything but the most minimal contributions to the genre. It seemed to me that what Prog artists were doing was stripping Rock of its origins in the Blues and creating a genre based more on European art (classical) music forms and particularly 20th century art music. Thus the advent of so many classically trained Prog musicians, especially keyboardists. Of course no genre of music remains "pure" (or probably even begins pure) and Prog did derive elements from various other types of music but I think the separation from the Blues was a critical component.
Thank you for your analysis! This is the first, and only of your videos I have seen and I've enjoyed it greatly. The algorithm found me!
I may give Freak Out a new listen.
And please let me know where I might be wrong in my comment.
I reckon it probably started in the US with the Electric Prunes. Zappa needs to be in there, but I reckon Hot Rats is the step change. Buffalo Springfield were definitely in there too.
Good calls!@@philbarker8219
Great analysis. This is the first time I've seen you. I subscribed due to your great work.
Welcome aboard!
Just stumbled across your channel and man is it packed with truth and knowledge! I´m 64 and I got "schooled" by classic music (mom), Beatles (father) and Jazz (stepfather) whilst not even have reached the age of 10. So I got the best fundament to explore the likes of those you have mentioned later on. Great times and there are really good things happening now in the field today too like Snarky puppy, Dirty Loops, Matto Mancuso and so on. Good to know that inspiration, open minds and deep knowledge of the crafts still exist ;-) Subed
Also Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and Holst’s The Planets. Great albums :0)
I blame it on the Firebird.😅✌️
Ravel bolero
I love the fact riots broke out whenever Rites of Spring was performed fascinating history behind it, the only other artist that caused riots was Bill Haley when the film Rock Around The Clock was banned in the UK because of those riots.
In the heat of my Genesis and Yes fanaticism, I listened to "The Rite of Spring" at LEAST once a day, for well over a year. It's my absolute favorite piece of music, and seeing Joffrey Ballet perform it live was a transcendent experience for me. Stravinsky changed EVERYthing.
PS - LOVE The Planets, and gotta mention Ravel's "Daphnis et Chloe".
great commentary....Thanks
Great analyses, spot on.
Need to guess first -Freakout. Days of Future Past. n.Sgt. Peppers, Disreali Gears. Electric Ladyland. , Bitches Brew. Inner Mounting Flame, Court of the Crimson King, Yes, Nursery Crime, Emerson Lake & Palmer.
POST VIEWING EDIT: Matched 6 out of 10. Given I'm a Yank; Nice, Early Tull, Early Floyd and Vandergraf. went mostly unnoticed stateside.
All your videos are informative, funny , intelligent and with such love of the subject that i cannot be anything but impressed.... And its good to hear a west midlands accent espousing mind nuggets 👍
IMHO you missed a biggie that was released in 1970. Emerson, Lake & Palmer's debut album. Keith Emerson met Charles Moog and the rest is history!
My entry into prog as a 7 yo child through older siblings was pictures at an exhibition and I still love it as a 50 + guy
Count me in for "Stand Up"
Good points well made there Andy.
Soft Machine's first and second albums and the Nice's debut album "The thoughts of EmerList DaveJack" . Van der Graaf Generators debut was ahead of it's time too .
Great job with first 10 prog albums. I did one similar. Some of your 10 were my 10. Take care cheers
Having grown up through all that, I enjoyed the insight in your commentary. Thanks.
Glad you enjoyed it
what about the first 2 Renaissance albums
Nice to see Days Of Future Past , it doesn't make to many lists. The Moodies are a great Prog band.
They're neither great nor prog: using a Melllotron isn't enough.
I regard them as damp rock.
@@martinspencer1618 They used a Mellotron _and_ a flute. As did King Crimson!
But KC didn't need 2 different people to play Mellotron and flute.
And they had a guitarist, drummer and singer/vocalist in a different league to the bland saddoes in The Moody Blues.
(Is Graeme Edge the least talented drummer ever to feature in a band claimed to be Prog? He makes Nick Mason look like a percussion genius)@@Justin_Kipper
Man! Who pissed in your corn flakes. People can have different opinions can't they?@martinspencer1618
@@martinspencer1618I regard you as a fool 😂
Loved it!
Prog is really an English art form, you Brit’s have every reason to be proud of it and own it. Sure some American influences but really there was nothing like that it over here in the States. When I first heard “Roundabout” on the radio, I thought it must be the Jefferson Airplane. We had acid rock galore and all kinds of fusions but nothing like Prog. Great list. Thanks
Funny they were "very English" but still sold tons of records in the USA.
Like the Beatles? 😄
Like the Beatles? 😄
Like the Beatles? 😄
Like the Beatles? 😄
I’m among those who like progressive rock and have only scratched the surface. I have to say, Andy, after watching many of your videos you shine discussing this topic. Your expertise is evident. What blows me away, as someone born in 1985, is how rapidly this blossoming of music happened from around the mid-60s to the early 70s, which you cover here so succinctly (not your usual style, and I am pro-waffling).
The radical expansion of consciousness during that time period for much of the general public and reflected in the music was tectonic. And I think that’s why generations that have come since have kept going back to it (pockets of them, at least).
1965 to 1975. Definitely the sweet spot for almost everything.
I used to own almost all of those 10 albums (bought t 50c $1 $2 for the most part - scratched, naturally) and it's great to hear from you how they all connect (and why I loved them).
I will have to disagree with you about Hendrix not being a great singer. I think he absolutely was a great singer, with a beautiful R&B inflected voice. I know Hendrix was somewhat insecure about his singing ability, and he sure doesn’t sound “trained”, but some of his studio recordings, especially the ballads, are amazing vocal performances.
I would imagine Andy was alluding to the fact that the legendary component of Hendrix and his talent could not be levelled at the notion that he was a technically brilliant vocalist with virtuoso technique, and more that he was a virtuoso ‘artist’ in that his output was artistically brilliant in all it’s many aspects.
Quite agree, esp say Watchtower and Little Wing, but VC Slight Return too which he does endow with a certain amount of fury via not just the guitar but with his vocals too
Hendrix was a good singer. But he was a great guitarist and an innovative musician.
I enjoyed Hendrix' voice, and he could carry a tune. Of course, his voice was not at the level of, say Tom Jones, but Hendrix really sounded great on the song Electric Ladyland. The vocals on that song sounded like something from The Tempations, or one of those other black vocal groups.
Certainly in the studio Hendrix' vocals are excellent. Live, he has some very patchy vocal performances but he's playing guitar at the same time (and was often under the influence of various substances). I do recall what another youtuber, Wings of Pegasus, said about singing and playing guitar at the same time, it is always "double the difficulty". However, certainly in the studio and even live, Hendrix could pull off good vocal performance.
I wonder if The Yardbirds' Roger the Engineer (1966) had any influence to the creation of the prog rock genre.
Also, even earlier, Graham Bond Organization might have been very important for this subject.
Never thought of myself as a Prog fan because I didn't get on with ELP, Genesis and Yes when I was a teen, but I loved early Jethro Tull, Hendrix, King Crimson, Moody Blues as well as Can so maybe I do have a foot in the Prog camp after all. I wondered if Love Forever Changes would be on the list but maybe it's Psychedelia not Prog... not sure.. it blew my mind anyway, love it.
There's plenty of prog origins in the 50s & early 60s too. The esoteric exotica stuff like Ferrante &
Teicher, Les Baxter & Dick Hyman. The early electronic music/music concrete. Some of it sounds like industrial space rock & is worth mentioning. 40s & 50s soundtracks and musicals were also ingrained in 60s rock musicians brains contributing to the quirkiness of prog. Bali Hai from south pacific is the same melody as the immigrant song shriek. Classical brought the pomp & jazz brought the expansion
Hi Andy, great video! I think i would probably consider including Steve Howe's first band, Tomorrow, in my opinion they were important in those 1967/68 psychedelic days in London, playing at UFO and other clubs, and being creators of new sounds
Brilliant video, and virtually nothing to argue with,( apart from the tiny bits I have in the comments, which in themselves are arguably subsumable within subjective differences).
Great, great video. It is superfascinating if you look how Keith Emerson combined al those early influences and rocketed British Prog into the stratosphere. If you look at early Nice setlists it goes from Lumpy Gravy to A Day In The Life, Sombrero Sam, St. Thomas to later Country Pie, She Belongs To Me and My Back Pages all the Dylan repertoire. Excluding their own material and not even mentioning Rondo or America. In late '67 there was the famous British package tour of Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, The Nice where Emerson and Hendrix greatly bonded. It's not surprising that Emerson was considered to play on Electric Ladyland. Of course we know the ELP link, Emerson originally wanted Mitch Mitchell as their drummer. And Emerson dedicated The Barbarian to Jimi. Another fascinating aspect is the Nice's early influence on bands like Jethro Tull, Gentle Giant, Genesis.
Ian Anderson on Nice track Diamond Hard Blue Apples Of The Moon: “I first heard ...Apples Of The Moon at the Marquee Club in the early months of 1968 when The Nice and Tull were regular resident bands. With the benefit of that original repertoire, The Nice stood out from the usual blues band peers with more complex songs and music arrangements that ushered in the beginnings of progressive rock.
“...Apples Of The Moon is typical of early Nice, and even the later ELP, in drawing upon classical fanfare-like elements. The rhythmic drumming of Blinky Davison in this song inspired the drum part to the early Tull tune A Song For Jeffrey.
“The adventurous and energetic organ playing of Keith Emerson was a sight to behold and given credibility by his obvious pianistic musical skills and academic training. The vocals of Lee Jackson, Blinky Davison’s drumming and Davy O’List’s unusual non-blues guitar style were a great encouragement to me in the months to come to gradually replace the blues-based early Tull with a more original and eclectic mix of musical inspiration.”
Derek Shulman on Rondo: “I had always loved Keith’s playing in The Nice. It was a complete surprise that they could reinterpret this unusual Dave Brubeck Quartet 9/8 signature classic into a 4/4 rock track and still retain its appeal. This was always something Keith was able to do superbly throughout his musical career with both ELP and his solo works.
“The Dave Brubeck Quartet were, in a sense, a jazz precursor to artists like Frank Zappa, ELP, Crimson and, of course, Gentle Giant. Unusual time signatures and improvisation while still retaining musical accessibility. The Nice were able to pare down Blue Rondo À La Turk to Rondo and still be The Nice.
Peter Gabriel on The Nice/Emerson influence on early Genesis: czcams.com/video/1VdzAc6KKxU/video.html
In short Gabriel says that Emerson was responsible for the visceral element in Genesis music beginning with Trespass.
There's also the Yes link with Steve Howe auditioning after Davy O'List was sacked and Emerson wanting Chris Squire as a bassplayer and singer after dissolving The Nice.
An example of the adventurous spirit and changing musical climate is "The Switched On Symphony" programme aired early '70: czcams.com/video/4OwRd0beqFs/video.html
It feautures a total bizarre setting and line up including The Nice, Jerry Goodman, Jethro Tull, Ray Charles and Santana.
And with famous conductor Zubin Mehta leading the whole thing with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Emerson jamming with Santana, dancers and the orchestra on Soul Sacrifice is priceless.
Of course later that year, in august '70 you had the Isle Of Wight Festival with Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix, ELP, Jethro Tull, The Who, Doors etc. Can you imagine. Totally bonkers.
Zappa's great influence on Emerson continued in ELP. When Zappa said to him that all music is in one. With that in mind Emerson composed the Tarkus suite. They met a couple of times before when Zappa asked Emerson's advice on how to cope with English orchestras.
Concluding, I think Emerson was the most important factor in creating, pioneering and innovating the British Progressive Rock movement at least till '74. And for me the track and hitsingle America by The Nice from early '68 is the strongest starting point. The combined musical elements of Bernstein/Dvorak, the Hendrix like guitarplaying, improvised solo's, Emerson's visual and musical knife thing expressing the gang fights in West Side Story and simultaneously being a protest song against the violence in America(Vietnam, the Martin Luther King/JFK assassinations). No wonder Emerson and Johnny Lydon got on well...According to this interview in 2016 just after Emerson's passing: During his years in California Lydon struck up a friendship with fellow British musician Keith Emerson, keyboard player in The Nice and later prog rock stars Emerson, Lake and Palmer.
He admits to feeling “a great sense of guilt” about Emerson’s recent death, apparently by suicide. “I got to really like the man and no matter what was going on I’m just feeling ‘God, if he’s just made a phone call’ of if I’d have know something I would have rung him and persuaded him differently. Every second of your life matters.
Source: www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/music-interview-john-lydon-on-public-image-ltd-1800954
Here, the Prog/Punk connection in one photo :D
nl.pinterest.com/pin/356206651758196616/
I nearly fell off me chair when you mentioned VdGG's Pawn Hearts! 😱 …Definitely my type of darkness.
Pawn Hearts started a new limb on the prog tree, pushing through with sharp-edged bombast, vocals and lyrics lush with the power of acid unchained. Ending Plague with a Robert Fripp solo also put another flavor of pure angst into our ears.
Though I’m sure they’d recoil at the association, I think the Who belong on the list. The Who Sell Out checks an awful lot of prog Boxes, and it’s from 67.
Rael
A brief history of Progressive Rock.
The Beach Boys and a few other Rock Bands have lain the recipe by blending the flour, sugar, eggs and other parts of the recipe together.
The Beatles decided to bake the cake and forgot about it.
The Moody Blues had eaten the cake. They like the cake and freely share the recipe with others.
Gentle Giant's debut album, as well as everything they recorded until 1975.
I think that in Great Britain and after King Crimson, they were the most peculiar, pluralistic and multi-complex band.
What Gentle Giant produces is so radical and innovative that it is difficult for anyone to stand next to them.
Secondarily on the other side of the Atlantic, the extraterrestrial Captain Beefheart with Safe as Milk, Strictly Personal, as well as the landmark Trout Mask Replica. Albums that promptly broke every code and stereotype.
Very nice summary Andy. I experienced all of this music in real time, except I was stateside. I have all those albums and they are in semi-regular rotation. We must have similar taste in music as Tull's Benefit is my fave by them too. I clearly remember being in Kresge's Five and Dime in the sixties and holding the Freak Out album and wondering, "what is this?" Trouble Comin' Every Day is still a favorite track. More please.
Looking back, your list makes sense to me. Soft Machine were perhaps the start of the Canterbury scene, which I think of as a mix of fusion, prog, folk and psychedelic rock, dripping with the English aesthetic.
My wife and I enjoy your ‘sillyness.’ I also really like your Philosophy Sundays. I think you hit on a format that is a first. ❤
I will add Magma "Kobaia" (70)
The album that create his own subgenre of prog (zeuhl)
You must include Pink Floyd's Saucer Full of Secrets (1968) as a symphonic composition if you name The Yes Album as an example.
This is my first experience with your channel and your thoughts and ideas are well thought out and enjoyable.
A brilliant exposition.
Andy (andy andy for a Zappa reference) I've seen several of your videos now, and while I do not always buy in to your views, they always get me thinking, and that is a good thing. Two side comments: 1) The Yes Album is a work of art, and 2) Benefit is my favorite Tull album by far. I do love Stand Up (still remember my first time opening the album and getting the pop-up of the band, so long ago-album art was integral to the album idea much as you have mentioned elsewhere). Keep doing the good work, it is appreciated.
Great choice man! I saw an Interview with Robert fripp who was very proud that jimmy Hendrix who was in the audience of a King crimson Concert was fully blown away by their music and told his girlfriend in amazement:"this is the best Band in the World!" - PS: I LOVE THE MAHAVISHNU TOO!
Just wait. AI technology will soon give us a speculative "Hendrix, Emerson, Lake and Palmer " album.
@@BrennanYoung be still my heart.
Love Stand Up as well. Great history lesson: great list.- I think I like the albums that made prog rock as much as prog rock. Now I'm going to listen to Freak Out again.
still think that In The Court of the Crimson King, the song, was the pinacle of rock and roll (if that is really what it could be referred to as). with lots of epic competition for that title, of course
Andy, you are bold, competent and funny... I understand where you come from with your choices, and I pull my hat in respect for how much stuff you have listened to... certainly more than me, and I've listened to a bl**dy lot!
The whole concept of electing the 10 most important albums/bands/songs/breakfast cereals etc in itself is so hilariously impossible, that you get probably quartered and be-headed many times in the comments, but that's what gets the pinball rollin', and kicks off some well-spent nights of nitty-gritty arguing about the hen-and-the-egg business... and when the dust has settled, we all go back to realize, that all we needed... is love 💖😎
SGT PEPPERS LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND.. WE HOPE YOU HAVE ENJOYED THE SHOOOOOOW:))
Thanks for the Tull reference. I just got the remix of Stand Up. It really is an amazing album. Keep waffling, I love it.
PS - I recently downloaded Knower because of you. Can't thank you enough, it gives us hope that younger people are willing to move forward and do music which is fresh and new (at least to me).
I’ve been into them since their inception and got to see them live finally about 6 years ago in Birmingham and Andy’s support of them is well placed because they can seriously kick it live.
I saw them on the Aqualung tour and that along with Thick was my Tull faves but now its Stand Up, Benefit and Songs From the Wood.
For me, my favs are Living in the Past and Minstrel in the Gallery.
Many early pressings of Stand Up sounded dull & compressed to me. Not sure why! I would love to hear that remaster!
Its brilliant.@@edwardallan197
Great take.
Had to laugh. I too bought the best of Jethro Tull, I had heard most of those songs. Then went to a used record/head shop in Chula Vista CA and bought Benefit and was blown away. Went back two weeks later and got Stand Up (with the pop up inner sleeve)
And to this day Stand Up is my favorite Great Job
A pretty solid list, Andy. Though I would have included The Velvet Underground & Nico (recorded in 1966) which has a level of angular artistry and dark themes that would influence prog, punk and post-punk bands. The first LP by Colosseum, Those Who Are About to Die Salute You (recorded 1968) also has the eclectic influences that we associate with prog rock and some very fine musicianship. Curved Air's debut Air Conditioning (recorded 1970) is worth a mention. And one my favourites of this era is the weird and wonderful Alchemy (released 1969) by Third Ear Band.
“Shine On Brightly”- Procol Harum
I was just wondering about this today. I was watching a video about ELO… I thought you know there was a certain point where one of the forks of rock went in the direction of super production… Of course, you could say that started with Phil Spector… In his wall of sound… And then, of course we got pet sounds… And Sergeant peppers… And those were going in that direction of psychedelia, expanding it, not so much through alternate scales and modes, but rather through greatly enhanced production values. So I called it Pop-gressive.
So this is my comment before watching the video and I’m really looking forward to it because I’d like to know where Prog rock came from and I’m certain that the origins are much deeper and more obscure than I know
I remember seeing Yes,King Crimson and Procol harum in 1971,that was a Great Show.
Glad you put The Piper at the Gates of Dawn on the list :-) I only discovered it in the seventies when I was a teenager but I immediately recognized it to be far beyond anything I'd heard before (or even after :-D ). Despite my very humble set of records I remember some of the entries in the list but not all. Thanks for this reminder about progressive rock music.
And greetings from the other side of Europe. In the 60's, 70's and 80's we were stuck behind that curtain and soaking up everything of pop/rock/jazz etc. music that came from the West somehow.
I contend that Vanilla Fudge's self-title debut album of 1967 provided the template for what became the prog rock aesthetic (great drummer, killer bassist, predominent keyboards, soaring vocals, jazz-y and classical-ly leanings...). Though never big in the UK, the band's London gigs apparently had a profound effect not only on the approach to music, but also the volume (they were using Crown power amps). Deep Purple's frequently stated ambition was to be the 'European Vanilla Fudge', though they were short on proficiency at the time and soon discovered rock was a better meal ticket (something the Fudge realised too late in their career).
And though they never made it out of the clubs, the band 1-2-3 (later renamed Clouds), a trio - keys, bass, drums - from Edinburgh with a residency at the Marquee, were also apparently a favourite with Ian Anderson (a fellow Scot), Jon Anderson (who worked at the Marquee), Keith Emerson and others. Even Robert Fripp apparently checked them out. It may be coincidence, but after forming Yes, Anderson had that band cover Simon & Garfunkel's 'America', a tune 1-2-3 were playing at the Marquee.
The Beatles 'Revolver' and the 'Penny Lane'/'Strawberry Fields' single were real surprise twists. As was the Beach Boys 'Good Vibrations', a record that took on cinematic proportions. One could argue they were the first (popular) progressive records (Zappa's 'Freak Out' was extremely obscure by comparison).
Though I believe Vanilla Fudge played a key role in defining the prog genre, they were best known for a great heavy-handed version of the Supremes 'You Keep Me Hanging On'), so they were oft seen within that context. It really wasn't until King Crimson that the public caught on to the prog concept...which wasn't even defined at the time. Early Yes were essentially a pop band with ambitious musical leanings. The Nice were a jazzy-classical fusion quartet (and then trio) that lacked a sufficiently focused concept and thus were meandering into oblivion (ditto Yes pre-Steve Howe). Numerous other arty bands were art for art's sake and much too arty for their own good.
It is worth noting that the late Peter Banks was guitarist in both the Nice and Yes in their early stages. One can only wonder how much of a role he played in pushing both bands beyond their comfort zones.
Andy's "English aesthetic" derives from British traditional & folk. In N. America the influences were American folk/country traditions & beat sensibilities which, with the injection of CIA sponsored experiments & Ken Kesey, begat psychedelic/acid rock.
Prog rock co-opted & merged psychedelia with the addition of classical & world elements
The Nice invented the prog.
I saw Yes live with a full orchestra on their Magnification tour.
Me too.
Stand Up is my favorite Tull album. Not their proggiest, but the most fun.
I don’t care whether they are Progressive or not but the Moody Blues are my favourite group bar none.
Definitely had to make sure Days of Future Passed was included. Yep, check. Would probably put in early Genesis over "Stand Up", even though I love that album.
Totally with you on Stand Up !!
It refuses to get old!
Yes, people overlook how Pepper set the stage for the whole prog movement and how Stand Up was such an innovative record. I'd leave off a couple you mentioned and add the first Zeppelin, first Gentle Giant and first ELP , which were all around the same time.
Cool video and great analysis of music in general. I'd like to add to the list the albums:
Comus- First Utterance
Wishbone Ash- Argus
Deep Purple- Self titled
Yes, April... Many folks tends to forget first lineup. I'm glad you remember Comus. A cult little known band but what a debut they made. Argus great album.
I'm into Pink Floyd for decades.
I KNOW for fact that FREAK OUT influenced Pink Floyd.
The Album was a fave of Syd Barrett.
Frank Zappa and Roger Waters were friends.
You can see Frank jam with the Floyd at some Europe concert (in 1970, I think).
@@davefink2326 I forgot to mention the Amougies (Belgium)- Festival, wich was organized by Frank, he was the organizer, not a performer on that Festival.
Roger Waters convinced him to jam with the Floyd on Interstellar Overdrive.
This is the Performance you're talking about; Amougies, Belgium, October 25th, 1969.
Zappa wanted to Release the recording, but Roger Waters didn't want it to be released.
Interstellar Overdrive was almost released as a part of Ummagumma (different Performance w/o Frank Zappa).
@@boriskruger4842 to be fair, it's far from the best rendition of Interstellar Overdrive. Rog seems to be enjoying himself, but the others (including Frank) seem a little dissociated.
Pink Floyd is not exactly a prog rock band, except maybe for Wish You Were Here. Until then they were more psychedelic jam band.
Nice trip down memory lane!
Yes was another group that just opened up the door to Progressive music for me and I have enjoyed their stuff at least through the seventies they began to lose me in there later works but my favorite one that I always go back to and this is probably sacrilegious cuz nobody ever talks about this album and it's yes songs it's an absolute masterpiece of sound mindscapes the artwork on the album covers phenomenal for me it's the one I can sit through from someone to the last song and they never lose me
choice list Andy. Might have found a place for Genesis though ... Trespass ('70), Foxtrot ('72) or Nursery Cryme ('71). Although influential, is Days of Future Passed too ethereal to be considered prog in this group ? Floyd of course has it's mass ethereal moments post Barrett but sticks with the themes of prog. But agree that '71-'72 may be late to the game to be considered influential in shaping prog