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Procol Harum - Procol Harum (1967 uk, debut album, psychedelic, progressive rock, 2011 Japan HQCD and2015 deluxe double disc set ) You might make the mistake of thinking 'A Whiter Shade Of Pale' is the only good song on the album, just because it's that notorious. The New Face of Prog Rock In the late ‘60s, not long after the Summer of Love, psychedelic rock’s horizons expanded. As the architects of psych began to envision a sound that existed outside of the influence of blues and country, some unexpected and interesting things began to happen.
Days of Future Passed | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 10 November 1967 | |||
Recorded | 9 May – 3 November 1967 | |||
Studio | Decca Studios, West Hampstead, London | |||
Genre |
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Length | 41:34 | |||
Label | Deram | |||
Producer | ||||
The Moody Blues chronology | ||||
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Singles from Days of Future Passed | ||||
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Days of Future Passed is the second album and first concept album by English prog rock band The Moody Blues, released in November 1967 by Deram Records.[7] With its fusion of orchestral and rock elements, it has been cited as one of the first examples of progressive rock.
The album was recorded at a time when the Moody Blues were suffering financial difficulties and lack of critical and commercial success. Their parent label, Decca Records offered them a chance to record a stereo LP that combined their music with orchestral interludes. They decided to compose a suite of songs about the life of everyday man, with the group and orchestra mostly playing separately and mixed together. It was a moderate success upon release, but following steady radio airplay, particularly of the hit single 'Nights in White Satin', it became a top ten US hit in 1972. It has since been listed among the most important albums of 1967 by Rolling Stone.
- 7Personnel
Background and recording[edit]
The Moody Blues had started out as a rhythm and blues band, but by late 1966, they had run into financial difficulties. New arrival singer and guitarist Justin Hayward said 'we had no money, nothing'.[8] According to the group, in September 1967 they were asked by their record company, Decca to record an adaptation of Antonín Dvořák's Symphony No. 9 for Decca's newly formed Deram Records division in order to demonstrate their latest recording techniques, which were named 'Deramic Sound'.[7] However, recording engineer Derek Varnals disputes this story, claiming that even at the start of the sessions in 1967 there was no intent to record a Dvořák album and that talk of this project did not emerge until the mid-1970s.[9]
Decca had experimented with stereophonic sound for classical recordings, and hoped to capture the pop market in the same way, by interweaving classical recordings with the group's interpretation of the same music.[8] Instead, the band (initially without the label's knowledge) decided to focus on an album based on an original stage show that they'd been working on, and mix that with classical arrangements of those songs.[8][9] Keyboardist Mike Pinder had purchased a Mellotron, a tape replay keyboard, and written a song, 'Dawn Is A Feeling' as a starting point for a concept piece about a day in the life of everyday man. Hayward wrote 'Nights In White Satin' about the changes between one relationship and another, using bedsheets as a metaphor. When Pinder added a string line on the Mellotron to accompany Hayward's basic song framework, the group realised they had written something notable and a suitable ending for the song cycle.[8]
Recording sessions for the album took place at Decca Studios in West Hampstead, London between 9 May and 3 November 1967.[10] The band worked with record producer Tony Clarke, Varnals and conductor Peter Knight.[5] The group recorded and mixed their sessions first, then passed the finished tapes over to Knight for arranging and recording the orchestral interludes.[8]
Content[edit]
The album's music features psychedelic rock[5] ballads by Hayward and Pinder[7] and orchestral interludes by the London Festival Orchestra.[5] The band and the orchestra only actually play together during the last part of 'Nights In White Satin.'[8]
Music writers cite the album as an early example of progressive rock music.[4][11][12] Bill Holdship of Yahoo! Music remarks that the band 'created an entire genre here.'[13]David Fricke cites it as one of the essential albums of 1967 and finds it 'closer to high-art pomp than psychedelia. But there is a sharp pop discretion to the writing and a trippy romanticism in the mirroring effect of the strings and Mike Pinder's Mellotron.'[7]Will Hermes cites the album as an essential progressive rock record and opines that its use of the Mellotron, a tape replay keyboard, made it a 'signature' element of the genre.[14] An influential work of the counterculture period,[15]AllMusic editor Bruce Eder calls the album 'one of the defining documents of the blossoming psychedelic era, and one of the most enduringly popular albums of its era'.[5]
Original and later mixes[edit]
In 1972, it was discovered that the master tapes for Days of Future Passed had deteriorated to a point where only the essential elements of each song remained. As a result of this, the album was remixed in its entirety for reissues between 1978 and 2017.[16] Some compilations, however, have used the original 1967 stereo mix for certain songs.[17] A high-quality needle drop of the entire album's original mix was eventually recovered in its entirety before being released on Compact Disc in November 2017.[citation needed][16]
The ways in which the later mix departs most noticeably from the original are:
- After the orchestral intro, 'Dawn Is a Feeling' begins more abruptly, and there is less echo on Mike Pinder's vocal on the bridge, making it more prominent.
- On 'Another Morning' Ray Thomas's double vocals are spread left and right in the stereo channel. The flute interlude is also played twice towards the end of the song before the orchestral segue.
- The orchestral intro 'Lunch Break' goes on about 20 seconds longer before fading out.
- The bridges to '(Evening) Time to Get Away' have John Lodge singing alone; all the backing vocals on that part have been lost.
- The end of '(Evening) Time to Get Away' is missing a Mellotron part and only repeats twice, instead of three times.
- 'The Sun Set' is missing some piano parts, percussion parts, and the reverb on 'through the night' is different.
- 'Twilight Time' begins more abruptly after the orchestral interlude.
- The backing vocals on 'Twilight Time' are heard through the entire song instead of only coming in at certain points.
- At the beginning of 'Nights in White Satin', as the orchestral prelude ends, there is one less beat of time before the rhythm section starts in.
- Some of the strings near the end of 'Nights in White Satin' (before 'Late Lament') are out of sync with the main body of the song.
Release[edit]
Professional ratings | |
---|---|
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [5] |
The Music Box | [18] |
PopMatters | [19] |
Rolling Stone (1968) | (mixed)[20] |
Rolling Stone (2007) | (favourable)[7] |
Spin | (favourable)[14] |
Sputnikmusic | 5/5[4] |
Uncut | [11] |
Yahoo! Music | (favourable)[13] |
The Moody Blues did not play any of the music to Decca executives until it was complete. Upon the first play, they were disappointed with the result as it was not the Dvorak arrangements they expected. However, Walt Maguire, representative for London Records (Decca's North American arm) thought it would be a strong seller in the US, so it was agreed to release the album as recorded.[8]
Days of Future Passed was released on 10 November 1967 in the UK and 11 November in the US. It reached number 27 in the UK Albums Chart.[21] In the US, it was a steady seller in the late 1960s, helped by FM radio play of 'Nights in White Satin', and eventually peaked at number 3 on the US Billboard chart in 1972.[8][22]
Upon its release, Rolling Stone gave the album an unenthusiastic review, writing 'The Moody Blues [...] have matured considerably since 'Go Now', but their music is constantly marred by one of the most startlingly saccharine conceptions of 'beauty' and 'mysticism' that any rock group has ever affected.'[20]New York Magazine dismissed it as 'a ponderous mound of thought-jello.'[23] The album has since received acclaim; for example, Spin cited it as a classic of progressive rock.[14] By 2007, Rolling Stone, which had originally described Days of Future Passed as 'an English rock group strangling itself in conceptual goo'[24] included it in its list of the essential albums of 1967.[25]
Days of Future Passed was issued as a discrete Quadraphonic open-reel tape in 1977. This master was also used for a 2001 dts 5.1 channel audio CD release and again for a two-disc Deluxe Edition SACD release in 2006.
On 17 November 2017 this original mix was made available for the first time on CD as Days of Future Passed 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition.[16]
Track listing[edit]
All compositions originally credited to 'Redwave-Knight', except 'Dawn Is a Feeling', 'Forever Afternoon (Tuesday)', 'The Sunset' and 'Nights in White Satin'.[26]
Side A | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead Singer | Length |
1. | 'The Day Begins'
| Peter Knight and Graeme Edge | Mike Pinder | 5:50 |
2. | 'Dawn: Dawn Is a Feeling' | Pinder | Justin Hayward and Pinder | 3:48 |
3. | 'The Morning: Another Morning' | Ray Thomas | Thomas | 3:55 |
4. | 'Lunch Break: Peak Hour' | John Lodge | Lodge | 5:33 |
Total length: | 19:08 |
Side B | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead Singer | Length |
1. | 'The Afternoon'
| Hayward and Lodge | Hayward and Lodge | 8:23 |
2. | 'Evening' | Pinder and Thomas | Pinder and Thomas | 6:40 |
3. | 'The Night' | Hayward, Edge and Knight | Hayward and Pinder | 7:24 |
Total length: | 22:27 |
2006 SACD Deluxe Edition bonus disc | |||
---|---|---|---|
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
1. | 'Tuesday Afternoon (Alternate Mix)' | Hayward | 4:20 |
2. | 'Dawn Is a Feeling (Alternate Version)' | Pinder | 2:19 |
3. | 'The Sunset (Alternate Version without Orchestra)' | Pinder | 2:49 |
4. | 'Twilight Time (Alternate Vocal Mix)' | Thomas | 2:27 |
5. | 'Nights in White Satin' (mono mix from single released November 1967) | Hayward | 4:26 |
6. | 'Fly Me High' (recorded 30 March 1967; released as single May 1967) | Hayward | 2:54 |
7. | 'I Really Haven't Got The Time' (recorded 30 March 1967; released as B-side May 1967) | Pinder | 3:07 |
8. | 'Love and Beauty' (recorded 17 July 1967; released as single September 1967) | Pinder | 2:23 |
9. | 'Leave This Man Alone' (recorded 17 July 1967; released as B-side September 1967) | Hayward | 2:58 |
10. | 'Cities' (recorded 17 July 1967; released November 1967 as B-side to 'Nights in White Satin') | Hayward | 2:23 |
11. | 'Long Summer Days' (recorded 19 May 1967 and released on Caught Live + 5) | Hayward | 3:12 |
12. | 'Please Think About It' (recorded 29 June 1967 and released on Caught Live + 5) | Pinder | 3:40 |
13. | 'Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood' (live 9 May 1967 for BBC Saturday Club) | Bennie Benjamin, Gloria Caldwell, Sol Marcus | 2:23 |
14. | 'Love and Beauty' (live 20 September 1967 for BBC Easybeat) | Pinder | 2:12 |
15. | 'Leave This Man Alone' (live 20 September 1967 for BBC Easybeat) | Hayward | 2:52 |
16. | 'Peak Hour' (live 20 September 1967 for BBC Easybeat) | Lodge | 3:22 |
17. | 'Nights in White Satin' (live 1 January 1968 for BBC Dave Symonds) | Hayward | 3:48 |
18. | 'Fly Me High' (live 1 January 1968 for BBC Dave Symonds) | Hayward | 2:45 |
19. | 'Twilight Time' (live 1 January 1968 for BBC Dave Symonds) | Thomas | 2:08 |
2008 single standard CD remaster bonus tracks | |||
---|---|---|---|
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
8. | 'Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood' (live 9 May 1967 for BBC Saturday Club) | Benjamin, Caldwell, Marcus | 2:23 |
9. | 'Fly Me High' (recorded 30 March 1967; released as single May 1967) | Hayward | 2:54 |
10. | 'I Really Haven't Got the Time' (recorded 30 March 1967; released as B-side May 1967) | Pinder | 3:07 |
11. | 'Love and Beauty' (recorded 17 July 1967; released as single September 1967) | Pinder | 2:23 |
12. | 'Leave This Man Alone' (recorded 17 July 1967; released as B-side September 1967) | Hayward | 2:58 |
13. | 'Cities' (recorded 17 July 1967; released November 1967 as B-side to 'Nights in White Satin') | Hayward | 2:23 |
14. | 'Tuesday Afternoon (Alternate Mix)' | Hayward | 4:20 |
15. | 'Dawn Is a Feeling (Alternate Version)' | Pinder | 2:19 |
16. | 'The Sunset (Alternate Version without Orchestra)' | Pinder | 2:49 |
17. | 'Twilight Time (Alternate Vocal Mix)' | Thomas | 2:27 |
2017 Days Of Future Passed (50th anniversary deluxe set)
Disc: 1 – Album & bonus tracks | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead Singer | Length |
1. | 'The Day Begins'
| Peter Knight and Graeme Edge | Mike Pinder | 5:50 |
2. | 'Dawn: Dawn Is a Feeling' | Pinder | Justin Hayward and Pinder | 3:48 |
3. | 'The Morning: Another Morning' | Ray Thomas | Thomas | 3:55 |
4. | 'Lunch Break: Peak Hour' | John Lodge | Lodge | 5:33 |
5. | 'The Afternoon' | Hayward and Lodge | Hayward and Lodge | 8:23 |
6. | 'Evening' | Pinder and Thomas | Pinder and Thomas | 6:40 |
7. | 'The Night' | Hayward, Edge and Knight | Hayward and Pinder | 7:24 |
8. | 'Long Summer Days' (1967 Studio Recordings - bonus track) | 3:15 | ||
9. | 'Please Think About It' (1967 Studio Recordings - bonus track) | 3:44 | ||
10. | 'Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood' (BBC Radio Sessions - bonus track) | 2:24 | ||
11. | 'Love And Beauty' (BBC Radio Sessions - bonus track) | 2:13 | ||
12. | 'Leave This Man Alone' (BBC Radio Sessions - bonus track) | 2:53 | ||
13. | 'Peak Hour' (BBC Radio Sessions - bonus track) | 3:22 | ||
14. | 'Nights In White Satin' (BBC Radio Sessions - bonus track) | 3:49 | ||
15. | 'Fly Me High' (BBC Radio Sessions - bonus track) | 2:46 | ||
16. | 'Twilight Time' (BBC Radio Sessions - bonus track) | 2:08 |
Disc: 2 – Alternate Versions and Outtakes | ||
---|---|---|
No. | Title | Length |
1. | 'THE DAY BEGINS' | 5:51 |
2. | 'DAWN: Dawn Is A Feeling' | 3:49 |
3. | 'THE MORNING: Another Morning' | 3:56 |
4. | 'LUNCH BREAK: Peak Hour' | 5:29 |
5. | 'THE AFTERNOON: Forever Afternoon (Tuesday?) / Time To Get Away' | 8:23 |
6. | 'EVENING: The Sun Set: Twilight Time' | 6:40 |
7. | 'THE NIGHT: Nights In White Satin' | 7:28 |
8. | 'Tuesday Afternoon' (Alternate Mix) | 4:20 |
9. | 'DAWN: Dawn Is A Feeling' (Alternate Mix) | 2:20 |
10. | 'The Sun Set' (Alternate Version without orchestra) | 2:50 |
11. | 'Twilight Time' (Original vocal mix) | 2:28 |
12. | 'Fly Me High' (A – side single) | 2:55 |
13. | 'I Really Haven’t Got The Time' (B – side single) | 3:08 |
14. | 'Love And Beauty' (A – side single) | 2:25 |
15. | 'Leave This Man Alone' (B – Side single) | 3:00 |
16. | 'Nights In White Satin' (A – side single) | 4:29 |
17. | 'Cities' (B – side single) | 2:24 |
Disc: 3 – DVD 5. 1 Surround Sound Mix & 96kHz / 24 – bit 1967 stereo mix | ||
---|---|---|
No. | Title | Length |
1. | 'The Day Begins' (5.1 Surround Sound Mix) | 5:33 |
2. | 'Dawn: Dawn Is A Feeling' (5.1 Surround Sound Mix) | 3:46 |
3. | 'The Morning: Another Morning' (5.1 Surround Sound Mix) | 4:03 |
4. | 'Lunch Break: Peak Hour' (5.1 Surround Sound Mix) | 7:40 |
5. | 'The Afternoon' (5.1 Surround Sound Mix) | 8:26 |
6. | 'Evening' (5.1 Surround Sound Mix) | 6:39 |
7. | 'The Night' (5.1 Surround Sound Mix) | 7:39 |
8. | 'The Day Begins' (24 – bit 1967 stereo mix) | 5:47 |
9. | 'Dawn: Dawn Is A Feeling' (24 – bit 1967 stereo mix) | 3:47 |
10. | 'The Morning: Another Morning' (24 – bit 1967 stereo mix) | 3:40 |
11. | 'Lunch Break: Peak Hour' (24 – bit 1967 stereo mix) | 5:15 |
12. | 'The Afternoon' (24 – bit 1967 stereo mix) | 8:25 |
13. | 'Evening' (24 – bit 1967 stereo mix) | 6:37 |
14. | 'The Night' (24 – bit 1967 stereo mix) | 7:39 |
15. | 'Introduction' (Live MIDEM 1968-01-24) | 1:19 |
16. | 'Peak Hour' (Live MIDEM 1968-01-24) | 4:08 |
17. | 'Forever Afternoon (Tuesday?)' (Live MIDEM 1968-01-24) | 5:27 |
18. | 'Nights in White Satin' (Live MIDEM 1968-01-24) | 4:42 |
Chart positions[edit]
- Album
Year | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|
1967 | UK Albums Chart | 27[21] |
1972 | Billboard 200 | 3[22] |
- Singles
Year | Single | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|---|
1967 | 'Nights in White Satin' | UK Singles Chart | 19[27] |
1968 | 'Tuesday Afternoon' | Billboard Hot 100 | 24 |
1972 | 'Nights in White Satin' | UK Singles Chart | 9[28] |
Billboard Hot 100 | 2 |
Personnel[edit]
Musicians[edit]
The Moody Blues:
- Mike Pinder - mellotron, piano, tambura, gong, vocals (including spoken)
- Ray Thomas - flutes, percussion, piano, vocals
- Justin Hayward - acoustic & electric guitars, piano, sitar, vocals
- John Lodge - bass, vocals
- Graeme Edge - drums, percussion, vocals
- Peter Knight – conducting, arrangements
- The London Festival Orchestra[29]
Production[edit]
- Tony Clarke – production
- Derek Varnals – engineering
- Hugh Mendl – executive production, liner notes
- Michael Dacre-Barclay - production
- David Anstey – cover design, cover painting
- Steven Fallone – digital remastering
References[edit]
- ^Murphy, Sean (21 November 2014). 'Masters of the Mini Epic'. PopMatters.
- ^DeRiso, Nick (n.d.). '1967's Best Rock Albums'. Ultimate Guitar.
- ^James E. Perone (2012). The Album: A Guide to Pop Music's Most Provocative, Influential, and Important Creations. ABC-CLIO. p. 117. ISBN978-0-313-37906-2.
- ^ abcSowingSeason (11 March 2011). 'The Moody Blues - Days of Future Passed (staff review)'. Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
- ^ abcdefEder, Bruce. 'allmusic ((( Days of Future Passed > Overview )))'. AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 11 October 2009.
- ^Will Romano (1 September 2010). Mountains Come Out of the Sky: The Illustrated History of Prog Rock. Backbeat Books. p. 34. ISBN978-1-61713-375-6.
- ^ abcdeChristgau, Robert; Fricke, David (12 July 2007). 'The 40 Essential Albums of 1967'. Rolling Stone. Jann S. Wenner. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
- ^ abcdefgh'50 Years Ago: Moody Blues Broke Rules'. Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
- ^ ab'Sound On Sound (Classic Tracks: The Moody Blues 'Nights In White Satin')'. www.soundonsound.com. Retrieved 17 August 2010.
- ^'Moody Blues - Days of Future Passed CD Album'. CD Universe. Muze. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
- ^ ab'Review: Days of Future Passed'. Uncut. London: IPC Media: 120. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
- ^Classic Rock, July 2010, Issue 146.
- ^ abHoldship, Bill. 'The Moody Blues Reviews'. Yahoo! Music. Yahoo!. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-29.
- ^ abcHermes, Will (January 2004). 'Essential Prog Rock'. Spin. Vol. 20 no. 1. Vibe/Spin Ventures. p. 48. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
- ^Macan, Edward. (1996).Rocking the Classics: English Progressive Rock and the Counterculture. Oxford University Press. ISBN0195098889.
- ^ abc'The Moody Blues Days of Future Passed 50TH Anniversary Deluxe Edition'. The Moody Blues. 5 October 2017. Archived from the original on 30 December 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
- ^'Moody Blues - Days of Future Passed Original Mix question'. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
- ^Metzger, John. 'Moody Blues - Days of Future Passed (Surround Sound Album Review)'. Music Box Magazine. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
- ^Sawdey, Evan (23 October 2008). 'The Moody Blues: Days of Future Passed | PopMatters'. PopMatters. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
- ^ abMiller, Jim (7 December 1968). 'The Moody Blues: Days of Future Passed : Music Reviews'. Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 6 June 2008. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
- ^ ab'Moody Blues | Full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company'. Official Charts. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
- ^ ab'The Moody Blues – Chart History | Billboard'. Billboard. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
- ^Mojo Magazine, February 2019, pg. 43
- ^Mojo Magazine, February 2019, pg. 43
- ^'50 Essential Albums of 1967'. Rolling Stone. 2007. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
- ^Days of Future Passed (Media notes). Deram. 1967. SML 707.
- ^'Chart Stats - The Moody Blues - Nights In White Satin'. www.chartstats.com. Retrieved 11 October 2009.
- ^Roberts, David, ed. (2005). British Hit Singles and Albums. Guinness World Records Ltd. ISBN1-904994-10-5.
- ^John, Gilliland,. 'Show 49 - The British are Coming! The British are Coming!: With an emphasis on Donovan, the Bee Gees and the Who. [Part 6]'. Digital Library. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
- Reed, John (1999). 'Days of Future Passed Re-release liner notes'. London, England: The Decca Record Co. Ltd.
External links[edit]
- Days of Future Passed at Discogs (list of releases)
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Days_of_Future_Passed&oldid=903582775'
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ProgressiveRock
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Primary Stylistic Influences:- Psychedelic Rock, Classical Music, Jazz, Folk Music
- Blues, Avant Garde Music, Electronic Music and numerous other genres
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A subset of rock music noteworthy for its intricate arrangements and experimental sound. Originating in the late 1960s, 'Prog Rock' often combines stylistic elements from Classical, Jazz, Folk or sometimes electronic implementations, uses non-standard song structures (including complex rhythms and time signatures) and complex instrumental orchestrations, and frequently employ lyrics which are abstract or fantasy-based.
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In the early days of the movement — i.e. The '60s — 'underground' was the common name for this genre of this music. This is at least in part because it was largely heard at college and community FM stations in the U.S., and on the left-hand (non-commercial) side of the dial at that, in contrast to what some regarded as overly-commercialized pop still heard on stations all along the AM dial. But 'underground' as a term came under fire from Moral Guardians who condemned its connections to drugs, sex and revolution. By 1980, the Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll was referring to it as 'art rock,' and still later 'progressive' replaced that, reflecting the creators' feeling that their music was constantly evolving.
The original idea was to bring some of the sophistication of 'legitimate' musical styles to rock, which was still widely regarded as disposable pop. Precursors included the works of Frank Zappa (with and without the Mothers of Invention), especially 1967's Absolutely Free, which consisted of two side-long suites borrowing liberally from classical music (especially the works of Igor Stravinsky) and including a mini-Rock Opera, 'Brown Shoes Don't Make It' (described as a 'condensed two-hour musical'), The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, whose (loose) concept influenced many bands, The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds and 'Good Vibrations', whose complicated and unorthodox arrangements and creative, eclectic instrumentation influenced a wide variety of bands, The Moody Blues' Days of Future Passed, whose use of an orchestra would influence many other bands to do the same, and Deep Purple's Concerto for Group and Orchestra, another early case of a rock band collaborating with an orchestra. But the unquestioned Trope Codifier was King Crimson, whose 1969 début album In the Court of the Crimson King proved to be both commercially successful and influential on the genre.
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Classically-trained musicians such as Keith Emerson and Rick Wakeman started to be drawn to rock, and they brought their repertoire with them. (An early influencer was Doug Ingle of Iron Butterfly, who'd put his classical/church organ background to work on 'In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida'.) This is where Prog gets its modern image of classically-influenced songs with many extended solos.
More broadly, Prog or Art Rock was used to refer to any attempt to elevate rock from its lowbrow image. This could include pop music with experimental elements (10cc and Roxy Music), and bands that used orchestral instruments (Electric Light Orchestra). Some bands fused with other styles: Jethro Tull were based on folk music, and the Canterbury bands leaned toward modern jazz.
Prog was largely a British phenomenon, although Kansas and Rush were significant examples from America and Canada, respectively. The most commercially successful progressive rock band was Pink Floyd, whose 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon famously has spent more than over 30 years on the charts and has sold tens of millions of copies, holding the rather impressive distinction of being the third bestselling album in history.
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Critics usually dismissed these bands as being 'pretentious' (For a long time, Pink Floyd and King Crimson were the only progressive rock bands many rock critics would admit to liking, although the former received their fair share of critical drubbings at the time). Some people just want to have a good time, and prog bands sometimes took themselves far too seriously. Perhaps the most notorious offender was Yes' Tales from Topographic Oceans album: it was seen by many as a clear drop in quality from their previous efforts. By stretching a total of four songs over two LPs, even most progressive rock listeners found it to be an exhausting experience to listen to. The economic malaise that set in later in the '70s made prog rock, with its idealism and fantasy-derived lyrics, look out of touch and elitist.
The rise and fall of progressive rock parallels the New Hollywood movement in film: ambitious creators using their newfound creative freedom at the start of the '70s to create beloved masterpieces before collapsing under the weight of their own pretensions by the end of the decade.
The rise of New Wave and Punk Rock as the new truly 'underground' genres was in large part a reaction to the genre; ironically, it was mostly exhausted by The '80s anyway, with some of the genre's biggest names including Yes, Genesis, and Rush shifting toward a more radio-friendly sound and making music videos in The '80s, to great commercial success. King Crimson, who had broken up in 1974, reunited in 1981 with a new lineup and a new sound that was closer to Post-Punk than it was to classic prog. The 1982 debut album of the prog supergroup Asia had radio-ready singles that were huge hits, but was considered the final nail in the coffin for the genre from a critical standpoint. Still other prog bands like Emerson, Lake & Palmer, 10cc and Jethro Tull either disbanded or saw their popularity wane considerably. Pink Floyd was an exception as they continued to sell millions of records and sell out arenas/stadiums while keeping their sound intact, although even they weren't afraid to embrace MTV and all the new recording tech that developed throughout the decade. It didn't hurt that the band had already developed a distinctive visual identity through its Hipgnosis covers and live shows. Likewise, former Genesis leader Peter Gabriel kept his prog sensibilities even as he became a solo superstar, blending the style with other genres like new wave, funk and worldbeat.
While the titular band wasn't a prog rock band, This Is Spın̈al Tap mocked many of prog's tropes, including overlong improvisations, concert theatrics, half-baked fantasy lyrics and classical influences, which showed how far the genre had fallen by the start of the 1980s.
There was a sub genre that came in the mid-80s called neo-prog, which was basically bands trying to emulate the '70s progressive rock sound with '80s production and a few power ballads here and there. Marillion, IQ, and Spock's Beard were a few examples of neo-prog. Despite prog rock's lack of popularity in the 1980s, its influence could be heard in the music of artists from other genres, such as art rock singer-songwriter Kate Bush, post-punk group Cardiacs, alternative pioneers Talking Heads, psychedelic jam band Phish, and metal act Queensrÿche. Ironically, Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon was a fan of prog rock, which his band supposedly helped make irrelevant, and the genre was a major influence on his next band Public Image Ltd..
Prog experienced a rebirth around the mid '90s with Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree, Tool and Radiohead being some of the new bands to emerge, and the classic bands that 'went pop' in the '80s started to return to what made them famous initially. Yes reunited with the classic 'Anderson, Howe, Squire, Wakeman, and White' lineup, Genesis tried to go back to a more complex sound on the Phil Collins-less Calling All Stations and failedmiserably, and many more bands went back to the longer songs, Epic Rocking, and weird lyrics. Progressive rock continued to have a following well into the 2000s and 2010s, with bands like The Mars Volta, Muse, Coheed and Cambria and Umphrey's McGee all achieving some form of success in those decades. Porcupine Tree leader Steven Wilson also established himself as both a popular solo artist and as the go-to producer for many classic prog bands looking to remaster their back catalogs.
Prog rock was one of the originators, and certainly one of the main motivators, of the Concept Album.
See also Progressive Metal for when prog gets heavy, and Technical Death Metal for when prog gets even heavier. Krautrock is a somewhat more Teutonic variant, which is sometimes considered a subgenre of progressive rock and sometimes its own (albeit related) genre. Also compare Baroque Pop, which has been described as being to pop music what prog is to rock. The genre influenced the development of various forms of Alternative Rock, especially Post-Rock and Math Rock, which are sometimes regarded as modern-day successors to the genre. (When alternative rock surfaced on College Radio in the '80s, one of the terms used to describe the music was 'progressive.') Prog has also had an influence on Electronic Music and Ambient music, and it has had a parallel evolution with Space Rock and Psychedelic Rock, to the point where the boundaries between them are frequently quite nebulous.
Notable Progressive Rock acts include and are labeled with their respective sub-genre according to the ProgArchives, as well as prog albums with their own pages:
- 10cc, in the Godley & Creme era (Prog Related/Progressive Pop)
- 3 (New Prog, Eclectic Prog)
- Aghora (Tech/Extreme Prog Metal)
- The Alan Parsons Project (Symphonic Prog)
- 1977 - I, Robot
- Amon Düül II (Krautrock)
- Tori Amos (Crossover Prog)
- 1992 - Little Earthquakes
- Amplifier (Psychedelic/Space Rock)
- Anathema (Alternative/Post-Progressive)
- Anekdoten (Heavy Prog)
- Änglagård (Symphonic Prog)
- Aphrodites Child (Psychedelic/Space Rock)
- Area (Progressivo Italiano)
- Arena (Neo-Prog with Progressive Metal leanings)
- Ash Ra Tempel (Krautrock)
- Asia (Prog Related)
- Atomic Rooster (Heavy Prog)
- Ayreon (Progressive Metal)
- Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso (Progressivo Italiano)
- Isaac Baranoff (Crossover Prog)
- Syd Barrett (Prog Related)
- 1970 - The Madcap Laughs
- 1970 - Barrett
- Be-Bop Deluxe (Crossover Prog)
- Matt Berry (Psychedelic/Prog Folk)
- Between the Buried and Me (Tech/Extreme Prog Metal)
- Biffy Clyro (Alternative/Post-Hardcore/New Prog)
- Big Big Train (Symphonic Prog, Post-Prog)
- Biglietto per l'Inferno (Progressivo Italiano)
- Black Crown Initiate (Progressive Death Metal)
- Blue Öyster Cult, mostly on Secret Treaties and Imaginos (Prog Related)
- 1974 - Secret Treaties
- 1976 - Agents of Fortune
- 1977 - Spectres
- Kate Bush (Crossover Prog)
- 1985 - Hounds Of Love
- David Byrne (Crossover Prog, mainly on his soundtrack The Catherine Wheel)
- John Cale, on some releases (Prog Related)
- Camel (Symphonic Prog)
- Can (Krautrock)
- Captain Beefheart (RIO/Avant-Prog according to PA, though some of his early material, especially Mirror Man, may fit Psychedelic/Space Rock better)
- 1967 - Safe as Milk
- 1968 - Strictly Personal
- 1969 - Trout Mask Replica
- 1970 - Lick My Decals Off, Baby
- 1974 - Bluejeans & Moonbeams
- 1974 - Unconditionally Guaranteed
- 1975 - Bongo Fury (with Frank Zappa)
- 1978 - Shiny Beast
- 1980 - Doc at the Radar Station
- 1982 - Ice Cream for Crow
- Cardiacs (Avant-Prog/Rock in Opposition; one of the earliest cases of a band combining this with Punk Rock and Post-Punk)
- Caravan (Canterbury Scene)
- Chicago (Jazz Rock/Fusion; only qualifies as prog on early releases and Chicago VII)
- Children Of Nova (Neo-Prog)
- CHON (Instrumental Prog and Jazz Fusion, also has some minor elements of Post-Hardcore)
- Circa Survive (New Prog, also Post-Hardcore and Emo)
- Circle Takes The Square (Tech/Extreme Prog Metal according to Prog Archives, but they're borderline impossible to categorise and it should be noted that they don't actually have a page on Metal Archives. They also have elements of grindcore, Post-Hardcore, screamo, Post-Rock, and Folk Music in their sound, but they are undeniably a prog band, albeit an unusually Genre-Busting example even by the standards of the genre)
- Citizen Cain (Symphonic Prog)
- Coheed and Cambria (Crossover Prog; sometimes Progressive Metal)
- Colosseum and their later incarnation Colosseum II (Jazz Rock/Fusion)
- Comus (Prog Folk)
- Conception (Progressive Metal)
- Miles Davis (Jazz Rock/Fusion)
- Kind of Blue (1959)
- Sketches of Spain (1960)
- Bitches Brew (1970)
- Dead Can Dance (Prog Folk)
- Dead Letter Circus (Neo-Prog)
- The Dear Hunter (Crossover Prog)
- The Decemberists, sometimes (Prog Folknote )
- Deep Purple recorded at least two 'band and orchestra' albums in the late 1960s (Symphonic Prog)
- Concerto for Group and Orchestra (1969)
- Devil Doll (Symphonic/Avant-Garde Prog, with strong Goth Rock influence)
- The Dixie Dregs, nominally a Southern Rock band (Jazz Rock/Fusion)
- Dream Theater (Progressive Metal)
- Images and Words (1992)
- Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory (1999)
- The Astonishing (2016)
- Dockers Guild (Neo-Prog)
- Egg (Canterbury Scene)
- Electric Light Orchestra (at least their pre-Discovery stuff) (Crossover Prog)
- Eloy (Space Rock)
- Emerson, Lake & Palmer (Symphonic Prog)
- Pictures at an Exhibition (1971)
- Brian Eno (Progressive Electronic)
- Here Come the Warm Jets (1974)
- Ambient 1: Music for Airports (1978)
- Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks (1983)
- Enslaved (Tech/Extreme Prog Metal)
- Exist (Progressive Metal, Jazz Fusion)
- Extreme ( Progressive Funk / Hair Metal )
- Fairport Convention (Prog Folk, though Prog Archives itself lists them as Prog Related)
- Fair to Midland (Crossover Prog)
- The Fall of Troy (Heavy Prog, although they're a slight case of Neoclassical Punk Zydeco Rockabilly and also count as Post-Hardcore and other styles)
- Fates Warning (Progressive Metal)
- Faust (Krautrock)
- The Flower Kings (Symphonic Prog)
- Flower Travellin' Band (Heavy Prog, also arguably an Ur-Example for metal along with Black Sabbath)
- Focus (Symphonic Prog)
- Frost* (Neo-Prog)
- John Frusciante (former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist)
- Peter Gabriel (Crossover Prog)
- So (1986)
- Gazpacho (Crossover Prog)
- Genesis up to Wind & Wuthering (and the occasional song afterward) (Symphonic Prog; probably best categorised as Crossover Prog on later material)
- 'Supper's Ready' (from Foxtrot, 1972)
- Selling England by the Pound (1973)
- The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974)
- Gentle Giant (Eclectic Prog)
- Goblin (Eclectic Prog)
- Golden Earring (Prog Related)
- Gong (Canterbury Scene in the Daevid Allen era; Jazz/Rock Fusion in the Pierre Moerlen era)
- Gordian Knot (Experimental/Post-Metal and Jazz-Rock/Fusion)
- Steve Hackett (Eclectic Prog)
- Haken (Progressive Metal as well)
- Herbie Hancock (Jazz Rock/Fusion)
- Head Hunters (1973)
- Future Shock (1983)
- Roy Harper (Prog Folk)
- Hatfield And The North (Canterbury Scene)
- Hawkwind (Psychedelic Rock/Space Rock)
- Henry Cow (Avant-Prog/Canterbury Scene/Rock in Opposition)
- His Name Is Alive (Symphonic prog and psych rock on Tecuciztecatl, heavy prog and space rock on Patterns of Light; Their earlier material ranges from Dream Pop to jazz rock)
- Il Balletto di Bronzo (Progressivo Italiano)
- In Lingua Mortua (Tech/Extreme Prog Metal; mixes Black Metal with a fair amount of '70s-style symphonic prog influence largely thanks to keyboardist Lars Fredrik Frøislie [also of Wobbler]'s vast array of vintage synthesizers)
- IQ (Neo-Prog)
- Jadis (Neo-Prog)
- Los Jaivas (Prog Folk, Avant-garde Music)
- Jethro Tull (Prog Folk; sometimes overlaps with Heavy Prog, arguably)
- Aqualung (1971)
- Journey prior to 1978 (Prog/Fusion)
- Kaipa (Symphonic Prog)
- Kansas: a relative rarity who could compose successful commercial songs, but whose core material was more similar to Yes or King Crimson. Later overlapped with Christian Rock (Symphonic Prog)
- Karnivool (Heavy Prog/New Prog)
- Music/Kayak (Crossover Prog)Probably the Dutch version of Supertramp.
- Kayo Dot (listed as RIO/Avant-Prog on their Prog Archives page, although this really depends on the release)
- Khan (Canterbury Scene)
- Hiroki Kikuta (his arrangement album Secret of Mana +, an unambiguous example of the genre, is probably best classified as Progressive Electronic or perhaps Eclectic Prog. Prog is a major influence on the rest of his work as well, though not all of it falls into the genre)
- King Crimson (Eclectic Prog)
- In the Court of the Crimson King (1969)
- Koenjihyakkei (Zeuhl)
- Kraftwerk (Progressive Electronic)
- Autobahn (1974)
- Trans-Europe Express (1977)
- The Man-Machine (1978)
- Computer World (1981)
- Leprous (Progressive Rock/Metal, started off as Ihsahn's backing band)
- Liquid Tension Experiment (Progressive Rock/Metal/Jazz Fusion)
- Arjen Anthony Lucassen (Crossover Prog/Progressive Metal)
- 1995-current - Ayreon
- 2012 - Lost in the New Real
- Magma (Avant-Prog/Zeuhl; Trope Maker and Trope Namer for Zeuhl)
- Mahavishnu Orchestra (Jazz Rock/Fusion)
- Marillion (Neo-Prog)
- Marmozets (New-Prog)
- The Mars Volta (Heavy Prog, though they're a Genre-Busting example even by prog standards and also have elements of Post-Hardcore [the principal style of predecessor At the Drive-In], jazz fusion, Latin jazz, metal, electronic music, space rock/psychedelia, and other styles; they're also pretty notorious practitioners of Genre Roulette)
- Mastodon (early releases are Tech/Extreme Prog Metal; with exceptions for a few songs, Crack the Skye and later albums may be closer to straight-up Prog Metal)
- The Mayan Factor (Crossover Prog)
- Meat Loaf (Similar to Styx and Queen in that he's more pop oriented than most Prog artists, but with its intricate arrangements, epic song lengths, and grandiose ambition, Bat Out of Hell is a key 70's Progressive Rock Opera, produced by cult U.S. prog musician Todd Rundgren. Meat Loaf probably best qualifies as Prog Related or Crossover Prog.)
- Men Of Lake (Progressivo Italiano)
- Joni Mitchell on her mid-late '70s albums (Jazz Folk/Fusion; only albums that fit this style are listed)
- 1974 - Court and Spark
- 1975 - The Hissing of Summer Lawns
- 1976 - Hejira
- 1977 - Don Juan's Reckless Daughter
- 1979 - Mingus
- 1980 - Shadows and Light (live album)
- Neal Morse (Christian Progressive Rock)
- Mountain (Crossover Prog)
- Mudvayne (Progressive Metal)
- LD 50 (2000)
- The End Of All Things To Come (2002)
- Lost and Found (2005)
- The New Game (2008)
- Mudvayne (2009)
- Muse (Prog-Related/New Prog)
- National Health (Canterbury Scene)
- Nektar (Crossover Prog/Symphonic Prog)
- Neu! (Krautrock)
- Joanna Newsom (Progressive Folk)
- The Nice; Keith Emerson's first group before he joined Emerson, Lake & Palmer (Symphonic Prog)
- Oceansize (Space Rock according to PA, but it really depends on the song/album; some of their material could also qualify as Eclectic Prog, Post-Rock, or Heavy Prog, almost bordering on Progressive Metal sometimes)
- Mike Oldfield (Eclectic Prog, most often crossing over with World Music or New Wave Music)
- 1973 - Tubular Bells
- Opeth (Tech/Extreme Prog Metal; genre shifted to symphonic prog starting with Heritage)
- Orphaned Land (Experimental/Post-Metal)
- Pallas (Neo-Prog, later Progressive Metal)
- Pendragon (Neo-Prog)
- Phish (Crossover Prog/Jazz/Blues/Funk/Psychedelic/etc.) - they were at their proggiest in the late 80s and early 90s, but they still utilize unconventional time-signatures, glissandi and other techniques typically associated with prog. They also are largely known for their Epic Rocking and improvisation, with many recorded jams stretching over the 30 minute mark.
- Pink Floyd (Space Rock according to Progarchives, but that only applies to the early stuff; later stuff is probably best classified as Symphonic Prog)
- 1967 - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
- 1968 - A Saucerful of Secrets
- 1969 - More
- 1969 - Ummagumma
- 1970 - Atom Heart Mother
- 1971 - Meddle
- 1972 - Obscured by Clouds
- 1973 - The Dark Side of the Moon
- 1975 - Wish You Were Here
- 1977 - Animals
- 1979 - The Wall
- 1983 - The Final Cut
- 1987 - A Momentary Lapse of Reason
- 1994 - The Division Bell
- 2014 - The Endless River
- Porcupine Tree (Heavy Prog; but most of what you can say about Floyd can also be said - and has also been said, some of it by Steven Wilson himself - about Porcupine Tree; later became Progressive Metal)
- Premiata Forneria Marconi (Progressivo Italiano)
- The Pretty Things
- S.F. Sorrow (1968)
- Procol Harum (Crossover/Symphonic Prog)
- Proyecto Eskhata (mixed with Rap Metal)
- Puya (Progressive Metal/Jazz Fusion)
- Quatermass (Progressive/Hard rock)
- Queen (Prog Related/Heavy Prog) Early stuff, but would switch later on.
- Queen (1973)
- Queen II (1974)
- Sheer Heart Attack (1974)
- A Night at the Opera (1975)
- A Day at the Races (1976)
- News of the World (1977)
- A Kind of Magic (1986)
- The Miracle (1989)
- Innuendo (1991)
- Queensrÿche (Progressive Metal)
- Operation: Mindcrime (1988)
- Radiohead (While some people, including the band themselves, may dispute their categorisation as a prog band, Prog Archives itself includes them as a Crossover Prog act)
- 1995 - The Bends
- 1997 - OK Computer
- 2000 - Kid A
- 2001 - Amnesiac
- 2003 - Hail to the Thief
- 2007 - In Rainbows
- 2011 - The King of Limbs
- 2016 - A Moon Shaped Pool
- The Receiving End Of Sirens (could qualify as Crossover Prog, Prog Related, or possibly Space Rock, mixed with Post-Hardcore, Emo, Ambient, and a few other genres; The Dear Hunter's Casey Crescenzo got his start here)
- Renaissance (Symphonic Prog)
- The Residents (Avant-Prog, more precisely Neoclassical Punk Zydeco Rockabilly)
- Jorge Reyes (Originally of the Mexican Psychedelic Rock scene, later Avant-Prog/Prog-Folk)
- Rishloo (Crossover Prog)
- Riverside (Progressive Metal)
- Roxy Music (Crossover Prog)
- For Your Pleasure (1973)
- Jordan Rudess (PA lists him as Crossover Prog, but he's really an extreme practitioner of Genre Roulette and his sound can vary widely from release to release)
- Ruins (Zeuhl)
- Todd Rundgren, especially with Utopia (PA lists Rundgren as Crossover Prog and Utopia as Eclectic Prog, but both are, again, extreme practitioners of Genre Roulette)
- Rush (Heavy Prog on their late 70's albums; albums since the turn of the millennium may qualify as straight-up Progressive Metal)
- Rush (1974)
- Fly By Night (1975)
- Caress Of Steel (1975)
- 2112 (1976)
- A Farewell to Kings (1977)
- Hemispheres (1978)
- Permanent Waves (1980)
- Moving Pictures (1981)
- Signals (1982)
- Grace Under Pressure (1984)
- Power Windows (1985)
- Hold Your Fire (1987)
- Presto (1989)
- Roll the Bones (1991)
- Counterparts (1993)
- Test for Echo (1996)
- Vapor Trails (2002)
- Snakes and Arrows (2007)
- Clockwork Angels (2012)
- Saga (Symphonic Prog)
- Motoi Sakuraba (Symphonic Prog; he was part of a few bands before doing video games)
- Santana (Jazz Rock/Fusion)
- Abraxas (1970)
- Shaman (2002)
- Joe Satriani (well, some of his work, at least) (Heavy Prog)
- Shining (Norway) (classified as RIO/Avant-Prog on Prog Archives, but it really depends on the release; early albums are straight-up acoustic jazz, while their work from 2010 onward mostly qualifies as Tech/Extreme Prog Metal)
- Soft Machine (Canterbury Scene)
- Sound Horizon (Symphonic Prog) Usually.)
- Sparks (Crossover Prog)
- Kimono My House (1974)
- No. 1 in Heaven (1979)
- Lil' Beethoven (2002)
- Spock's Beard (Symphonic Prog)
- Styx, a poppier version of the sound, but progressive nonetheless (Crossover Prog)
- Status Quo (their early albums/Crossover Prog)
- Steely Dan (Jazz-Rock/Fusion)
- Supertramp (Crossover Prog)
- Symphony X (Progressive Metal)
- Talking Heads (Prog Related)
- Talking Heads: 77(1977)
- More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978)
- Fear of Music (1979)
- Remain in Light (1980)
- Speaking in Tongues (1983)
- Stop Making Sense (1984)
- Little Creatures (1985)
- True Stories (1986)
- Naked (1988)
- Thank You Scientist (Crossover Prog, albeit a particularly Genre-Busting example)
- 30 Seconds to Mars
- This Is War (2009)
- This Heat (Experimental/Avant-Prog)
- Deceit (1981)
- Threshold (Progressive Metal)
- Throbbing Gristle (Progressive Electronic)
- Tool (Experimental/Post-Metal)
- Transatlantic (Symphonic Prog)
- Trans-Siberian Orchestra (Crossover Prog)
- Beethoven's Last Night (2000)
- Triumvirat (Symphonic Prog)
- Twelfth Night (Neo-Prog)
- Nobuo Uematsu with his bands The Black Mages and Earthbound Papas (Progressive Metal. Also, some of his video game soundtracks could be considered Progressive Electronic, particularly Final Fantasy VI with its seventeen-minute final battle song and its twenty-one-minute ending theme)
- U.K. (Eclectic Prog)
- Ulver, on some releases (defined by PA as Post-Rock/Math Rock, though it really depends on the release)
- Umphrey's McGee (Improg)
- Underground Zero (Psychedelic Rock, Hawkwind-style)
- Univers Zero (Avant-Prog/Rock In Opposition)
- Uriah Heep (Heavy Prog)
- Steve Vai (Prog Related)
- Van Der Graaf Generator, even if they themselves dispute this (Eclectic Prog)
- Virus (Avant-Prog/Experimental Rock)
- Voivod (Progressive Metal, early material was Speed Metal)
- Watchtower (Progressive Metal)
- Roger Waters
- Is This the Life We Really Want? (2017)
- The Who (Proto-prog)
- My Generation (1965)
- A Quick One (1966)
- The Who Sell Out (1967)
- Tommy (1969)
- Who's Next (1971)
- Quadrophenia (1973)
- Steven Wilson (Crossover Prog, Post-Progressive)
- Wobbler (Symphonic Prog, though they have strong influence from Rock Progressivo Italiano [despite not being Italian] and occasionally throw in metal riffs when they want to rock out)note
- Robert Wyatt (Canterbury Scene, Jazz Fusion)
- Yellow Magic Orchestra (Progressive Electronic)
- Yes (Symphonic Prog)
- YUP
- Toppatakkeja Ja Toledon Terasta (1994)
- Frank Zappa has been described as such (Avant Prog)
- Freak Out (1966)
- Absolutely Free (1967)
- Lumpy Gravy (1968)
- We're Only in It for the Money (1968)
- Cruising with Ruben & the Jets (1968)
- Uncle Meat (1969)
- Hot Rats (1969)
- Burnt Weeny Sandwich (1970)
- Weasels Ripped My Flesh (1970)
- Chunga's Revenge (1970)
- Fillmore East, June 1971 (1971)
- 200 Motels (1971)
- Just Another Band from L.A. (1972)
- Waka/Jawaka (1972)
- The Grand Wazoo (1972)
- Over-Nite Sensation (1973)
- Apostrophe (') (1974)
- Roxy & Elsewhere (1974)
- One Size Fits All (1975)
- Bongo Fury (1975, with Captain Beefheart)
- Zoot Allures (1976)
- Zappa in New York (1978)
- Studio Tan (1978)
- Sleep Dirt (1978)
- Sheik Yerbouti (1979)
- Orchestral Favorites (1979)
- Joe's Garage (1979)
- Tinseltown Rebellion (1981)
- Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar (1981)
- You Are What You Is (1981)
- Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch (1982)
- The Man From Utopia (1983)
- Them or Us (1984)
- Thing-Fish (1984)
- Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention (1985)
- Does Humor Belong in Music? (1986)
- Guitar (1988)
- Broadway the Hard Way (1988)
- The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life (1991)
- Make a Jazz Noise Here (1991)
- Läther (1996)
- Zombi (Eclectic Prog, Synthwave)
Tropes frequently associated with progressive rock include:
- Artifact Title: One explanation for the genre's name is that it came from the 'progressive' FM radio stations it was played on in the U.S. These were so-called because the DJs would, between playing the bands' latest magna opera, spend almost as much time as the songs themselves took to play discussing politics from a progressive (i.e., very leftish) perspective. The name for the subgenre has remained even as the stations became increasingly all about the music and left the politics behind, and even as FM radio of the early 1970s evolved into today's Classic Rock format. This explanation, however, is disputed; another holds that the progressive rock genre and the progressive rock radio format got their names separately, and that the genre was named because it was perceived to be 'progressing' rock music. In this explanation the genre got its name from 'progressive pop', which was used at the time to describe what today is generally known as Baroque Pop, and it later became a synonym for rock music in general.
- Artistic Stimulation: Coming out of Psychedelic Rock, LSD and marijuana were popular among musicians and fans of the genre.
- Auteur License: During the heyday of prog in the early '70s, labels gave artists an amount of artistic freedom that they haven't had since.
- Bookends: If you're listening to a concept album, odds are at least fifty-fifty that it's going to feature at least one example of this trope. Even if it's not a concept album, the trope may show up anyway.
- British Rockstar: Most of the bands hailed from the U.K. and helped form the stereotype of British rock stars as drug-addled cloudcuckoolanders. The genre was so popular in the U.K. for awhile that even artists not commonly associated with prog sometimes recorded songs in the style; for example, Led Zeppelin's 'Achilles Last Stand' (from Presence) is often considered a progressive rock song, while Elton John recorded 'Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding' and much of Madman Across the Water in the style.
- Classical Music Is Cool: Prog musicians seem to adopt this as an ethos, given that many of them have classical backgrounds and work in references to classical music in their repertoire.
- Concept Album: Developed somewhat in tandem with prog rock. The Mothers of Invention, Frank Zappa's band, were responsible for many of rock's early concept albums.
- Conlang: Practically de rigeur in zeuhl. Examples include Magma, Ruins, and Koenjihyakkei.
- Dead Horse Genre: Critics, who usually believe in Three Chords and the Truth, have tended to hate the genre, even during its heyday in the early '70s. Today, they still hold prog up as the other reason '70s music sucked so much. This is probably influenced by Lester Bangs' and Robert Christgau's disdain for prog. The critical darlings of the first half of the '70s were Singer Songwriters like Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell and Proto Punk bands like the New York Dolls and The Stooges, while critics went for Punk Rock, Post-Punk and New Wave in the second half. A prominent exception is Allmusic, which has given several famous prog albums the maximum rating of five stars, as is the Italian writer Piero Scaruffi, who ranks prog albums as two of his top three albums ever made (three of three if you count Beefheart as prog). Pitchfork has been known to give prog records good reviews on occasion as well note , but on the whole it much more frequently lambastes them. And, for that matter, even Christgau has given good reviews to prog records on occasion (Henry Cow, Pink Floyd, King Crimson, etc.). Other than that, the only positive press coverage prog artists usually get is in magazines catering to musicians. Despite this, and no doubt precisely because of its appeal to musicians, the genre still has a number of Spiritual Successors and other lasting influences on modern music; see below.
- Denser and Wackier: Prog rock bands tackled obscure philosophical and fantasy topics in their Concept Albums, compared to the idealism of late '60s rock. The concert theatrics could be bizarre, such as Keith Emerson's infamous spinning piano.
- Design Student's Orgasm: The genre is famous for its lavish album cover art from artists such as Roger Dean and the Hipgnosis studio.
- Epic Rocking: Naturally, given the song lengths. Often more focus on 'epic' than rocking, obviously.
- The Jethro Tull albums Thick as a Brick and A Passion Play contained one song each, broken up by an interlude that allowed the listener to flip the record.
- Mike Oldfield has done this multiple times. Take, for example, Incantations, seventy-three minutes split over four sides, without interludes to let the listener to flip the record. As a result it works very well on CD.
- Robert Fripp (of King Crimson)'s collaborations with Brian Eno probably bear mentioning here as well; they are typically comprised of a single track split across multiple album sides. However, they are as much an example of the ambient genre as they are of progressive rock.
- Many other bands similarly record albums that effectively consist of one track, or at least multiple side-length pieces, but divide it into separate movements for ease of CD navigation (or, during the heyday of vinyl, because it resulted in higher royalties). Examples include Magma (around half their output), Camel (The Snow Goose), Hatfield And The North (basically both their official full-length albums, although 'Mumps' stands out for being twenty minutes long on its own), Frank Zappa (Absolutely Free), Dream Theater (the second disc of Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence is a single song divided into eight tracks), and Porcupine Tree (the main suite of The Incident is around an hour long, although it has four additional songs included with it). Pink Floyd could be considered an example as well, although theirs often feel more like several songs stitched together with Fading into the Next Song. Other albums, such as Third by Soft Machine and Tales from Topographic Oceans by Yes, as well as much of Tangerine Dream's output, consist of one song per LP side, but they are counted as separate songs.
- The side-length piece is a staple of progressive rock; particularly acclaimed examples include 'Supper's Ready' by Genesis; 'Close to the Edge' and 'The Gates of Delirium' by Yes; 'Nine Feet Underground' by Caravan; 'A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers' by Van Der Graaf Generator; 'Lizard' by King Crimson; '2112' and 'Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres' by Rush; 'Tarkus' and 'Karn Evil 9' by Emerson, Lake & Palmer; 'Anesthetize' by Porcupine Tree; 'The Adventures of Greggery Peccary' by Frank Zappa; 'Cassandra Gemini' by The Mars Volta; 'A Mind Beside Itself', 'Octavarium', and 'A Change of Seasons' by Dream Theater; 'Grendel' and 'Ocean Cloud' by Marillion; 'Echoes' by Pink Floyd; and 'Autobahn' by Kraftwerk. This is nowhere near a complete list of acclaimed compositions in this vein; feel free to add additional examples.
- Fading into the Next Song/Siamese Twin Songs: In addition to its liberal use in the genre (Pink Floyd loved it, and other bands such as Marillion and The Mars Volta have used it extensively as well), some of the examples of Epic Rocking can have a similar feeling to this trope. For example, 'Supper's Ready' by Genesis was presumably stitched together from multiple sources (in particular, 'Willow Farm' is confirmed to have originally been a separate composition before the band decided to incorporate it into the suite). In addition, if a piece that was treated as a single song for the vinyl era is divided into multiple tracks on a CD release for ease of CD navigation, it will inevitably result in this trope.
- Fandom Rivalry: With Punk Rock, dating back to The '70s. Though there are artists who combine elements of both (The Mars Volta are an excellent example). Johnny Rotten admitted to being a fan of prog, and it obviously influenced Public Image Ltd.. Krautrock, particularly Can and Neu!, was a big influence on Post-Punk. Many punk and new wave acts were also heavily influenced by Roxy Music.
- In truth, the idea of a rivalry between punk and prog musicians is somewhat a case of historical revisionism. The audiences of the two genres didn't overlap much at the time, but the musicians themselves weren't as invested in the idea as their fanbases and rock critics were. The idea that the early waves of punk featured sloppy musicianship is mostly due to the example of Sid Vicious; the other Sex Pistols were quite competent musicians and simply played Three Chords and the Truth material because that's what they wanted to play at the time. But, as mentioned, John Lydon was a big fan of prog bands like Magma, Can, and Van Der Graaf Generator, and, despite his 'I Hate Pink Floyd' shirt, didn't even hate them (he was just using it to troll people).
The same goes for a lot of other punk bands - The Clash didn't learn to play their instruments with their first album, as is often claimed, and albums like London Calling and Sandinista! demonstrated what truly sophisticated musicians they were. Some punk bands' music, such as Dead Kennedys', almost bordered on prog themselves (listen to 'MTV - Get Off the Air' or 'Stars and Stripes of Corruption', both of which feature a very prog-like tripartite structure), and it goes without saying that the Kennedys were very skilled musicians. (The prog influence is even more obvious on some of Jello Biafra's solo work, in which he really delves into Epic Rocking.) Critics to a certain extent seem to have taken The Ramones' Three Chords and the Truth style and run with it a bit more than was merited.
And it's probably worth mentioning that the genres even have a lot of their roots in common - The Doors, The Who, and the Velvet Underground in particular exerted unmistakable influence on both genres. For that matter, some performers somewhat straddled the two genres, such as David Bowie, who produced records by Lou Reed, The Stooges, and Iggy Pop but also collaborated with Brian Eno and Robert Fripp and made decidedly prog-tinged albums like Station to Station, Low, and Blackstar. John Cale is another good example as a classically-trained member of the Velvet Underground who flirted with both art-rock and punk rock as a performer and Record Producer. David Byrne adopted some prog-like theatrics for Talking Heads' 1983 tour captured in Stop Making Sense, including the famous big suit. Progarchives compared him to Peter Gabriel for this reason.
Going the other way, some prog musicians embraced New Wave Music, and many incorporated influence from punk (such as Yes on Drama and Pink Floyd on Animalsnote ; Floyd's Nick Mason also produced an album by The Damned). Robert Fripp collaborated with Talking Heads and even hired Adrien Belew, who had played on Remain in Light and its supporting tour, to front the revived King Crimson. Missing Persons was founded by members who, like Belew, were veterans of Frank Zappa's backing band. Peter Gabriel embraced the style in the early '80s. Before that, he had Television open up for him on his debut solo tour in 1977. (And Television themselves, despite usually being classed as a punk band, performed complex enough music that if they'd featured keyboards or performed five years earlier, they might've been grouped in with progressive rock.) Rush also drew influence from new wave, particularly on the Moving Pictures and Signals albums. All three members of The Police had roots in the genre as well.
More recently, beyond the obvious examples of bands that combine prog and punk influences like Cardiacs, The Mars Volta, and basically any band that's ever performed Progressive Metal, there are a lot of subtler examples, as well. The Pixies' Black Francis confessed to being a major fan of Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Captain Beefheart growing up, and while the band is typically noted for using a Three Chords and the Truth style, they still display subtle influence from prog rock like their frequent use of Uncommon Time and their occasional use of unconventional song structures. Similarly, Pavement also occasionally displays influence from prog rock (mostly in the same aspects, plus the occasional 6+-minute song). Meanwhile, other later alternative/indie bands like Radiohead, Faith No More, and The Smashing Pumpkins are sometimes categorised as prog acts themselves. By necessity, prog musicians have also absorbed some of the 'DIY' values of punk. Most modern prog is released on independent labels, as major labels are generally only interested in reissues of classic prog acts, if they're interested at all. Modern DAW software also gives musicians capabilities in home studios that Pink Floyd could only have dreamed of in the '70s at Abbey Road.
- In truth, the idea of a rivalry between punk and prog musicians is somewhat a case of historical revisionism. The audiences of the two genres didn't overlap much at the time, but the musicians themselves weren't as invested in the idea as their fanbases and rock critics were. The idea that the early waves of punk featured sloppy musicianship is mostly due to the example of Sid Vicious; the other Sex Pistols were quite competent musicians and simply played Three Chords and the Truth material because that's what they wanted to play at the time. But, as mentioned, John Lydon was a big fan of prog bands like Magma, Can, and Van Der Graaf Generator, and, despite his 'I Hate Pink Floyd' shirt, didn't even hate them (he was just using it to troll people).
- Gateway Series: A lot of rock fans have gotten into classical and jazz via prog. Also goes the other way. Plenty of classical and jazz snobs have decided that that 'jungle music' isn't so bad after all after discovering prog.
- Germans Love David Hasselhoff: The genre is popular in Eastern Europe.
- Genius Bonus/Viewers Are Geniuses: In addition to the fact that musicians are more likely to appreciate the musicianship there are often all sorts of bizarre subtexts to the lyrics that can't be easily picked up on. Also existent are frequent quotes/covers from the classical and traditional repertoire that might not be familiar to a casual listener, as well as many references to obscure science fiction and fantasy works that will go over the heads of most listeners.
- Heavy Mithril: While progressive rock bands aren't necessarily heavy, the use of references to science fiction and fantasy works are not only common, but expected. There's a reason that many progressive rock bands have entries on the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction .
- Instrumentals: Since most songs either featured long instrumental interludes or solos, this was the next logical step. Depending on the listener this is either the best or worst part of prog-rock. Either it shows the musician's true talent as an artist, or it's needless showboating.
- It's Popular, Now It Sucks!: As with indie rock, some prog fans have expressed disdain for the more popular progressive rock bands like Pink Floyd, Yes, Genesis or Rush, preferring more obscure acts.
- Large Ham: Prog is pretty much the musical equivalent of this trope, with Progressive Metal taking it Up to Eleven and Technical Death Metal taking it beyond that. This may be part of the reason critics often dislike the genre. Unsurprisingly, the genre has produced a number of highly theatrical and flamboyant performers who are direct examples of the trope. This seems to be particularly common amongst keyboard players (e.g., Rick Wakeman, Keith Emerson, Matt Bellamy [although the latter of these is equally hammy as a guitarist and vocalist]), though other musicians and vocalists can get into it frequently as well (Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins of Genesis, Geddy Lee and Neil Peart of Rush, Roger Waters of Pink Floyd, etc.)
- Erstwhile Yes vocalist/co-songwriter Jon Anderson, who's often not actually particularly hammy by prog standards (though he has his moments, as on 'Heart of the Sunrise'), said in one interview that he felt that a main goal of Yes' music was to express emotions directly and honestly, and speculated that this was a major reason that their music was often critically polarising. They didn't seem to care about the critical reactions, either, because, having already noted that this was a characteristic of their music that polarised audiences and critics, they explicitly wrote 'And You and I' with the intention of being as emotionally direct as possible.
- Lead Bassist: The genre seems to have a disproportionate number of them, including GregLake, Chris Squire, Geddy Lee, John Wetton and Roger Waters, to name a few.
- Lead Drummer: Also a lot of these, including Phil Collins, Bill Bruford, Neil Peart, Christian Vander, Tatsuda Yoshida (of Ruins and Koenjihyakkei), etc. The prevalence of these two tropes is likely in no small part due to the technically demanding nature of progressive rock, but even despite this, there seem to be a disproportionate number of bassists and drummers who are lead vocalists or the main creative forces of their respective acts, in contrast to the usualstereotypes about rock rhythm section players.
- Limited Lyrics Song: Many prog epics have lengthy instrumental breaks, making them examples of this trope.
- Miniscule Rocking: While the twenty-minute song is a widely noted staple of progressive rock, the two-minute interlude is honestly nearly as ubiquitous. As one example, From Silence to Somewhere by Wobbler has a twenty-one-minute song, a two-minute interlude, a ten-minute song, and a thirteen-minute song. This is a fairly typical progressive rock track list.
- Modulation: Many progressive rock songs change key signatures several times, which typically goes hand-in-hand with Epic Rocking (it's a good way to hold a listener's attention during a lengthier composition).
- Neoclassical Punk Zydeco Rockabilly: It's not uncommon for prog bands to incorporate multiple genres in one song, and in many cases, to incorporate them well. Dixie Dregs in particular stand out for this. It's worth pointing out that the genre itself started as an example of this trope since it was an attempt to combine rock music with influences from other genres like classical and jazz, and even today, there is a sizable contingent of prog fans who feel that if you don't incorporate this trope into your music, then you're just not doing prog correctly.
- Never Live It Down: The Godley & Creme album Consequences caused one. It was a triple-disc Concept Album released in 1977; despite being pretty much the only one of its kind during prog's heyday, the phrase 'triple-disc concept album' comes up fairly frequently in criticisms of the genre. In the popular imagination, prog rock is also 20-minute Mellotron solos.
- Protection from Editors: The genre emerged when record companies were more willing to give their artists a lot of creative freedom.
- Purple Prose: Many bands such as Yes would write songs in a rather flowery fashion. But Tropes Are Not Bad, not to mention that some bands were actually good at it.
- Recurring Riff: Many concept albums reuse melodies at some points to represent a character, an idea, or a story element. Even some albums that aren't concept albums will use melodies multiple times, which often falls under Bookends.
- Rock Opera: Often goes hand-in-hand with the concept album.
- Siamese Twin Songs: It's very common for progressive rock songs to segue into each other.
- Song Style Shift: Very common, particularly with 'chapter'-structured songs that many prog bands had. The main reason for these chapters was that they were perceived as separate songs for royalty purposes.
- Spiritual Successor: Despite critics' overall loathing for the genre, it continues to have substantial influence in a number of contemporary music styles (beyond the straight-up prog classicists who emerge from time to time like Änglagård and Wobbler). A partial explanation for this may be that, due to the complexity of its instrumentation and compositions, it holds particular appeal to other musicians.
- Post-Rock and Math Rock. While both genres also draw from Alternative Rock and Post-Punk, they keep the weirdness of progressive rock, including the odd time signatures and unusual instrumentation.
- Some Alternative Hip Hop artists utilize elements of progressive rock as well, such as Atmosphere, Aesop Rock, Cage, Caparezza, dälek, Kid Cudi, Lupe Fiasco and Kanye West (Mainly on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, but even before then he had prog elements, e.g. Late Registration's orchestra).
- Krautrock, to the extent that some sites just consider it a subgenre of prog.
- Progressive Metal and Progressive Death Metal, obviously, as well as Avant-Garde Metal, the more progressive and experimental strains of Black Metal, and post-metal (bands are listed under Doom Metal, and some are also listed under Post-Rock).
- Video game composers have been unusually likely to be prog fans. Nobuo Uematsu (best known for Final Fantasy), one of the most influential early VGM composers, was a huge, avowed fan of Emerson, Lake & Palmer (whom he listed as one of his largest influences after Elton John) and other prog groups, and this seems to have influenced his hiring decisions: Hiroki Kikuta (best known for Secret of Mana) has said he was hired to compose for Square after bonding with him over their love of ELP and other prog groups (Kikuta cites Pink Floyd as his biggest influence and has said ELP first sparked his interest in music). Koji Kondo, probably the most famous and widely heard video game composer in history (best known for Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda, both of whose main themes he composed), also cites ELP as an influence (as well as Deep Purple). The fact that many early prog groups were early pioneers with synthesizers in popular music probably explains a large part of their influence (and ELP's in particular) on video game soundtracks; video game soundtracks were, after all, also working mostly (or entirely) with synthesizers until relatively recently.
- Even some Post-Hardcore bands display some substantial prog influence; some, such as The Fall of Troy, The Mars Volta and Biffy Clyro could essentially be said to combine the two genres (and the Mars Volta are more dominantly prog than post-hardcore, despite splintering out of seminal post-hardcore band At the Drive-In).
- The 2010s saw the heyday of post-prog, a fusion of progressive, alternative and ambient rock almost entirely nurtured by the Kscope label, with perhaps the biggest influence (and biggest driver) being Steven Wilson. Representative acts include Anathema, The Pineapple Thief and Nosound.
- Critics have noted some progressive rock influence on Janelle Monáe's Genre-Busting sound. The multi-part science-fiction concept albums and orchestral elements may be a tell here.
- Tall Poppy Syndrome: Why U.K. critics hated the genre so much.
- Trope Codifier: King Crimson is the likeliest choice you'll hear for the whole genre. As for specific subgenres, potential candidates are:
- Canterbury Scene: Caravan, Soft Machine
- Crossover Prog: The Moody Blues for 1960s and 1970s style bands; Radiohead for modern ones
- Eclectic Prog: King Crimson
- Experimental/Post-Metal: Neurosis or Isis for Post, Mr. Bungle or Dir en grey for Experimental. See the Avant-Garde Metal page for more on the latter
- Heavy Prog: Rush for the old sound, The Mars Volta or Porcupine Tree for more modern bands
- Jazz-Rock/Fusion: Miles Davis and John McLaughlin
- Krautrock: a fairly diverse scene, but Can seem to have had some of the longest lasting impact
- Neo-Prog: Marillion for 1980s styled neo-prog, Muse for modern bands
- Post-Rock/Math Rock: Godspeed You! Black Emperor for the former, probably Slint for the latter (perhaps confusingly, Slint are co-Trope Makers of Post-Rock with Talk Talk)
- Post-Prog: Porcupine Tree
- Progressive Electronic: Mike Oldfield, Kraftwerk
- Progressive Folk: a lot of candidates, but Jethro Tull is probably a safe bet
- Progressive Metal: Dream Theater and Tool
- Psychedelic/Space Rock: Pink Floyd and Hawkwind for the latter; for the former we can safely say The Beatles
- Rock in Opposition/Avant-Prog: Henry Cow (trope namers) or Univers Zero, insofar as this genre can even be considered to be 'codified'
- Rock Progressivo Italiano: Premiata Forneria Mariconi
- Symphonic Prog: Yes and Genesis
- Tech/Extreme Prog Metal: Death and Opeth for Progressive Death Metal; Death, Atheist, and Gorguts for Technical Death Metal; Sigh, Enslaved, Negura Bunget, and Deathspell Omega for progressive black metal; Metallica and Watchtower for progressive thrash metal; Meshuggah, Periphery, and Tesseract for djent; Between the Buried and Me and The Dillinger Escape Plan for progressive metalcore
- Zeuhl: Magma, also its Trope Makers and Trope Namers
- Trope Maker: Where exactly psychedelia and Baroque Pop became Progressive Rock is still debated, but King Crimson's In the Court of the Crimson King is the album you're most likely to hear cited. Other works sometimes cited are The Moody Blues' Days of Future Passed, The Mothers of Invention'sAbsolutely Free, or Deep Purple's Concerto for Group and Orchestra. Generally, the first prog band is cited as being the Moody Blues, King Crimson, or the Mothers. One thing everyone agrees upon is that In the Court of the Crimson King was the Trope Codifier, though.
- Troubled Production: The complex music, temperamental synthesizers and electromechanical keyboards of the era, and complicated stage theatrics prior to digital show control technology made recording and touring a nightmare for many progressive rock bands. As with New Hollywood, the reputation for prog rock albums and tours suffering from this led to a backlash against the genre. The constant stresses that bands faced with production problems is one reason many of them broke up by the end of the '70s.
- True Art: What prog musicians were/are aiming for, with varying degrees of success.
- Uncommon Time: It would probably take less space to list progressive rock bands that don't use this trope than to list progressive rock bands that do. It's pretty much a requisite of the genre - in fact, it's arguably one of prog's defining characteristics, alongside Epic Rocking and other aspects of the music's instrumental complexity.
- Up to Eleven: Musicianship and complexity of songwriting for starters.
- Ur-Example: Some will simply say King Crimson and leave it at that, but it's probably more complicated, because the genre didn't spring forth from a single source but brought together influences from a number of disparate genres previously not commonly associated with rock music, including classical and jazz. Acts frequently retroactively dubbed 'proto-prog' include The Beatles, The Who, The Doors, The Velvet Underground, The Beach Boys, The Grateful Dead, Procol Harum, The Nice, Frank Zappa, The Moody Blues, Soft Machine, The United States of America (the band, not the country), Jimi Hendrix, Deep Purple, and Spirit. Some of these acts' influence can be felt felt more directly than others', and some of them later became prog if they didn't start out as such. For instance, The Who are not a prog band as a whole, but Quadrophenia is usually considered to be a prog album. Similarly, Soft Machine's early work probably isn't prog, but starting from Third, it is, and cases are sometimes made for the Dead's Blues for Allah and Terrapin Station; That Other Wiki has actually categorized the latter as a prog rock album at times (though the page keeps going back and forth on this). The strongest cases for being an Ur-Example probably go to Zappa (though he also may qualify as a Trope Maker), the Moody Blues (ditto), the Beatles, the Who, or Deep Purple. The Beach Boys are a somewhat interesting case in that while the strength of both Pet Sounds and SMiLE have led them to be categorized by some as an early prog rock band, it's accepted that they would've had a stronger claim to starting the genre had SMiLE been finished in 1967.
- Viewers Are Geniuses: Artists often make obscure literary and philosophical references in their songs.
- Watch It Stoned: Coming out of Psychedelic Rock, prog inherited its reputation as best appreciated with some chemical...enhancement. Of course, plenty of performers indulged, but some more serious prog musicians, such as the members of Pink Floyd, were annoyed by the suggestion that their music was for stoners or acid heads.
Alternative Title(s):Prog Rock
Index
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