If you look at Yes' output from 1971 to 1974, it's pretty ridiculous. Quite a creative streak, after which they each produced a solo album, and then toured as a group again.
If you look at Yes' output from 1971 to 1974, it's pretty ridiculous. Quite a creative streak, after which they each produced a solo album, and then toured as a group again.
loved the early 70s for all the Progressive Rock sounds that were happening!
Why is it whenever someone mentions an artist that was clearly progressive (yet not the Symph weenie definition of Prog) do certain people feel compelled to snort "thats not Prog" like a whiny 5th grader?
Fusion is Progressive Rock by Jazz guys. So, I don't have a problem with people calling RTF or MO Fusion any more than I have a problem with people calling Yes or Genesis Symph style Progressive Rock. In the 70s we didn't try to stuff Prog into a shoebox under the bed. If it was new ideas incorporating Rock elements it was all part of the same movement back then and we reveled in it. That's why so many Symph and Fusion artists shared the same bills. It was all Progressive forms of Rock music.
Why is it whenever someone mentions an artist that was clearly progressive (yet not the Symph weenie definition of Prog) do certain people feel compelled to snort "thats not Prog" like a whiny 5th grader?
But from where did you get the impression that these names were somehow representing the "pinnacle" of post-70s progressive rock music? What essentially happened after the paradigmatic onslaught of punk and new wave (1977-81) was that most alternative pop/rock musics (including the various embodiments of so-called "prog", which was never an integral or even coherent "style") went underground and stayed there, and the better for it.
Progressive rock music continued to flourish AND to develop, but away from the big markets and arenas and audiences, 'though all the closer to timeless ideals of artistic freedom and dedication. To limit 80s progressive rock down to KCrim or Marill or whoever - that's just... sad.
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
Yeah somethings got better over the decades but it was a rocky road: Vinyls became CDs ( ), but they were cassettes in between and became MP3 afterwards
I don't agree with this... pop music is much more open nowadays and is now global... anythings goes these last two decades... segementations (breaking into small tribes) are enormous, yet cross-overs abound.
Sure, the pill was there... But so was the clap (OK, seemed ess dangerous than Aids). I got lucky enough never to catch it, but plenty did.
I was 11 in 74 (started buying albums then >> COTC in Sept 74 was my first), but also had to wait a while to see big concerts >> Yes was 78 or 79 for me as well
Punk and Disco, didn't like it back then (though some punk hit the spot for me). But compared to today's dance music a lot of 70's disco is like honey (over-sweetish and tacky), but there was a lot of killer funk I missed back then.
As for the non-North americans, the 70's was a troubled decade, with many democracies in danger like social unrest, the early terrorism phases (some democradies were created : Portugal, Spain.... Greece ). Sometimes the cold war brought a certain kind of stability into the bipolar East/West planet, but much of the southern countries paid high prices . And I dare say that pollution hit probably its apex in our "civilized countries"...
my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.
Gee (or pheeew, if you wish ), I missed THAT one...
WTF is a mood ring
mmmhhh!! LSD is more 60's (there was some around, but not the craze).. plenty of pot in the 70's (though oil was dangerous/cut at the end of the decade).
Angel dust, poppers and smack were along with coke the bad news
Yup, I always wonder how much better life would've been in the 70's (and the 60's) without tobacco all over the place ... I mean , I toked, but never had much use for tobacco (except for hash & oil)
my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.
Why is it whenever someone mentions an artist that was clearly progressive (yet not the Symph weenie definition of Prog) do certain people feel compelled to snort "thats not Prog" like a whiny 5th grader?
In the same way that literature, fashion, architecture etc all have had their zeniths, the 1970's was without doubt the high-point for almost every genre of popular music you can think of.
The baby-boom generation may have had it shit growing up the the wake of World War II, many left fatherless and brought up on 'rationed food' until 1953. But man, they more than made up for it in their early 20's.
I am a teacher and the music of today literally means nothing to the kids in my school. They all reference the 70's (and to a degree the 60's and 80's) as what they play on their (wait for it...) "vinyl players"!!
The 1970's was the 'Industrial Revolution' of popular music and it's not going to be repeated.
Last edited by rael74; 02-09-2015 at 04:05 PM.
Yes, there was no Internet in the 70's....but we DID have FM radio stations.....My favorite one came on every night at 6PM.....(it was owned by an AM Station) I remember the Red "Stereo" light coming on as Camel's Moonmadness started off every evening. Whole albums were played and NO commercials! Definitely had a stoner-vibe but I was exposed to SO MUCH! Paper route money went strait to the local Budget Record store. That place ALWAYS reeked of pot and the employee was always ! He also suggested more bands...as well as other FM stations. The Head shops got the rest of my $$ with tie dye & blacklite posters.
Yes, I think the change from Pot to Coke also changed the vibe.
Just read Chris Wright's book on Chrysalis. Yup....he was always looking for the next best thing while it seemed that he just thought the established acts would hold their own while he expanded into TV & sports teams. The Cash was everywhere and they thought it would never stop.....
Kind of like all those Internet start-ups without a business plan in the 90's & 00's......
The Ice Cream Lady Wet her drawers........To see you in the Passion Playyyy eeee - I. Anderson
"It's kind of like deciding not to date a beautiful blonde anymore because she farted." - Top Cat
I was expecting to be kinda meh, but it made my nips stiffen - Jerjo
(Zamran) "that fucking thing man . . . it sits there on my wall like a broken clock " - Helix
Social Media is the "Toilet" of the Internet - Lady Gaga
Ahhh...the early 70's...the definitive PROG era...let's see-Gabriel suspended above the stage at the end of SR...Yes doing TFTO at MSG...Floyd cranking entire Dark Side at 1am Radio City show...KC--Mahavishnu epic shows at Central Park ---many more-- all packed with adoring fans unaware at the time that these were THE good old days..And of course what helped these shows to be even MORE memorable is preventing a more vivid memory..Will always have ticket stubs and setlist-fm.
It all boils down to cultural trends and marketing. At the risk of sounding too cynical, groups like the Beatles were pushing the boundaries of what was possible in a rock context in the '60s, and the music-buying public loved it, so that's what the record companies pushed. They marketed it, people ate it up, and after a few years the trend got a bit long in the tooth and they started marketing disco and punk as the next hot trends. No different from how '80s pop and hair metal were wearing out their welcome, so the pop-culture gatekeepers decided that Nirvana was going to wipe the slate clean.
If the marketers and tastemakers wanted prog to be popular again, they could do it, because people are generally easy to manipulate. Naturally, those of us here have always loved the stuff, but the bandwagoners would come pouring in, until they were told to follow the next hot trend.
Agreed, three were some really great radio stations in the 70’s and into the 80’s. In the Southwest Michigan area WLAV in Grand Rapids was great at promoting prog and good music in general, even well into the 80’s. They were big on Genesis and the only station where I have ever heard Camel played. Even in the 80’s they played Marillion all the time (which led to being one of the biggest fan bases for them in the U.S.), and got behind Dream Theater right from the beginning. Today WLAV is just another classic rock station that plays oldies.
I worked on a small market AOR station in the early 80’s for a year, when things were really starting to change. We had two factions at the station, those who supported prog, and other more 70’s influenced fare, and those that wanted to go totally New Wave / Punk. There were some pretty heated arguments at some of our programming meetings. I remember our programming guy was really into bands like The Specials, B52's, and others and I just hated that stuff. In the end we had a mix of both, but things were definitely on the way downhill by then.
Living in between NY and Philly was great. So many opportunities to see shows, When MSG sold out you could always get tickets at the Spectrum . Plus the Shaffer Music Festival in Central Park, small clubs like the Bottom Line and the philly clubs. Really big bands played Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City. Plus all the local colleges were having shows and the girls were easier back then!
Living in Asbury Park on the Jersey shore in the '70's was also great. I recall many times my friends and I would have these "difficult" decisions to make...EX: do we go see Black Sabbath at the Convention Hall or do we go see (same night, same time) Utopia at the Casino (both venues on the AP Boardwalk)...MSG was only a 50 minute train-ride away and I could SEE the train station from my house. The Spectrum in Philly was a bit more difficult to get to for us but we did it many times.
A bit before my time was the small club in Asbury Park called" The Sunshine Inn"...Black Sabbath played there as did King Crimson (The KC song Asbury Park was recorded at that club), Mahavishnu Orch also played there too. I know this because my best friends older Brother worked the lightshow there.I missed THAT scence by about 2-3 years.
Yup, they were!
Mo posted earlier about "ludes" (now OOP (production)). Qualudes were like the "spanish fly" (or myth therof?) of the 1970s. In Madison in 1971 even blow couldn't get you kitty like ludes & weed.
Shit, I hope progeezer's ghost doesn't open this thread!
Most people here know about the significance of April 20th, but few know about the significance of July 14th.
"My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician, and to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference"
President Harry S. Truman
The Ice Cream Lady Wet her drawers........To see you in the Passion Playyyy eeee - I. Anderson
"It's kind of like deciding not to date a beautiful blonde anymore because she farted." - Top Cat
I was expecting to be kinda meh, but it made my nips stiffen - Jerjo
(Zamran) "that fucking thing man . . . it sits there on my wall like a broken clock " - Helix
Social Media is the "Toilet" of the Internet - Lady Gaga
I remember the Bay Chitty Rollers were hyped up by the record company at the time as being "the next Beatles"
they were actually a pre-teen/kiddie product, a poor man's Sweet
Why is it whenever someone mentions an artist that was clearly progressive (yet not the Symph weenie definition of Prog) do certain people feel compelled to snort "thats not Prog" like a whiny 5th grader?
Back then, I thought these BCR were a gateway to becoming gay...
Well, a lot of teen girls in prep schools were heads over eels about this band . In contrast, Sweet roked out with Ballroom Blitz... and by their last album (Level Headed) theywere OK
my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.
The album version of "Love is like Oxygen" (The Sweet) is pure prog rock isn't it? The middle section song sounds like ELP. I always thought they were a very interesting band. Their songs didn't sound the same... often like totally different bands.
If Sweet was pure pop, then pop was pretty good.
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