The Top 10 Essential 80's Prog Albums.

[JKL2000]

What about stuff like My Life in the Bush of Ghosts and Discipline?

[Calabasas_Trafalgar]

essential to get rid of.

[yamishogun]

But they used synthesizers. I was SO disappointed when this came out. I guess the redeeming value of the album is that it turned a lot of people on to progressive rock that weren't aware of it before then. Maybe the same thing can be said about 90125, which has some progressive value to it. This is basically a list of the most popular progressive rock albums of the 80's, that if you consider Asia prog.

I don't see how Asia was progressive at all. I thought it was a great straight rock album when I jogged to it at age 14, though, except for the two hits. 90125... something neo-progressive going on there.

Just me, but Asia didn't seem to have an impact on me to turn progressive and didn't know who Steve Howe was. I have a mental block because decades later I don't picture him ever having been in Asia. Completely serious, and I'll have to talk to my shrink about this at some point. 90125 led me straight to The Yes Album and Classic Yes, and I played those three a lot for a long time. I burned out on 90125 so then went to 70s Yes and waited for the new album which...never...came...

[itserik]

Not if you are an avanthead, superb decade, Eskaton, Univers Zero, Dun, Art Zoyd, Present, Zamla Mammaz Manna, Thinking Plague.

I assume you meant Discipline not Red

Yes, I meant Discipline (the red album) :-)

[itserik]

Not if you are an avanthead, superb decade, Eskaton, Univers Zero, Dun, Art Zoyd, Present, Zamla Mammaz Manna, Thinking Plague.

I haven't ventured too far into the avantguard side of things, and certainly not from this decade, but I want to. Care to suggest an album?

[Progbear]

I haven't ventured too far into the avantguard side of things, and certainly not from this decade, but I want to. Care to suggest an album?

Univers Zero are a must. Undeniably avant-garde and daring, yet accessible. I started with UZED, one of their 80s releases, and never looked back.

[Poisoned Youth]

I haven't ventured too far into the avantguard side of things, and certainly not from this decade, but I want to. Care to suggest an album?

Avant/Zeuhl
Dün - Eros
Eskaton – 4 Visions
Present - Triskaidekaphobie
Shub Niggurath - Les Morts Vont Vite
Thinking Plague - In This Life
Univers Zero - Ceux Du Dehors

[NogbadTheBad]

Avant/Zeuhl
Dün - Eros
Eskaton – 4 Visions
Present - Triskaidekaphobie
Shub Niggurath - Les Morts Vont Vite
Thinking Plague - In This Life
Univers Zero - Ceux Du Dehors

This, start with Univers Zero.

[the winter tree]

In no particular order:
Hounds of Love - Kate Bush
Oil and Gold - Shriekback
Worlds Apart - Saga
Gone to Earth - Dave Sylvian
Reach the Beach - The Fixx
The Flat Earth - Thomas Dolby
90125 - YES
Discipline - KC
Clutching at Straws - marillion
Spirit of Eden - Talk Talk

[mellotron storm]

I'm not going to argue against Moving Pictures or Misplaced Childhood but man the rest of the list is sad(IMO).
Many of my favourites have been listed by others but I'd also list:
Rahmann-s/t
Hawkwind-Levitation
Hugh Hopper & Alan Gowen-Two Rainbows Daily
Eider Stellaire-I
Serge Bringolf-Vision
This Heat-Deceit
PLJ Band-Armageddon
Yog Sothoth-s/t
Miriodor-Recontres
Thule-Ultima Thule
Etron Fou Leloublans-Les Poumans Gonfles
Brian Eno-Ambient 4-On Land

[Facelift]

I'd probably go with (staying conservatively within the prog genre and therefore not adding such albums as My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, Talk Talk albums, Sonny Sharrock albums, avant jazz, ECM, etc.).

A pretty bad decade for prog. A few heavy hitters dominate my tops of the decade. My top ten would include (in no order)

Eskaton - 4 Visions
King Crimson - Discipline
Univers Zero - Ceux Du Dehors
Univers Zero - Heatwave
Rush - Moving Pictures
Dun - Eros
Present - Triskaidékaphobie
Present - Le poison qui rend fou
Kultivator - Barndomens Stigar
Allan Holdsworth - Metal Fatigue

[yamishogun]

I'd probably go with (staying conservatively within the prog genre and therefore not adding such albums as My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, Talk Talk albums, Sonny Sharrock albums, avant jazz, ECM, etc.).

A pretty bad decade for prog. A few heavy hitters dominate my tops of the decade. My top ten would include (in no order)

Eskaton - 4 Visions
King Crimson - Discipline
Univers Zero - Ceux Du Dehors
Univers Zero - Heatwave
Rush - Moving Pictures
Dun - Eros
Present - Triskaidékaphobie
Present - Le poison qui rend fou
Kultivator - Barndomens Stigar
Allan Holdsworth - Metal Fatigue

How did Moving Picutures make this list? By my count, there are only two, maybe there prog songs on that. Of course, 40 minutes of greatness.

[jazz2896]

There wasn't that much in the 70's vein of prog, but there was still plenty of pretty out there groups that still satisfy the "prog" itch, for me at least. Groups like Japan, Talking Heads, PiL, Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel, Zappa, Beefheart, XTC, Cardiacs, and those bands mentioned above were writing plenty of great left field material. Sure when compared to the seventies there were certainly fewer groups writing grand 30 minute long, classically inspired epics, but the spirit of experimentation certainly didn't die out in the 80's. None of those 10 on that list would be on mine.

[Facelift]

How did Moving Picutures make this list? By my count, there are only two, maybe there prog songs on that. Of course, 40 minutes of greatness.

Because when I once said that I didn't, by and large, consider Rush to be prog, the PE sentiment was about 10-1 against (and loudly!).

[chalkpie]

I'm not sure why folks say the 80's were shit - some of my favorite albums are from the 80's. In no particular order, here are some essentials and gems to my ears:

Talk Talk - Spirit of Eden
Rush - Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures, Signals, Grace Under Pressure
Peter Gabriel - Melt, Security, So, Passion
Tom Waits - Swordfishtrombones, Rain Dogs, Franks Wild Years, Big Time
Albert Marcoeur - Celui ou y'a Joseph
UZ - Ceux
KC - Discipline, Beat, Three of a Perfect Pair, Absent Lovers
Cardiacs - The Seaside, A Little Man...., On Land and in the Sea, Live, Rude Bootleg
Recommended Records Sampler
This Heat - Deceit, s/t
Thinking Plague - In This Life
FZ - Shut Up..., Ship Arriving Too Late, You are What You Is, Man From Utopia, The Perfect Stranger, Thing-Fish, Guitar, The '88 band albums (if you wanna count them)
Zamla - Familjesprickor
Present - Le Poison, Triskaidekaphobie
Dun - Eros
Magma - Retrospetiw
Von Zamla - 1983
Picchio - Abiamo....
Fred Frith - Gravity, Speechless, Cheap....
Art Bears - The World as it is Today
Shub - Les Morts
Naked City
Begnagrad - Begnagrad
The Work - Rubber Cage
Tull - A, Broadsword, 20 Years Boxset
News From Babel - Letters Home, Sirens/Work
XTC - Black Sea, English Settlement
Beefheart - Doc at the Radar Station, Ice Cream for Crow
The Homosexuals
The Fear Merchants - Mental
Gus Coma

That's a start and I'm tired. Anybody that rips on the 80's needs to open their ears a bit.....

[yamishogun]

Because when I once said that I didn't, by and large, consider Rush to be prog, the PE sentiment was about 10-1 against (and loudly!).

Oh, sorry!

As most, I think Rush had some songs that were clearly prog, then border line prog. Here is something sort of funny... in 2004 or 2005 I tried several times to take "progressive" out of the wiki entry. The powers that be didn't like that one bit!

To me a great band that did keep experimenting until the end, but not in a prog way after 198_. (enter 0,1 or 2 as you wish)

[itserik]

In no particular order:
Hounds of Love - Kate Bush

Good one

Reach the Beach - The Fixx

Seriously?

[Buddhabreath]

This list was from the same issue that listed the 10 greatest attributes of Donald Trump.

Hey now, don't get political - the moderator might boot you fot being sarcastic about that ignorant narcissistic authorarian fascist pig that is now the biggest threat to national and international security.

[Soc Prof]

Three I would recommend from this era:

Rousseau--Retreat
Jean Pascal Boffo--Carillons
Isildurs Bane--Cheval

[Scrotum Scissor]

Not if you are an avanthead, superb decade, Eskaton, Univers Zero, Dun, Art Zoyd, Present, Zamla Mammaz Manna, Thinking Plague.

It's hardly about 'avant' versus 'non-avant'. Progressive rock was by definition in one way or another forward-moving music, and this mofo list reflects that down to a maggot's pubic hair. You're not moving forward by adding a vocoder or having the odd sections with a damn drummachine for the sheer imagined "art" of it. In the 80s you'd have New Romantic and post/art-punk artists making music that was more formally accomplished than most of the titles on this roster.

We've had several threads in here not only arguing but documenting how incredibly versatile and exciting the 80s were for progressive rock music (and I'm pointing to names advancing directly on the achievements of the 70s, not only latecomers or post-punk diversions), alas *some* of the so-called "prog" folks followed heel by still posing that it wasn't - although they knew turd about the names in question and didn't bother to acquaint themselves with it and arguably wouldn't have made sense of it if they did.

It was NEVER about 'avant/RIO (blah-blah)' against the 'sympho'; 95% of adherents to former setting know the lot about the latter, while 95% of the latter know dick about the former.

Progressive rock happened and happens internationally. If this doesn't enter the skulls of the wonderful Prog Mag staff folks any time soon, then let Nick Shilton and the possy run a chain of hot dog stands instead (and that's an honourable job, seriously). They are supposed to communicate information as to real events, tendencies, developments, structures and processes, yet these people wouldn't know where to begin except for the anomalies of every 10th writer (like Sid Smith).

World Trade. Yeah, right.

[viukkis]

This list was from the same issue that listed the 10 greatest attributes of Donald Trump.

Did that list include Discipline and Grace Under Pressure?

[at least 100 dead]

Did that list include Discipline and Grace Under Pressure?

Nah, only Fly By Night and Caress of Blue Steel...

[Trane]

How much more vanilla could this be? And the answer is none. None more vanilla.

Well outside Brother Where You Bound and to a much lesser extent ELPowell, the rest is indeed dreck and shows the shallowness if the knowledge of the writer... (and Script is much better than Misplaced Childhood, btw)

No Bacamarte - "Depois Do Fim?"

or any AZ or UZ albums??

Wow, worst list EVER.

Let's start by the fact that this well-known "journalist" makes a point of stating "these are the 10 best". That's pretty definitive talk. This list must be great right?!?

Even if we just stayed with this wimpy-ass big-5 laden thought process, let's consider that 1980 is ignored, which had Yes-Drama, Genesis-Duke, Jethro Tull-A. But the grand omission here, given the context, is King Crimson's Discipline. To me, this omission says the most about the limitations of the list maker.

Yes, but we're talking of that fairly dreadful "prog" mag.

'nuff said

[Trane]

Aaarrrgggh why did I even click on this thread, I never learn? A hideous list of very little merit, I cannot even be bothered to start to list the omissions, I refuse to be drawn into this web!

Yup...

I was going to make my own list but will abstain... Cozy and a few others wrote down cool list, though I would add an Art Zoyd album and a News From babel one as well.

essential to get rid of.

I will save the Supetramp album before getting rid of the baby and the bath waters , though

This, start with Univers Zero.

As I said, I'd add a AZ and a NFB album.

[Scrotum Scissor]

Deyss' At King came out in '85, IIRC. Nick Shilton would without doubt have included that before even managing to listen to sixteen seconds of Univers Zero, eleven of Art Bears or four of Shub-Niggurath. After all, none of these worked from the logical premise that Foxtrot is and should remain the greatest musical achievement in the history of man and so the work which gets the closest in appearance makes out the second best.