Prog Rock Facts That Make You Want To Cry

[Progatron]

I get why people don't like Hammill's vocals. Any time there is someone that unique, there will be just as many people who find them unappealing as those who love them.

I land 100% in the 'love him' category.

[Vic2012]

I like Hammill's singing too. VDGG is a great prog band.

[Big Ears]

UK did not last long enough to record and release five or more strong studio albums.
ELP's Works was not as strong as Brain Salad Surgery.
ELP were rejuvenated in the early nineties, especially in their live shows, but could not record new material equal to the classic albums.
Refugee only made one studio album.
Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett left Genesis. Ray Wilson too.
King Crimson never recorded another In the Court of the Crimson King.
Greenslade and Wigwam were not as big as, say, Yes.
Mutt Lange abandoned City Boy for Def Leppard.
Seventies punk rock.

Cry may be too strong a word, but I felt anxiety.

[mogrooves]

Robert Wyatt suffered a paralyzing fall

[lak611]

ELP didn't stay together long enough to release "Crossing the Rubicon".

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[ssully]

the 1980s

[moecurlythanu]

Just about all of 'em.

[JKL2000]

the 1980s

ALTERNATIVE PROG ROCK FACT: The 1980s were the high-point of prog.

[Trane]

The hit synthesizer song Popcorn sounds a lot like the title track of Stratosphere by Tangerine Dream.

It came out many years earlier.

Attachment 9864

Are you sure you're not confusing with the 1979 French electro-pop revisiting of Popcorn... I think that's the one that made it world-wide.

Frank Zappa alumni Peter Wolf produced and co-wrote We Built This City.

Narada Michael Walden went from playing drums with Mahavishnu Orchestra, Jeff Beck and Tommy Bolin to producing Whitney Houston, Starship, Jermaine Stewart and many others not worth mentioning.

The fact that in the space of a single year, we lost David Bowie, Keith Emerson, Greg Lake, and John Wetton (among many others). I don't know why, but that really upsets me a lot for some reason.

That Grace Slick was in We Built This City is worse than Wolff producing it. Yup, Narada sold out heavily

I felt worse for Daevid Allen's loss alone the previous year more than all those losses of last year.

And TBH, I felt more pain for Kantner alone, than all of those together as well

We're still talking about and listening to music made in the 1970s. There is no modern-day equivalent.

sadly

Robert Wyatt suffered a paralyzing fall

Tragedy of course... But would we have had Rock Bottom, Ruth or Schleeep, though?

[rockcup]

Recordlabels want hitsingles and songs from 3 minutes.

[Scrotum Scissor]

Robert Wyatt suffered a paralyzing fall

Now that potentially raises one of the most grotesque inherent controversies I could possibly imagine in relation to "progressive rock" - so I refuse to go there.

[Scrotum Scissor]

ALTERNATIVE PROG ROCK FACT: The 1980s were the high-point of prog.

Jed, let's present [no pun!] another one of those 8-page threads on how the 80s actually weren't that bad after all, listing some 150+ names positively confirming this yet have the PUNTERS check in on page 9 to still insist that yeah, seeing as those 10-11 "big ones" of the 70s didn't deliver shit during the 80s (or afterwards, for that matter), the concept of the terrible 80s still stands.

So what if the torn and worn and weary "symphonic rock" conundrum was bygone as commercial and creative force? Progressive rock at large endured, developed and indeed proceeded to blossom down the line - given new skins, new contents, new impacts in a new time and at the mercy of a new cultural logistic called "independent". Not an alternative fact at all.

[Steve F.]

ALTERNATIVE PROG ROCK FACT: The 1980s were the high-point of prog.

They actually were, arguably, the high point of Rock In Opposition- styled progressive rock....

[Buddhabreath]

Peter is a true original and still delivers the goods. He's one of the greats, imo.

Absolutely. He is capable of anything from silky smooth crooning with perfect intonation to the greatest guttural rock howls to going off the rails with calculated intention. Still, I can see that a superficial perusal of his work by the ignorant or narrow could quickly lead to tears...

[Scrotum Scissor]

Absolutely. He is capable of anything from silky smooth crooning with perfect intonation to the greatest guttural rock howls to going off the rails with calculated intention.

Not only that. When spinning an album like A Grounding In Numbers, there's the fascinating element of recognition - the soundwork and palate, the motions of sincere voice, the charging artistic "message" - which resonates consistently with just about everything Hammill has EVER done, no matter the decade, the instrumentation, the production etc. And still it sounds absolutely fresh, vital and just inexplainably relevant as statement of the contemporary. Now this is a pretty damn special achievement.

[regenerativemusic]

Jed, let's present [no pun!] another one of those 8-page threads on how the 80s actually weren't that bad after all, listing some 150+ names positively confirming this yet have the PUNTERS check in on page 9 to still insist that yeah, seeing as those 10-11 "big ones" of the 70s didn't deliver shit during the 80s (or afterwards, for that matter), the concept of the terrible 80s still stands.

So what if the torn and worn and weary "symphonic rock" conundrum was bygone as commercial and creative force? Progressive rock at large endured, developed and indeed proceeded to blossom down the line - given new skins, new contents, new impacts in a new time and at the mercy of a new cultural logistic called "independent". Not an alternative fact at all.

I think it's more about if the 80s created Prog Rock that the majority of fans like and keep coming back to. Nothing against those bands, but I personally don't have the interest in them as much as the 70s, so they are kind of dwarfed in my book, although I think the 80s created great music, but it was in other bands like Echo and the Bunnymen and early King's X, and many other bands with good but spotty catalogs (which are too embarrassing to associate oneself with in a public forum).

I think the 80s were very strong musically, as is every decade, but the good Prog then is more an acquired taste of the few.

[Scrotum Scissor]

but the good Prog then is more an acquired taste of the few.

Yes, this is the case. It had effectively become a niche within another one. Even though most of what I (and many with me) would consider great "prog" of the 80s actually didn't relate that much to the 70s at all.

[Buddhabreath]

Not only that. When spinning an album like A Grounding In Numbers, there's the fascinating element of recognition - the soundwork and palate, the motions of sincere voice, the charging artistic "message" - which resonates consistently with just about everything Hammill has EVER done, no matter the decade, the instrumentation, the production etc. And still it sounds absolutely fresh, vital and just inexplainably relevant as statement of the contemporary. Now this is a pretty damn special achievement.

Agreed. IMO, the immediacy of his voice and his ability to evoke honest and raw emotion indeed resonates intensely for those who are able to receive it. He has provided a soundtrack for the apogees and much more so the nadirs (no pun intended) of life for me and others that I personally know of...

[GuitarGeek]

UK did not last long enough to record and release five or more strong studio albums.

Would have been nice to have another couple UK records.

ELP's Works was not as strong as Brain Salad Surgery.

On top of that, it's rather distressing that in the space of three or whatever it was years, the three of them couldn't get the "solo album syndrome" out of their systems. I wonder what would have happened if they had each done a solo album, circa 75-76, and met back in 77, ready to make music as a group again.

Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett left Genesis. Ray Wilson too.

So did Ant Phillips.

King Crimson never recorded another In the Court of the Crimson King.

You've obviously never heard In The Court Of Poseidon. They never made another Lizard.

Greenslade and Wigwam were not as big as, say, Yes.

Greenslade might not have been big, but their bass player Martin Briley did have a Stateside hit with Salt In My Tears.

Mutt Lange abandoned City Boy for Def Leppard.

Actually, I think he abandoned City Boy for AC/DC, then he abandoned the Aussies (who are mostly not really Aussie) for Def Leppard.

Seventies punk rock.

Punk would have been fine, if it had been just the music, but it was the whole stupid attitude, and then the damn journalists started piggybacking all this anti-art rock dren onto it. But man, I still dig The Ramones and The Clash.

Robert Wyatt suffered a paralyzing fall

What wonders where he would have gone if he hadn't had the accident. Fred Frith said he was invited to take Phil Miller's place in Matching Mole, and wasn't sure what to do, until the fall made the choice for him, and Robert, and everyone else.

the 1980s

I realize I'm in the minority around here, but I loved the 80's. Synth pop, Iron Maiden, The Producers, Misplaced Childhood, The Wake, 90125, Cloud About Mercury, Escape From Noise, and Abacab were all awesome.

[Digital_Man]

There are Prog bands that sell 10,000 albums?

You're right. I probably should have made it 5,000 albums.

[tormato]

King Crimson never recorded another In the Court of the Crimson King..

That's good, as the point of progressive rock is to progress and not release a dozen "son of the Crimson King..." albums.

[Reid]

Most active thread on PE in the past week: Gaga Halftime

[Digital_Man]

[You've obviously never heard In The Court Of Poseidon. They never made another Lizard. ]

Bingo. You could almost say "wake" is "court" part 2. Side one in particular follows pretty much the same exact format. Side two is similar in that there is one long experimental track.

[Progbear]

UK did not last long enough to record and release five or more strong studio albums.

As much as I like their two LPs, they pulled the plug at the right time. Judging by “Nothing to Lose,” Wetton would have dragged them down the road of crass 80s corporate-rock à la Asia sooner or later.

Recordlabels want hitsingles and songs from 3 minutes.

Peoplewho render tenword sentencesas eightwords.

[Digital_Man]

As much as I like their two LPs, they pulled the plug at the right time. Judging by “Nothing to Lose,” Wetton would have dragged them down the road of crass 80s corporate-rock à la Asia sooner or later.

Does this mean you don't like Boston, Journey or Styx either?