Rolling Stone readers pick top 10 Prog albums of 1970s

[JKL2000]

Jacob's ladder is a terrible bore... just a bolero... Crimson and ELP did that so much better...

You can't spell bolero without bore! Yeah, Jacob's Ladder was never a favorite of mine either.

[Vic2012]

How can Rush be prog but not Pink Floyd? Just never understood that. My guess is that Pink Floyd had a lot of mainstream success, and they had legions of fans that weren't prog nerds. I guess they're kind of England's answer to The Grateful Dead with the psychedlic vibe. Well, I only have three PF albums (DSOTM, Wish You Were Here, and Animals). They sound like prog to me. PF are more prog than Rush (imo).

[NeonKnight]

Rolling Stone readers pick top 10 Prog albums of 1970s

1. Rush 2112
2. Floyd--DSOTM
3. Yes --CTTE
4. Genesis-the Lamb
5. Genesis-Selling England
6. Rush-Hemispheres
7. Floyd -Animals
8. Tull-Thick as a Brick
9. Floyd -- The Wall
10. Floyd --WYWH

Actually, not a bad list at all, considering the source. For those who are claiming this list is based on the "radio friendly", there's really only 3 on the list I think of as radio staples: Dark Side, WYWH and The Wall.

Aqualung is miles more radio friendly then TAAB, but did not make the list. I actually would list Aqualung before Brick myself.

That was pure provocation on my behalf , because I'lm tired of prog ayatollahs and their "Floyd ain't prog arguments"

"Prog Ayatollahs" F-ing great line! Can I steal it?

[Trane]

Hemispheres certainly deserves to be placed much, much higher than 2112 as above .

Not really... the side-long title-track comparison leans/goes easily to 2112.
Circumstances and Trees certainly don't surpass Bangkok, Something For Nothing or the Twilight Zone
However Villa Strangiato surpasses easily anything on 2112... But it's too little, too few... and too late...

AFTK ios their best, IMHO

You can't spell bolero without bore! Yeah, Jacob's Ladder was never a favorite of mine either.

The four letters of the latter are to be found in the former (I like Crimson's version; with the brit-jazzers, though)

How can Rush be prog but not Pink Floyd? Just never understood that. My guess is that Pink Floyd had a lot of mainstream success, and they had legions of fans that weren't prog nerds. I guess they're kind of England's answer to The Grateful Dead with the psychedlic vibe. Well, I only have three PF albums (DSOTM, Wish You Were Here, and Animals). They sound like prog to me. PF are more prog than Rush (imo).

Easily ahead of Rush... but both are "p..."

"Prog Ayatollahs" F-ing great line! Can I steal it?

be my guest...

It's hardly anything new... it's been in use in ProgArchivers for years - though I might have been one of the first to "invent it" in a religion & prog debate with ivàn (though not directed at him)...

[Firth]

How can Rush be prog but not Pink Floyd? Just never understood that. My guess is that Pink Floyd had a lot of mainstream success, and they had legions of fans that weren't prog nerds. I guess they're kind of England's answer to The Grateful Dead with the psychedlic vibe. Well, I only have three PF albums (DSOTM, Wish You Were Here, and Animals). They sound like prog to me. PF are more prog than Rush (imo).

Pink Floyd is definitely art rock, however from a musical standpoint there is not as much innovation or complexity as Yes and Genesis. But, if someone wishes to call them prog, I don't care. Pink Flyd was not a jam band, which is what the Grateful Dead were. Pink Floyd really didn't have mainstream success until the Wall, in the US. Rush is innovative hard/prog rock, but I can't get past the vocals on those 70's recordings.

[Firth]

I actually would list Aqualung before Brick myself.

But, Ian Anderson wouldn't.

[Vic2012]

Pink Floyd really didn't have mainstream success until the Wall,

You coulda fooled me. I wasn't listening to Pink Floyd or prog in 1973, but I remember DSOTM being very popular. I don't remember hearing them on the radio (I'm sure they were all over FM radio back then) but I remember hearing a lot of buzz about that album and Pink Floyd in general. I thought Dark Side was the album that pushed them further up in commercial success.

[Scott Bails]

Pink Floyd really didn't have mainstream success until the Wall, in the US.

Unless you count having an album on the charts for 741 weeks as mainstream.

[Progmatic]

Pink Floyd really didn't have mainstream success until the Wall, in the US.

Are you sure about that? I thought DSOTM spent 800 weeks in Billboard 200 charts starting from 1973

[Firth]

Are you sure about that? I thought DSOTM spent 800 weeks in Billboard 200 charts starting from 1973

The fact that an album charts, doesn't make it mainstream or a success. The Wall had the highest sales in the 70s, of all albums. FM in 73 was alternative, in 69 it was underground. There are obvious exceptions to these generalizations, but mainstream USA was not listening to DSOTM. I was in college and I know what was mainstream and it wasn't Floyd.

[Firth]

1973




1973 Top 40 (Own)
1 TIE A YELLOW RIBBON 'ROUND THE OLE OAK TREE TONY ORLANDO & DAWN
2 WHY ME KRIS KRISTOFFERSON
3 BAD BAD LEROY BROWN JIM CROCE
4 KILLING ME SOFTLY WITH HIS SONG ROBERTA FLACK
5 LET'S GET IT ON MARVIN GAYE
6 MY LOVE PAUL MCCARTNEY & WINGS
7 CROCODILE ROCK ELTON JOHN
8 WILL IT GO ROUND IN CIRCLES BILLY PRESTON
9 YOU'RE SO VAIN CARLY SIMON
10 TOUCH ME IN THE MORNING DIANA ROSS
11 ME & MRS. JONES BILLY PAUL
12 THE NIGHT THE LIGHTS WENT OUT IN GEORGIA VICKI LAWRENCE
13 HALF-BREED CHER
14 PLAYGROUND IN MY MIND CLINT HOLMES
15 BROTHER LOUIE STORIES
16 DELTA DAWN HELEN REDDY
17 KEEP ON TRUCKIN' EDDIE KENDRICKS
18 THAT LADY ISLEY BROTHERS
19 FRANKENSTEIN EDGAR WINTER GROUP
20 DRIFT AWAY DOBIE GRAY
21 MIDNIGHT TRAIN TO GEORGIA GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS
22 LITTLE WILLIE THE SWEET
23 YOU ARE THE SUNSHINE OF MY LIFE STEVIE WONDER
24 PILLOW TALK SYLVIA
25 WE'RE AN AMERICAN BAND GRAND FUNK
26 RIGHT PLACE, WRONG TIME DR JOHN
27 ROCKIN' PNEUMONIA & THE BOOGIE WOOGIE FLU JOHNNY RIVERS
28 FUNNY FACE DONNA FARGO
29 SUPERSTITION STEVIE WONDER
30 WILDFLOWER SKYLARK
31 DANCIN' IN THE MOONLIGHT KING HARVEST
32 LOVES ME LIKE A ROCK PAUL SIMON
33 MORNING AFTER MAUREEN MCGOVERN
34 ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH JOHN DENVER
35 CLAIRE GILBERT O' SULLIVAN
36 STUCK IN THE MIDDLE WITH YOU STEELERS WHEEL
37 SHAMBALA THREE DOG NIGHT
38 ANGIE ROLLING STONES
39 LOVE TRAIN O'JAY'S
40 I'M GONNA LOVE YOU JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE, BABY BARRY WHITE

[Scott Bails]

The fact that an album charts, doesn't make it mainstream or a success. .....mainstream USA was not listening to DSOTM. I was in college and I know what was mainstream and it wasn't Floyd.

This makes no sense at all.

Who was buying all of those copies of DSotM then? For 741 weeks?!!!!

Were people just buying it and not listening to it?

[NogbadTheBad]

DSOTM was number 1 on the US album charts in March 73 and stayed on the charts for 700+ weeks.

The Wall is about the isolation from the crowd Waters felt due to playing massive stadiums in the USA. Hardly a band who are not mainstream.

[raconteur troubadour]

This is far better than I expected from that mag. They are musically incompetent.
Funny thing is I still read it, but not for anything music!
I read it for the Matt Taibbi articles.

Exactly my take, the last thing I read it for is their musical opinions, their other content (charley sheen interview, the soldier that deserted and was captured by the Taliban) for example is good reading. The best of the non musical content is Matt Taibbi, shame more people haven't read his exposes of the Wall Street scams, he's got a gift for making the complicated understandable.

[klothos]

Unless you count having an album on the charts for 741 weeks as mainstream.

Are you sure about that? I thought DSOTM spent 800 weeks in Billboard 200 charts starting from 1973

Dark Side Of The Moon had a long period of "backburner on warm" (hitting a small mainstream audience over a long period of time) instead of a short period of "hot" (hitting a huge percentage of the mainstream audience within a short time-frame) like Get The Knack by The Knack.........this difference is important when discussing what is popular with the mainstream in relationship to DSOTM........and then you have to entertain the "Conspiracy Theories" if the album hovered at the bottom-end of Billboards Top 200 Album Charts for so long due to Payola

[Scrotum Scissor]

Pink Floyd is definitely art rock, however from a musical standpoint there is not as much innovation or complexity as Yes and Genesis.

Since Yes and Genesis or the rest of the "bigs" were never even remotely as innovative or complex as Henry Cow, Univers Zero or Albert Marcoeur, then I guess the "classic" "prog" bands weren't really progressive either? And since current groups like Zs, Behold...The Arctopus and Normal Love are playing music on a complexity level far beyond just about anything ever accomplished in past rock music, I suppose these are the "true" progressive bands and that "prog" as such is a very recent "genre"?

[Digital_Man]

Calling 2112 a "wolf screeching metal album" is pretty unfair imo. For one thing if it is metal then it's more of a proto or early metal thing. Also, I feel the album has a lot of different textures to it. It's maybe not the best example of prog(and they would do more prog sounding albums immediately after this)but it definitely has a prog influence on much of it. I agree it shouldn't be number one or even top ten for that matter but it has held up pretty well over all.

[Digital_Man]

I have to admit if I ever saw a RS list that said "best prog rock albums after the seventies"(or something like that)I would probably do a spit take(assuming I was drinking something).

[Firth]

This makes no sense at all.

Who was buying all of those copies of DSotM then? For 741 weeks?!!!!

Were people just buying it and not listening to it?

Who is buying prog today?

[Firth]

Calling 2112 a "wolf screeching metal album" is pretty unfair imo. For one thing if it is metal then it's more of a proto or early metal thing. Also, I feel the album has a lot of different textures to it. It's maybe not the best example of prog(and they would do more prog sounding albums immediately after this)but it definitely has a prog influence on much of it. I agree it shouldn't be number one or even top ten for that matter but it has held up pretty well over all.

Early proto metal is Sabbath, Zepellin and Deep Purple.

[bRETT]

1973



2 WHY ME KRIS KRISTOFFERSON

That can't be right-- It didn't even go top 10.

[Firth]

Since Yes and Genesis or the rest of the "bigs" were never even remotely as innovative or complex as Henry Cow, Univers Zero or Albert Marcoeur, then I guess the "classic" "prog" bands weren't really progressive either? And since current groups like Zs, Behold...The Arctopus and Normal Love are playing music on a complexity level far beyond just about anything ever accomplished in past rock music, I suppose these are the "true" progressive bands and that "prog" as such is a very recent "genre"?

Understand, I only used Yes and Genesis as examples, but musically there are bands far more innovative than them, especially the fusion bands.

[klothos]

Understand, I only used Yes and Genesis as examples, but musically there are bands far more innovative than them, especially the fusion bands.

side topic: Probably true although the only issue I have with a lot of fusion bands and their associated musicians is that they just can't play simple . Its interesting to note that I have hired musicians over the years (drummers mainly) who were excellent jazz and fusion players. A lot of these guys looked down their nose at other styles of music as "beneath them" ( I am sure many readers here have met the type) but they just couldn't play a simple AC/DC style drum beat without (A) doctoring it up with a bunch of overplaying crap or (B) deliver it with Rock authority. Theres nothing worse than an AC/DC drum beat riddled with flowery jazz ride cymbal accents ...... In some ways, I almost can respect a musician's elitest attitude if they have the command of their mind to not overplay their instrument on songs that don't require it....but its amazing how many players I have met that actually struggle to play three minutes of straight 8ths on a hi-hat with quarter note kicks and snare on the two and four with neanderthal authority and not doctor it up with non-essential bullshit. If they can train themselves to play a lot then they should have the command NOT to play.......Many musicians practice notes but forget that "rests" are notes, too

</soapbox>

back to topic

[Rufus]

Understand, I only used Yes and Genesis as examples, but musically there are bands far more innovative than them, especially the fusion bands.

In other words the Jam bands who dont know how to structure a piece of music ?

[Progbear]

This makes no sense at all.

Who was buying all of those copies of DSotM then? For 741 weeks?!!!!

Were people just buying it and not listening to it?

Indeed. PF are far more remembered these days than obscure chart hits of 1973. Ask the average listener and they’re far more likely to recognize, “Time,” “The Great Gig in the Sky” (which was used in a commercial!) or “Money” than, say, “Keep On Truckin’” by Eddie Kendricks (I’m sure I must have heard that at some point, but I sure couldn’t tell you how it goes!). It’s all about the enduring vs. the ephemeral...also, I have noticed in the past that certain prog fans have this delusion that prog always has been this mega-underground thing whispered among a select few. I guess this fantasy makes them feel “special.” The reality: Yes and ELP albums sold in the gold and platinum range throughout the 70s. Jethro Tull had three number one albums, two of those were album-length epics. And so on and so forth.

That can't be right-- It didn't even go top 10.

Indeed. What list is he using? Cashbox?

-------------
MIKE (a.k.a. "Progbear")

"You can take the war out of the soldier, but you can't raise that soldier from the dead."
--Shona Laing

N.P.:nothing