Prog TV Shows or Documentaries

[TheLoony]

Back in the 80s there was a documentary about prog rock on MTV which was basically a long interview with Ian Anderson, about prog in general. Not with Rick Wakeman. I used to have it on VHS and watched it often, but I can't remember the title or find it on YouTube.

EDIT: Found a promo for it, but not the full show - the series was called Rock Influences:

Might still have a copy of the Prog rock episode on video. Spandau Ballet ain't prog. No one who's Prog does a song as lame as True.

Ok, maybe overstepped there as I don't know their output, but True is a totally lame. And some great Prog acts have had rather lame songs but if Spandau is Prog then I don't know what Prog is.

Of course, 23 minutes only affords someone so much time to explore a very deep subject. It was Ian Anderson interviewed about it but they totally missed the mark on that episode.

[Halmyre]

Might still have a copy of the Prog rock episode on video. Spandau Ballet ain't prog. No one who's Prog does a song as lame as True.

Ok, maybe overstepped there as I don't know their output, but True is a totally lame. And some great Prog acts have had rather lame songs but if Spandau is Prog then I don't know what Prog is.

Well, as time goes on we can often look back on bands with more forgiving eyes.

But not Spandau Ballet.

[Lopez]

In early 1970 a 60-minute show aired on network TV called "Switched on Symphony" hosted by Zubin Mehta. It featured the Nice, Jerry Goodman from the Flock, Santana, Jethro Tull, and others. I remember enjoying it very much. Each performer played a number (the Nice played "Country Pie" if I remember correctly) and chatted with Zubin. At the end, the performers got together with Santana to play "Soul Sacrifice." I've been looking for video copy of this for years. I guess the licensing has doomed that prospect.

[zappaeverafter]

Hey Lou! Thanks for that memory! I saw this program although I don't recall Jerry Goodman's participation. I had recorded the audio to cassette with an unsophisticated recorder, but the tape has not survived. I have never encountered the program since. There was another early TV program possibly mentioned earlier in this or some other PE thread that somewhat fits into this topic. The New York Rock and Roll Ensemble (with future film music composers Michael Kamen and Mark Snow) were featured on a Leonard Bernstein's Young People's Concert program in 1968 which I also saw. The group "performed their signature song "Brandenburg", based on the first movement of Bach's Fifth Brandenburg Concerto. This track showed the group at their best, starting off as a straight rendition featuring two oboes, guitar and cello, then transitioning into a rock tune, while continuing to use Bach's musical foundation" (quote from wiki). Proto or quasi prog at the least (for 1968). I was suitably impressed by all of these. Great stuff at the time for major steps in my musical appreciation formative development.

[tribalfusion]

I thought I would check back again and see if there are any more updates or documentaries which were overlooked the first time around.

I should also mention that the documentary Rompan Todo came out on Netflix last year and some of it features Gustavo Santaolalla (Arco Iris) prominently as well as a bit with Pedro Aznar, Charly Garcia (Sui Generis and Seru Giran), David Lebon, Los Jaivas and some discussion of Pescado Rabioso and Spinetta as well as a few others of possible interest to members here.

For those who speak Spanish, this documentary on Argentine rock covers a bit of the build up to the golden age of Argentine rock and has some overlap with the more recent Rompan Todo. It features discussion of Arco Iris, Almendra and Sui Generis among others:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08oLA9Qt3sg