Prog Rock

for me, the best part of the book was the fripp narrative weaving in and out

I agree, as sort of progs prickly conscience.

i would have liked to have seen legit reckoning with contemporary prog (glass hammer, battles, thinking plague, these new puritans, teeth of the sea, motorpsycho, godspeed, wobbler, etc) but probably it's asking too much that a guy who's fortunate enough in other ways to wind up a 'washington post' reporter would win the karma lottery twice and be clued into the really good new stuff too. not a lot of people are in on the secret that prog started not sucking again a while ago. he's a pretty smooth writer though and it's a nice read for what it is

There's a really good column in (I think) Prog magazine called "Prog or Not Prog" iirc, where they address bands like Talk Talk, say, and sort of theorize around whether or not they fit the bill.

Still say overlooking the impact of OK Computer was kind of weird. Or even (going backwards) the Fairport et al. folk-rock stuff, which definitely played a huge part in prog.

Anyway, clearly (per the title) the book was structured around the rise and fall of ELP, with Fripp as a sort of purist through line.

There's a really good column in (I think) Prog magazine called "Prog or Not Prog" iirc, where they address bands like Talk Talk, say, and sort of theorize around whether or not they fit the bill.

― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 22 September 2017 02:40

I liked it when they profiled Sparks because they were actually interviewed about it and they said they were surprised more people hadn't picked up on their prog influences.

have we talked about the Physics House Band?

I guess you could say they were math rock, like Battles or something, but they feel more prog in some way to me than Battles...I dunno, it's a fine line. Dudes are monsters though and I like it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgLB_t2DcfU

I don't know--you guys keep bringing up all these recent bands, but how many of them wear capes?

street prog

How many prog guys who aren't Rick Wakeman wear capes?

Last time I saw a cape was maybe ... Jason Falkner when he was backing Air? Am I remembering that correctly?

the dude from Gong had angel wings when i saw them

David Crosby
James Brown
Screamin' Jay Hawkins

also iconic rock n roll cape wearers

james brown is the proggest of all

have we talked about the Physics House Band?

― Universal LULU Nation (upper mississippi sh@kedown)

these fuckers spell "imipolex" wrong

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1Q7Wj8IQTQ

I like this weird old school Italo/prog electro thing. It's got a good message.

yes, they named themselves after the henry cow song

It's funny that Rick Wakeman got a reputation for wearing capes and his flamboyant keyboard style and for being a guy that is often held up as some sort of figurehead of prog excesses when of all the members of Yes circa Close to the Edge he was probably the most straight-ahead, no-bullshit, down to earth member who hated what he perceived to be the very indulgent nature of Topographic Oceans and Relayer...

How many prog guys who aren't Rick Wakeman wear capes?

― Robert Adam Gilmour, Friday, September 22, 2017 3:03 PM (three days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

quick image search gives me caped Chris Squire, Peter Gabriel, Pete Hammill

Fripp used to wear one a lot too according to Tony Banks

I presume Fripp wears one in his down time. Gabriel cape was part of Watcher/bat creature costume, right?

Roger Waters used to wear one in the Syd era.

A be-caped Keith Emerson:

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/pf3ywR5DERA/hqdefault.jpg

It's funny that Rick Wakeman got a reputation for wearing capes and his flamboyant keyboard style and for being a guy that is often held up as some sort of figurehead of prog excesses when of all the members of Yes circa Close to the Edge he was probably the most straight-ahead, no-bullshit, down to earth member who hated what he perceived to be the very indulgent nature of Topographic Oceans and Relayer...

― more Allegro-like (Turrican)

his "no-bullshit" nature didn't keep him from smothering "tales from topographic oceans" in indulgent birotron solos. and the dude can hate "relayer" all he likes. he wasn't on it.

I thought Tormato was the one with the Birotron

OK, had to google Biroton.

ok, i guess it wasn't a birotron on tales and the album was really just smothered in plain ol' mellotron solos. if it had been a birotron i'm sure the album would've been yards better, as the birotron is to a mellotron what the vako orchestron is to the optigan.

from wikipedia: 'Wakeman played it backstage noting it sounded "more mellow than a Mellotron"' - but was it more chamber than a chamberlin?

here's mellotron advocate mike dickson playing the beach boys' "prayer" on birotron samples. it sounds fucking awful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SqLl5fOokA

I assume this is some Wiki vandalism in progress:

The Birotron (pronounced by-ro-tron) is a tape replay keyboard conceived by American musician and inventor Dave Biro of Yalesville, Connecticut, US, and funded by English keyboardist Rick Wakeman, Campbell Soup Company-Pepperidge Farm Foods in the 1970s.

Last time I checked Wakeman loves Relayer.

I don't know what instrument he uses but some of the atmospheric washes in Topographic are gorgeous and among the highlights. Worthy of Tangerine Dream.

for real, robert. those synth washes rule, especially in and around howe's acoustic picking and strumming in that 'second movement' / 'sidelong epic', up there imho with "close to the edge" and "the gates of delirium"

Yeah the way the vocals are mixed in the washes is especially beautiful. One of the most spinetinglingly awesome Yes moments. I haven't heard all the 70s prog yet but so far I haven't heard much quite like it from that time.

Have you guys heard the Bubblemath record (Edit Peptide)?

It's like Gentle Giant (minus the medievalisms) through a Rundgren New Wave/AOR hyperprism. Or something. The songs take off on some fairly dazzling mathy instrumental diversions but it's catchy and fun with lots of cynical wordplay.

I could be way off with those reference points, but I mention it because prog and new.

From the samples I heard I was looking forward to the KOYO self-titled debut (88 Watts). Press quotes mention Pompeii-era Floyd, Ozric Tentacles, MBV, Tame Impala. I'd add Radiohead. Having heard the whole album a few times, perhaps a bit too much sticky melodic sweetness, but parts do stand up to repeated listens.

The Adrian Belew/Stewart Copeland collab Gizmodrome is interesting and wacky, very squirm inducing. The sound of eccentric old rockers wagging their willies in their sick beds? Probably a curiosity to be lost and then found.

Caligula's Horse and Leprous are great but I'm really feeling the promo of the upcoming Wobbler. Leads off with a 21:49 title track "From Silence To Somewhere" that is as satisfying a journey as any chunk that large from the prog giants.

yea Wobbler are top-notch, I think they're one of the few bands (along with Glass Hammer, sometimes) that actually can nail that era of Yes without sounding out of sorts or totally derivative.

I dug the Gizmodrome album - I think it comes off better when you think of it as a Copeland-oriented project, almost like a direct sequel to his Klark Kent stuff. The "supergroup" aspect of the band doesn't really come through here, though I'm sure they're excellent live (Oysterhead were the same way, doing all sorts of 10-minute jams and oddball excursions, but none of that was on the record).

new Deluge Grander album appears to be on the horizon. I love everything they've done so far so I'm sure it'll be excellent.

I know I saw Oysterhead live and I remember leaving early, because I fucking hate that Phish guy's playing.

Anyway, Belew is in the band but it sounds like a Copeland project? Is Belew singing and/or writing? I assume his guitar is as much a feature as Copeland's drums.

knowing Copeland's style, the songs are clearly his (plus, two are old Klark Kent songs). he does some background vocals I think. Belew's guitar is there and sounds pretty good (as always)

fastnbulous, what does that Caligula's Horse album sound like?

I haven't given the latest enough focused listens to write well about it, but it's their fourth album, and a step forward in songwriting from Bloom (2011). Comparisons to a harder rocking Fragile-era Yes are not completely out of bounds (they could do a great cover of "South Side of the Sky"), with a polished production not hugely different from Norway's Leprous, that I kind of wish were roughed up more. Some shredding metal guitar solos from Sam Wallen that make me half expect to hear death growls like mid 00s Opeth. Jim Grey's vocals are technically very good, but I had a hard time getting into it. The band has grown on me.

I definitely thought of Opeth a few times. The first couple tracks on that album are immense.

Sorry, Bloom was 2015. Their first album is 2011.

Kaipa - Children Of The Sounds
Swedish symphonic proggers have been around since 1973. It's a good balance of accessible melodies and stretched out epics with guitar solos, pretty great!

Bubblemath - Edit Peptide
Checked it our per Noel's recommendation above. Kind of like an updated eccentric blend of socialist prog fusion like Henry Cow, Gong, Soft Machine. Not sure if it's going to exhaust me or grow on me.

The Contortionist - Clairvoyant
I'm not big into the Djent and deathcore stuff, but people are really into their previous album, Language (2014). I'll need to revisit that and give this some more listening time. It's definitely their smoothest sounding production.

Agusa - Agusa
Third self-titled album will be out Oct 27. Good ol JJ has a track preview here: http://theobelisk.net/obelisk/2017/09/28/agusa-self-titled-bertom-hemom-premiere/

Bubblemath sounds like it would be my kind of thing, I'll have to check them out.

Lör - In Forgotten Sleep
Folk prog with some power metal!
https://halloflor.bandcamp.com/album/in-forgotten-sleep

^^^great album

The Bubblemath (it's their 2nd album - the first was 12 years ago or something!) might seem very dense at first but it's addictive. Close to the top of my favourites this year, really fun and impressive.

Saint Just album is great, an odd little thing (you heard it Reggie?) Finished it and looking forward to the second one, some say the vocals are way more annoying, which is promising for me. Hipster kisses to Jenny Sorrenti.

both saint just albums are great. the second one is more straight-up "prog rock" but is still bad-ass. love the song on the first lp where jenny's brother alan guests on vocals. heard the first couple alan sorrenti discs? great stuff, wild "starsailor" type shit with jean-luc ponty all over the first one. i also have a bootleg of this band with david jackson on sax, totally badass.

any love for invisible here? i have been getting into some of their bootlegs; prog-rock spinetta is just so badass.

Haven't heard Alan Sorrenti. Saint Just's third album is called "Prog Explosion".