Prog Rock

is there a chance the new phish album is any good?

I'll bite. Yeah, it's really good - as far as Phish studio albums go. They (thankfully) ditched Bob Ezrin (not a good match for them at all) in favor of Vance Powell and I think he did a great job on this one. It's easily the best studio thing they've ever done, imo. The silliness is pretty much gone, in favor of a more introspective approach to lyrics. Helps that pretty much the entire record has been road tested for years. There are two instances where they jam out on the songs, to really great effect compared to past studio jams ("Everything's Right", "Thread"). There's also a few songs with orchestral touches that gave me a bit of a Beatles vibe for some reason. I'd hesitate to call it "prog" ("Petrichor", from their last album, was the closest they've come to prog in years), but I could see how prog fans might enjoy this far more than their other studio records.

A great recording of Dave Stweart's 'Rapid Eye Movement' went up on D1m3ad0z3n a few days ago and it's a great listen. It's from 1981, kinda like a strange cross between similar era Crimson, Bill Nelson's Red Noise and zippy New Wave Pop du jour. Includes a cover of XTC's Mekanik Dancing.

never was much on rapid eye movement, but i got a pretty nice tape of rick biddulph early '80s demos that often circulate erroneously labelled as being by "rapid eye movement" and "meanwhile" is a nice jam. wonder if that song ever had a complete version released?

two of mike barnes' favorite words appear to be "moot" and "remit"

local shop had 3 Triumvirat LPs - Spartacus, Old Loves Die Hard, and Pompeii (by "NEW TRIUMVIRAT"!!) - god, these records are so much fun

I never saw ELP, but I did see Triumvirat warm up for Fleetwoid Mac. They played the Illusions on a Double Dimple album in its entirety.

Just done a double take on my amazon recommendations because there's a 5 Essential albums collection of Nektar!

I would opine that they don't have 5 essential albums, and I'm a fan; had tix to see the current touring version this year but they cancelled.

There's also a box set of PFM's Manticore albums.

I'm not much of a modern prog connoisseur but I really like Vulkan's Technatura: late Opeth-esque Swedish prog with light shades of alt metal and what (to my ears) sounds like distant Thom Yorke inflections on the vocal front, which is a definite plus in my book.

Any love for Pulsar's Halloween? It's really good but not what the title or cover suggests.

Not an ounce of originality involved (or almost) but Wobbler's Dwellers of the Deep is a damn good pastiche.

Yeah, like a very specific product of 1971-72 (esp. Yes and Gentle Giant). It's pandering as hell, but I kind of love it. They catch the funky side of those bands.

oh damn I have to check that out. I was really excited about it then just forgot about it completely. Well, that's life.

I don't mind the '72 pastiche thing as long as you do it right. their last album very much sounded to me like it could've been recorded alongside Close to the Edge. it's like 95% as good too. a lotta bands try this but they just don't have the singer for it.

Whoa, thanks for the tip re: Wobbler! Yup, that Dwellers EP is indeed very well-executed in terms of Yes/GG worship.

The final sprint at the end of "Merry Macabre" is great.

I often find new prog albums too polished and sterile, so the vintage approach is at least a way around that. Even if the Hammond organ isn't my favourite sound in the world.

Awhile ago on the Jethro Tull thread I was enthusing about related band Carmen's Fandangos In Space, one of my favorite and most perfectly sequenced albums.

Dancing On A Cold Wind isn't as consistently brilliant but the heights are just as good "The Horseman" in particular. My CD version is the two album pack and this is a flawed vinyl rip, would be nice to hear a remaster. I'm pretty sure it's a concept album, they reuse a couple of bits from the previous album.

Again, I think they're one of the very best prog bands that didn't even attain a Gentle Giant level of fame and they really need a nice high profile reissue someday.

I used to love Fandangos in Space but I haven't played it in years, time for a relisten. I also own their final album, The Gypsies, which isn't anywhere near as good.

The Nektar tour is back on after being cancelled in 2020 and I have repurchased a ticket, fulfilling a "never got to see them back in the day" bucket list. Recent setlists show them doing full sides of classic albums so I'm stoked.

And I've located by misfiled Remember the Future album, now I need to remember if I still have Tab in the Ocean, or if I sold it long ago.

I'm still listening to The Gypsies, the first two are definitely better but I think by the third album they were hitting the start of lots of problems that ended up finishing them, there was troubles with getting a hold of Visconti again.

So I finally saw Nektar last night, a bucket list thing for me ever since I missed them back in the mid-70s. (Then punk happened and I didn't really think about them for decades.) I regained my nostalgia for prog, but also missed them in 2013, Roye Albrighton's last time with them here before he passed.

This could go on the "bands who shouldn't exist without..." thread, because without Roye they're essentially a pretty good Nektar tribute act. (His replacement used to be in Fireballet and also toured with Renaissance, so he's kind of a prog Zelig.) Original bassist and drummer remain, along their famed lightshow guy, with a few new recruits. They did do both side-long suites from Remember the Future, which were okay, the notes were there but something crucial seemed lacking. I'm glad I went, but I think I proved to myself I can't go back in time.

This is from two years ago, but it sounded essentially like this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eGVpVm4xyk

it's quite a shame that these bands are really at the end of their line now. Can't think of any core prog bands still functional with a majority of long-term members now that Genesis and Crimson have folded up (VDGG still kicking though even w/o Jackson). I'm glad for the opportunities I've had to see many of them and regret missing the chance for many more.

They can take an idea from Daevid Allen who said Gong is an idea/spirit that can go on after he and all the other originals are gone. From what I've seen of their current tour they do a good job of it. Now if they'd only come to California.

I love this idea but idk how many bands could actually pull something like that off. you'd have to be a continuous unit where turnover is a near constant, where one member doesn't massively overshadow everyone else (so The Fall & Magma are out), plus the new music has to be good (so no to Yes). I guess I can see Hawkwind doing it. Tangerine Dream already is I suppose.

xp
And I saw Soft Machine about 3 years ago and it was the same situation of no originals, but then I realized three of the four had been in the band since the mid 70s, so it was an original version of that era. Wish they'd played longer (65 min) but they were doing two sets per night.

I watched a 3 hr Grateful Dead show on youtube with John Mayer and though I went in a skeptic he did an admirable job.

Robert John Godfrey also gave The Enid to the younger members with his blessing to continue as long as they want, because he became too ill to keep playing

David Thomas has been talking for a few years about grooming a successor to be the new singer in Pere Ubu. I see he's performing with them tomorrow, though, so not yet.

Soft Machine, Tangerine Dream, and Gong (to an extent) are the three that stick out in my mind. I don't know what will happen with Crimson after Fripp passes on but I would not be surprised to see a re-emergence of the Crimson Projekct with Markus Reuter involved. Stick Men already play several Crimson songs.

I mention Cairo's "Angels And Rage" every now and then on this thread and it must have became one of my favorite songs ever, nothing else on Conflict And Dreams lives up to it at all, though there are great moments scattered throughout it, the vocal harmonies and most dense parts are usually the highlights. Finally bought their other two albums and waiting for them. I believe a death in the band stopped them from going further.
I'm sure some will find them a tad cheesy but "Angels And Rage" is an incredible thing to me and it's been permanently lodged in my head whenever I think of a specific kind of epic science fiction excitement that is difficult to desribe, but it's on a planet rather than outer space.

I'm curious if anyone has experience with the other Magna Carta label bands like Magellan, Shadow Gallery, Enchant, Royal Hunt and Tempest?

circa (i'm guessing) 2007 someone did a really extensive blog on UK PROG. i have a playlist from it that is over 200 songs long. does this ring a bell with anyone?

at my local prog night I heard a few songs by NEKTAR. as luck would have it the store got several of their albums in. this shit is very cool, love hearing prog get all hard and funky like that. its kind of what I wish Uriah Heep sounded like

;_;

woebot did some stuff related to uk prog, I guess... maybe that's it?

I keep seeing a poster for a band round here called TARKUS HENGE

Oh wait I just looked it up, apparently they are called “tankus the henge” and are probably not the prog throwback I’ve been picturing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WAt4EEZO-g

mel collins sure got around didn't he

how does one go about getting mel collins in the band, is there an application, I wish I had money to give to mel collins

Richard Sinclair didn't always gel too well with Camel, but he sings this early song very nicely.

One surprising thing about Rush is how late they got started. By the time they recorded their debut (Fly by Night) as a prog-rock band, Yes and Gentle Giant were years old, King Crimson had already retired, and Pink Floyd was about to crest as a prog band.

What are some other major prog bands that started as late as Rush did, in 1975?

at my bar's monthly Prog Nite they actually play that live Camel stuff a lot and someone's always sure to mention "you know that's Mel Collins??"

xpost Kansas' debut is from 1974. Angel started in 1975, but were more hard rock than prog. Clearlight and Crack the Sky are 1975 too, but maybe not major enough. Journey debuted in '75 and were prog at that point.

What are some other major prog bands that started as late as Rush did, in 1975?

Not counting supergroups who had made their names earlier in the decade, and possibly with quibbles about both "major" and "prog", the Alan Parsons Project?

It's also notable that I'm sure no-one considered Rush to be prog until at least 1976, maybe 1977, so in that respect they were even later to the game.

Rush's debut is from 1974 btw

Marillion started in 1979!

But that was the next wave, it was self-consciously retro at that point.

Prog took off later in the US, it took a few years for the bands influenced by Yes/Tull etc to get to the point of releasing anything. Hence the mid-70s intake. (not counting Zappa here, he was his own thing)

Hadn't listened to Camel before, the intro to that really reminded me of Rennaissance's Can You Understand (does everyone always say that?)

The Enid formed in 73 but debut album was 76. I imagine a bunch of Rock In Opposition bands were late starters too.

Are Clearlight, Angel, Crack The Sky and Alan Parsons Project a good time?

Camel are really good. I avoided them for years because I was under the impression they were dodgy symphonic slop in some sub-yes way, but they are not.

I avoided them for years because I was under the impression they were dodgy symphonic slop in some sub-yes way

exact same for me! maybe i'll give 'em a whirl