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Progressive Rock

Progressive rock (shortened to prog, or prog rock when differentiating from other "progressive" genres) is an ambitious, eclectic, and often grandiose style of rock music which arose in the late 1960s, reached the peak of its popularity in the early 1970s, and continues as a musical form to this day. Progressive rock began in England and remained largely a European movement, although there are a few notable American and Canadian progressive rock bands. This music style draws many influences from classical music and jazz fusion, in contrast to American rock, which was more influenced by rhythm & blues and country. Over the years various sub-genres of progressive rock have emerged, such as symphonic rock, art rock, math rock and progressive metal.Progressive rock artists sought to move away from the limitations of popular rock and pop music formats, and "progress" rock to the point that it could achieve new forms, often but not always alluding to the sophistication of jazz or classical music. It is ''complexity'', not the virtuosity of the musicians, which most distinguishes progressive rock: mainstream rock has some extremely talented musicians who work solely in simple meters and harmonies. Progressive rock is difficult to define in a single conclusive way, and outspoken King Crimson leader Robert Fripp has voiced his disdain for the term. The major acts that defined the genre in the 1970s (in no particular order, Jethro Tull, Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Rush, The Alan Parsons Project, Gentle Giant and King Crimson) do not sound especially alike. Indeed, in some cases the bands themselves and/or well-known commentators such as Bill Martin (author of ''Listening to the Future'' - see Further Reading) would question whether one or another of these bands are really progressive rock bands at all. (This article shall assume that they are, or at least, that they were in the 1970s.) There is also debate on whether the musical output of artists and bands as varied as Frank Zappa, Deep Purple, Phish and Tool belongs to the genre.

Characteristics of progressive rock

There is probably no single element that is shared by all music that has been considered to be progressive rock. Still, there are certainly noticeable trends; these common, though not universal, features are:* Long compositions, sometimes running over 20 minutes, with intricate melodies and harmonies. These are often described as epics and are the genre's clearest nod to classical music. A very early example (perhaps the first multi-part suite to appear in prog rock) is "In Held Twas In I" by Procol Harum, clocking in at 17:30. Other famous examples include Rush's 20-minute "2112," Genesis' 23-minute "Supper's Ready" and Jethro Tull's 43-minute ''Thick as a Brick'', and Yes' ''Tales From Topographic Oceans'', a double-album that contains only four songs. More recent extreme examples include the 60-minute "Light of Day, Day of Darkness" by Green Carnation, and the 42-minute "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence" by Dream Theater.* Related to and overlapping with these lengthy compositions, many progressive rock songs are made up of shorter parts (often, but not always, explicitly called out on the track list of the album on which they appear) that in some cases could be songs in their own right. Often, pieces are divided into movements in the manner of classical suites. For example, Yes' "Close to the Edge" is divided into four parts, Rush's "Hemispheres" into seven, Pink Floyd's "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" into nine. Yes' single "Soon" is actually a five-minute excerpt from "The Gates of Delirium," which is over 20 minutes long; similarly, parts of Jethro Tull's aforementioned ''Thick as a Brick'' have appeared as songs in their own right on various compilations. ELP's "Karn Evil 9" has a five minute section often featured on radio, entitled "Karn Evil 9: First Impression (Part II)." "A Pleasant Shade of Gray" by Fates Warning was divided into 12 separate tracks at the behest of their record label.* Lyrics that convey intricate and sometimes impenetrable narratives, covering such themes as science fiction, fantasy, history, religion, war, and madness. Progressive rock songs are rarely about love or sex and practically never about other staple subjects of popular music, such as dancing or cars.

• • Most progressive rock bands have also avoided direct political commentary, preferring to couch their views in fictional or allegorical settings — for example, Genesis' album ''Selling England by the Pound'' is tied together by a theme of commercialism versus naturalism, while Emerson, Lake and Palmer's ''Brain Salad Surgery'' gradually progresses from nature to technology to illustrate the dangers of man being replaced by machine. The bands of the Rock in Opposition movement, often regarded as progressive rock acts, are a notable exception, as their work often featured very direct political commentary.* Concept albums, in which a theme or storyline is explored throughout an entire album in a manner similar to a film or a play, often termed a "rock opera". (While not usually considered a progressive rock act, The Who's Pete Townshend created early rock operas, facetiously in "A Quick One While He's Away" and more seriously in the ''Tommy'' double album.) In the days of vinyl, concept albums were usually two-record sets with strikingly designed gatefold sleeves. Famous examples include ''The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway'' by Genesis, ''Days of Future Passed'' by The Moody Blues, ''Dark Side of the Moon'', ''Wish You Were Here'', ''Animals'' and ''The Wall'' by Pink Floyd, and the more recent ''Operation: Mindcrime'' by Queensrÿche and ''Metropolis Part II: Scenes from a Memory'' by Dream Theater.
    
    
• Prominent use of instruments unusual in rock music, including electronic instrumentation, as well as unusual vocal styles. Perhaps the most famous example of such instrumentation is the extensive use of the flute by Jethro Tull frontman Ian Anderson. Keyboard instruments including the synthesizer, organ, piano, and Mellotron are very common in progressive rock, much less so (though by no means unheard-of) in other rock genres. Other examples include the use of nonwestern instruments, particularly ethnic percussion. Gentle Giant are the progressive rock band best known for their vocal style, though many progressive rock singers such as Peter Hammill of Van der Graaf Generator use highly unusual approaches as well.
  
  
• • Perhaps surprisingly, in the progressive heyday, the use of outright orchestras and choirs was quite rare among the most well-known progressive rock bands; the most famous examples from the late 60s and early 70s are probably the title suite from Pink Floyd's ''Atom Heart Mother'' and Yes' second album ''Time and a Word'', both of which predate those bands' most successful, and arguably most progressive, period. More usually, the aforementioned Mellotron was used to simulate strings or a choir. Less well-known bands such as Renaissance did make extensive use of an actual orchestra. Such instrumental choices, particularly the use of orchestras, have become much more common in recent progressive rock.
    
    
• • Related to this is the prominence of multi-instrumentalists such as Mike Oldfield, Ian Anderson, and Neal Morse.
    
    
• Use of unusual time signatures, rhythmic techniques, scales, or tunings. Many pieces use multiple time signatures and/or tempi, sometimes concurrently (King Crimson's "Thela Hun Ginjeet", for example, contains passages in which some band members play in 7/8 and others in 4/4 to create an "off-balance" effect).
  
  
• An extremely wide dynamic range, with very quiet and very loud passages often occurring in the same piece of music. Use of compression to reduce this effect is much less common than in other forms of rock music. This is characteristic of music that is meant to be listened to relatively closely and for its own sake, as opposed to relatively casually or as background noise.
  
  
• Solo passages for virtually every instrument. This contributed to the fame of such performers as guitarist Steve Howe, keyboardists Rick Wakeman and Keith Emerson, and drummer Neil Peart.
  
  
• Inclusion of classical pieces on albums. For example, Emerson, Lake and Palmer have performed arrangements of pieces by Copland, Bartók, Moussorgsky and others, and often feature quotes from J. S. Bach in lead breaks. Sometimes these pieces are significantly reinterpreted; Jethro Tull recorded a version of a Bourrée by Bach in which they turned the piece into a "sleazy jazzy night-club song" (in Ian Anderson's own words).
  
  
• An aesthetic linking the music with visual art, a trend started by The Beatles with ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' and enthusiastically embraced during the prog heyday. Some bands became as well-known for the art direction of their albums as for their sound, with the "look" integrated into the band's overall musical identity. This led to fame for particular artists and design studios, most notably Roger Dean for his work with Yes and Storm Thorgerson and his studio Hipgnosis for their work with Pink Floyd and others. H.R. Giger's painting for Emerson, Lake and Palmer's ''Brain Salad Surgery'' is one of the most famous album sleeves ever produced; according to the liner notes, it originally featured a phallic object beneath a lady's mouth to emphasize the said title, which was a slang term for fellatio. The object was later airbrushed out.
  
  
• The use of sound effects in compositions. This is a particular trademark of Pink Floyd with examples including the entirety of "Speak to Me", the opening track from ''Dark Side of the Moon'', but other bands did this too; for example, sounds of warfare can be heard throughout Jethro Tull's single "Warchild".
  
  
• Exchanging of members. Like jazz ensembles, members of progressive rock bands often move between bands and create side projects. For instance, Steve Howe of Yes and Steve Hackett of Genesis recorded an album under the name GTR (for "guitar"). Drummer Bill Bruford has worked with Yes, Genesis (briefly), and King Crimson. In the 1990s, a touring version of Yes that included almost everyone who had ever been a member included two full lineups who played in various combinations "in the round" during concerts. Still more recently, Dream Theater side projects have come to outnumber the band's own albums, involving nearly every current and former member of the band working with a bewildering variety of members of other recent prog bands.
  
  

  History of progressive rock

  
  
  

  Precursors

  Progressive rock band King Crimson performing on Top of The Pops, 1970.Progressive rock was born from a variety of musical influences in the late 1960s. The later Beatles and many psychedelic bands began to combine traditional rock music with instruments from classical and Eastern music. Psychedelic rock continued this experimental trend and began to compose very long pieces, although usually without any carefully thought-out structure (for example, Iron Butterfly's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" or "1983...(A Merman Should I Turn to Be)" by Jimi Hendrix).Bands such as The Nice and the Moody Blues began deliberately combining rock music with classical music, producing longer pieces with deliberate structures. German electronic music pioneers Tangerine Dream introduced a variety of synthesisers, tape effects, and other unusual sounds in their compositions, usually in purely instrumental albums. By the mid- to late-'60s, The Who had also created concept albums and rock operas, as well as long live rock song performances — although those were often in the more blues-based improvisational style also featured by contemporaries Cream and Led Zeppelin.All these bands are sometimes considered "early progressive," or as part of a transitional genre between psychedelic and progressive.
  
  

  First progressive rock acts

  Many music historians point to King Crimson as the first "true" progressive rock band; their first appearance was in February 1969. They were quickly followed by other English progressive rock bands, including Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Emerson Lake and Palmer, and Jethro Tull. It is worth noting that aside from ELP these bands began their careers ''before'' King Crimson, and changed their musical styles considerably following the release of "In the Court of the Crimson King"; and as for Emerson Lake and Palmer, they inherited their singer and bassist, Greg Lake, from the original King Crimson lineup.Progressive rock also gained momentum when many rock fans grew disillusioned with the "Peace and Love" movement. Progressive rock often distanced itself from the "smiles and sunshine" of 1960s pop music and moved towards darker and sometimes more violent themes. For example, Genesis' ''Trespass'' includes "The Knife", a song about a violent demagogue, and "Stagnation", a song about a survivor of a nuclear attack.Progressive rock was especially popular in continental Europe. Indeed, progressive rock was the first form of rock that actually captivated countries such as Italy and France. This era saw a great number of European progressive rock bands, most notably Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM), Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, and Le Orme from Italy, and Ange and Magma from France. Of these bands, only PFM was significantly successful in the English-speaking world. Germany also had a significant progressive movement, often refered to as Krautrock. Many of the Italian bands scored appalling success in their life (most of them produced only one album) but now CDs of otherwise unknown groups like Museo Rosenbach, Osanna, Il Balletto di Bronzo, Semiramis etc., along with the more renowned ones, are increasingly sought by fans as true classics of the genre, and also attracting the interests of higher musical critics.
  
  

  Rise and fall

  
  
  

Pink Floyd in Pompeii, Italy. October 1971.