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Best Prog Rock?

Best Prog Band?

  • Rush

  • Pink Floyd

  • Genesis

  • King Crimson

  • Tool

  • Dream Theatre

  • ELP

  • ELO

  • Yes

Results are only viewable after voting.
#229
I was just reading "best" as "favorite", because, really, what else can it mean? But maybe that question isn't entirely rhetorical.

Which do you actually cover most with your current band?
In my case, that would be Porcupine Tree.

Which do you consider to be the biggest influence on your personal style?
In my case, that would be King Crimson.

Which have you spent the most lifetime listening hours on?
In my case, probably VDGG/Peter Hammill, though most of that was in the 20th century.
 
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#232
Gravedigger Dav said:
The concept of "best" is all about personal favorites. Sorry, but this pool has no real meaning. You put your favorites up and want to see if we agree or not.
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Not my personal favorites, but okay.

Can we not make objective judgments about such things? Who sold the most? Who had the longest career? Who was the most influential? There are subjective elements to aesthetic judgments but objective elements too.

I don't mind, though, if you simply want to pick an option because it is your favorite.
 
#233
Doctor Intrepid said:
Not my personal favorites, but okay.

Can we not make objective judgments about such things? Who sold the most? Who had the longest career? Who was the most influential? There are subjective elements to aesthetic judgments but objective elements too.

I don't mind, though, if you simply want to pick an option because it is your favorite.
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I picked no option. I don't object to the poll, I'm just pointing out it has no real meaning. None of those criteria mean the make the best music. Each means what it says. For example, if you go by longest career, the Rolling Stones win. It really doesn't matter. Carry on.
 
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#238
Btbp said:
While all can entertain our own opinions, I find it hard to not recognize Hemispheres as a typical Prog work, albeit following the arguable proto- and eventual Prog leaders Yes / Genesis / ELP / Pink Floyd.

I can however see the timing of Rush's emergence as a factor for some, although that would rule out a number of other worthy entrants.
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This is really the crux of it. By the time Rush was beginning to get airplay, many of the first-wave progressive fans (we never called it "prog") were getting tired of the encroaching commercialization of the genre by bands like Boston and Kansas and looking for something else. So Rush, whereas perhaps every bit as talented as some of the first wave of bands in this genre, really did get dismissed by many.

That said, as much as I love the work of Neil Peart, I can't believe anyone would put him above Bruford in terms of influence and ability. To me, those two sit at a place most mere mortals can only imagine achieving, but Bruford is in a place all his own.
 
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#240
Since examples are now being posted and we’re thankfully away from the folly of the poll, speaking of derivative, just like I constantly hear distinct Black Sabbath influences in many Grunge and subsequent <whatever label they go by> Rock bands, hearing classic Prog bands in NeoProg bands is very interesting to me.

For example,
  • In the Spock’s Beard’s epic The Great Nothing, it is very interesting to hear in it, Kansas, Yes, The Beatles, and at the very end with the Taurus pedals, an almost-homage to the As Sure As Eggs Is Eggs ending of Genesis’ Supper’s Ready: which is about as powerful bass heard anywhere. Dave Meros' work on this is excellent with his hybrid Rick

  • Another almost-homage to the Apocalypse in 9/8 and As Sure As Eggs Is Eggs ending of Genesis’ Supper’s Ready is IQ’s- Harvest of Souls again with killer Taurus pedals at the end

  • There are Yes, Moody Blues, Genesis, Jethro Tull feels in parts of The Flower Kings’ I Am The Sun (the lead is in Transatlantic)

  • And the Symphony X epic The Odyssey also has hints of Kansas, Conan The Barbarian, and interestingly, starts with a missable-after-the-first-listen 4-minute The Simpsons-like intro ala Daniel Elfman (Oingo Boingo), and a catchy 4-minute Rock song embedded towards the end that rivals stuff on the radio years ago like Rainbow – it’s not all ProgMetal (the singer is also in Trans Siberian Orchestra and the Star One projects)

All four were music that came to me at the same time (probably from Canvas Productions excellent web radio) and helped me when I was going through a rough patch.

And typical of most >20 minute epics like Gate Of Delirium, the connected parts are crucial to the whole, and all four of these are as epic as anything else in Prog. A bold statement maybe, but if you don't know these, well...
 
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