Best Prog Rock?

[wraub]

Gentle Giant or GTFO.

gentle giant - YouTube

 

[callofcthulhu]

Thanks for all the off the beaten path recommendations, guys.

Hopefully OP gets around to updating his poll to include the more egregious omissions.

 

[Tom Bomb]

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[Jeff Scott]

I've listening to SAGA lately. Not everything they do is my cup of tea, but I love the classics On The Loose, Wind Him Up, and Take it or Leave It . The bass sounds like a Ric for sure !

Not a Rick; not in any vids I have seen, anyway.

 

[roccobass]

You know, these guys were listed as prog rock back in the late 70s. They’ll never come close to Yes, Rush, Tool or King Crimson, but I always thought this song was maybe their best. I remember it when was released about ‘79. I dunno. Here it is. Cool? Crap?

 

[mb94952]

Not a Rick; not in any vids I have seen, anyway.

Well I'm basing it on the sound. John Taylor used a Ric in a video because the director wanted it, but it was an Aria. I Googled it and I can't find the answer as to what exact bass Jim Crichton played but photos show Zon, Spector, etc.

 

[Jeff Scott]

Relatively recent vids show a Warwick Infinity, too, IIRC.

 

[CryingBass]

Relatively recent vids show a Warwick Infinity, too, IIRC.

Either they just cut me off, or that video. fyi

 

[Jeff Scott]

Either they just cut me off, or that video. fyi

Watch it on YT. I think most (or all) of that concert is on there; wish they come here, sometime, I've been a fan of theirs since 1979.

 

[58kites]

I'd classify Genesis as prog pop.

The seven Genesis albums released with Peter Gabriel were as prog rock as any band has ever been...after he left the band definitely decided to aim towards a much wider audience and the pop classification may apply.

 

[TOOL460002]

You'll never guess my vote. Never!

 

[Btbp]

The seven Genesis albums released with Peter Gabriel were as prog rock as any band has ever been...after he left the band definitely decided to aim towards a much wider audience and the pop classification may apply.

Not until Hackett left and it became the Phil Show

 

[58kites]

Not until Hackett left and it became the Phil Show

I would guess that Hackett left because the other three decided to lean the way they did.

 

[jamro217]

I'm feeling both cheeky and sad due to the death of Neil Peart. So I will thow up the poll hoping that Rush will get some sympathy votes. They are my favorite and I do think they are the best.

So, what say you all? Best Prog Rock band of all time?

P.S. if your favorite isn't on the list they didn't make it past the first vote. You may like them, but they are not a contender.

We're not talking about personal favorites here. We're talking about the best.

"We are not talking about YOUR personal favorites here, we're talking about MY personal favorites here. RUSH. Never mind that ELO is on the list because I like them, too, even though they're about as progressive as ABBA. Now back to the poll. Who likes RUSH?

 

[dougjwray]

I've always liked Focus, because they improvised a lot; they had a jazz influence as well as the typical classical influence.
Also, they didn't indulge in the mandatory pretentious suite with a name like "Midnight Dance of the Hyperborean Nymphs" or whatever.

 

[dougjwray]

If we're talking about "art rock" here, I'd like to back out to the big picture and throw in the idea that Sir Paul McCartney is the father. "Sgt. Pepper's" was his baby.
Rock music as art, not dance music. Concept albums, not collections of singles.

 

[Loring]

Not a Rick; not in any vids I have seen, anyway.

I know the guitarist was looking at LADO in the mid eighties - right around that time period - maybe the all started rockin those.

 

[mb94952]

I put them on the list because Rolling Stone put at least one of their albums in the top 50 Prog Rock albums of all time. Another poster also placed them within the genre.

It doesn't mean they're correct. ELO is not prog (to me), but then again Rolling Stone's "best" lists are always way off. On their guitar players list it's the same old tired, predictable list. Allan Holdsworth never appears on the list, nor most any prog or jazz players, so to me the list is doomed from the beginning.

 

[mb94952]

Agree but Utopia and Spock's Beard are two among other American acts that certainly do rank.

Crack The Sky and early The Tubes maybe not so much but in the Minor league, Starcastle deserve Honourable Mention.

Also, nobody mentioned Klaatu, which is somewhat tragic.

I always thought of Utopia as "beginner prog", or prog for the masses. Oops Wrong Planet is their best, but it's barely over the line to be called prog, in my opinion. On the other hand, I'd say Spock's Beard, Porcupine Tree, and Umphrey's McGee are definitely prog.
... My problem is I'm so quick to categorize. Music is music and we all like different stuff, but Good music is usually prog

 

[Btbp]

I always thought of Utopia as "beginner prog", or prog for the masses. Oops Wrong Planet is their best, but it's barely over the line to be called prog, in my opinion. On the other hand, I'd say Spock's Beard, Porcupine Tree, and Umphrey's McGee are definitely prog.
... My problem is I'm so quick to categorize. Music is music and we all like different stuff, but Good music is usually prog

Dunno...let's agree to disagree on a few points.

The ones you say are "definitely Prog" I consider to be "definitely NeoProg".

The first couple Utopia albums, Utopia Mark I, are as Prog as anything, nothing beginner about them. The Ikon or the Utopia Theme or The Seven Rays are just a few examples. Having said that, one of those albums is mostly just a live version of the other, albeit a very good one. They did also have some rock songs on all their albums.

While "Oops...", Ra, and "Adventures..." I listened to profusely at the time, Utopia Mark II to me never measured up to the earlier stuff or Todd's early solo, but I enjoyed it on its own watered-down, 80s-ish level. They had to become more accessible with shorter, song-oriented music. I liked them, but thought of them as a different band.

Even still, they were always at best a cult band, then only thing most know about them is that awful Bang The Drum thing, which is hardly representative, and sad given the depth of their catalog of music and lyrics. I don't think Mark II has aged well, it's got 80s all over it like the haircuts of the time. And for that era, I think Ra is compositionally and musically better than Oops. Kasim has a fantastic voice but I always preferred John Siegler's bass playing.