One of the things I set off to do when I started writing for ProgressiveWorld was to impress as many people as possible with my incredible insights and brilliant prose. Uh ... did I say that out loud? Actually, what I set out to do was to review classic progressive-rock albums for those new to the genre. I didn't do many reviews of such albums, though, so don't go looking for them. Along the way, the classic-review thingy morphed into the "omnibus" review (oooooh!), where I put together a series of articles reviewing a classic group's entire catalog. A recent example is the second part of my series on Genesis, available in the Articles/Editorials area of this Web site. (The third and final part is coming soon, I promise!) Previous to Genesis, I did King Crimson. And, yes, like it or not, there will be more. Consider that a threat.

My point in telling you this is not to plug those articles, although I can't say that the plugging idea offends me. Rather I wanted to point out that I've kind of, sort of, maybe taken on the role as progressive historian here. Granted, this role is thoroughly self-appointed (although in my own defense, when I first approached Steph about writing, she said she needed reviews of catalog albums. I wonder if she realized that my copy of the catalog is 35 years old.) [ah, a collector's item then - ed.] The fact is that there are a lot of people out there discovering progressive rock for the first time. As unofficial historian, I've taken it upon myself (again) to help these folks understand the genre better -- if, that is, my humble ramblings actually have something valuable to say.

So, for this edition of "The Prog Life," I thought I'd provide an overview of the progressive music genre, discussing the different styles of music one encounters, as well as providing examples of the music that's representative of each style. You should know at the outset that my personal preference is for the 70s-style progressive-rock sound. Remember: I'm old (but sexy as hell). Still, I have wide tastes in music and am wildly enthusiastic about much of the new progressive music that's released each year. Sometimes, I swear, I just starting jumping up and down, what with all the enthusiasm. It gets downright embarrassing.

That being said (about the overview, not the jumping), the first step is to define what progressive music is. Yes, I can hear all you experienced proggers heaving bored sighs. The definition of progressive music has been beaten to death. However, due to the broad range of music one can find under the progressive banner, the "newbie" is often left confused and frustrated, especially when purchasing albums that have been labeled as progressive but sound nothing like the music that got him or her interested in progressive music in the first place. Still, in deference to those who have heard it all before, I'll keep this general definition brief. I mean, I've had enough death threats for one week.

There are actually two meanings to the term "progressive rock," one of which is much clearer than the other. The first definition -- the clearer one -- is any style of music based on the very successful formula developed by the 70's progressive giants, such as Yes, Gentle Giant, Genesis, King Crimson, and so on. Maybe I'm speaking from my own viewpoint here, but I believe that it's this first definition that most people know. Most people also know that if you balance The Yes Album CD on its edge and someone accidentally sits on it, you could wind up with a humiliating visit to the ER, but we'll cover progressive CD safety in other column. Anyway, new examples of music that fit this first definition include much of that performed by the current progressive giants Spock's Beard and the Flower Kings.

The second definition has more to do with a musician's intent than with an actual, definable style. To put it simply, progressive music is that which tries to take music into new, often, untried territories. (The root of the word "progressive" is, after all, "sive." No, wait! It's "progress.") It's this second definition of the term that gets new listeners into trouble, because, other than the musician's desire to try something new, no real stylistic ties join the artists that fit this definition.

To get some idea of the immense difference between these two definitions, we need look only to the many vaguely accepted (and much quibbled about) sub-genres of progressive music, some of which are as follows:

Ambient -- This form of progressive music features mostly unstructured synthesizer washes, sound effects, and drifting string passages, all intended to create a dreamy, meditative, musical backdrop that is often short on melody but long on harmony. Often, ambient music is composed and performed on electronic instruments and so is, in fact, a subgenre of electronic music, although ambient music doesn't have to be electronic. Examples of this style include Eno, Neu!, and some of Robert Fripp's solo work.

Canterbury -- This is a style of music named after a place in England, Much of the Canterbury-style progressive has tendrils in old English music and so sometimes has a distinctive medieval sound. However, Canterbury music tends toward complexity and is rarely "folksy." Canterbury also incorporates jazz styles into the compositions, so one can expect long, improvisational solos. Examples of this style include National Health, early Camel, Gentle Giant, early Caravan, Soft Machine, and Hatfield and the North.

Fusion -- This style of music gets its name from how it combines the power of rock with the sophistication of jazz. This music features virtuoso performances with strong interplay between guitar and keyboard, although all instruments typically get intricate solos. Most fusion is instrumental, but vocals do sometimes come into play. Examples of this style include Return To Forever, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report, Brand X, and Allan Holdsworth.

Neo-Progressive -- This is a style of music that often draws its inspiration from early Genesis, but concentrates more on strong melody and more mainstream song structures with less (as compared with Genesis) complex arrangements. However, this term is often stretched to include forms of new progressive music that have little in common with Genesis, the key word here being "new," which is, after all, what "neo" means. Examples of this style include IQ, early Marillion, Pallas, Pendragon, and Glass Hammer. If you want to stretch the term a bit, you might want to include bands like Porcupine Tree and recent Marillion.

Progressive Metal -- If you take the music from metal bands such as Metallica and Iron Maiden and combine it with the symphonic groups such as Yes and Genesis, you get progressive metal. This style of music offers up a range of complexity from neo-progressive type arrangements to fully symphonic fare. Of less complexity are bands like Fates Warning, whereas on the symphonic side, you'll find groups like Dream Theater, Symphony X, and Vanden Plas. The most complex music in this category has to come from the outrageously skilled Spiral Architect.

Rock In Opposition (RIO) -- This is a difficult sub-genre to describe. As Frank Zappa said, writing about music is like dancing to architecture (or something like that; I didn't look up the exact quote). For general purposes, one can consider this musical style to be avant garde (another term you'll see associated with the nearly avant-garde is Zeuhl, which is actually a different sub-genre than RIO). The listener can expect adventurous (to say the least) compositions that seem like noise at first listen, confusing arrangements, dissonant harmony, and what might seem like random note patterns abound. Just the fact that I can describe this music using oxymorons like "dissonant harmony" and "random patterns" gives you some idea of what you're in for. Definitely not for the new progressive listener! Examples of this style include 5uu's, Thinking Plague, Henry Cow, Univers Zero, and Birdsongs Of The Mesozoic.

Symphonic -- In this category, groups take the complexity of classical music and combine it with the instrumentation and power of rock. Music in this category is often very complex, with long, multi-part songs that frequently change rhythm and mood. Virtuoso playing is a must, if for no other reason than the sophisticated arrangements and complex instrument interplay. Back in the days of vinyl, some symphonic compositions took up the entire side of a record (about 20 minutes). In these days of CDs, you can find symphonic pieces up to and exceeding a full hour. Classic examples of this type of music include Yes, Genesis, and King Crimson. Newer examples include the Flower Kings and Spock's Beard.

Admittedly, this is a short list that excludes near-prog categories, such as art rock, kraut rock, space rock, and album-oriented rock (AOR). In fact, arguing about what separates near-prog from actual prog will get us all twisted up in that progressive-music definition battle all over again. That complication will put this discussion into an infinite loop, and I don't know about you, but I just hate running around in circles. In fact, as a lifetime member of the American Couch Potato Society, I abhor all forms of running on principle, but that's another story. Getting back to the point, the above list represents only my main interests in progressive music, and while nowhere near complete, offers a considerable start for new listeners. The majority of progressive rock can be wedged into this list somewhere, though you may need a shoehorn or even a crowbar. A can of grease probably wouldn't hurt, either.

Most of the music that falls into the first definition of progressive rock -- the clear one -- shoe-horns neatly, without grease, into a single category of the list: symphonic. Again, I believe that this is the style of music that most people associate with the term progressive rock. I'd take a head count, but I can't see some of you people way in the back. Maybe if you stand and wave?

Other progressive rock fits into the rest of the list, which constitutes an immense range of work, especially considering that progressive groups often draw from more than one style, anyway. Just as Dream Theater wouldn't exist without older metal groups like Metallica, so also would it not exist were it not for 70's symphonic bands like Yes and Genesis. Go ahead and ask the Dream Theater guys; they'll tell you.

Next time, we leap -- or maybe step carefully -- into a stylistic analysis of the latest album by the Flower Kings, Unfold The Future. I had planned to tackle the task in this column, but I can see that I've gone on long enough. I can tell by that glazed look in your eyes.

Links: Genesis, King Crimson, Yes, Gentle Giant, Spock's Beard, The Flower Kings, Brian Eno, Neu!, Robert Fripp, National Health, Camel, Caravan, Soft Machine, Hatfield and the North, Return To Forever, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Brand X, Allan Holdsworth, IQ, Marillion, Pallas, Pendragon, Glass Hammer, Porcupine Tree, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Fates Warning, Dream Theater, Symphony X, Vanden Plas, Spiral Architect, Frank Zappa, 5uu's, Thinking Plague, Univers Zero, Birdsongs Of The Mesozoic

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Published on: 2002-11-17 (4205 reads)