Progressive rock
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| + | ''[[Prog Is Not a Four Letter Word]]'' (2005) compiled by [[Andy Votel]] | ||
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| - | :''[[Andy Votel]]'s ''[[Prog Is Not a Four Letter Word]]'' ([[2006]])'' | ||
| - | '''Progressive rock''' is a style of [[rock music]] that arose in the late [[1960s]], reaching the peak of its popularity in the [[1970s]], but continuing to this day. | ||
| - | Progressive rock artists sought to move forward, or progress, the rock genre from its simple roots to a higher level. The music is often complex and elaborate, frequently requiring a high level of musicianship from the artists. Elements of progressive rock include: | + | '''Progressive rock''' (shortened as '''prog'''; sometimes called [[art rock]], '''classical rock''' or '''symphonic rock''') is a broad [[genre]] of [[rock music]] that developed in the [[United Kingdom]] and [[United States]] throughout the mid- to late 1960s. Initially termed "[[progressive pop]]", the style was an outgrowth of [[psychedelic music|psychedelic]] bands who abandoned standard [[pop music|pop]] traditions in favour of [[Instrumentation (music)|instrumentation]] and [[Composition (music)|composition]]al techniques more frequently associated with [[jazz]], [[folk music|folk]], or [[classical music]]. Additional elements contributed to its "[[progressive music|progressive]]" label: lyrics were more poetic, technology was harnessed for new sounds, music approached the condition of "[[art music|art]]", and the studio, rather than the stage, [[Recording studio as an instrument|became the focus of musical activity]], which often involved creating music for listening rather than dancing. |
| - | * Long pieces, in some cases over 20 minutes. (An extreme example is "Karn Evil 9" by [[Emerson Lake and Palmer]], which was too long to fit on a single LP album side). | + | Prog is based on fusions of styles, approaches and genres, involving a continuous move between [[formalism (music)|formalism]] and [[eclecticism in music|eclecticism]]. Due to its historical reception, prog's scope is sometimes limited to a stereotype of long solos, long albums, fantasy lyrics, grandiose stage sets and costumes, and an obsessive dedication to technical skill. While the genre is often cited for its merging of [[high culture]] and [[low culture]], few artists incorporated literal classical themes in their work to any great degree, and only a handful of groups purposely emulated or referenced classical music. |
| - | * Pieces that are subdivided into sub-pieces, in the manner of a classical symphony. (An example is the four-part song "Close to the Edge" on the three-track album of the same name by [[Yes (band)|Yes]]). | + | |
| - | * Lyrics that are complex and sometimes impenetrable, but usually carefully crafted, covering such themes as [[science fiction]], [[fantasy]], [[religion]], [[war]], [[love]], madness and [[history]]. | + | |
| - | * Melodies and harmonies that are intricate and lengthy, often requiring repeated listening to grasp. | + | |
| - | * [[Concept album|Concept albums]], where a theme or set of themes is explored throughout an entire album. (Extreme examples are the double concept albums, ''The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway'' by [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]], ''Tales from Topographic Oceans'' by [[Yes (band)|Yes]]), and "From Planet Daelthesya To Planet Earth" by [[Master Sound]]. | + | |
| - | * Unusual vocal styles and use of multi-part vocal harmonies. | + | |
| - | * Use of both classical and [[electronic instrument|electronic instruments]] (particularly keyboards), in addition to the usual rock combination of [[electric guitar]], [[bass]] and [[drum]]s. | + | |
| - | * Inclusion of elements from disparate other musical genres, particularly [[hard rock]], [[classical music]] and [[jazz]]. | + | |
| - | * Use of [[syncopation]], unusual [[time signature]]s, scales or tunings. Some pieces use multiple time signatures and/or [[tempo]]s, sometimes overlaid. | + | |
| - | * Solo passages of great speed, subtlety, complexity and/or difficulty, demonstrating the virtuosity of the player. | + | |
| - | * Inclusion of classical pieces on albums. For example, [[Yes (band)|Yes]] start their concerts with a taped extract of [[Igor Stravinsky|Stravinsky's]] [[Firebird suite]], and [[Emerson Lake and Palmer]] have included pieces by [[Aaron Copland|Copland]], [[Modest Moussorgsky|Moussorgsky]], [[Charles Hubert Hastings Parry|Parry]]. [[Marillion]] once started concerts with [[Gioacchino Rossini|Rossini]]'s ''La Gazza Ladra'', and named their first live album the same. | + | |
| - | Progressive rock can be closely identified with the term [[art rock]]. [[Symphonic rock]] can be considered a significant subset of progressive rock. | + | The genre coincided with the mid-1960s economic boom that allowed record labels to allocate more creative control to their artists, as well as the new journalistic division between "pop" and "rock" that lent generic significance to both terms. Prog saw a high level of popularity in the early-to-mid-1970s, but faded soon after. [[Conventional wisdom]] holds that the rise of [[punk rock]] caused this, but several more factors contributed to the decline. Music critics, who often labelled the concepts as "[[pretentious]]" and the sounds as "[[pompous]]" and "[[overblown]]", tended to be hostile towards the genre or to completely ignore it. After the late 1970s, progressive rock fragmented in numerous forms. Some bands achieved commercial success well into the 1980s (albeit with changed lineups and more compact song structures) or crossed into [[symphonic pop]], [[arena rock]], or [[new wave music|new wave]]. |
| - | Progressive rock's popularity peaked in the mid [[1970s]], when progressive rock artists regularly topped readers' votes in mainstream popular music magazines. With the advent of [[punk rock]] in the late [[1970s]], and its earlier precursor [[Pub rock (UK)| pub rock]], popular and critical opinion moved toward a simpler and more aggressive style of rock, with the words "pretentious", "pompous", and "overblown" often being used to describe progressive rock. | + | Early groups who exhibited progressive features are retroactively described as "[[proto-prog]]". The [[Canterbury scene]], originating in the late 1960s, denotes a subset of prog bands who emphasised the use of [[wind instrument]]s, complex chord changes and long improvisations. [[Rock in Opposition]], from the late 1970s, was more [[avant-garde]], and when combined with the [[Canterbury]] style, created [[avant-prog]]. In the 1980s, a new subgenre, [[neo-progressive rock]], enjoyed some commercial success, although it was also accused of being derivative and lacking in innovation. [[Post-progressive]] draws upon newer developments in popular music and the avant-garde since the mid 1970s. |
| - | The early [[1980s]] saw something of a revival of the genre, led by groups such as [[Marillion]]. Groups that arose during this time are sometimes labelled ''neo-progressive''. At the same time, some progressive rock stalwarts modified themselves to some extent, simplifying their music and including more obviously electronic elements. In [[1983]], [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]] achieved international success with the song "Mama", with its heavy emphasis on a drum machine riff. In [[1984]], [[Yes (band)|Yes]] had a surprise number one hit with the song "Owner of a Lonely Heart", which contained modern (for the time) electronic effects, yet was simple enough to be played at discos. | + | ==See also== |
| + | * [[British folk rock]] | ||
| + | * [[Free jazz]] | ||
| + | * [[List of musical works in unusual time signatures]] | ||
| + | * [[Minimal music]] | ||
| + | * [[Musique concrète]] | ||
| + | * [[Second Viennese School]] | ||
| + | * [[Serialism]] | ||
| + | * [[Third stream]] | ||
| + | * [[Timeline of progressive rock]] | ||
| - | The genre received another minor surge of popularity in the [[1990s]] with a wave of new bands, many of which played harder-edged music known as [[progressive metal]]. Today, progressive rock continues to be created and admired by a solid core of enthusiasts, but cannot convincingly claim to be progressing rock music in the way it once did. However, the work of contemporary artists such as [[Godspeed You! Black Emperor]] could be said to incorporate some of the more experimental elements of progresive rock, combined with the aesthetic sensibilities of [[punk rock]] to produce music which is at once challenging, inovative and imaginative. | ||
| - | === Early bands === | ||
| - | Music critic [[Piero Scaruffi]] opines that the "bands that nurtured prog-rock through its early stages were [[Traffic (band)|Traffic]], [[Jeff Beck]], [[Family (band)|Family]], [[Jethro Tull (band)|Jethro Tull]], and [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]]; while [[King Crimson]], [[Yes (band)|Yes]], and [[Van Der Graaf Generator]] represent the genre at its apex". | ||
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| - | Numerous key bands had formed by the end of the 1960s, including [[The Moody Blues]] (1964), [[Pink Floyd]] (1965), [[Soft Machine]] (1966), [[Barclay James Harvest]] (1966), [[Gong (band)|Gong]] (1967), [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]] (1967), [[Jethro Tull (band)|Jethro Tull]] (1967), [[The Nice]] (1967), [[Yes (band)|Yes]] (1968), [[Caravan (band)|Caravan]] (1968), [[King Crimson]] (1969), [[Supertramp]] (1969) and [[Gentle Giant]] (1969). | ||
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| - | Although almost all of these bands were from the UK, the genre was growing popular elsewhere in continental Europe. [[Triumvirat]] led Germany's significant progressive rock movement, while [[Tangerine Dream]], [[Faust (band)|Faust]], [[Can (band)|Can]] and [[Neu!]] led the related [[Berlin School]] and [[Krautrock]] movements. | ||
| - | |||
| - | [[Focus (band)|Focus]] and ''Trace'' formed in the Netherlands, France produced [[Ange]], [[Gong]], and [[Magma (band)|Magma]], and Greece saw the debut of [[Aphrodite's Child]] led by electronic music pioneer [[Vangelis]]. Spain produced numerous prog groups, including Canarios and [[Triana (band)|Triana]]. Scandinavia was represented by: Norwegian band [[Popol Vuh (Norwegian band)|Popol Vuh]], Swedish band [[Kaipa]] and Finnish band [[Wigwam (progressive rock)|Wigwam]]. [[Italian progressive rock]] is sometimes considered a genre unto itself, highlighted by bands like [[Premiata Forneria Marconi|PFM]], [[Banco del Mutuo Soccorso|Banco]], [[Quella Vecchia Locanda]], [[Metamorfosi(band)|Metamorfosi]], [[New Trolls]], [[Area (band)|Area]], [[Le Orme]], [[Goblin (band)|Goblin]], [[Museo Rosenbach]], [[Il Balletto di Bronzo]], and [[Locanda Delle Fate]]. | ||
| - | |||
| - | == Artists whose works include at least some progressive rock elements== | ||
| - | |||
| - | * [[Alan Parsons Project]] | ||
| - | * [[Asia (band)|Asia]] | ||
| - | * [[Better Than Ezra]] | ||
| - | * [[Camel (band)|Camel]] | ||
| - | * [[Can (band)|Can]] | ||
| - | * [[Caravan (band)|Caravan]] | ||
| - | * [[Crack the Sky]] | ||
| - | * [[Daniel Amos]] | ||
| - | * [[Deep Purple]] | ||
| - | * [[Dream Theater]] | ||
| - | * [[Electric Light Orchestra]] (progressive pop?) | ||
| - | * [[Emerson Lake and Palmer]] | ||
| - | * [[Faust (band)|Faust]] | ||
| - | * [[Fish (singer)|Fish]] | ||
| - | * [[Flower Kings]] | ||
| - | * [[Focus (band)|Focus]] | ||
| - | * [[Foreigner]] | ||
| - | * [[Godspeed You! Black Emperor]] | ||
| - | * [[Gong (band)|Gong]] | ||
| - | * [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]] | ||
| - | * [[Hatfield and the North]] | ||
| - | * [[Henry Cow]] | ||
| - | * [[Jethro Tull (band)|Jethro Tull]] | ||
| - | * [[Kansas (band)|Kansas]] | ||
| - | * [[Kate Bush]] | ||
| - | * [[King Crimson]] | ||
| - | * [[Led Zeppelin]] | ||
| - | * [[Magma (band)| Magma]] | ||
| - | * [[Marillion]] | ||
| - | * [[Moody Blues]] | ||
| - | * [[Mike Oldfield]] | ||
| - | * [[Ozric Tentacles]] | ||
| - | * [[Pallas]] | ||
| - | * [[Peter Gabriel]] | ||
| - | * [[Premiata Forneria Marconi (band)|PFM]] | ||
| - | * [[Pink Floyd]] | ||
| - | * [[Queensryche]] | ||
| - | * [[Radiohead]] | ||
| - | * [[Renaissance]] | ||
| - | * [[Rush (band)|Rush]] | ||
| - | * [[Skid Row]] | ||
| - | * [[Soft Machine (band)|Soft Machine]] | ||
| - | * [[Santana]] | ||
| - | * [[Sky (band)|Sky]] | ||
| - | * [[Spock's Beard]] | ||
| - | * [[Styx (band)|Styx]] | ||
| - | * [[Supertramp]] | ||
| - | * [[Tangerine Dream]] | ||
| - | * Tantra | ||
| - | *[[TransAtlantic (band)|TransAtlantic]] | ||
| - | * [[Uriah Heep]] | ||
| - | * [[Rick Wakeman]] | ||
| - | * [[Van der Graaf Generator (band)|Van der Graaf Generator]] | ||
| - | * [[Warhorse (band)|Warhorse]] | ||
| - | * [[Yes (band)|Yes]] | ||
| - | == See also == | ||
| - | |||
| - | *[[Timeline of progressive rock]] | ||
| - | *[[List of musical works in unusual time signatures]] (not limited to prog rock) | ||
| - | *[[Art rock]] | ||
| - | *[[Avant-progressive rock]] | ||
| - | *[[Canterbury scene|The Canterbury Scene]] | ||
| - | *[[Italian progressive rock]] | ||
| - | *[[Krautrock]] | ||
| - | *[[Rock in Opposition]] | ||
| - | *[[Math rock]] | ||
| - | *[[Mathcore]] | ||
| - | *[[Neo-progressive rock|Neo-prog]] | ||
| - | *[[New prog]] | ||
| - | *[[Progressive folk music|Progressive folk]] | ||
| - | *[[Progressive metal]] | ||
| - | *[[Psychedelic rock]] | ||
| - | *[[Symphonic rock]] | ||
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Current revision
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Prog Is Not a Four Letter Word (2005) compiled by Andy Votel |
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Featured: |
Progressive rock (shortened as prog; sometimes called art rock, classical rock or symphonic rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States throughout the mid- to late 1960s. Initially termed "progressive pop", the style was an outgrowth of psychedelic bands who abandoned standard pop traditions in favour of instrumentation and compositional techniques more frequently associated with jazz, folk, or classical music. Additional elements contributed to its "progressive" label: lyrics were more poetic, technology was harnessed for new sounds, music approached the condition of "art", and the studio, rather than the stage, became the focus of musical activity, which often involved creating music for listening rather than dancing.
Prog is based on fusions of styles, approaches and genres, involving a continuous move between formalism and eclecticism. Due to its historical reception, prog's scope is sometimes limited to a stereotype of long solos, long albums, fantasy lyrics, grandiose stage sets and costumes, and an obsessive dedication to technical skill. While the genre is often cited for its merging of high culture and low culture, few artists incorporated literal classical themes in their work to any great degree, and only a handful of groups purposely emulated or referenced classical music.
The genre coincided with the mid-1960s economic boom that allowed record labels to allocate more creative control to their artists, as well as the new journalistic division between "pop" and "rock" that lent generic significance to both terms. Prog saw a high level of popularity in the early-to-mid-1970s, but faded soon after. Conventional wisdom holds that the rise of punk rock caused this, but several more factors contributed to the decline. Music critics, who often labelled the concepts as "pretentious" and the sounds as "pompous" and "overblown", tended to be hostile towards the genre or to completely ignore it. After the late 1970s, progressive rock fragmented in numerous forms. Some bands achieved commercial success well into the 1980s (albeit with changed lineups and more compact song structures) or crossed into symphonic pop, arena rock, or new wave.
Early groups who exhibited progressive features are retroactively described as "proto-prog". The Canterbury scene, originating in the late 1960s, denotes a subset of prog bands who emphasised the use of wind instruments, complex chord changes and long improvisations. Rock in Opposition, from the late 1970s, was more avant-garde, and when combined with the Canterbury style, created avant-prog. In the 1980s, a new subgenre, neo-progressive rock, enjoyed some commercial success, although it was also accused of being derivative and lacking in innovation. Post-progressive draws upon newer developments in popular music and the avant-garde since the mid 1970s.
[edit]
See also
- British folk rock
- Free jazz
- List of musical works in unusual time signatures
- Minimal music
- Musique concrète
- Second Viennese School
- Serialism
- Third stream
- Timeline of progressive rock
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Progressive rock" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
