What would you say is the best prog band ever?

[Kaboom]

I would have REAL trouble deciding.
I guess Tull, Pink Floyd and Yes are right up there.
tull is just REALLY COOL
pink floyd is just "right". they kick ass. they might not be the most skilled or fastest musicians, but they sure as hell know what they are doing. The wall, Dark side of the moon and wish you were here are just TOO HARD to beat.
And yes... Close to the edge is currently stapled to my turntable.

basically i like all things prog, but those are just the greatest for me. Not even porcupine tree measures up (who has btw just overtaken Spock's beard in my preference list).

So what do you people think? care to share?

[BarryL]

I would have REAL trouble deciding.
I guess Tull, Pink Floyd and Yes are right up there.
tull is just REALLY COOL
pink floyd is just "right". they kick ass. they might not be the most skilled or fastest musicians, but they sure as hell know what they are doing. The wall, Dark side of the moon and wish you were here are just TOO HARD to beat.
And yes... Close to the edge is currently stapled to my turntable.

basically i like all things prog, but those are just the greatest for me. Not even porcupine tree measures up (who has btw just overtaken Spock's beard in my preference list).

So what do you people think? care to share?

My vote goes to Yes. The sheer beauty and complexity and innovation in their music from 1971 through 1975 places them at the pinnacle in my opinion.

Of course, there were many seminal bands and records that all contributed to the wonder of progressive rock.

Key highlights from the early years:

1969: King Crimson - The Court of the Crimson King
1970 - The Nice - Five Bridges
1971 - Emerson Lake & Palmer - s/t
1971 - Van Der Graff Generator - Pawn Hearts
1972 - Genesis - Foxtrot
1972 - Yes - Close To The Edge

[ForeverAutumn]

I'm not as qualified to play this game as some of the other's around here are, but what the hell...

I love all things Pink Floyd, but I'm not really sure that I would classify them as prog. So, I would say that Yes, Kansas and Rush (1975 - 78) would be my choices. Don't make me pick just one.

As far as CDs go, I would also have to place Genesis's Foxtrot on the list. Watcher of the Skies and Supper's Ready are classics.

I'm glad to hear that you're liking Porky Tree. A few other suggestions , based on what you seem to like...
Opeth - Damnation. This was produced by Steve Wilson of PT and you can hear his influence in the music. This disk can get a little boring though. I tend to enjoy it most when it's on shuffle with other disks.
IZZ - I Move. A solid CD IMHO.
Cryptic Vision - Moments of Clarity. You may have to order this one directly from ProgRock Records, www.progrockrecords.com, as I don't think it was mass produced for distribution.

[Chrisgnat]

I gotta go with Gentle Giant.
They were so talented,clever and creative, virtually untouchable imo.

Yes and King Crimson tied for second and Peter Gabriel era Genesis for third.

Other incredible prog acts that were to good to break through :

Van Der Graff Generator
Univers Zero
Magma
Present
National Health
Hatfield and the North
PFM
Area among many others

[progfan]

For me, Pink Floyd and Genesis. Many others qualify, depending on my mood. I can't think of any modern prog band I'd place as "the greatest ever" but I think Porcupine Tree deserve a place in the top 40!

[Dusty Chalk]

Is this a YES/no question?

I love all things Pink Floyd, but I'm not really sure that I would classify them as prog.

What she said.

[unleasHell]

YES: In the 70's I loved Yes, saw them 3 or 4 times, but for whatever reason I can't get into them nowadays (or for the last 15 years+). I've had that reamastered 4 CD set, for yes and have never listed to all the CD's..

Tull: I have gotten into more as I have gotten older, didn't care much for them in the 70's, every CD has a few good songs nothing great...

Genesis: saw them on the Trick of the Tail tour, Peter was gone but they were still great, I will argue with anyone to the death, that Foxtrot is the greatest prog Album of all time based on the awesome Supper's Ready.

Pink Floyd: was in stride with three albums: DSOTM, WYWH, and Animals, Meddle was very good too, but the WALL to me was a commercial sell out and they went downhill from there.

Those are all the past, Orics, are (were) good for a few listens, but they are repeating themselves, Porcupine Tree has been very good recent years band, but my pick is for...

Korai Orom: I've talked these guys up until I was blue in the face and I still don't think anyone here knows of them. I have 7 CD's by them, everyone a bit different and they shread, stunning guitar and instruments.

KORIA OROM ....

[Gav_2000]

Pink Floyd are pretty good but my vote would go for Marillion, Script for a Jesters Tear and Fugazi were 2 of my most played albums as I grew up.

I'd also put in a 2nd place vote for Pallas as The Sentinel and The Knightmoves EP were always keys records from my formative years.

[Kaboom]

Bingo! whenever i see Pink floyd classified as prog, doubt assaults me. But hey since i've always seen it there i guessed i'd include it in the post. I think they are absolutely untouchable. They had their ups and downs, but except saucerful of secrets and piper, i love all the albums. including the weaker ones such as division bell and final cut.
Btw, anyone know where i can get a copy of Stupid dream without paying 60 bucks for it? listening to such amazing music in 128kbps MP3 is close to making me wretch!

[BarryL]

Korai Orom: I've talked these guys up until I was blue in the face and I still don't think anyone here knows of them. I have 7 CD's by them, everyone a bit different and they shread, stunning guitar and instruments.

KORIA OROM ....

Where would one go to purchase a Korai Orom? Please reveal your source.

[DarrenH]

Is Tull really prog? I mean, they did a couple of album length projects for which I'm sure most are aware but after that (and before) I really wouldn't classify anything they did as "prog". Eclectic? Perhaps. It was all damn fine music and Tull remains my most favorite band.

Calling Porcupine Tree "prog" is also a stretch imo but I really dig them as well. Probably my favorite recent band. I've got everything you could possibly get (legit stuff that is) from Steven Wilson and company. And I was fortunate enough to buy Stupid Dream when it was still in print.

King Crimson is another huge favorite of mine that sometimes gets lumped into the "prog" category. I especially enjoy their live music from the Belew era. Absent Lovers, B'Boom and Heavy Construkction are all excellent live performances. I even get into Fripp's Projekct bands. Great music.

I have to say, "prog" really is an over-used word to describe or classify music.

Anyway, another fairly recent band that I really like is Arena. Very good neo-prog, especially their ealier albums. Their latest effort however has me wondering if they're leaning more towards prog-metal.

Another recent favorite is Isildurs Bane. Mind vol 1 is classic fusion-y music but I also like Cheval and The Voyage and Mind vol 4.

Couple of favorites of mine from the 70's would be Cressida and Barclay James Harvest. Cressida released just two albums but they were classic British proto-prog. Highly recommended to anyone that loves 70's prog. Barclay James Harvest released a bunch of albums but for me their first few (Their First Album, Once Again and Other Short Stories) are the best. Some good moments afterwards but those first three are the ones to own.

Oh, gotta mention Strawbs here as well. Very good and consistant band. They had a string of 5 albums starting with 1971's From The Witchwood and ending with 1975's Ghosts that I'm proud to have in my collection. If you're gonna buy just one Strawbs album then get Hero And Heroine but Ghosts is no slouch either.

I also like Eloy. Early music from them sounded very much like Tull especially on the album Inside. Frank Bornemann sounded just like Ian Anderson both vocally and in his music writing. Everything up to 1977's Ocean is pretty good although I haven't heard 1978's Silent Cries And Mighty Echoes yet.

Never could get into VDGG. I really tried. Pawn Hearts does nothing for me. Doesn't move me in any way nor does make me want to chuck it out the window. I haven't spun it in awhile so maybe it's time for another try.

Gentle Giant is another band I really tried to like but couldn't. I bought In A Glass House and Octopus and never could connect with them. I'll keep trying.

And of course I like Yes and ELP and some Gabriel era Genesis. Those are thee seminal "prog" bands imo.

So, I guess to answer your question, I don't really have a favorite prog band. I just like to many. With that said, if you want to classify Tull as prog then that would be my definitve answer.

Darren

[Dave_G]

Asking me to name a best ever prog band is impossible.

I'm a progressive rock nut, goob, schmeeb, fanboy, whatever.

I like hard progressive rock, soft progressive rock, and all other types.

The bands I like most though, are:

Kansas
Yes
Genesis
Rush
Marillion
IQ
The Flower Kings
Pallas
Arena
Clepsydra
Galahad
Jethro Tull
XTC
Uriah Heep
Triumvirat

Basically I like it all, even Spocks Beard, but they are weak to my ears.

Dave

[shokhead]

Whats a prog band vs others?

[jasn]

I'm not going to suggest that they are the best, but I think Supertramp deserves a worthy mention in this topic.

[unleasHell]

Where would one go to purchase a Korai Orom? Please reveal your source.

right here dude:
http://www.synphonic.8m.com/country/hungary.htm

KORAI OROM - Instrumental percussive space
‘95 $16
‘96 $16
’97 $16
SOUND & VISION 2000 $16
SOUND & VISION 2001 $16
RECYCLED - ‘93 & ‘96 (LIVE) $16
REFLECTED $16

Start with '96 or either of the Sound & Visions, but they are all awesome...

[Chrisgnat]

About the original prog/rock movement in the 70's ie - "The Big Five".

The "Big 5" generally refers to the most obvious, "layman", and familiar progressive rock bands. While everyone might have their own taste, in this context, that's generally irrelevent. Though people can't accept that context and put whomever they want.

The biggest problem with the big 5 is that often times one or two bands get left out, so it becomes the big ?.

But generally, the "Big 5" are regarded as Yes, Genesis, KC, ELP, and (enter argued 5th bands: Tull, Floyd, Rush, VdGG, and Gentle Giant

[kexodusc]

Wow...best prog band ever? That's sort of an anti-prog question to ask, isn't it?

I dunno, for me I think I'd have to give honorable mentions to:

1) Rush
2) Yes
3) Pink Floyd
4) Dream Theater
5) Genesis
6) Marillion
7) IQ


These are all over the map...And everyone of them has some terrible albums as well as some masterpieces. Porky Tree and Arena are really climbing up my list of faves too.

I like a lot of Spock's Beard and The Flower Kings' stuff, but I find both a bit inconsistent so I won't put them in that list.

Prog (and it's cousins/derivatives) seems to be the only genre(s) releasing new stuff that I dig, with a few exceptions...I'm a little upset about the lack of accessibility, if I'm not listening to internet radio I rarely hear about new groups/albums.

[Troy]

Yeah, the BIG 5 list . . .

Floyd, Genesis, Yes, Tull and ELP. That's the big 5 for me. Probably in that order now.

ELP is in 5th for me. I liked them a lot as a teenager, but find them to epitomize all the negative connotations in progressive rock. Still, they were one of the biggest prog acts ever, hence thay HAVE TO be in the BIG 5 list.

When I was a teenager, I was REALLY into Tull. Over the top. I nearly wore a codpiece to school. Cooler heads prevailed. As time passed and my tastes evolved they slipped back, but i still ejoy the band a whole lot.

Yes from 71 to 77 is killer, but they are tarnished by all the bad output later. They should have hung it up or completely re-invented themselves decades ago. Oh, wait, they did, but then they stupidly went right back to the same formula but nver recaptured that studio magic.

Similar comments for Genesis. That band had SUCH a great run in the early- mid-70s. Their sound perfectly epitomizes the prog ideal for me. Great great band. Too bad they released so much bad stuff later. Down a peg for that.

So that leaves Floyd at the top for me I guess. I think Pink Floyd is prog, I know that's a bone of contention with many people. They fit too many of the description points like song length, production values, lyrical content than they don't (virtuosity). Call them spacerock if you like, but spacerock is an offshoot of progressive just as Canterbury is. They released some dogs late in their career, but not nearly as bad as the others.

Not sure how you can pick a 2nd gen band as the best of all time. The ealry 70s bands invented the genre from thin air. Bands like Porcupine Tree and Marillion, however good they might be, really walked RIGHT in the earlier band's footsteps.

[Mr MidFi]

Hmmm...Hard for me to say. Pink Floyd springs instantly to mind. But The Wall and The Final Cut are such self-centered Roger Waters projects, and their post-Waters output is so spotty, it sort of calls their legacy into question.

Genesis should be considered as two separate bands...with and without Gabriel. Their output was solid throughout the 70s, but started to wane significantly afterward. But their oft-overlooked middle-period (Trick of the Tail, Wind & Wuthering, Seconds Out, Duke) remains a favorite of mine.

No one can argue with the sound that Yes created and perfected on their "big three" records, and a few after that as well. And for sheer creative persistence, you really must admire Tull and Rush.

If you stuck a gun to my head, I'd say Floyd. Or Genesis.

[richmon]

I'd say King Crimson, although they're not my favorite band or any of their albums my favorite album.
But they were argueably one of the earliest Prog bands, In the court was revolutionary in 1969. They've constantly pushed the envelope of prog, Lizard in 1973, Larks Tongue in 1973, Red in 1974, Discipline in 1980 - all are wildly different from each other and unique for their time.

Genesis, Yes, ELP, Kansas, Rush, Genital Giant, Van der Graff, Pink Floyd, all are terrific and put out some great albums, but not they all stayed within a narrower range, they didn't stray too far from their signiture sound. Crim was the most progressive, always searching, exploring new ground.
That's the measure of a best progressive band for me.

I have Korai Orom's 1984 album, it's good, hypnotic like a more musically achomplished Hawkwind, but they don't make the top ten for me. Hey, I've got over 1500 CD's so I get to be pickey. Just my .02

[shokhead]

I'd still like to know what is a prog band but it sounds like something like ELO?

[Troy]

I'd still like to know what is a prog band but it sounds like something like ELO?

ELO was a pop band that used strings. they were closer to The Beatles than anything else. Then they went disco.

Save me the typing: Go to the AMG site and look up progressive/art rock for a good description of the genre.

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p...A93&sql=77:374

I notice that AMG called ELO (and the Move) progressive. Not sure I get that, maybe the early stuff like their version of "Roll Over Beethoven" could be pretty proggy.

[Dave_G]

Ya,

ELO ain't no prog band but I still have a coupla their albums.

I forgot to add Porcupine Tree to my listing, I like them a lot, too.

What is prog?

To me, it's bands you generally don't hear on the radio, have lots of keyboards, songs longer than 10 minutes, hippy cool artwork, usually from Europe, and you can't dance to it, and is generally stuff you listen to by yourself at night when buzzed.

Dave

[shokhead]

I did that with everything like Tull,LZ,Beatles,Grand Funk,James T,Cat S,Mott the Hopple,Clash,Devo,Cars,S Dan,Ten Years After,CSNY,N Young,Blind Faith,Mountain, that would be good for one night of getting high.

[Dusty Chalk]

My "Big 4" include: Yes, Rush, King Crimson, and ELP.

Really Genesis and Tull are more prog than Floyd, but that's not saying much.