The Prog Rock Thread

[stijndeloose]

Ok, then:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ph8hNljOXE[/youtube]

[Audley Strange]

Good to see Gabriel and Genesis on here. This in my opinion is Genesis' finest moment...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD5engyVXe0[/youtube]

[Paul]

^^^

I think they peaked with this album. The Lamb was great in places, but there were a few duff 'below par' moments on it.

It was a surprise to me that one of my favourite tracks, After the Ordeal nearly didn't make it onto Selling England! The story is that Tony Banks was vehemently against it being included. It's a beautiful piece and sits so perfectly between The Battle of Epping Forest and The Cinema Show

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arYjothKl3g[/youtube]

[Audley Strange]

@ Paul.

I agree. I like The Lamb... but I feel as if they were trying to do something outside their comfort-zone with it, possibly to try and appeal to the U.S. market. The albums prior to it are all very English and it suits them, whereas the Rael and N.Y. theme seems forced and hackneyed.

[twistor59]

@ Paul.

I agree. I like The Lamb... but I feel as if they were trying to do something outside their comfort-zone with it, possibly to try and appeal to the U.S. market. The albums prior to it are all very English and it suits them, whereas the Rael and N.Y. theme seems forced and hackneyed.

Completely agree.

It was the Musical Box that got me into Genesis -heard it for the first time at school in the 6th form - just blew me away. The alternating loud and soft tinkly bits culminating in those massive Hammond chords at the end. Wonderful.

Heretical though it may sound, I also rate Wind and Wuthering as one their finest. Don't know why - it just has some sort of atmosphere to it.

[tnjrp]

Many people like that, not just those who are into the Phil Collins era generally. I feel both that and Trick are sliding towards "prog-influenced stadion rock" and the best moments (Mad Man Moon, One For The Vine) are recollections of the fading greatness that once was theirs.

Of Genesis output, I'm partial to Foxtrot myself tho I suppose purely techinically, Selling England is the better album.

[Audley Strange]

@ Twistor59 & tnjrp

Well I'm not a huge fan of post Gabriel Genesis, but I appreciate some of the later stuff even up to Duke and Abacab. So I have no real problem with Trick or Wind and Wuthering, I just don't really listen to those that much.

Foxtrot opens really well and ends really well but I am not a fan of Can Utility or Get Em out by Friday. Nursery Cryme and Selling England are my favourites by far.

[twistor59]

Does anybody else, like me, rate Banks as one of the best keyboard players of the time ? Not for mega flashy fast playing, or for great improvisation, but rather for the ability to lay down superb melodies and chords, and a great choice of sounds ?

[Callan]

Does anybody else, like me, rate Banks as one of the best keyboard players of the time ? Not for mega flashy fast playing, or for great improvisation, but rather for the ability to lay down superb melodies and chords, and a great choice of sounds ?

Hell, yes. I give you the keyboard solo from In the Cage, or I would if I could find a decent version on Evil Youtube. Bah!

[tnjrp]

Having no musical skills myself, I shouldn't attempt techinical prowess evaluations really. That said, Banks doesn't strike me as particularly accomplished player, given the competition from the likes of Emerson or Wakeman, but he does have quite a few good compositions under his belt.

[twistor59]

Having no musical skills myself, I shouldn't attempt techinical prowess evaluations really. That said, Banks doesn't strike me as particularly accomplished player, given the competition from the likes of Emerson or Wakeman, but he does have quite a few good compositions under his belt.

Maybe I should rephrase it as "one of the greatest keyboard composers".
I tend to think of his keyboard works as "pieces" in the classical sense of the word.

[tnjrp]

Touching the subject of virtuosity brought to mind that I've noticed no love for Gentle Giant in this thread yet:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEFO_i8iUWY[/youtube]

[Matt_B]

Having no musical skills myself, I shouldn't attempt techinical prowess evaluations really. That said, Banks doesn't strike me as particularly accomplished player, given the competition from the likes of Emerson or Wakeman, but he does have quite a few good compositions under his belt.

Banks certainly doesn't play as fast as either. Wakeman in particular can really rip through those arpeggios and Emerson famously never had anything to do with the Mellotron - the staple of most prog keyboard players - because its response was simply too slow to handle the sort of trills he liked to play.

Anyway, here's Wakeman in full flow:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkpGF4eWufg[/youtube]

And here's Emerson:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGmhGejkcn4[/youtube]

I've absolutely no complaints about Banks's compositional skills though.

[Callan]

Ahhhh, the mellotron. That takes me back...
*misty-eyed reverie*

[tnjrp]

Uncle Keith's not been quite himself for what, a couple of years, since he suffered a hand injury.

Here, however, is a worthy heiress going at it with her pals... ArsNova, not your parents' girl group:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5vCoyZGCRw[/youtube]

[twistor59]

Ahhhh, the mellotron. That takes me back...
*misty-eyed reverie*

Mellotrons, mmmmm yeah

And how about Moog Taurus bass pedals ? Guaranteed to make any bass guitar sound tinny.

[tnjrp]

Hmm, on the subject of mellotrons, a tangential research just came up with the information that another quite decent keyboardist from the old skool prog era, the Swede Bo Hanson, has departed to play the great gig in the sky on April 24th

Over to you, Bo:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6R0yJah2blY[/youtube]

[j.mills]

Ol' Bo!

That reminds of another '70s own-furrow-plougher, David Bedford. The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner is his most famous album, with twiddly bits by Mike Oldfield, but he's done other interesting stuff. This is from Instructions For Angels:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yLTyJoGLqA[/youtube]

[Paul]

The albums prior to it are all very English and it suits them

I think you've hit the nail on the head there Audley. There is something pastoral about a lot of early English prog rock. Some bands lost their "Englishness" when they became successful and spent too much time abroad.

Another band that comes to mind is Supertramp. Crime of the Century was very English. Crisis What Crisis slightly less so, and then Even in The Quietest Moments sounded like something from the US West Coast.

It looks like all the good Supertramp clips have been wiped from YouTube in the past few weeks!

[twistor59]

Bloody annoying reading a prog rock thread at work, where there is no sound available !