Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with
art rock) is a broad
genre
Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
of
rock music
Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...
that developed in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Initially termed "
progressive pop
Progressive pop is pop music that attempts to break with the genre's standard formula, or an offshoot of the progressive rock genre that was commonly heard on AM radio in the 1970s and 1980s. It was originally termed for the early progressive ...
", the style was an outgrowth of
psychedelic bands who abandoned standard
pop traditions in favour of
instrumentation
Instrumentation a collective term for measuring instruments that are used for indicating, measuring and recording physical quantities. The term has its origins in the art and science of scientific instrument-making.
Instrumentation can refer to ...
and
composition
Composition or Compositions may refer to:
Arts and literature
*Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography
*Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...
al techniques more frequently associated with
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
,
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Folk Plus or Fo ...
, 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
Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas.
There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...
", and the studio, rather than the stage,
became the focus of musical activity, which often involved creating music for listening rather than dancing.
Progressive rock is based on fusions of styles, approaches and genres, involving a continuous move between
formalism
Formalism may refer to:
* Form (disambiguation)
* Formal (disambiguation)
* Legal formalism, legal positivist view that the substantive justice of a law is a question for the legislature rather than the judiciary
* Formalism (linguistics)
* Scie ...
and
eclecticism
Eclecticism is a conceptual approach that does not hold rigidly to a single paradigm or set of assumptions, but instead draws upon multiple theories, styles, or ideas to gain complementary insights into a subject, or applies different theories i ...
. Due to its historical reception, the scope of progressive rock 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
High culture is a subculture that emphasizes and encompasses the cultural objects of aesthetic value, which a society collectively esteem as exemplary art, and the intellectual works of philosophy, history, art, and literature that a society con ...
and
low culture
In sociology, the term Low culture identifies the forms of popular culture that have Commoner, mass appeal, which is in contrast to High culture, which has a limited appeal to a smaller proportion of the populace. Culture theory proposes that b ...
, few artists incorporated literal classical themes in their work to any great degree, and only a handful of groups, such as
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer (informally known as ELP) were an English progressive rock supergroup formed in London in 1970. The band consisted of Keith Emerson (keyboards), Greg Lake (vocals, bass, guitar, producer) and Carl Palmer (drums, percus ...
, 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. It saw a high level of popularity in the early-to-mid-1970s, but faded soon after.
Conventional wisdom
The conventional wisdom or received opinion is the body of ideas or explanations generally accepted by the public and/or by experts in a field. In religion, this is known as orthodoxy.
Etymology
The term is often credited to the economist John ...
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
Arena rock (also known as AOR, melodic rock, stadium rock, anthem rock, pomp rock, corporate rock and dad rock; ; ) is a style of rock music that originated in the mid-1970s. As hard rock bands and those playing a softer yet strident kind of po ...
, or
new wave.
Early groups who exhibited progressive features are retroactively described as "
proto-prog
Proto-prog (short for proto-progressive) is the earliest work associated with the first wave of progressive rock music, known then as " progressive pop". Such musicians were influenced by modern classical and other genres usually outside of trad ...
". The
Canterbury scene
The Canterbury scene (or Canterbury sound) was a musical scene centred on the town of Canterbury, Kent, England during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Associated with progressive rock, the term describes a loosely-defined, improvisational styl ...
, originating in the late 1960s, denotes a subset of progressive rock bands who emphasised the use of
wind instrument
A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator (usually a tube) in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into (or over) a mouthpiece set at or near the end of the resonator. The pitc ...
s, complex chord changes and long improvisations.
Rock in Opposition
Rock in Opposition or RIO was a movement representing a collective of progressive bands in the late 1970s united in their opposition to the music industry that refused to recognise their music. It was initiated by English avant-rock group H ...
, from the late 1970s, was more
avant-garde
The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...
, and when combined with the
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...
style, created
avant-prog
Avant-prog (short for avant-garde progressive rock) is a music genre that appeared in the late 1970s as the extension of two separate progressive rock subgenres: Rock in Opposition (RIO) and the Canterbury scene.
History and characteristics
...
. In the 1980s, a new subgenre,
neo-progressive rock
Neo-progressive rock (also known as neo-prog) is a subgenre of progressive rock which developed in the UK in the early 1980s. The genre's most popular band, Marillion, achieved mainstream success in the decade. Several bands from the genre have c ...
, enjoyed some commercial success, although it was also accused of being derivative and lacking in innovation.
Post-progressive
Post-progressive is a type of rock music distinguished from vintage progressive rock styles, specifically 1970s prog. Post-progressive draws upon newer developments in popular music and the avant-garde since the mid-1970s. It especially draws fro ...
draws upon newer developments in popular music and the avant-garde since the mid-1970s.
Definition and characteristics
Scope and related terms
The term "progressive rock" is synonymous with "
art rock", "classical rock" (not to be confused with
classic rock
Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prima ...
), and "symphonic rock". Historically, "art rock" has been used to describe at least two related, but distinct, types of rock music. The first is progressive rock as it is generally understood, while the second usage refers to groups who rejected
psychedelia
Psychedelia refers to the psychedelic subculture of the 1960s and the psychedelic experience. This includes psychedelic art, psychedelic music and style of dress during that era. This was primarily generated by people who used psychedelic ...
and the
hippie counterculture in favour of a
modernist
Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
,
avant-garde
The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...
approach. Similarities between the two terms are that they both describe a mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility. However, art rock is more likely to have experimental or avant-garde influences.
"Prog" was devised in the 1990s as a shorthand term, but later became a transferable adjective, also suggesting a wider palette than that drawn on by the most popular 1970s bands.
Progressive rock is varied and is based on fusions of styles, approaches, and genres, tapping into broader cultural resonances that connect to avant-garde art,
classical music and
folk music
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
, performance and the moving image. Although a unidirectional English "progressive" style emerged in the late 1960s, by 1967, progressive rock had come to constitute a diversity of loosely associated style codes. When the "progressive" label arrived, the music was dubbed "
progressive pop
Progressive pop is pop music that attempts to break with the genre's standard formula, or an offshoot of the progressive rock genre that was commonly heard on AM radio in the 1970s and 1980s. It was originally termed for the early progressive ...
" before it was called "progressive rock", with the term "progressive" referring to the wide range of attempts to break with standard pop music formula. A number of additional factors contributed to the acquired "progressive" label: lyrics were more poetic; technology was harnessed for new sounds; music approached the condition of "art"; some harmonic language was imported from jazz and
19th-century classical music;
the album format overtook singles; and the studio, rather than the stage, became the focus of musical activity, which often involved creating music for listening, not dancing.
Critics of the genre often limit its scope to a stereotype of long solos, overlong albums, fantasy lyrics, grandiose stage sets and costumes, and an obsessive dedication to technical skill. While progressive rock 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. Writer Emily Robinson says that the narrowed definition of "progressive rock" was a measure against the term's loose application in the late 1960s, when it was "applied to everyone from
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
to
the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...
". Debate over the genre's criterion continued to the 2010s, particularly on Internet forums dedicated to prog.
According to musicologists
Paul Hegarty
Paul Anthony Hegarty (born 25 July 1954 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish football player and manager. He was captain of Dundee United during their most successful era in the 1970s and 1980s, winning the Scottish league championship in 1983 and th ...
and Martin Halliwell,
Bill Martin and Edward Macan authored major books about progressive rock while "effectively accept
ngthe characterization of progressive rock offered by its critics. ... they each do so largely unconsciously." Academic John S. Cotner contests Macan's view that progressive rock cannot exist without the continuous and overt assimilation of classical music into rock. Author Kevin Holm-Hudson agrees that "progressive rock is a style far more diverse than what is heard from its mainstream groups and what is implied by unsympathetic critics."
Relation to art and social theories
In early references to the music, "progressive" was partly related to
progressive politics
Progressivism holds that it is possible to improve human societies through political action. As a political movement, progressivism seeks to advance the human condition through social reform based on purported advancements in science, techn ...
, but those connotations were lost during the 1970s. On "progressive music", Holm-Hudson writes that it "moves continuously between explicit and implicit references to genres and strategies derived not only from European art music, but other cultural domains (such as East Indian, Celtic, folk, and African) and hence involves a continuous aesthetic movement between
formalism
Formalism may refer to:
* Form (disambiguation)
* Formal (disambiguation)
* Legal formalism, legal positivist view that the substantive justice of a law is a question for the legislature rather than the judiciary
* Formalism (linguistics)
* Scie ...
and
eclecticism
Eclecticism is a conceptual approach that does not hold rigidly to a single paradigm or set of assumptions, but instead draws upon multiple theories, styles, or ideas to gain complementary insights into a subject, or applies different theories i ...
". Cotner also says that progressive rock incorporates both formal and eclectic elements, "It consists of a combination of factors – some of them intramusical ('within), others extramusical or social ('without')."
One way of conceptualising
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...
in relation to "progressive music" is that progressive music pushed the genre into greater complexity while retracing the roots of romantic and classical music. Sociologist
Paul Willis
Paul Willis (born 1945) is a British social scientist known for his work in sociology and cultural studies. Paul Willis' work is widely read in the fields of sociology, anthropology, and education, his work emphasizing consumer culture, sociali ...
believes: "We must never be in doubt that 'progressive' music followed rock 'n' roll, and that it could not have been any other way. We can see rock 'n' roll as a deconstruction and 'progressive' music as a reconstruction." Author Will Romano states that "rock itself can be interpreted as a progressive idea ... Ironically, and quite paradoxically, 'progressive rock', the classic era of the late 1960s through the mid- and late 1970s, introduces not only the explosive and exploratory sounds of technology ... but traditional music forms (classical and European folk) and (often) a pastiche compositional style and artificial constructs (
concept albums) which suggests
postmodernism."
History
1966–1970: Origins
Background and roots
![Beatles and George Martin in studio 1966](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Beatles_and_George_Martin_in_studio_1966.JPG)
In 1966, the level of social and artistic correspondence among British and American rock musicians dramatically accelerated for bands like
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...
,
the Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by the ...
and
the Byrds
The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...
who fused elements of
cultivated music with the
vernacular traditions of rock. Progressive rock was predicated on the "progressive" pop groups from the 1960s who combined rock and roll with various other music styles such as Indian
ragas,
oriental melodies and
Gregorian chant
Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainsong, plainchant, a form of monophony, monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek (language), Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed ma ...
s, like the Beatles and
the Yardbirds
The Yardbirds are an English rock band, formed in London in 1963. The band's core lineup featured vocalist and harmonica player Keith Relf, drummer Jim McCarty, rhythm guitarist and later bassist Chris Dreja and bassist/producer Paul Samwell ...
. The Beatles'
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
said in 1967: "we
he band
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
got a bit bored with 12 bars all the time, so we tried to get into something else. Then came Dylan,
the Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...
, and the Beach Boys. ... We're all trying to do vaguely the same kind of thing." Rock music started to take itself seriously, paralleling earlier attempts in jazz (as
swing gave way to
bop, a move which did not succeed with audiences). In this period, the
popular song began signalling a new possible means of expression that went beyond the three-minute
love song
A love song is a song about romantic love, falling in love, heartbreak after a breakup, and the feelings that these experiences bring. A comprehensive list of even the best known performers and composers of love songs would be a large order ...
, leading to an intersection between the "underground" and the "establishment" for listening publics.
Hegarty and Halliwell identify the Beatles, the Beach Boys,
the Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential rock acts ...
,
the Pretty Things
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
,
the Zombies
The Zombies are an English Rock music, rock band formed in the early 1960s in St Albans and led by keyboardist and vocalist Rod Argent and vocalist Colin Blunstone. The group had a British and American chart-topper, hit in 1964 with "She's Not ...
, the Byrds,
the Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, country, jazz, bluegrass, blues, rock and roll, gospel, reggae, world music, ...
and
Pink Floyd "not merely as precursors of progressive rock but as essential developments of progressiveness in its early days". According to musicologist
Walter Everett, the Beatles' "experimental timbres, rhythms, tonal structures, and poetic texts" on their albums ''
Rubber Soul
''Rubber Soul'' is the sixth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released on 3 December 1965 in the United Kingdom, on EMI's Parlophone label, accompanied by the non-album double A-side single " Day Tripper" / " We Can ...
'' (1965) and ''
Revolver'' (1966) "encouraged a legion of young bands that were to create progressive rock in the early 1970s". Dylan's poetry,
the Mothers of Invention
The Mothers of Invention (also known as The Mothers) was an American rock band from California. Formed in 1964, their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows.
Originally an R&B band ...
's album ''
Freak Out!
''Freak Out!'' is the debut studio album by American rock band the Mothers of Invention, released on June 27, 1966, by Verve Records. Often cited as one of rock music's first concept albums, it is a satirical expression of frontman Frank Zappa's ...
'' (1966) and the Beatles' ''
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' (1967) were all important in progressive rock's development.
The productions of
Phil Spector
Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...
were key influences, as they introduced the possibility of using the recording studio to create music that otherwise could never be achieved. The same is said for the Beach Boys' ''
Pet Sounds
''Pet Sounds'' is the 11th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on May 16, 1966, by Capitol Records. It was initially met with a lukewarm critical and commercial response in the United States, peaking at number 10 on the ...
'' (1966), which
Brian Wilson intended as an answer to ''Rubber Soul'' and which in turn influenced the Beatles when they made ''Sgt. Pepper''.
Dylan introduced a literary element to rock through his fascination with the
Surrealists and the
French Symbolists, and his immersion in the New York City art scene of the early 1960s. The trend of bands with names drawn from literature, such as
the Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential rock acts ...
,
Steppenwolf and
the Ides of March
The Ides of March (; la, Idus Martiae, Late Latin: ) is the 74th day in the Roman calendar, corresponding to 15 March. It was marked by several Religion in ancient Rome, religious observances and was notable in Rome as a deadline for settling d ...
, were a further sign of rock music aligning itself with high culture. Dylan also led the way in blending rock with folk music styles. This was followed by folk rock groups such as the Byrds, who based their initial sound on that of the Beatles. In turn, the Byrds' vocal harmonies inspired those of
Yes, and
British folk rock
British folk rock is a form of folk rock which developed in the United Kingdom from the mid 1960s, and was at its most significant in the 1970s. Though the merging of folk and rock music came from several sources, it is widely regarded that the ...
bands like
Fairport Convention, who emphasised instrumental virtuosity. Some of these artists, such as
the Incredible String Band
The Incredible String Band (sometimes abbreviated as ISB) were a Scottish psychedelic folk band formed by Clive Palmer (musician), Clive Palmer, Robin Williamson and Mike Heron in Edinburgh in 1966. The band built a considerable following, esp ...
and
Shirley
Shirley may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Shirley'' (novel), an 1849 novel by Charlotte Brontë
* ''Shirley'' (1922 film), a British silent film
* ''Shirley'' (2020 film), an American film
* ''Shirley'' (album), a 1961 album by Shirley Bas ...
and
Dolly Collins
Dorothy Ann Collins (6 March 1933 – 22 September 1995), was an English folk musician, arranger and composer. She was the older sister of Shirley Collins.
Born in Hastings, Sussex (now East Sussex), she grew up in an artistic, socialist ...
, would prove influential through their use of instruments borrowed from world music and
early music.
Pet Sounds and Sgt. Pepper
''Pet Sounds'' and ''Sgt. Pepper'', with their lyrical unity, extended structure, complexity, eclecticism, experimentalism, and influences derived from classical music forms, are largely viewed as beginnings in the progressive rock genre and as turning points wherein rock, which previously had been considered dance music, became music that was made for listening to. Between ''Pet Sounds'' and ''Sgt. Pepper'', the Beach Boys released the single "
Good Vibrations
"Good Vibrations" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was composed by Brian Wilson with lyrics by Mike Love. It was released as a single on October 10, 1966 and was an immediate critical and commercial hit, topping record ...
" (1966), dubbed a "
pocket symphony
A pocket symphony is a song with extended form. The term was popularized by English journalist Derek Taylor, who used it to describe the Beach Boys' 1966 single "Good Vibrations". (The description of a "pocket" symphony had appeared in print s ...
" by
Derek Taylor
Derek Taylor (7 May 1932 – 8 September 1997) was an English journalist, writer, publicist and record producer. He is best known for his role as press officer to the Beatles, with whom he worked in 1964 and then from 1968 to 1970, and was one ...
, the band's publicist. The song contained an eclectic array of exotic instruments and several disjunctive key and modal shifts. Scott Interrante of ''
Popmatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
'' wrote that its influence on progressive rock and the psychedelic movement "can't be overstated". Martin likened the song to the Beatles' "
A Day in the Life" from ''Sgt. Pepper'', in that they showcase "the same reasons why much progressive rock is difficult to dance to".
Although ''Sgt. Pepper'' was preceded by several albums that had begun to bridge the line between "disposable" pop and "serious" rock, it successfully gave an established "commercial" voice to an alternative youth culture and marked the point at which the
LP record emerged as a creative format whose importance was equal to or greater than that of the single.
Bill Bruford
William Scott Bruford (born 17 May 1949) is an English former drummer and percussionist who first gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock band Yes. After leaving Yes in 1972, Bruford spent the rest of the 1970s recording ...
, a veteran of several progressive rock bands, said that ''Sgt. Pepper'' transformed both musicians' ideas of what was possible and audiences' ideas of what was acceptable in music. He believed that: "Without the Beatles, or someone else who had done what the Beatles did, it is fair to assume that there would have been no progressive rock." In the aftermath of ''Sgt. Pepper'', magazines such as ''Melody Maker'' drew a sharp line between "pop" and "rock", thus eliminating the "roll" from "
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...
" (which now refers to the 1950s style). The only artists who remained "rock" would be those who were considered at the vanguard of compositional forms, far from "radio friendly" standards, as Americans increasingly used the adjective "progressive" for groups like
Jethro Tull,
Family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
,
East of Eden,
Van der Graaf Generator
Van der Graaf Generator are an English progressive rock band, formed in 1967 in Manchester by singer-songwriters Peter Hammill and Chris Judge Smith and the first act signed by Charisma Records. They did not experience much commercial success i ...
and
King Crimson
King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England. The band draws inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, industrial, electronic, experime ...
.
Proto-prog and psychedelia
According to
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
: "Prog-rock began to emerge out of the British psychedelic scene in 1967, specifically a strain of classical/symphonic rock led by
the Nice
The Nice were an English progressive rock band active in the late 1960s. They blended rock, jazz and classical music and were keyboardist Keith Emerson's first commercially successful band.
The group was formed in 1967 by Emerson, Lee Jack ...
,
Procol Harum
Procol Harum () were an English rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea, Essex in 1967. Their best-known recording is the 1967 hit single " A Whiter Shade of Pale", one of the few singles to have sold over 10 million copies. Although noted for ...
, and
the Moody Blues
The Moody Blues were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1964, initially consisting of keyboardist Mike Pinder, multi-instrumentalist Ray Thomas, guitarist Denny Laine, drummer Graeme Edge and bassist Clint Warwick. The g ...
(''
Days of Future Passed
A day is the time period of a full rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours, 1440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds. In everyday life, the word "day" often refers to a solar day, which is the length between two sola ...
'')." The availability of newly affordable recording equipment coincided with the rise of a London
underground
Underground most commonly refers to:
* Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth
Underground may also refer to:
Places
* The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston
* The Underground ...
scene at which the psychedelic drug LSD was commonly used. Pink Floyd and
Soft Machine functioned as
house bands at all-night events at locations such as
Middle Earth
Middle or The Middle may refer to:
* Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits.
Places
* Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man
* Middle Bay (disambiguation)
* Middle Brook (disambiguation)
* Middle Creek ...
and the
UFO Club
The UFO Club ( ') was a short-lived British counter-culture nightclub in London in the 1960s. The club was established by Joe Boyd and John "Hoppy" Hopkins. It featured light shows, poetry readings, well-known rock acts such as Jimi Hendrix, ...
, where they experimented with sound textures and long-form songs. Many psychedelic, folk rock and early progressive bands were aided by exposure from
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
DJ
John Peel.
Jimi Hendrix, who rose to prominence in the London scene and recorded with a band of English musicians, initiated the trend towards guitar virtuosity and eccentricity in rock music. The Scottish band 1-2-3, later renamed
Clouds, were formed in 1966 and began performing at London clubs a year later. According to ''Mojo'' George Knemeyer: "some claim
hat theyhad a vital influence on prog-rockers such as Yes, The Nice and Family."
Symphonic rock artists in the late 1960s had some chart success, including the singles "
Nights in White Satin" (the Moody Blues, 1967) and "
A Whiter Shade of Pale
"A Whiter Shade of Pale" is a song by the English rock band Procol Harum that was issued as their debut record on 12 May 1967. The single reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart on 8 June and stayed there for six weeks. Without much promotion, i ...
" (Procol Harum, 1967).
The Moody Blues established the popularity of symphonic rock when they recorded ''Days of Future Passed'' together with the
London Festival Orchestra
The London Festival Orchestra (LFO) was established in the 1950s as the 'house orchestra' for Decca Records. In 1980 it was incorporated as an independent performing orchestra under Ross Pople. At least in the world of pop music, the orchestra is ...
, and Procol Harum began to use a greater variety of acoustic instruments, particularly on their 1969 album ''
A Salty Dog
''A Salty Dog'' is the third studio album by English rock band Procol Harum, released in 1969 by record labels Regal Zonophone and A&M.
Content
''A Salty Dog'' has an ostensibly nautical theme, as indicated by its cover (a pastiche of the ...
''. Classical influences sometimes took the form of pieces adapted from or inspired by classical works, such as
Jeff Beck's "
Beck's Bolero" and parts of the Nice's ''
Ars Longa Vita Brevis
''Ars longa, vita brevis'' is a Latin translation of an aphorism coming originally from Greek, roughly meaning, "skilfulness takes time and life is short".
The aphorism quotes the first two lines of the ''Aphorismi'' by the ancient Greek phys ...
''. The latter, along with such Nice tracks as "Rondo" and "
America", reflect a greater interest in music that is entirely instrumental. ''Sgt. Pepper's'' and ''Days'' both represent a growing tendency towards
song cycle
A song cycle (german: Liederkreis or Liederzyklus) is a group, or cycle (music), cycle, of individually complete Art song, songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online''
The songs are either for solo voice ...
s and suites made up of multiple
movements
Movement may refer to:
Common uses
* Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece
* Motion, commonly referred to as movement
Arts, entertainment, and media
Literature
* "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...
.
Focus
Focus, or its plural form foci may refer to:
Arts
* Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in South Australia Film
*''Focus'', a 1962 TV film starring James Whitmore
* ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based ...
incorporated and articulated jazz-style chords, and irregular off-beat drumming into their later rock based riffs, and, several bands that included jazz-style
horn section
A horn section is a group of musicians playing horns. In an orchestra or concert band, it refers to the musicians who play the "French" horn, and in a British-style brass band it is the tenor horn players. In many popular music genres, the te ...
s appeared, including
Blood, Sweat & Tears
Blood, Sweat & Tears (also known as "BS&T") is a jazz rock music group founded in New York City in 1967, noted for a combination of brass with rock instrumentation. In addition to original music, the group has performed popular songs by Laura N ...
and
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
. Of these, Martin highlights Chicago in particular for their experimentation with suites and extended compositions, such as the "
Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon
"Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon" (sic), also known as "The Ballet" and "Make Me Smile Medley", is a nearly thirteen-minute mini-rock opera/song cycle/suite from Chicago's 1970 album ''Chicago'' (also called ''Chicago II''). It was the group's first ...
" on ''
Chicago II''. Jazz influences appeared in the music of British bands such as
Traffic
Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation.
Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffi ...
,
Colosseum
The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world t ...
and
If, together with
Canterbury scene
The Canterbury scene (or Canterbury sound) was a musical scene centred on the town of Canterbury, Kent, England during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Associated with progressive rock, the term describes a loosely-defined, improvisational styl ...
bands such as
Soft Machine and
Caravan. Canterbury scene bands emphasised the use of wind instruments, complex chord changes and long improvisations. Martin writes that in 1968, "full-blown progressive rock" was not yet in existence, but three bands released albums who would later come to the forefront of the music:
Jethro Tull, Caravan and Soft Machine.
The term "progressive rock", which appeared in the liner notes of Caravan's 1968
self-titled debut LP, came to be applied to bands that used classical music techniques to expand the styles and concepts available to rock music. The Nice, the Moody Blues, Procol Harum and Pink Floyd all contained elements of what is now called progressive rock, but none represented as complete an example of the genre as several bands that formed soon after. Almost all of the genre's major bands, including Jethro Tull,
King Crimson
King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England. The band draws inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, industrial, electronic, experime ...
,
Yes,
Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Bible
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
,
Van der Graaf Generator
Van der Graaf Generator are an English progressive rock band, formed in 1967 in Manchester by singer-songwriters Peter Hammill and Chris Judge Smith and the first act signed by Charisma Records. They did not experience much commercial success i ...
,
ELP,
Gentle Giant
Gentle Giant were a British progressive rock band active between 1970 and 1980. The band were known for the complexity and sophistication of their music and for the varied musical skills of their members. All of the band members were multi-inst ...
,
Barclay James Harvest and
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
, released their debut albums during the years 1968–1970. Most of these were folk-rock albums that gave little indication of what the bands' mature sound would become, but King Crimson's ''
In the Court of the Crimson King
''In the Court of the Crimson King'' (subtitled ''An Observation by King Crimson'') is the debut studio album by English rock band King Crimson, released on 10 October 1969 by Island Records. The album is one of the earliest and most influentia ...
'' (1969) and Yes’
self-titled debut album (1969) were early, fully-formed examples of the genre.
1970s–1980s
Peak years (1971–1976)
![DarkSideOfTheMoon1973](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/DarkSideOfTheMoon1973.jpg)
Most of the genre's major bands released their most critically acclaimed albums during the years 1971–1976. The genre experienced a high degree of commercial success during the early 1970s.
Jethro Tull,
ELP,
Rush,
Yes and
Pink Floyd combined for four albums that reached number one in the US charts, and sixteen of their albums reached the top ten.
Mike Oldfield
Mike may refer to:
Animals
* Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum
* Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off
* Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...
's ''
Tubular Bells
Tubular bells (also known as chimes) are musical instruments in the percussion family. Their sound resembles that of church bells, carillon, or a bell tower; the original tubular bells were made to duplicate the sound of church bells within a ...
'' (1973), an excerpt of which was used as the theme for the film ''
The Exorcist
''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin and written for the screen by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1971 novel of the same name. It stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty ...
'', sold 16 million copies.
![Emerson, Lake & Palmer 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Emerson%2C_Lake_%26_Palmer_01.jpg)
Progressive rock came to be appreciated overseas, but it mostly remained a European, and especially British, phenomenon. Few American bands engaged in it, and the purest representatives of the genre, such as
Starcastle and
Happy the Man
Happy the Man is an American progressive rock band formed in 1973. The name Happy the Man is a reference to Goethe’s "Faust" and the Bible, rather than the 1972 Genesis single.
History Early days (1973–76)
The group formed in 1973 in Harr ...
, remained limited to their own geographic regions. This is at least in part due to music industry differences between the US and Great Britain.
Cultural factors were also involved, as US musicians tended to come from a blues background, while Europeans tended to have a foundation in classical music. North American progressive rock bands and artists often represented hybrid styles such as the complex arrangements of
Todd Rundgren's Utopia
Utopia was an American rock band formed in 1973 by Todd Rundgren. During its first three years, the group was a progressive rock band with a somewhat fluid membership known as Todd Rundgren's Utopia. Most of the members in this early incarnat ...
and
Rush, the hard rock of
Captain Beyond, the
Southern rock
Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. Author Scott B. Bomar specula ...
-tinged prog of
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...
, the jazz fusion of
Frank Zappa and
Return to Forever
Return to Forever was an American jazz fusion band that was founded by pianist Chick Corea in 1972. The band has had many members, with the only consistent bandmate of Corea's being bassist Stanley Clarke. Along with Weather Report, The Headhu ...
, and the eclectic fusion of the all-instrumental
Dixie Dregs
The Dixie Dregs is an American rock band from Augusta, Georgia. Formed in 1970, the band's performance consists entirely of instrumentals that fuse elements of diverse genres such as rock, classical music, country, jazz and bluegrass into an e ...
. British progressive rock acts had their greatest US success in the same geographic areas in which British heavy metal bands experienced their greatest popularity. The overlap in audiences led to the success of
arena rock
Arena rock (also known as AOR, melodic rock, stadium rock, anthem rock, pomp rock, corporate rock and dad rock; ; ) is a style of rock music that originated in the mid-1970s. As hard rock bands and those playing a softer yet strident kind of po ...
bands, such as
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
,
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...
, and
Styx, who combined elements of the two styles.
Progressive rock achieved popularity in Continental Europe more quickly than it did in the US. Italy remained generally uninterested in rock music until the strong Italian progressive rock scene developed in the early 1970s. Progressive rock emerged in Yugoslavia in the late 1960s, dominating the
Yugoslav rock scene
Popular music in Yugoslavia includes the pop and rock music of the former SFR Yugoslavia, including all their genres and subgenres. The scene included the constituent republics: SR Slovenia, SR Croatia, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SR Montenegro, S ...
until the late 1970s.
Few of the European groups were successful outside of their own countries, with the exceptions of Dutch bands like
Focus
Focus, or its plural form foci may refer to:
Arts
* Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in South Australia Film
*''Focus'', a 1962 TV film starring James Whitmore
* ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based ...
and
Golden Earring
Golden Earring (originally known as The Tornados) was a Dutch rock band, founded in 1961 in The Hague as The Golden Earrings. They achieved worldwide fame with their international hit songs "Radar Love" in 1973, which went to number one on t ...
who wrote English-language lyrics, and the Italians
Le Orme
Le Orme (Italian: "The Footprints") is an Italian progressive rock band formed in 1966 in Marghera, a ''frazione'' of Venice. The band was one of the major groups of the Italian progressive rock scene in the 1970s. They are one of few Italian r ...
and
PFM, whose English lyrics were written by
Peter Hammill
Peter Joseph Andrew Hammill (born 5 November 1948) is an English musician and recording artist. He was a founder member of the progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Best known as a singer/songwriter, he also plays guitar and piano and ...
and
Peter Sinfield
Peter John Sinfield (born 27 December 1943) is an English poet and songwriter. He is best known as the co-founder and former lyricist of King Crimson, whose debut album '' In the Court of the Crimson King'' is considered one of the first and mo ...
, respectively. Some European bands played in a style derivative of English bands. The "Kosmische music" scene in Germany came to be labelled as "
krautrock" internationally and is frequently cited as part of the progressive rock genre or an entirely distinct phenomenon. Krautrock bands such as
Can, which included two members who had studied under
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th-century classical music, 20th and early 21st-century ...
, tended to be more strongly influenced by
20th-century classical music than the British progressive rock bands, whose musical vocabulary leaned more towards
the Romantic era. Many of these groups were very influential even among bands that had little enthusiasm for the symphonic variety of progressive rock.
= Progressive soul
=
Concurrently, African-American popular musicians drew from progressive rock's conceptual album-oriented approach. This led to a progressive-soul movement in the 1970s that inspired a newfound sophisticated musicality and ambitious lyricism in black pop. Among these musicians were
Sly Stone
Sylvester Stewart (born March 15, 1943), better known by his stage name Sly Stone, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer who is most famous for his role as frontman for Sly and the Family Stone, playing a critical role in the ...
,
Stevie Wonder,
Marvin Gaye,
Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music. , and
George Clinton. In discussing the development, Martin cites 1970s albums by Wonder (''
Talking Book
''Talking Book'' is the fifteenth studio album by American singer, songwriter, and musician Stevie Wonder, released on October 27, 1972, by Tamla, a subsidiary of Motown Records. This album and '' Music of My Mind'', released earlier the same y ...
'', ''
Innervisions
''Innervisions'' is the sixteenth studio album by American singer, songwriter, and musician Stevie Wonder, released on August 3, 1973, by Tamla, a subsidiary of Motown Records. A landmark recording of Wonder's "classic period", the album has bee ...
'', ''
Songs in the Key of Life
''Songs in the Key of Life'' is the eighteenth studio album by American singer, songwriter and musician Stevie Wonder. A double album, it was released on September 28, 1976, by Tamla Records, a division of Motown. It was recorded primarily at Crys ...
''),
War
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
(''
All Day Music'', ''
The World Is a Ghetto
''The World Is a Ghetto'' is the fifth album by American band War, released in late 1972 on United Artists Records. The album attained the number one spot on ''Billboard'', and was ''Billboard'' magazine's Album of the Year as the best-selling a ...
'', ''
War Live''), and
the Isley Brothers
The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American musical group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decade ...
(''
3 + 3
''3 + 3'' is the eleventh album released by the Isley Brothers for the Epic label under their T-Neck imprint on August 7, 1973. In 2020, the album was ranked at 464 on ''Rolling Stone'' 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.
Background
Their ...
''), while noting that the Who's progressive rock-influenced ''
Who Are You
''Who Are You'' is the eighth studio album by English rock band the Who, released on 18 August 1978 by Polydor Records in the United Kingdom and MCA Records in the United States. Although the album received mixed reviews from critics, it was a ...
'' (1978) also drew from the soul variant. Dominic Maxwell of ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
'' calls Wonder's mid-1970s albums "prog soul of the highest order, pushing the form yet always heartfelt, ambitious and listenable".
Decline and fragmentation
Political and social trends of the late 1970s shifted away from the early 1970s
hippie attitudes that had led to the genre's development and popularity. The rise in
punk cynicism made the utopian ideals expressed in progressive rock lyrics unfashionable. Virtuosity was rejected, as the expense of purchasing quality instruments and the time investment of learning to play them were seen as barriers to rock's energy and immediacy. There were also changes in the music industry, as record companies disappeared and merged into large
media conglomerates. Promoting and developing experimental music was not part of the
marketing strategy
Marketing strategy allows organizations to focus limited resources on best opportunities to increase sales and achieve a competitive advantage in the market.
Strategic marketing emerged in the 1970s/80s as a distinct field of study, further buil ...
for these large corporations, who focused their attention on identifying and targeting profitable
market niches.
![Robert Fripp 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Robert_Fripp_2.jpg)
Four of progressive rock's most successful bands – King Crimson, Yes, ELP and Genesis – went on hiatus or experienced major personnel changes during the mid-1970s. Macan notes the September 1974 breakup of King Crimson as particularly significant, calling it the point when "all English bands in the genre should have ceased to exist". More of the major bands, including Van der Graaf Generator, Gentle Giant and
U.K.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, dissolved between 1978 and 1980. Many bands had by the mid-1970s reached the limit of how far they could experiment in a rock context, and fans had wearied of the extended, epic compositions. The sounds of the
Hammond,
Minimoog and
Mellotron had been thoroughly explored, and their use became clichéd. Those bands who continued to record often simplified their sound, and the genre fragmented from the late 1970s onwards. In
Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp (born 16 May 1946) is a British musician, songwriter, record producer, and author, best known as the guitarist, founder and longest-lasting member of the progressive rock band King Crimson. He has worked extensively as a session ...
's opinion, once "progressive rock" ceased to cover new ground – becoming a set of conventions to be repeated and imitated – the genre's premise had ceased to be "progressive".
The era of record labels investing in their artists, giving them freedom to experiment and limited control over their content and marketing ended with the late 1970s. Corporate
artists and repertoire
Artists and repertoire ( colloquially abbreviated to A&R) is the division of a record label or music publishing company that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists (singers, instrumental ...
staff exerted an increasing amount of control over the creative process that had previously belonged to the artists, and established acts were pressured to create music with simpler harmony and song structures and fewer changes in meter. A number of symphonic pop bands, such as
Supertramp
Supertramp were an English rock band that formed in London in 1969. Marked by the individual songwriting of founders Roger Hodgson (vocals, keyboards, and guitars) and Rick Davies (vocals and keyboards), they are distinguished for blending p ...
,
10cc,
the Alan Parsons Project
The Alan Parsons Project was a British rock band active between 1975 and 1990, whose core membership consisted of producer, audio engineer, musician and composer Alan Parsons and singer, songwriter and pianist Eric Woolfson. They were accompan ...
and the
Electric Light Orchestra, brought the orchestral-style arrangements into a context that emphasised pop singles while allowing for occasional instances of exploration. Jethro Tull, Gentle Giant and Pink Floyd opted for a harder sound in the style of
arena rock
Arena rock (also known as AOR, melodic rock, stadium rock, anthem rock, pomp rock, corporate rock and dad rock; ; ) is a style of rock music that originated in the mid-1970s. As hard rock bands and those playing a softer yet strident kind of po ...
.
Few new progressive rock bands formed during this era, and those who did found that record labels were not interested in signing them.
The short-lived supergroup U.K. was a notable exception since its members had established reputations; they produced two albums that were stylistically similar to previous artists and did little to advance the genre. Part of the genre's legacy in this period was its influence on other styles, as several European guitarists brought a progressive rock approach to
heavy metal and laid the groundwork for
progressive metal
Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar-driven sound of the former with the more experimental, cerebral ...
.
Michael Schenker
Michael Schenker (born 10 January 1955) is a German guitarist. He played in the rock band UFO and leads the Michael Schenker Group. He was an early member of the hard rock band Scorpions, a band co-founded by his elder brother Rudolf Schenker ...
, of
UFO
An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...
; and
Uli Jon Roth
Uli Jon Roth (born Ulrich Roth; 18 December 1954) is a German guitarist who became famous for his work with the hard rock band Scorpions and is one of the earliest contributors to the neoclassical metal genre. He is also the founder of Sky Aca ...
, who replaced Schenker in
Scorpions
Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...
, expanded the modal vocabulary available to guitarists. Roth studied classical music with the intent of using the guitar in the way that classical composers used the violin. Finally, the Dutch-born and classically trained
Alex and
Eddie Van Halen formed
Van Halen
Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...
, featuring ground-breaking whammy-bar, tapping and cross-picking guitar performances that influenced "
shred" music in the 1980s.
=Commercialisation
=
Some established artists moved towards music that was simpler and more commercially viable. Arena rock bands like
Journey
Journey or journeying may refer to:
* Travel, the movement of people between distant geographical locations
** Day's journey, a measurement of distance
** Road trip, a long-distance journey on the road
Animals
* Journey (horse), a thoroughbred ra ...
,
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...
,
Styx,
GTR,
ELO and
Foreigner either had begun as progressive rock bands or included members with strong ties to the genre. These groups retained some of the song complexity and orchestral-style arrangements, but they moved away from lyrical mysticism in favour of more conventional themes such as relationships. These radio-friendly groups have been called "prog lite". Genesis transformed into a successful pop act, the prog supergroup
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
(consisting of members of Yes, King Crimson, and ELP) scored a number-one album in 1982, and a re-formed Yes released the relatively mainstream ''
90125'' (1983), which yielded their only US number-one single, "
Owner of a Lonely Heart
"Owner of a Lonely Heart" is a song by British progressive rock band Yes. It is the first track and single from their eleventh studio album, '' 90125'' (1983), and was released in October 1983. Written primarily by guitarist and singer Trevor ...
". One band who remained successful into the 1980s while maintaining a progressive approach was Pink Floyd, who released ''
The Wall
''The Wall'' is the eleventh studio album by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released on 30 November 1979 by Harvest/EMI and Columbia/ CBS Records. It is a rock opera that explores Pink, a jaded rock star whose eventual self-imp ...
'' late in 1979. The album, which brought punk anger into progressive rock, was a huge success and was later filmed as ''
Pink Floyd – The Wall
''Pink Floyd – The Wall'' is a 1982 British live-action/animated psychological musical drama film directed by Alan Parker, based on Pink Floyd's 1979 album of the same name. The screenplay was written by Pink Floyd vocalist and bassist Rog ...
''.
Post-punk and post-progressive
Punk and progressive rock were not necessarily as opposed as is commonly believed. Both genres reject commercialism, and punk bands did see a need for musical advancement. Author Doyle Green noted that
post-punk
Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad music genre, genre of Punk Music, punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde s ...
emerged as "a kind of 'progressive punk. Post-punk artists rejected the high cultural references of 1960s rock artists like the Beatles and Bob Dylan as well as paradigms that defined rock as "progressive", "art", or "studio perfectionism". In contrast to punk rock, it balances punk's energy and skepticism with art school consciousness,
Dadaist
Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 1920 Dada flourished in Paris ...
experimentalism, and atmospheric, ambient soundscapes.
World music, especially African and Asian traditions, was also a major influence. Progressive rock's impact was felt in the work of some post-punk artists, although they tended not to emulate classical rock or Canterbury groups but rather
Roxy Music
Roxy Music are an English rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry—who became the band's lead vocalist and principal songwriter—and bassist Graham Simpson. The other longtime members are Phil Manzanera (guitar), Andy Mackay (saxophone ...
, King Crimson, and
krautrock bands, particularly Can.
Punishment of Luxury's music borrowed from both progressive and punk rock, whilst
Alternative TV
Alternative TV (sometimes known as ATV) are an English band formed in London in 1977. Author Steve Taylor writes: "Alternative TV pioneered reggae rhythms in punk and then moved on to redefine the musical rules".
History
Alternative TV were fo ...
, who were fronted by the founder of the influential punk fanzine ''
Sniffin' Glue
''Sniffin' Glue and Other Rock 'N' Roll Habits...'', widely known as simply ''Sniffin' Glue'', was a monthly punk zine started by Mark Perry in July 1976 and released for about a year. The name is derived from a Ramones song " Now I Wanna Sniff ...
''
Mark Perry, toured and released a split live album with
Gong
A gongFrom Indonesian and ms, gong; jv, ꦒꦺꦴꦁ ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ja, , dora; km, គង ; th, ฆ้อง ; vi, cồng chiêng; as, কাঁহ is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Gongs ...
offshoot
Here & Now.
![Talkin'HeadsELMO](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/Talkin%27HeadsELMO.jpg)
The term "
post-progressive
Post-progressive is a type of rock music distinguished from vintage progressive rock styles, specifically 1970s prog. Post-progressive draws upon newer developments in popular music and the avant-garde since the mid-1970s. It especially draws fro ...
" identifies progressive rock that returns to its original principles while dissociating from 1970s progressive rock styles, and may be located after 1978. Martin credits
Roxy Music
Roxy Music are an English rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry—who became the band's lead vocalist and principal songwriter—and bassist Graham Simpson. The other longtime members are Phil Manzanera (guitar), Andy Mackay (saxophone ...
's
Brian Eno as the sub-genre's most important catalyst, explaining that his 1973–77 output merged aspects of progressive rock with a prescient notion of new wave and punk. New wave, which surfaced around 1978–79 with some of the same attitudes and aesthetic as punk, was characterised by Martin as "progressive" multiplied by "punk". Bands in the genre tended to be less hostile towards progressive rock than the punks, and there were crossovers, such as Fripp and Eno's involvement with
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.[Talki ...](_blank)
, and Yes' replacement of Rick Wakeman and Jon Anderson with the pop duo
the Buggles
The Buggles were an English new wave band formed in London in 1977 by singer and bassist Trevor Horn and keyboardist Geoff Downes. They are best known for their 1979 debut single " Video Killed the Radio Star", which topped the UK Singles Cha ...
. When King Crimson reformed in 1981, they released an album, ''
Discipline'', which Macan says "inaugurated" the new post-progressive style. The new King Crimson line-up featured guitarist and vocalist
Adrian Belew
Robert Steven "Adrian" Belew (born December 23, 1949) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. A multi-instrumentalist primarily known as a guitarist and singer, he is noted for his unusual and impressionistic approach to ...
, who also collaborated with Talking Heads, playing live with the band and featuring on their 1980 album ''
Remain in Light
''Remain in Light'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Talking Heads, released on October 8, 1980 by Sire Records. It was recorded at Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas and Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia during July and Augus ...
''. According to Martin, Talking Heads also created "a kind of new-wave music that was the perfect synthesis of punk urgency and attitude and progressive-rock sophistication and creativity. A good deal of the more interesting rock since that time is clearly 'post-Talking Heads' music, but this means that it is post-progressive rock as well."
Neo-progressive rock
A second wave of progressive rock bands appeared in the early 1980s and have since been categorised as a separate "
neo-progressive rock
Neo-progressive rock (also known as neo-prog) is a subgenre of progressive rock which developed in the UK in the early 1980s. The genre's most popular band, Marillion, achieved mainstream success in the decade. Several bands from the genre have c ...
" subgenre.
[Ewing, Jerry. "Pathways." Classic Rock Presents Prog. 17 March 2010. p.61] These largely keyboard-based bands played extended compositions with complex musical and lyrical structures. Several of these bands were signed by major record labels, including
Marillion,
IQ,
Pendragon
Pendragon or ( wlm, pen dreic, ''pen dragon''; composed of Welsh , 'head, chief, top' and / ''dragon'', 'dragon; warrior'; borrowed from the Latin word , plural , 'dragon , br, Penn Aerouant) literally means 'chief dragon' or 'head dragon', but ...
and
Pallas
Pallas may refer to:
Astronomy
* 2 Pallas asteroid
** Pallas family, a group of asteroids that includes 2 Pallas
* Pallas (crater), a crater on Earth's moon
Mythology
* Pallas (Giant), a son of Uranus and Gaia, killed and flayed by Athena
* Pa ...
. Most of the genre's major acts released debut albums between 1983 and 1985 and shared the same manager, Keith Goodwin, a publicist who had been instrumental in promoting progressive rock during the 1970s. The previous decade's bands had the advantage of appearing during a prominent
countercultural
A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Hou ...
movement that provided them with a large potential audience, but the neo-progressive bands were limited to a relatively niche demographic and found it difficult to attract a following. Only Marillion and
Saga experienced international success.
Neo-progressive bands tended to use
Peter Gabriel-era
Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Bible
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
as their "principal model". They were also influenced by
funk,
hard rock and
punk rock. The genre's most successful band, Marillion, suffered particularly from accusations of similarity to Genesis, although they used a different vocal style, incorporated more hard rock elements, and were very influenced by bands including
Camel and
Pink Floyd. Authors
Paul Hegarty
Paul Anthony Hegarty (born 25 July 1954 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish football player and manager. He was captain of Dundee United during their most successful era in the 1970s and 1980s, winning the Scottish league championship in 1983 and th ...
and Martin Halliwell have pointed out that the neo-progressive bands were not so much plagiarising progressive rock as they were creating a new style from progressive rock elements, just as the bands of a decade before had created a new style from jazz and classical elements. Author Edward Macan counters by pointing out that these bands were at least partially motivated by a nostalgic desire to preserve a past style rather than a drive to innovate.
1990s–2000s
Third wave
![Porcupine Tree @ Poznan, Poland 2007 04](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Porcupine_Tree_%40_Poznan%2C_Poland_2007_04.jpg)
A third wave of progressive rock bands, who can also be described as a second generation of neo-progressive bands, emerged in the 1990s. The use of the term "progressive" to describe groups that follow in the style of bands from ten to twenty years earlier is somewhat controversial, as it has been seen as a contradiction of the spirit of experimentation and progress. These new bands were aided in part by the availability of personal computer-based
recording studios
A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large eno ...
, which reduced album production expenses, and the Internet, which made it easier for bands outside of the mainstream to reach widespread audiences. Record stores specialising in progressive rock appeared in large cities.
The
shred music of the 1980s was a major influence on the progressive rock groups of the 1990s. Some of the newer bands, such as
the Flower Kings
The Flower Kings are a Swedish progressive rock band formed in 1994 by guitarist and singer-songwriter Roine Stolt. The group began as Stolt's touring band to support his third solo album ''The Flower King''. They continued performing after the ...
,
Spock's Beard
Spock's Beard is an American progressive rock band formed in Los Angeles.
The band was formed in 1992 by brothers Neal (lead vocals, keyboards) and Alan Morse (vocals, guitars), John Ballard (bass) and Nick D'Virgilio (drums). Ballard was r ...
and
Glass Hammer
Glass Hammer is an American progressive rock band from Chattanooga, Tennessee, created and led by Steve Babb and Fred Schendel.
Babb and Schendel, who founded the band in 1992, are the only constant members in the lineup, having surrounded the ...
, played a 1970s-style symphonic prog, but with an updated sound. A number of them began to explore the limits of the CD in the way that earlier groups had stretched the limits of the vinyl LP.
Progressive metal
Progressive rock and
heavy metal have similar timelines. Both emerged from late-1960s psychedelia to achieve great early-1970s success despite a lack of radio airplay and support from critics, then faded in the mid-to-late 1970s and experienced revivals in the early 1980s. Each genre experienced a fragmentation of styles at this time, and many metal bands from the
new wave of British heavy metal
The new wave of British heavy metal (commonly abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that started in England in the mid-1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Journalist Geoff Barton coined the term i ...
– most notably
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...
– onwards displayed progressive rock influences.
Progressive metal
Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar-driven sound of the former with the more experimental, cerebral ...
reached a point of maturity with
Queensrÿche
Queensrÿche is an American heavy metal band. It formed in 1982 in Bellevue, Washington, out of the local band the Mob. The band has released 16 studio albums, one EP, and several DVDs, and continues to tour and record. The original lineup ...
's 1988 concept album ''
Operation: Mindcrime,''
Voivod's 1989 ''
Nothingface'', which featured abstract lyrics and a King Crimson-like texture, and
Dream Theater's 1992 ''
Images and Words
''Images and Words'' is the second studio album by American progressive metal band Dream Theater, released on July 7, 1992, through Atco Records. It is the first Dream Theater release to feature James LaBrie on vocals. Since its release, the alb ...
''.
Progressive rock elements appear in other metal subgenres.
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw (lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an emp ...
is conceptual by definition, due to its prominent theme of questioning the values of Christianity. Its
guttural
Guttural speech sounds are those with a primary place of articulation near the back of the oral cavity, especially where it's difficult to distinguish a sound's place of articulation and its phonation. In popular usage it is an imprecise term fo ...
vocals are sometimes used by bands who can be classified as progressive, such as
Mastodon
A mastodon ( 'breast' + 'tooth') is any proboscidean belonging to the extinct genus ''Mammut'' (family Mammutidae). Mastodons inhabited North and Central America during the late Miocene or late Pliocene up to their extinction at the end of th ...
,
Mudvayne
Mudvayne is an American heavy metal band formed in Peoria, Illinois in 1996. Known for their sonic experimentation, face and body paint, masks and uniforms, the band has sold over six million records worldwide, including nearly three millio ...
and
Opeth.
Symphonic metal is an extension of the tendency towards orchestral passages in early progressive rock. Progressive rock has also served as a key inspiration for genres such as
post-rock,
post-metal
Post-metal is a music genre rooted in heavy metal but exploring approaches beyond metal conventions. It emerged in the 1990s with bands such as Neurosis and Godflesh, who transformed metal texture through experimental composition. In a way si ...
and
avant-garde metal,
math rock
Math rock is a style of progressive and indie rock with roots in bands such as King Crimson and Rush as well as 20th-century minimal music composers such as Steve Reich. It is characterized by complex, atypical rhythmic structures (includi ...
,
power metal
Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contra ...
and
neo-classical metal
Neoclassical metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is heavily influenced by classical music and usually features very technical playing,Stephan Forté, "Metal néoclassique" in ''Guitarist Magazine Pedago'', Hors Série #29, "Les secrets du m ...
.
New prog
New prog describes the wave of progressive rock bands in the 2000s who revived the genre. According to ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...
''s Evan Serpick: "Along with recent success stories like
System of a Down
System of a Down (also known as SoaD or simply System) is an Armenian-American heavy metal band formed in Glendale, California, in 1994. Since 1997, the band has consisted of Serj Tankian (lead vocals, keyboards); Daron Malakian (guitar, voc ...
and up-and-comers like the
Dillinger Escape Plan,
Lightning Bolt,
Coheed and Cambria
Coheed and Cambria are an American progressive rock band from Nyack, New York, formed in 1995. The band consists of Claudio Sanchez (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Travis Stever (guitars, vocals), Josh Eppard (drums, keyboards, backing vocals), ...
, and
the Mars Volta
The Mars Volta is an American progressive rock band from El Paso, Texas, formed in 2001. The band's only constant members are Omar Rodríguez-López (guitar, producer, direction) and Cedric Bixler-Zavala (vocals, lyrics), whose partnership for ...
create incredibly complex and inventive music that sounds like a heavier, more aggressive version of '70s behemoths such as Led Zeppelin and King Crimson."
2010s
The Progressive Music Awards were launched in 2012 by the British magazine ''
Prog'' to honour the genre's established acts and to promote its newer bands. Honorees, however, are not invited to perform at the awards ceremony, as the promoters want an event "that doesn't last three weeks".
Festivals
Many prominent progressive rock bands got their initial exposure at large
rock festival
A rock festival is an open-air rock concert featuring many different performers, typically spread over two or three days and having a campsite and other amenities and forms of entertainment provided at the venue. Some festivals are singular even ...
s that were held in Britain during the late 1960s and early 1970s. King Crimson made their first major appearance at the
1969 Hyde Park free concert, before a crowd estimated to be as large as 650,000, in support of
the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...
. Emerson, Lake & Palmer debuted at the
1970 Isle of Wight Festival
The Isle of Wight Festival 1970 was a music festival held between 26 and 31 August 1970 at Afton Down, an area on the western side of the Isle of Wight in England. It was the last of three consecutive music festivals to take place on the islan ...
, at which Supertramp,
Family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
and Jethro Tull also appeared. Jethro Tull were also present at the 1969
Newport Jazz Festival
The Newport Jazz Festival is an annual American multi-day jazz music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. Elaine Lorillard established the festival in 1954, and she and husband Louis Lorillard financed it for many years. They hir ...
, the first year in which that festival invited rock bands to perform.
Hawkwind
Hawkwind are an English rock band known as one of the earliest space rock groups. Since their formation in November 1969, Hawkwind have gone through many incarnations and have incorporated many different styles into their music, including hard ...
appeared at many British festivals throughout the 1970s, although they sometimes showed up uninvited, set up a stage on the periphery of the event, and played for free.
Supertramp performing in 1979
file:King Crimson - Dour Festival 2003 (01).jpg,
King Crimson
King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England. The band draws inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, industrial, electronic, experime ...
performing at the Dour Festival, 2003
Renewed interest in the genre in the 1990s led to the development of progressive rock festivals. ProgFest, organised by Greg Walker and David Overstreet in 1993, was first held in UCLA's Royce Hall, and featured Sweden's Änglagård, the UK's IQ, Quill and Citadel. CalProg was held annually in Whittier, California during the early 2000s. The North East Art Rock Festival, or
NEARfest
The North East Art Rock Festival, or NEARfest for short, was a multi-day event celebrating the resurgence of progressive and eclectic music in the United States and around the world. The event was held annually in early summer in Bethlehem, Pennsy ...
, held its first event in 1999 in
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem is a city in Northampton and Lehigh Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bethlehem had a total population of 75,781. Of this, 55,639 were in Northampton County and 19, ...
and held annual sold-out concerts until 2012's NEARfest Apocalypse, which featured headliners
U.K.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and Renaissance. Other festivals include the annual ProgDay (the longest-running and only outdoor progressive music festival) in
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the annual Rites of Spring Festival (RoSfest) in
Sarasota, Florida
Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sou ...
,
The Rogue Independent Music Festival in Atlanta, Georgia,
Baja Prog Baja Prog is an annual progressive rock festival in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the ...
in
Mexicali, Mexico
Mexicali (; ) is the capital city of the Mexican state of Baja California. The city, seat of the Mexicali Municipality, has a population of 689,775, according to the 2010 census, while the Calexico–Mexicali metropolitan area is home to 1,000, ...
,
ProgPower USA
ProgPower USA is a progressive and power metal festival held annually in the United States since 2001. Its upcoming edition, ProgPower USA XXI is scheduled to take place on June 1–4, 2022. The festival's band selection process focuses on qual ...
in Atlanta, Georgia,
ProgPower Europe
ProgPower Europe (formerly ProgPower) is a progressive metal festival held annually in the Netherlands since 1999. Notable headliners have included Sons of Apollo, Evergrey, and Caligula's Horse.
History
The beginnings of ProgPower Europe ...
in
Baarlo, Netherlands, and ProgStock in Rahway, NJ, which held its first event in 2017. Progressive Nation tours were held in 2008 and
2009 with Dream Theater as the headline act. "Night of the Prog" in
Sankt Goarshausen
Sankt Goarshausen (abbreviated St. Goarshausen) is a town located in the Rhein-Lahn-Kreis in Nassau on the eastern shore of the Rhine, in the section known as the Rhine Gorge, directly across the river from Sankt Goar, in the German state Rhin ...
, Germany, is an established European progressive rock festival held every July during 2–3 days for 12 years.
Reception
The genre has received both critical acclaim and criticism throughout the years. Progressive rock has been described as parallel to the classical music of
Igor Stravinsky and
Béla Bartók. This desire to expand the boundaries of rock, combined with some musicians' dismissiveness toward mainstream rock and pop, dismayed critics and led to accusations of elitism. Its intellectual, fantastic and apolitical lyrics, and shunning of rock's blues roots, were abandonments of the very things that many critics valued in rock music. Progressive rock also represented the maturation of rock as a genre, but there was an opinion among critics that rock was and should remain fundamentally tied to adolescence, so rock and maturity were mutually exclusive. Criticisms over the complexity of their music provoked some bands to create music that was even more complex.
Most of the musicians involved were male, as was the case for most rock of the time, Female singers were better represented in
progressive folk
Progressive folk was originally a type of American folk music that pursued a progressive political agenda. More recently, the term has also been applied to a style of contemporary folk that draws from post-Bob Dylan folk music and adds new lay ...
bands, who displayed a broader range of vocal styles than the progressive rock bands with whom they frequently toured and shared band members.
British and European audiences typically followed concert hall behaviour protocols associated with classical music performances, and were more reserved in their behaviour than audiences for other forms of rock. This confused musicians during US tours, as they found American audiences less attentive and more prone to outbursts during quiet passages.
These aspirations towards
high culture
High culture is a subculture that emphasizes and encompasses the cultural objects of aesthetic value, which a society collectively esteem as exemplary art, and the intellectual works of philosophy, history, art, and literature that a society con ...
reflect progressive rock's origins as a music created largely by
upper- and
middle-class,
white-collar, college-educated males from
Southern England
Southern England, or the South of England, also known as the South, is an area of England consisting of its southernmost part, with cultural, economic and political differences from the Midlands and the North. Officially, the area includes ...
. The music never reflected the concerns of or was embraced by working-class listeners, except in the US, where listeners appreciated the musicians' virtuosity. Progressive rock's exotic, literary topics were considered particularly irrelevant to British youth during the late 1970s, when the nation suffered from a poor economy and frequent strikes and shortages. Even King Crimson leader Robert Fripp dismissed progressive rock lyrics as "the philosophical meanderings of some English half-wit who is circumnavigating some inessential point of experience in his life". Bands whose darker lyrics avoided utopianism, such as King Crimson, Pink Floyd and Van der Graaf Generator, experienced less critical disfavour.
"I wasn't a big fan of most of what you'd call progressive rock", remarked Floyd guitarist
David Gilmour. "I'm like
Groucho Marx: I don't want to belong to any club that would have me for a member."
Ian Anderson, the frontman of Jethro Tull, commented:
I still like the original term that comes from 1969: progressive rock – but that was with a small "p" and a small "r". Prog Rock, on the other hand, has different connotations – of grandeur and pomposity ... Some of it was a little bit overblown, but in the case of much of the music, it was absolutely spot on.
List of progressive rock artists
See also
*
British folk rock
British folk rock is a form of folk rock which developed in the United Kingdom from the mid 1960s, and was at its most significant in the 1970s. Though the merging of folk and rock music came from several sources, it is widely regarded that the ...
*
Free jazz
Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians duri ...
*
List of musical works in unusual time signatures
*
Minimal music
Minimal music (also called minimalism)"Minimalism in music has been defined as an aesthetic, a style, and a technique, each of which has been a suitable description of the term at certain points in the development of minimal music. However, two o ...
*
Musique concrète
*
Second Viennese School
*
Serialism
*
Third stream
Third stream is a music genre that is a fusion of jazz and classical music. The term was coined in 1957 by composer Gunther Schuller in a lecture at Brandeis University. Improvisation is generally seen as a vital component of third stream.
Schu ...
*
Timeline of progressive rock
*
:Progressive rock record labels
Notes
References
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Further reading
* Lucky, Jerry. ''The Progressive Rock Files''. Burlington, Ontario:
Collector's Guide Publishing, Inc (1998), 304 pages, (paperback). Gives an overview of progressive rock's history as well as histories of the major and
underground bands in the genre.
* Lucky, Jerry. ''The Progressive Rock Handbook''. Burlington, Ontario: Collector's Guide Publishing, Inc. (2008), 352 pages, (paperback). Reviews hundreds of progressive rock bands and lists their recordings. Also provides an updated overview, similar to The Progressive Rock Files.
* Snider, Charles. ''The Strawberry Bricks Guide To Progressive Rock, 3rd Edition''. Chicago, Ill.: Kindle Direct Publishing (2020) 572 pages, (paperback). A veritable record guide to progressive rock, with band histories, musical synopses and critical commentary, all presented in the historical context of a timeline.
* Stump, Paul. ''The Music's All That Matters: A History of Progressive Rock''. London: Quartet Books Limited (1997), 384 pages, (paperback). Smart telling of the history of progressive rock focusing on English bands with some discussion of American and European groups. Takes you from the beginning to the early 1990s.
* Weingarten, Marc. ''Yes Is The Answer: (And Other Prog-Rock Tales)''. Barnacle Book/Rare Bird Books (2013), 280 pages, . Defense of the genre.
* Yfantis, Vasileios. ''Is Prog Rock Really Progressive?''. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (2020), 119 pages, . Exploring the evolution and the future of the genre.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Progressive Rock
British rock music genres
British styles of music
American rock music genres
American styles of music
Rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...