Rounding out my diaries with the third of my great loves, I'm going to begin journaling my current prog experiences. Prog has a surprisingly varied array of subgenres; I have my favorites, but hope to cover some breadth along with a concentration in my core faves. Like the classical diary, I will follow no form or "progression" here, but rather just journal what I'm listening to at the moment. This will include everything from old faves I've heard a hundred times or more to first discoveries. It's gonna' be fun. There was so much prog I missed back in the day, having lived in a secluded rural area long before the internet, and great prog continues to be released through present times and shows no signs of slowing down despite its relative lack of mainstream popularity.
Last edited by Fischman on 3 days ago; edited 256 times in total
Unitopia - The Garden Subgenre(s): Crossover Prog, Neo Prog, Symphonic Prog
Score: 85
Year: 2008
My Rank in Year as of this listen: 4th
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For my first prog journal entry, I'm going with what is now my second listen to the obscure Unitopia's The Garden from 2008. To say this album is derivative would be an understatement. There are attempts at Gabriel/Hackett era Genesis scope with Transatlantic level attention to longer form and structure, a Fish-era Marillion vibe combined with Collins era Genesis crossover appeal, not unexpected but not quite overt nods to Pink Floyd and Yes, and even some Keith Emerson-ish keyboard thrown in for good measure, all delivered with a sort of Neal Morse-ish (Spock's Beard/Flying Colors) sensibility.
Now for the real surprise. Even as I listen and recognize the deja vu that I've heard all this before, I'm really hearing something entirely new and quite exciting. If this is some sort of recipe, it's a damn good one. This is a sprawling double, which could easily devolve into the sort of overindulgent excesses that signaled the demise of prog's first golden age, but it retains both tremendous listenability and a great deal of heart. This despite the second (title) cut being a 22 minute behemoth that could easily turn most away. But it is eminently listenable. The set does bog down a little midway through the second disk, but I don't think it's possible to maintain the thrill of the first disc through any double. In the end, this is a much easier end-to-end listen than the likes of The Wall or even The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.
Your jazz thread is massive and impressive and I almost never have any experience or opinions on anything you cover there so never comment but I drop in and read here and there.
Genesis - From Genesis to Revelation Subgenre(s): Pop-psychedelia, Proto-prog
Score: 70
Year: 1969
My Rank in Year as of this listen: 34th
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Finally got around to checking out Genesis's debut.
Most people divide Genesis into the Gabriel/Hackett era and the Collins Era. This debut, however, has neither Steve Hackett or Phil Collins. As such it has neither the grand prog scope of the Hackett albums nor the radio friendly tunes of the Collins era. Not surprisingly, it gets none of the love of either era, being both a commercial and popular flop upon its release and garnering little praise since.
No, it's a long way from Selling England By the Pound or Nursery Cryme, but no, it doesn't suck either. Peter Gabriel is fully present and his voice in in excellent shape for this music and there are more than enough pretty good cuts here (and a few which are straight up boring). There is only the scarcest of hint of early prog and the whole thing feels a lot like a sort of pop/psychedelic mix with just the beginning of progressive overtones. That said, I'll definitely take Genesis's first album over their last.
Gentle Giant - Gentle Giant Subgenre(s): Classic Prog, Eclectic Prog
Score: 75
Year: 1970
My Rank in Year as of this listen: 21st
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The Gentle Giant debut is a more exciting debut, and more clearly points to the bands potential than was the Genesis debut from a year earlier. While not yet fully developed, all the hallmarks of the Gentle Giant aesthetic are here. There is a nice blend of folk and classical influences and it all gets filtered through a prism spreading it out into a variety of colors from acoustic balladry to extra heavy rock with a progressive edge. While Gentle Giant aren't generally considered among the topmost tier of prog outfits, they really should be. This was a landmark musical effort in 1970 and is a must have for any fan of the genre.
Pictorial Wand - Face of Our Fathers Subgenre(s): Symphonic Prog, Heavy Prog
Score: 70
Year: 2009
My Rank in Year as of this listen: 22nd
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Pictorial Wand is kind of a one man vision with hired hands to bring his musical vision to fruition. Mattis Sørum is the composer, arranger, and guitarist, organist, and synthmaster who brought in some excellent vocalists and a set of string players to create this epic musical depiction of the seven deadly sins. The arrangements are tight and the players execute all nicely. I love songs that capture an entire journey, but I'm not sure every song needs to do so. On this album, every song is an epic journey of its own, and the result can be a little fatiguing before it's over. Also, all those great key modulations that drive the music through all its phases do sound like they've been done before. I couldn't help but think, this sounds great on the surface, but I'm not getting a lot of originality. And even if something didn't sound like deja vu early on, by the latter songs on the album, it definitely sounded like I'd heard it earlier in the album. That's probably overstating things just a bit, as this is still a rather remarkable album. It's just not going to leap to elite status. Glad I gave it a listen, but it won't be going into heavy rotation.
Dream Theater - Black Clouds and Silver Linings Subgenre(s): Progressive Metal
Score: 90
Year: 2009
My Rank in Year as of this listen: 3rd
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Another 2009 release here, but not nearly so obscure as yesterday's Pictorial Wand album. Dream Theater's Black Clouds and Silver Linings tends to get mixed reviews from Dream Theater fans these days. I'm definitely one who places this near the top of their discography. This was also a relative success for Dream Theater in commercial terms as it debuted at #6 on the Billboard 200, still their only foray into the top 10.
This is a big one, requiring a double vinyl, and it's loaded with a little extra aggressive Dream Theater, along with some solid balladry. Who says prog metal can't be melodic? After listening to this today, I was humming a few of the melodies for hours afterwards. There's catchy stuff in there to go along with all the intense technical wizardry. Speaking of technical wizardry, guitarist John Petrucci does drop some of his fastest and cleanest solos, but he manages to get some real soul injected into some of that speed, probably more so than on any DT album since Images and Words. Oh, and Portnoy is totally killing it on the drum kit! This is even more impressive, as DT lays down more heavy riffage than usual, seemingly taking cues from the heavier edge of thrash metal. I wouldn't have predicted, but they do this brilliantly Really putting this over the top is that despite being an ambitious double, there's enough variety to keep it from wearing out its welcome. Moreover, I find most prog double concept albums to be a bit of a lyrical strain if not a bore, but on this one, they lyrical content is quite good. An almost unique achievement in the genre.
Caligula's Horse - In Contact Subgenre(s): Progressive Metal
Score: 85
Year: 2017
My Rank in Year as of this listen: 2nd
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In the 90s, Dream Theater practically created and defined the term Progressive Metal, and spawned hordes of wannabes. None achieved their level of success either artistically or popularly, although a few had some shining moments. By the 2010s, the the effect was largely passed. Then along comes the Australian progressive metal outfit, Caligula's Horse. There's lots of Dream Theater derivation on this album, with moments of Fish-era Marillion and even a little Transatlantic (albiet in a heavier package). Despite often sounding derivative, this hits me in all my heavy prog/prog metal sweet spots.... and at times it does seem positively brilliant. In all honesty, this may not really stick with me long term, but I'm really enjoying it at the moment.
Dream Theater practically created and defined the term Progressive Metal
this is Fates Warning, Crimson Glory, and Queensryche erasure
Jokes aside, I'll have to relisten to this one because I don't remember many Dream Theater/Petrucci-isms on this one. Felt it was in the realm of other sonic footprints.
Dream Theater practically created and defined the term Progressive Metal
this is Fates Warning, Crimson Glory, and Queensryche erasure
Jokes aside, I'll have to relisten to this one because I don't remember many Dream Theater/Petrucci-isms on this one. Felt it was in the realm of other sonic footprints.
Trust me, I have no desire to erase those artists. In fact, I generally have more love for Fates Warning's career than Dream Theater's these days. While I love all those artists, it was DT who made prog metal a major genre that brought out the imitators, even though big albums like Operation Mindcrime and Empire preceded DTs breakthrough with Images And Words. I should have just said that and not used words like "created." Thanks for reminding me of their impact and the timeline. I had actually forgotten that Queensryche and Fates Warning went there first.
My DT impressions of this album weren't as much in regard to a specific sonic footprint, but rather an overall vibe and some technical elements (as in how they approach time signatures, and overall song structure) with just enough of the sonics to allow it to come through.
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