It’s funny you should mention Schoenberg and Coleman, as a friend of mine was talking just recently about how Jazz and Classical musicians must find it difficult to be any less than an instrumental virtuoso, even what some might call unnecessarily complex or self indulgent, in order to truly rise into the elite class of their genres, and understandably so, whereas only seemingly in rock & roll can one really base a career on not playing the instrument proficiently at all, and then kind of snottily implying that that’s exactly the point, and completely get away with it. Virtuosity in rock music is at least unwelcome to me, if not against its very nature. I know the point is not original, but there is too much of the inept and yet powerfully pubescent late teen mindset at the heart of rock, and though I know some like to think of it as a melting pot where any kind of music can be thrown into the mash, I think of it as a distinct genre that if watered down should be called something else. Of course that’s not to say there shouldn’t be room for elven meadows and guys who can move their fingers very fast, it just seems that as the level of musicianship rises the authority of the lyric and the voice have to rise as well, or else it falls into that dreadfully intense kind of faux-operatic whimsy.

Anyway, I guess it’s only where the voice is involved that over the top instrumentation bugs me, otherwise I can like it pretty easily.

On the other hand, if you want to be permanently scarred for life prog-rock-wise, there’s Genesis’s The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway and Van Der Graaf Generator’s Pawn Hearts. I love ‘em both but then I’m heavily into musical self-flagellation. How do you feel about Schoenberg, or Ornette Colman? Seriously, the first MMEB album shouldn’t cause anyone too much trauma.
Whoops, forgot to sign my work . . . Len Liechti.

Family’s early albums are also real good….I like the Moodies too….

There’s lots of good prog albums but it’s a matter of weeding the bad ones out….I’m not a fan of the big time bands like ELP…they were boring but here’s a short list of some decent records…

Robert Wyatt – Rock Bottom
Spirit of Christmas – Lies To Live By
Collosuem – Valentine Suite
Frank Zappa – Hot Rats or Grand Wazoo
Jack Bruce – Harmony Row or Song of a Tailor
Touch – Touch (1969)
Manfred Mann – Chapter 3 – Volume 1
East of Eden – Mercator Projected
Third Ear Band – The Magus – this one has vocals and is tremendous
Brian Auger and the Trinity – Street Noise
Soft Machine – Volumes 1, 2 and Third
Caravan – all the early albums
King Crimson – anything
Focus – III
Super Sister – debut from 1970
Tamam Shud – Goolutionites
The Nice – all their albums
Aglarnas Tradgard – In The Garden of the Elks – outstanding prog psych
Group 1850 – Paradise Now
The Rainbow Band (Scandanavian group)
Plastic People of The Universe – Egan Bondy
Captain Beyond – 1st lp
Deep Purple – self titled 3rd album
The Can – anything
Amon Duul – anything
Brosel Machine – 1st lp
Ash Ra Temple – anything
Emtidi – Saat
Embryo – anything early…We Keep On is great
Mythos – first LP

Plus there is scores good prog albums from Italy, Spain, Germany, Scandanavia, South America, Japan and so forth.

I actually find the idea that rock critics, or those of us who genuinely despise a lot of the music that is usually filed under the Prog Rock heading, are simply intimidated by the intellectual prowess of these musicians just a little too easy. To me, it has less to do with rock and roll as a necessarily “primitive” or “low” art that must stagnate in its own raw purity, and more to do with the fact that, as Oscar Wilde put it, “all bad poetry springs from genuine feeling.” Listening to ANYBODY indulge themselves excessively, often with little to absolutely no sense of irony, or at least modicum of self-examined humor, is often too embarrassing, or else tiring, to withstand for long. Add to this the lyrics, which usually sound like a badly played game of Dungeons & Dragons, and you have what amounts to a truly objectionable listening experience for those of us who feel this way. However, I AM going to get a copy of this album, and if anybody has any suggestions as to how to better access this genre (which has actually seemed like a gaping hole in my musical radar for years now)… perhaps a few less pompous albums to try… please lend a fella a hand.

Funny I first heard “living without you” on an album by Alan Price, the keyboard player for the Animals the album was titles ” Mr Smith and his amazing Dancing Bear” Always liked the line ‘the milk truck holds the sun up” was the first I ever heard of Randy Neuman. Thanks Great site

The review, by Aaron Milenski, reads: “One of the inexplicable predictabilities of rock criticism is a disdain for progressive rock. The rock critic is an odd animal, trying to intellectualise discussion about an art form they insist is not intellectual, and when the musical format veers in a more complex direction, they balk, as if only they, the almighty writers, are allowed to be literate. Either they don’t like competition, or they patronisingly look down at rock musicians as failed intellectual wannabees whose attempts to widen the scope of the form are doomed to failure because they just don’t have the minds for it. Given this odd situation, where pretentious highbrow ‘writers’ make themselves feel cool by wallowing in ‘low art’, it’s unsurprising that when a prog album became a critics’ darling, it was this one: a record that is every bit as much pop as prog. It’s got prog arrangements, and even includes space rock instrumentals, but it’s also full of hooks and oh-so-catchy songs. Bingo! Just what every rock critic wanted. Critics would harden against them with each successive record, and an excellent album like Solar Fire, which is much closer to traditional prog, would be dismissed by them. The good news, though, is that this time the critics are right. This is as good a 70s pop album as there is in any style. It’s catchy, creative, funny, memorable as hell and full of surprises. Over time this record has been forgotten, but it’s absolutely recommended: a first-time listener is bound to be wowed by it.”

Well said indeed, on both counts. There’s an old saying that bowdlerises nicely as “those that can, do; those that can’t, criticise”. Well, you can be pretty sure that those who most stridently criticised prog-rock hadn’t a fraction of the talent required to actually create anything remotely similar. Thank providence we live in the Postmodern society, where musical tribalism no longer has a place and works of quality, no matter what their genre, can be accepted as such. Meanwhile, an album that elicits such a glowing review must surely be worth a listen.

Thanks Len. I always felt the Five Faces of and Mann Made were pretty strong records from the British Invasion…two of the best from that era actually…consistent…As Is from 1966 is weak but the Mighty Garvey is underrated (1968), a respectable psych pop concept LP. Up The Junction….that’s a kick ass sound track too. But from 69-74 or so they made a series of excellent progressive rock albums…If you sift through Mann’s discography the group really did record lots of good LPs. Off the subject…..Do any of you guys own The End’s Introspection record? It’s a well known fact that Bill Wyman produced this puppy….I’ve always thought it was a much better record than the Stones’ own psychedelic opus, Their Satanic Majesties Request.