Do you consider the Police prog rock?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by vinylphile, Nov 7, 2018.

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  1. Acoustic Warrior

    Acoustic Warrior I Come From The Water

    Location:
    Frankfort Kentucky
    Not even close. Barely "New Wave"
     
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  2. klockwerk

    klockwerk Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ohio USA
    Perrier punk.[​IMG]
     
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  3. BPMC

    BPMC Forum Resident

    Location:
    Riverside, CA USA
    Its never even occurred to me.
     
  4. cungar

    cungar Forum Resident

    Location:
    Torrance, CA
    About the closest song to prog I can think of is the beginning of Invisible Sun but then it start rocking out and that ends that.
     
  5. gohill

    gohill Senior Member

    Location:
    Glasgow, UK
    Next up do you consider Duran Duran a goth band.
     
  6. jpmosu

    jpmosu a.k.a. Mr. Jones

    Location:
    Ohio, USA
    Many are suggesting that the original question is an absurd one.

    The problem is that "prog" is a label with all sorts of limitations. To wit: is King Crimson's Discipline a prog album? Many people would claim "yes," simply because the band is so often identified as prog. But, to me, Discipline has far more in common with contemporary releases by Talking Heads and The Police--neither of which is regularly described as prog.

    So I'm enjoying the discussion--or, I would be if more folks had an open mind about what "prog" might actually mean.
     
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  7. Ray29

    Ray29 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
    Definitely not. There are trace elements in Andy’s guitar playing. I’m doing this from memory cause I have not listened to the Police in a good 25 years. But I remember the solo in Driven to Tears was way out there. Maybe not proggy but definitely Avante Garde, Robert Fripp-ish.

    (And I definitely think the KC Discipline album is prog)
     
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  8. troggy

    troggy Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow

    Location:
    Benton, Illinois
    Let's get a ruling from vinylphile's brother.
     
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  9. O Don Piano

    O Don Piano Senior Member

    “Discipline” does have elements of prog- accomplished musicianship and the odd meter here and there. I agree it also incorporates then contemporary influences like Talking Heads.

    Seems to me that as time goes by and older folls’ memories blur, younger people equate accomplished musicianship as “prog”. If it ain’t as defined a sound as “punk”, metal, or “pop”, it must be prog.
     
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  10. smilin ed

    smilin ed Senior Member

    Location:
    Durham
    At their best, good pop/rock.
     
  11. Golden Richards

    Golden Richards Forum Rodent

    [​IMG]

    This race has been called as a victory for 'No'. :)
     
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  12. bob_32_116

    bob_32_116 Forum Flaneur

    Location:
    Perth Australia
    No. They may have been talented and innovative, but they do not tick most of the boxes that a prog act should tick. Songs mare mostly about love and breakups; the songs are not especially long; there is nothing resembling a concept album; rhtyms are mostly straight down the line. A sort of punkish reggae is how I describe them, at least in the early years.
     
  13. Prog? Not no how!
    But new wave reggae post punk pop rock? Well that makes a difference!
     
  14. Osato

    Osato Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pennsylvania
    Is Wham! new wave?
     
  15. vinylphile

    vinylphile Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Me neither - that’s why I had to see if I was missing something.
     
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  16. Helter Skelter

    Helter Skelter Forum Resident

    I have always considered them post punk.
     
  17. Rufus rag

    Rufus rag Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Fake news
     
  18. Terrapin Station

    Terrapin Station Master Guns

    Location:
    NYC Man/Joy-Z City
    <makes note that prog is not allowed to "rock out." >
     
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  19. jay.dee

    jay.dee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Barcelona, Spain
     
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  20. ostrichfarm

    ostrichfarm Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York
    Ah, thanks for that. Is the quote available somewhere other than that booklet? If not, is the booklet transcribed somewhere on the Internet? It feels like too interesting a quote to stay buried in the liner notes to a specific edition of a less-loved Yes CD.
     
  21. ZiggyZipgun

    ZiggyZipgun Camp Counselor

    The Police are usually cited as the first successful New Wave band, and the biggest.
     
  22. bhasenstab

    bhasenstab Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
    The Police, in my mind, are one of the best bands of the 1980s, but they owe little to Yes, King Crimson, ELP, Genesis or any of the true prog bands. Instead, they fused the energy of punk with a touch of jazz, real instrumental chops, and a reggae undercarriage. That's what they are.
     
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  23. gregorya

    gregorya I approve of this message

    Not prog...

    possibly gorp... ;)
     
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  24. ZiggyZipgun

    ZiggyZipgun Camp Counselor

    I consider Prog to be a 4-letter word. The Beatles were extremely progressive. Pink Floyd were extremely progressive. I wouldn't call either one a Prog band. Most of the groups that embrace that label are jazz-rock fusion with an pseudo-symphonic approach.

    "Who did you hate the most out of Genesis, ELP, Yes, or King Crimson?"

    "Probably Yes, ELP, Genesis and King Crimson, in that order. Oh God what am I saying? Funnily enough, I don't really like pop groups very much." - David Gilmour, 1999
     
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