Elton John's first four albums Empty Sky (1969), Elton John (1970), Tumbleweed Connection (1970) and Madman Across The River (1971) are Art Rock. p.s. Caravan and Hatfield and the North weren't Art Rock bands. At their debut album, Caravan were playing psychedelic rock (you can call it "progressive psychedelia" if you like), on the second album they turned into jazz-rock; Hatfield and the North were a jazz-rock band at the time when Canterbury was just a town in Kent.
a Only at his Past, Present and Future the album from 1973. Before PP&F, he played folk, after PP&F he went to Adult Oriented Rock, especially at Year of the Cat.
'Art rock' seems to be a portmanteau term, almost exclusively used by American rock critics to describe the work of some non-American artists. I'm not sure what it is but I'm pretty sure that none of the tracks listed here would qualify. The chapter on 'Art Rock' in the old Rolling Stone guide lists Roxy Music under the 'art rock' umbrella. Why? Becuase Bryan Ferry went to Art School?
To me, art-rock had the experimentation of prog-rock, but without the necessary instrumental complexity or classical/jazz influences...More rooted in pop. Of course there was a crossover, but there also seemed to be a strong crossover between art-rock and glam-rock (Bowie, Lou Reed, Roxy Music, etc.).
Babylon by Manchester's band Sad Café; actually the opening track from their debut album Fanx Ta`ra ( 1977) that is a forgotten masterpiece of Art Rock genre.
Sad Café concert footage from 1978. Sadly, this is an old VHS tape quality, but it is historicaly worthy footage of one great Art Rock band in action.
That’s cool my friend, we could argue this till the end of time. I still think I’m in the right lol and I guess you believe yourself to be right too : ) We both love music so we probably have more in common than differences. I must say I tend like things that are a fusion of different things so I have a weird relationship with categories. I would probably have a nervous breakdown if I had to file my music by genre : ) Don’t want to be a spoilsport though , I’m happy to argue my point for sake of debate. : )
I really have no idea about what "we could argue", when it's so obvious that Elton John's first four albums are Art Rock. Or, if not, then I admit that I don't know what Art Rock was / is; perhaps only Roxy Music were Art Rock because Brian Ferry went to Art School Btw, Elton John returned to Art Rock once again, as already a mega-star, on his double album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road from 1973.
While we are getting into the weeds a little w a particularly amorphous genre label, I would say most all folks who would use the term wouldn't apply it to these Elton John albums with a ten foot pole. Interesting how you say it about him so definitively! My impression was that the term is mostly about a certain lack of accessibility versus higher charting pop/rock music. But kinda like the word "experimental" that way- it implies left-field type stuff, but no real meaning to speak of....
I've honestly never really considered Elton to be art-rock, nor have I ever heard anyone else call it such...An argument could certainly be made for it, but it's far from "obvious".
Well, could I ask you - if for example this Sir Elton's song is not Art Rock, what was Art Rock then (besides of the '70s acts of which I suppose that we agree, like David Bowie and, of course, Roxy Music & poor art-student Brian Ferry, lol) in your opinion?
It's not art-rock unless you have to hide your collection from your girlfriend. ("What's Renaissance?"}
I guess in the second part of my above post, I meant that I would never really use the term, and that it has no intrinsic meaning besides maybe "more left-field than top 40 rock" Maybe rock bottom by Robert wyatt, low by Bowie, I dunno Lou reed Berlin? DNA... uh Gang of Four? All these aritsts I would use other things To describe but would understand the "art rock" label for them. if "Levon" is art rock, what isn't? Is piano man by billy Joel? We've only just begun by the carpenters?
Dunno, but perhaps it'll be interesting for you to tell you that wiki tagged Levon as "symphonic rock"
Rock bottom is psych rock DNA is no wave Levon is pop Are these also works of art? I say yes but I don't think "art rock" is used to convey that meaning
Empty Sky the title track from Sir Elton John's debut from 1969; as it's not from 1970s, this is a honorably mention, but it is also a nice example of Sir Elton's early phase that is Art Rock*. Just a few years before he became then-mainstream mega-star. *Art Rock = Pop-Rock with a huge artistic approach.
