It’s a bloke in a red dress wearing a foxes head, singing about Khatrus in the Zeuhl language, while simultaneously playing a piano upside down in 5/4 time while suspended from the ceiling. For 20 minutes. With an orchestra.
What I think of as early prog seemed to come from the Cream template: Yes, Deep Purple (1968-69), Jethro Tull, Genesis, etc. They all had that "We're real musicians and we don't play cute pop songs and we don't smile and our music is boring but if you think that you're shallow and beneath us" vibe they gleaned from Cream.
yes,so many great Italian prog bands from that era. And the only one I knew about back then was PFM. Cause they were on ELP's label. I also dig this Spanish band, which mixed flamenco with prog rock:
Progressive Rock - Definition, Genres & Articles This is a great site. It’s a bit over the top but is pretty comprehensive.
Your brief description here ignores almost the entire prog subgenre of avant-prog. Bands such as: Univers Zero, Art Zoyd, Aranis, Henry Cow, Höyry-Kone, and many others. The vast majority of bands that fall under this subgenre, have: violinists, cellists, oboe players, bassoon players, horns, and other far from traditional rock instruments. Hell, some avant-prog bands don't even have a drummer. And yes, this subgenre of prog is even harder to dance to than mainstream prog bands. RIO/Avant-Prog, a progressive rock music sub-genre
We can say that Isle of Everywhere is a Space-Rock track due to its repetitive rhythm and that Hillage's guitar solo. However, Gong were usually considered as an "experimental rock" and (or) "avantgarde" band back then. As an example of Progressive rock song delivered by a band from the original movement, I'd like to post this live video: Family The Weaver's Answer (live at The Beat Club, Bremen, Germany, 1970)
By that logic, Smashing Pumpkins are prog - I hate them and my hubby loves them! Also, does the opposite hold true? There's plenty of rock that I adore but hubby wants to toss out the window.
Would Ashley MacIsaac fall under this category? He plays electric fiddle and not necessarily like a country or bluegrass player... Personally, I'd even hesitate to place him in the country-prog category.
In that case, Green Day has become prog. They have THREE concept albums: Nimrod American Idiot 21st Century Breakdown
I agree but the not following verse-chorus-bridge part gets tricky. How about intro-verse-chorus-interlude-verse-chorus and maybe a coda? What about a song such as I Know What I Like by Genesis? Is that prog?
The Mothers of Invention were the fathers of all those avantgarde and (or) experimental rock bands from England and Europe. The Mothers of Invention King Kong (live from Colour Me Pop, England, 1968)
Against my better judgement (I've been a lover of prog since 1973 and have played in various prog-related bands over the past 40 years), I'll proffer an opinion to compliment the responses here that hit or perhaps miss the mark. It's not black/white/east/west or any distinctly dichotomous concept. Much like some other genres (beyond just music) that defy clear definition, you know prog when you hear it. There are shades of gray here that go beyond what most folks consider when it come to music and its intent/basis (for example, most folks consider King Crimson to be prog, but Robert Fripp would deny that). Someone mentioned/linked to Prog Archives above and I think that provides a very generous interpretation of what is prog (I'll add the home url as a matter of convenience for those who don't have time to scroll back through this entire thread): Progressive rock music discography & reviews So make up your own mind. But just to muddy the water further, I differentiate between Prog and Progressive. They would seem to be synonymous on first glance, but they decidedly are not. For example, by most metrics, Grateful Dead should be considered to be a progressive band, but they sure as hell weren't prog (other than the Terrapin Station title track which is only really proggy due to some classical-sounding elements that were added by their producer, not by themselves). By all means, continue the argy-bargy...
