PROGRESSIVE ROCK

'Progressive rock', sometimes shortened to '"prog"' or '"prog rock"', is a form of rock music that evolved in the late 1960s and early 1970s, principally from psychedelic rock, blues rock, folk rock, hard rock and jazz fusion, but also from a wide-ranging tendency in rock music at the time to experiment with drawing inspiration from ever more diverse influences.
This trend can be seen to have begun with the Beatles' and the Byrds' integration of Eastern sounds into their music, particularly through the distinctive sound of the sitar, and further experimentation by the Beatles and other popular groups with electronic keyboard instruments such as the Moog synthesizer and Hammond Organ. The Beatles also used string orchestrations under the direction of George Martin, and experimented with backwards tape loops in the manner of the avante-garde electronic composer Karlheinz Stockhausen.
Progressive rock compositions are more elaborate than the standard rock or popular verse-chorus based song structures, and the arrangements often incorporate elements drawn from classical, jazz and avant-garde music . Songs with lyrics, are often conceptual, philosophical, or based in fantasy and almost never about boy/girl relationships as was the case with most popular music.
Progressive rock reached the peak of its popularity in the 1970s, but has continued as a form of popular music to this day, although the aesthetics and values of modern progressive rock are notably different to those of the originators of the genre.
The term was originally applied to the music of bands such as King Crimson, Genesis, Yes, Pink Floyd, Gentle Giant, Jethro Tull and Emerson, Lake and Palmer (ELP), and came into widespread use around the mid 1970s - several years after its generally held inception. In retrospect, however, the term could reasonably be used to describe much of the music of The Moody Blues, The Nice, and Frank Zappa or other diversely influenced and overtly creative bands of the late 1960s that fit many of the Musical Characteristics as described below.

Characteristics

Musical characteristics

Like jazz and the best Classical music, Progressive rock is a composed form of music, yet it usually has a spontaneous and improvised feeling, which means that it lends itself as much to intellectual analysis as it does to emotional enjoyment. The typical characteristics are found in the elements below:

★ 'Form:' Progressive rock songs either avoid common popular music song structures of verse-chorus-bridge, or blur the formal distinctions by extending sections or inserting musical interludes. Contrasts are often made between these sections in terms of dynamics, such that soft passages would build to louder passages and so on. This approach is common in rock music, but more pronounced in the more theatrical progressive rock groups. As the genre developed, the quantity of these sections increased, as some progressive rock acts continued their allusions towards classical music and composed entire suites, building on the traditional medleys of earlier rock bands. Another common structural feature lies in extended instrumental passages that are reminiscent of classical music, but less frequent in rock and popular music. This can often lead to pieces in excess of 20 minutes.

★ 'Timbre' (instrumentation and dynamic): Early progressive rock groups added additional instrumentation to the typical rock group lineup of a guitarist, bassist and drummer, often adding keyboards or synthesisers. These and other instruments, particularly those common to classical and jazz music, such as the flute, saxophone or violin, are frequently used as part of the overall texture of the group's musical output. Some progressive rock acts also incorporated orchestras and choirs (although this is not exclusively a feature of progressive rock, as it is a feature of 1940s swing, Motown and other orchestra-backed popular music). Dynamically, progressive rock acts often tend toward the extremes.

★ 'Rhythm:' Use of time signatures and rhythms that are rarely used in rock music. Progressive rock music is designed mainly for listening, rather than for dancing, which meant that prog rock bands are able to use unusual, changing time signatures and even layering polyrhythms. Repetitive riffs are used much less than in hard rock.

★ 'Harmony:' While some progressive rock songs adhere to the I - IV - V chord progressions of early rock, this usually avoided in favour of less predictable progressions. A simple triad is frequently extended with 6ths, 7ths, and 9ths, as in jazz harmony. Some pieces of progressive rock even explore atonal or dissonant harmonies. Some progressive rock bands use classical harmonic progressions to allude to classical music. A few bands even include rudimentary serialism in their music. The harmony of progressive rock, like jazz, is often linked with the use of modes in the melodies.

★ 'Melody:' While the major and minor modes are still prevalent even in progressive rock, the blues-associated pentatonic scale is rarely emphasized. In progressive rock, melodies tend to be long and often meandering, especially in instrumental solo passages, often with little or no clear indication of cadence. Unpredictability of the musical direction is a core characteristic for progressive music.

Other characteristics

Progressive rock bands often use concept albums, in which a theme or themes are explored, or rock operas, where a storyline is explored over several tracks, or throughout an entire album or series of albums, sometimes in a manner similar to a film or a play. In the days of vinyl, concept albums and rock operas extended to two or even three record sets with striking gatefold sleeves. Notable examples include ''Tommy'' and ''Quadrophenia'' by The Who, ''The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway'' by Genesis and Pink Floyd's ''The Wall'' (which was followed by an elaborate live show and a film of the same name). Jethro Tull's elaborate ''Thick as a Brick'' was intended as a send-up of concept albums of the time.
Progressive rock often uses poetic, conceptually-themed or fantasy-based lyrics. The music's melodies, harmonies, rhythms and dynamics are often used to underscore the emotional message of the lyrics. Some progressive rock songs use leitmotifs, which are melodic phrases that are associated with a symbolic meaning or a specific character from the lyrics (e.g., in Genesis' "Harold the Barrel").
Progressive rock bands sometimes aesthetically link the music with visual art elements such as album art. This trend started with The Beatles' ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' and it was embraced during the heyday of progressive rock. Some bands became as well-known for the art direction of their albums as for their sound, with the "look" integrated into the band's overall musical identity. This led to fame for particular artists and design studios, most notably Roger Dean for his work with Yes and Storm Thorgerson and his studio Hipgnosis for their work with Pink Floyd.
Technology advancement was always a prime element in progressive rock, especially in electronics. In keyboards, the Mellotron was generally a signature sound in many progressive acts like The Moody Blues, King Crimson or Genesis. In the late 1970s, King Crimson's Robert Fripp along with Brian Eno developed his own patented version of electronic gadgetry called Frippertronics using analog tape loops which he still uses today in a digital format.

Stage theatrics

Progressive rock artists were known for their elaborate and sometimes flamboyant stage theatrics in concert going back to the early 1970s. Genesis lead singer Peter Gabriel would more or less act as a quick-change artist wearing many different colourful and exotic costumes in one show. Late-70's 'Genesis' incorporated lasers and giant mirrors choreographed to their music, pioneering the concert 'light show', and were the first band to debut the Vari-lite system, now used in many traditional rock and pop concerts. Yes would incorporate futuristic stage sets designed by album cover artist Roger Dean, including massive spaceship props and complex lighting. Yes were also one of the first acts to perform live 'in-the-round', with the band on a round stage set up in the middle of the arena, giving most people a closer and more intimate view of the band in large halls. Rick Wakeman would have knights riding on horses. In the 1980s, Marillion's former lead singer Fish would often wear a jester costume inspired by the band's first album Script for a Jester's Tear. Similarly, Jethro Tull had many costumes and antics on stage. During their 1972 Thick as a Brick tour, bunnies came across the stage, and at points in the song Ian would stop the music and rush over to answer a "phone call for Mike Nelson." One of ELP's many stage antics was Emerson's "flying piano" at the California Jam concert. This consisted of a Steinway grand piano elevated to spin end-over-end while Emerson was strapped to a seat. Emerson would also frequently savage his Hammond B-3 organ onstage by wrestling it and stabbing knives into it. Carl Palmer's marathon drum solos were famous, usually five to ten minutes of furious athletic drumming with frenetic speed and precision, which included tympani, fire bells pulled by his teeth as he played, and even a gong 'solo'. Throughout Pink Floyd's run in the 1970s, they would use many stage effects including crashing airplanes, a giant floating pig, massive projection screens and in 1980, an enormous mock brick wall for ''The Wall'' performances. Rush frequently incorporated lasers and film backdrops into their stage show.

History

Precursors

In the late 1800s, the French composer Claude Debussy began using whole tone scales and modes now commonly associated with jazz, to break away from conventional diatonic harmony. In the 1910s, the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky used innovative rhythms, lush, unique timbres, dissonances, and Russian folk (pagan) motifs in his ballet ''Rite of Spring''. In the early 1920s, German composer Arnold Schoenberg developed a new method of composition known as Serialism, which led to the evolution of avante-garde music.
In the 1930s, French composer Olivier Messiaen used the newly invented electronic instrument, the Ondes Martenot in compositions. In the 1940s, the composers Pierre Schaeffer and Pierre Henry began using the early tape recorder in the creation of compositions that would become known as musique concrete. Soon after, Karlheinz Stockhausen and others began to compose music entirely by electronic instruments. In the early to mid 1950s, "Cool Jazz" or "Modal Jazz" came about through the work of jazz maestros such as Miles Davis and later, John Coltrane. By the 1960s, Avant-Garde or Free Jazz was firmly established as due to recordings by Ornette Coleman and Charles Mingus.
The experimental period of rock music began in the mid 1960s with the studio work of The Beatles, who by then had given up touring. The influences of Stockhausen are apparent in the 1966 recordings "Rain", "She Said, She Said", and the tape experiment from the ''Revolver'' album, "Tomorrow Never Knows". The Beatles used these techniques extensively on ''Magical Mystery Tour'' and ''Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. ''Sergeant Pepper'' is widely acknowledged as the first album to use the recording studio, and the artistic possibilities it affords, as an "instrument".
In the late 1960s, Beatles songs and albums began incorporating many psychedelic rock elements and they also began combining instruments from classical music, Eastern music and improvisatory music. The Who first tackled the rock opera form with "A Quick One While He's Away" from their 1966 album ''A Quick One''. The Yardbirds' Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page composed "Beck's Bolero" in 1966 which reworks Maurice Ravel's ''Boléro''. Pink Floyd's earliest albums showed progressive elements. The band ''1-2-3'' (later named Clouds) experimented with song structures, improvisation and multi-layered arrangements. Psychedelic rockers continued this experimental trend and began to compose long, complex songs such as Iron Butterfly's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" or "1983...(A Merman Should I Turn to Be)" by Jimi Hendrix. Frank Zappa's early work is also considered progressive.
German electronic music and Krautrock pioneers Tangerine Dream introduced a variety of synthesisers, tape effects and other unusual sounds in their compositions, usually in purely instrumental albums. Many other bands began to experiment with blends of rock and jazz, a style that became known as jazz-rock. In the UK, Soft Machine was a prominent early jazz-rock band.

Early bands

Progressive rock developed when bands started to incorporate more complex and reflective themes. Genesis labelmates Van der Graaf Generator sometimes took an existentialist approach. Progressive rock was also popular in continental Europe (Italy, France, Germany, and Switzerland) as well as in some parts of Latin America (Chile, Argentina and Brazil). Many European progressive rock bands blossomed there, such as Area, the aforementioned Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, Flame Dream from Switzerland, Le Orme from Italy and Magma from France, among many.
Germany had a significant progressive rock movement, including bands such as Triumvirat. The Italian progressive rock style is sometimes considered as a separate genre. Italian groups include Goblin, PFM, Museo Rosenbach, Il Balletto di Bronzo, and Semiramis. In Brazil, Os Mutantes combined elements of traditional Brazilian music, psychedelic rock and experimental sounds to create intricate and unorthodox arrangements, with imagery and lyrics inspired by fantasy, literature and history.
A strong element of avant-garde and counter-culture has long been associated with a great deal of progressive rock. In the 1970s, Chris Cutler of Henry Cow helped to form a loose collective of artists referred to as Rock in Opposition or RIO, to make a statement against the music industry. The original members included Henry Cow, Samla Mammas Manna, Univers Zero and later Art Zoyd, Art Bears and Aqsak Maboul. The Rock in Opposition movement was short-lived, but the artists included some of the originators of Avant-progressive rock, which used dark melodies, angular progressions, dissonance, free-form playing and a disregard for conventional structure.

Ascending popularity

Pink Floyd.

Fans and music historians have a variety of ways to categorise the flavours of 1970s progressive rock. The Canterbury scene can be considered a sub-genre of progressive rock, more oriented towards jazz rock.
During the early to mid-1970s, jazz fusion artists (spawned by Miles Davis) like Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report and Return to Forever were becoming more prominent but were more confined to the jazz community than progressive rock. However, many of the popular progressive artists started to incorporate this trend even further than before. Yes brought in Swiss keyboardist Patrick Moraz for their ''Relayer'' album giving a more jazzy sound most notably on the track "Sound Chaser". Genesis drummer Phil Collins formed a group called Brand X and former Yes/King Crimson drummer Bill Bruford formed his own band Bruford each with a more jazz/fusion edge.
Progressive rock's popularity peaked in the mid-1970s, when prog artists regularly topped readers' votes in mainstream popular music magazines in England and America, and albums like Mike Oldfield's ''Tubular Bells'' topped the charts. By this time, several North American progressive rock bands had been formed. Kansas, which had actually existed in one form or another since 1971, became one of the most commercially successful of all progressive rock bands. Pop star Todd Rundgren cashed in on the progressive movement with his new band Utopia. Toronto's Rush became a major band, with a string of hit albums extending from the mid-1970s to the present. Less commercially successful were the Dixie Dregs, from Georgia (arguably more of a fusion band) and Happy The Man, a Washington D.C. based act.
During 1974, progressive rock's four biggest artists, Yes, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Genesis and King Crimson all went on indefinite hiatus or experienced personnel changes. Yes and ELP members went on to pursue solo work as well as Genesis lead singer Peter Gabriel (however Genesis would continue with Phil Collins as lead vocalist) and Robert Fripp announced the end of King Crimson after the release of their ''Red'' album. In 1977, Yes and ELP reformed with some success but unable to capture the dominance they previously had.

Yes performing in Indianapolis in 1977.

With the advent of punk rock in the late 1970s, critical opinion in England moved toward a simpler and more aggressive style of rock, with progressive bands increasingly dismissed as pretentious and overblown, ending progressive rock's reign as one of the leading styles in rock.^[1]^[2] This development is often seen as part of wider commercial turn in popular music in second half of the 1970s during which many funk or soul bands switched to disco and smooth jazz gained popularity over jazz fusion.
However, established progressive bands still had a large following, with Rush, Genesis, Yes and Pink Floyd all regularly scoring Top Ten albums with massive accompanying tours, for some of these bands, their largest yet. By 1979, by which time it is generally agreed that punk had mutated into New Wave, Pink Floyd released The Wall, one of the best selling albums in history. Many bands which emerged in the aftermath of punk, such as Siouxsie and The Banshees, Cabaret Voltaire, Ultravox, Simple Minds and Wire all displayed prog, as well as their more usually recognised punk influences.^[3]

1980s revival

Main articles: Neo-progressive rock

The early 1980s saw something of a revival of the genre, led by artists such as Marillion, IQ, Pendragon, Galahad, Pallas and Saga. Groups that arose during this time are sometimes termed neo-progressive or neo-prog (also referred to as the ''New Wave of British Prog Rock''). Bands of this style were influenced by 70s progressive rock groups like Genesis, Yes and Camel, but incorporated some elements that were reflective of the New Wave and other rock elements found in the 80s. The digital synthesiser became a prominent instrument in the style. Neo-prog continued to remain viable into the 90s and beyond with bands like Arena, Jadis, Collage and Iluvatar. Their sound was generally similar in style and sound to neo-prog pioneers like Marillion and IQ, which differentiated them from the emerging Third Wave movement in the 1990s.
Some progressive rock stalwarts changed musical direction, simplifying their music and making it more commercially viable. In 1981, King Crimson made a surprise comeback with a different lineup (with only Robert Fripp and Bill Bruford as returning veterans from the previous incarnation) incorporating a more techno-rhythmic sound with a slight New Wave slant. 1981 also saw the release of Rush's ''Moving Pictures'' album which included several notable tracks including Tom Sawyer which would become one of the band's most popular songs. In 1982, the much anticipated supergroup Asia, composed of Steve Howe (Yes), Carl Palmer (ELP), John Wetton (King Crimson) and Geoff Downes (Buggles/Yes), surprised progressive rock fans with their pop-oriented debut album. The Top 5 single "Heat of the Moment" rotated heavily on MTV for years, while the first Asia album established a sales record for 1982. This demonstrated a market for more commercialised British progressive rock – a style very similar to that played by North American Top 40 stalwarts such as Styx, Foreigner, Boston and Journey.
Other British bands followed Asia's lucrative example. In 1983, Genesis achieved some international success with "Mama", a song with heavy emphasis on a drum machine riff, signaling the band's change to a very commercial direction during the 1980s. Also in 1983, Yes had a surprise comeback with ''90125'', featuring their only number one (US) single, "Owner of a Lonely Heart". Written by guitarist Trevor Rabin prior to joining the group, "Owner" was accessible enough to be played at discos and more recently has been remixed into a trance single. Often sampled by hip-hop artists, "Owner" also incorporated contemporary electronic effects, courtesy of producer (and former member) Trevor Horn. Likewise, Pink Floyd's ''A Momentary Lapse of Reason'' in 1987 was a departure from their traditional extended play concept albums, featuring much shorter songs and an altogether more electronic sound.

1990s and 2000s

Main articles: Progressive metal

Main articles: New Prog

Little Tragedies after a concert.

The progressive rock genre enjoyed another revival in the 1990s. A notable kickoff to this revival were a trio of Swedish bands: Änglagård, Anekdoten and Landberk, who hit the scene in 1992-1993. Later came the so-called "Third Wave", spearheaded by such bands as Sweden's The Flower Kings, the UK's Porcupine Tree, Italy's Finisterre, Russia's Little Tragedies, and from the United States, Spock's Beard, Echolyn, Proto-Kaw (a reincarnation of an early lineup of Kansas), and Glass Hammer. Arjen Anthony Lucassen, with the backing of an array of talent from the progressive rock genre, produced a series of innovative concept albums (Ayreon) starting from 1995. John Miner
and his band Art Rock Circus performed their progressive rock opera Heavens Cafe in Las Vegas in 1996 and 1997, and again in Los Angeles in 2004.
In recent years, one of the more commercially viable categories of prog has been progressive metal, which mixes some of the common elements associated with progressive rock (lengthy compositions, concept albums, odd time signatures, extended instrumentals, virtuosity, jazz fusion influences) with the power and attitude associated with metal. Prog metal often gives a prominent role to keyboard instruments, in addition to using shred-style electric guitar solos, such as Planet X and Mr. Big.
The former band also cites fusion as a heavy influence. Several of the leading bands in the prog-metal genre — Dream Theater (U.S.), Ayreon (Netherlands), Opeth (Sweden), Fates Warning (U.S.) and Queensrÿche (U.S.) — cite pioneer progressive hard-rockers Rush as a primary influence, although their music exhibits influences from more traditional metal bands such as Black Sabbath or Deep Purple as well. Tool have cited pioneers King Crimson as an influence on their work.^[4] King Crimson opened for Tool on their 2001 tour and expressed admiration for the group while continuing to deny the "prog" label.^[5] Led by bands such as Muse, another style which gained popularity in the 1990s is New Prog, a mixture of alternative rock and progressive rock. Former members of the pioneering post-hardcore band At The Drive-In, Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez went on to start The Mars Volta, a successful progressive band that incorporates jazz, funk, punk rock, Latin music and ambient noise, into songs that range from a few minutes, to over thirty in length. As well, Porcupine Tree has evolved with time, so that now it as well is often associated with the Nu Prog sub-genre, especially due to the experimentation seen on albums such as Stupid Dream and In Absentia.

Festivals

Renewed interest in progressive rock in the 1990s eventually led to the beginnings of musical events and festivals that centered around progressive rock acts. The first ProgFest was held on May 29, 1993, in UCLA's Royce Hall and featured Sweden's Änglagård, England's IQ, Quill and Citadel. Interest in the festival was large enough for others in the U.S.A. to start similar events. ProgDay, held at Storybook Farm near Chapel Hill, North Carolina, first emerged during Labor Day weekend in 1995 and is planning its 13th festival September 1-2 2007^[6]
The most successful of these festivals to date is NEARfest, which held its first event on June 26th & 27th, 1999 in Bethlehem, PA to approximately 400 fans. With a diverse lineup and an ability to get big name talent, the festival eventually grew in popularity to fill a 1,000 seat venue and later relocated to Trenton, NJ in 2002 to a venue which seated over 1,850. The festival relocated back to Bethlehem, PA in 2004 and is still active.
An international progressive rock festival called InProg takes place in Moscow, Russia, every year since 2001. Most of the performers in this festival are progressive rock artists from Russia, but artists from other countries also perform. Since 2005, the year it turned from a local to an international festival, this is probably the second most successful progressive rock festival after NEARfest.
Other current festivals of note include Rosfest in Phoenixville, PA, Baja Prog in Mexicali, Mexico, CalProg in Whittier, CA, Prog In The Park in Rochester, NY, Gouveia Art Rock in Portugal, Prog Sud in Marseille (France), Tiana in Barcelona (Spain), Progfarm in Holland, Rio Art Rock Festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and ProgPower USA in Atlanta, Georgia.

References and notes

1. Progressive Rock Reconsidered, , K., Holm-Hudson, Routledge, 2001, ISBN 0-8153-3714-0
2. Rock in the Name of Progress (Part VI -"Thelonius Punk") Brian L. Knight
3. Did Punk kill prog?, Tommy Udo, , , Classic Rock Magazine Issue, 2006
4. Augustember 2001 E.V. Blair Blake
5. http://www.guitarplayer.com/story.asp?sectioncode=4&storycode=4206
6. http://www.progday.com/ ProgDay home page

External links

★ Prog Archives Site dedicated to Progressive Music in all its form.

★ Progression magazine A large print publication devoted to coverage of progressive rock and related subgenres.

★ Progressiverock.com The Strawberry Bricks Guide to Progressive Rock.

★ Gibralter Encyclopedia of Progressive Rock

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PROGRESSIVE ROCK

Characteristics

Musical characteristics

Other characteristics

Stage theatrics

History

Precursors

Early bands

Ascending popularity

1980s revival

1990s and 2000s

Festivals

See also

Related genres and sub-genres

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References and notes

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