The development of Progressive Rock Music

The development of Progressive Rock Music, a difficult task

Late 60s and beginning of the 70s

I would say it all began with psychedelic music, i.e. essentially Jimi Hendrix and earlier PINK FLOYD (all their stuff with Syd Barrett). Some people say that The BEATLES also had a contribution to the prog movement). Then came bands such as KING CRIMSON and YES at the end of the sixties. KING CRIMSON, along with VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR (VDGG) helped define a sub-genre of the progressive music called hard prog ('hard' referring to the tormented atmosphere of their records, however "In The Court In The Crimson King" is symphonic prog). YES were playing symphonic rock, so called because of the use of a symphonic orchestra. GENESIS were already recording at the end of the sixties but their links to the progressive rock were not yet defined. With the album "Trespass", things became clear about GENESIS. YES and GENESIS remain icons in symphonic rock music. Other bands followed their steps later : GENTLE GIANT, CAMEL among others. At the same time as symphonic rock was developing in Great Britain, many Italian bands were performing a similar type of music : BANCO DEL MUTUO SOCCORCO (BDMS for short), PREMIATA FORNERIA MARCONI (PFM), Le ORME, QUELLA VECCHIA LOCANDA (QVL) among others. These two countries were the most prolific as far as progressive rock is concerned.

Let's go back to England to focus on another sub-genre that comes from the Canterbury country. CARAVAN defined that sub-genre with their second album and bands like HATFIELD AND THE NORTH and later NATIONAL HEALTH followed (plus a band that didn't come from England but from USA, HAPPY THE MAN). The first GONG album ("Camembert Electrique", featuring Pip Pyle on drums who later joined HATFIELD and NATIONAL HEALTH) belongs also to this sub-genre. Daevid Allen (who later founded GONG) formed with Robert Wyatt SOFT MACHINE, a band that could be regarded as belonging to the Canterbury scene for their first three releases, but that turned to jazz-fusion (with "Third"), another sub-genre that included also later Bruford and BRAND X, and in the USA Frank ZAPPA.

So, all the beginning of the seventies, 3 sub-genres are already established : symphonic (YES, GENESIS), Canterbury (CARAVAN, earlier GONG), hard prog (KING CRIMSON, VDGG).
 The 70s
After Syd Barrett left PINK FLOYD, their music became softer with ethereal passages : they defined a new sub-genre, space rock. GONG were also following the same way with "Angel Egg" (but with humour), their best record to date. After The YARDBIRDS split, Keith Relf formed with his wife Jane the band RENAISSANCE, a group that blended folk music with progressive rock. Along with JETHRO TULL, RENAISSANCE were qualified as a folk prog band. The popularity of RENAISSANCE grew after Annie Haslam replaced Jane Relf on vocals and they releases the great "Scheherazade And Other Stories" in 1975. JETHRO TULL released "Aqualung" in 1971, an album that is considered as a classic today, but I would recommend the flow-up "Thick As A Brick" as an introduction to their contribution to the folk prog scene.
Another sub-genre of the progressive rock was also developing in the seventies : art rock, led by bands such as SUPERTRAMP, ROXY MUSIC, 10 CC. These groups were playing a simpler music than in the other prog sub-genre. In Germany, a group called TANGERINE DREAM was playing a music based exclusively on electronic instruments, hence their music was called "Electronic" (or New Age"), although it may include many not electronic instruments (as is the case for Mike OLDFIELD), VANGELIS and SYNERGY belong also to this sub-genre. Many of the German bands that appeared at the beginning of the seventies were classified as "Krautrock", an additional sub-genre of the progressive rock, including GROBSCHNITT, AMON DÜÜL, ASH RA TEMPEL. A minimalistic form of the "electronic" music appeared also in the seventies : ambient. KRAFTWERK, Brian ENO, CLUSTER belong to this category. Moreover, in England a sub-genre based on improvisation and with a jazz background appeared in 1973 with the release of HENRY COW's "Leg End" (RIO, Rock In Opposition).

I forgot to mention that EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER (ELP), band that gathered members of KING CRIMSON, ATOMIC ROOSTER and The NICE released albums ("Tarkus" being regarded as their best) belonging to a sub-genre called classical prog, as they often feature a song that is an adaptation of a piece of classical music ("Pictures At An Exibition" for example). The NICE and Rick WAKEMAN belong also to this sub-genre, In North America, some groups tried to mix hard rock with progressive elements, such bands are RUSH, STYX among others (KANSAS could also be added to this category but it is also close to the English symphonic prog scene). They were called pomp prog as the intros and outros of some of their songs are "pompous".

I mentioned previously the development of a jazz-fusion scene with BRAND X (featuring Phil Collins), Bruford, and ZAPPA, the music of this latter could be considered as a unique sub-genre (mix of jazz, doo-wap, rock…). Another band was also strongly rooted in jazz but included also influences ranging from Stockhausen to Duke Ellington, via opera : MAGMA, who created the Zeuhl sub-genre, with a language intelligible only by them ("Kobaïa").

So, at the end of the seventies you have 10 new sub-genres in the progressive rock : art rock, folk prog, classical prog, RIO, jazz-fusion, Zeuhl, ambient, electronic, krautrock, pomp prog



The 80s

The progressive rock was supplanted by the "punk movement" at the end of the seventies, a "music" which aim was to prove that everyone could play music. "Punk" gave rise to the cold wave in the eighties and prog rock was reduced to what was called neo progressive (a simpler form of the symphonic prog but with much present drums), and an embryo of what became at the beginning of the nineties the metal prog . SAGA were probably the first to play this neo prog, but MARILLION, IQ and PENDRAGON are the best representatives of this sub-genre. Landmarq albums include "Misplaced Childhood" by MARILLION, "Masquerade Overture ('96)" by PENDRAGON and "Ever" by IQ.

The 90s
Metal prog developed with DREAM THEATER's "Images And Words". However, in the eighties some groups were already playing a heavy metal based progressive music : QUEENSRYCHE, FATES WARNING, WATCHTOWER. Thanks to Mike Varney in the USA, who founded the prog label Magna Carta, and in Europe the Inside Out Label. Apart from metal prog. SPOCK'S BEARD were playing a symphonic prog with references to GENTLE GIANT and GENESIS and ECHLOLYN and IZZ were playing a music closer to neo prog. In the Northern Europe, a Scandinavian symphonic prog scene developed with bands such as The FLOWER KJINGS, ANGLAGARD and SINKADUS, A post RIO scene also developed with DJAM KARET, THINKING PLAGUE… Some groups play jazz-fusion : KENSO, CARTOONE, DEUS EX MACHINA. PORCUPINE TREE and OZRIC TENACLES play space rock. COLLAGE, CLEPSYDRA are great bands hat are strongly influenced by IQ and MARILLION.

Thus, in the nineties you have a revival of the prog scene not only with the appearance of a new sub-genre : metal prog but also with bands playing the styles developed in the seventies.


I hope these informations will help you in your investigation.

Written by Lucas BIELA

The Definition of Progressive Rock

Progressive rock (often shortened to prog or prog rock) is a form of rock music that evolved in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." The term "art rock" is often used interchangeably with "progressive rock", but while there are crossovers between the two genres, they are not identical.


Progressive rock bands pushed "rock's technical and compositional boundaries" by going beyond the standard rock or popular verse-chorus-based song structures. Additionally, the arrangements often incorporated elements drawn from classical, jazz, and world music. Instrumentals were common, while songs with lyrics were sometimes conceptual, abstract, or based in fantasy. Progressive rock bands sometimes used "concept albums that made unified statements, usually telling an epic story or tackling a grand overarching theme."


Progressive rock developed from late 1960s psychedelic rock, as part of a wide-ranging tendency in rock music of this era to draw inspiration from ever more diverse influences. The term was applied to the music of bands such as King Crimson, Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, Soft Machine and Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Progressive rock came into most widespread use around the mid-1970s. While progressive rock reached the peak of its popularity in the 1970s and early 1980s, neo-progressive bands have continued playing for faithful audiences in the subsequent decades.
Musical characteristics


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, often with exaggerated dynamics to heighten contrast between sections. Classical forms are often inserted or substituted, sometimes yielding entire suites, building on the traditional medleys of earlier rock bands. Progressive rock songs also often have extended instrumental passages, marrying the classical solo tradition with the improvisational traditions of jazz and psychedelic rock. All of these tend to add length to progressive rock songs, which may last longer than twenty minutes.


Timbre (instrumentation and tone color): Early progressive rock groups expanded the timbral palette of the then-traditional rock instrumentation of guitar, organ, bass, and drums by adding instruments more typical of jazz or folk music, such as flute, saxophone and violin, and more often than not used electronic keyboards, synthesizers, and electronic effects. Some instruments – most notably the Moog synthesizer and the Mellotron – have become closely associated with the genre.


Rhythm: Drawing on their classical, jazz, folk and experimental influences, progressive rock artists are more likely to explore time signatures other than 4/4 and tempo changes. Progressive rock generally tends to be freer in its rhythmic approach than other forms of rock music. The approach taken varies, depending on the band, but may range from regular beats to irregular or complex Time Signatures.


Melody and Harmony: In prog rock, the blues inflections of mainstream rock are often supplanted by jazz and classical influences. Melodies are more likely to be modal than based on the pentatonic scale, and are more likely to comprise longer, developing passages than short, catchy ones. Chords and chord progressions may be augmented with 6ths, 7ths, 9ths, and compound intervals; and the I-IV-V progression is much less common. Allusions to, or even direct quotes from, well-known classical themes are common. Some bands have used atonal or dissonant harmonies, and a few have even worked with rudimentary serialism.


Texture and imagery: Ambient soundscapes and theatrical elements may be used to describe scenes, events or other aspects of the concept. For example, Leitmotif is used to represent the various characters in Genesis' "Harold the Barrel" and "Robbery, Assault and Battery." More literally, the sounds of clocks and cash registers are used to represent time and money in Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon.


Other characteristics


Technology: To aid timbral exploration, progressive rock bands were often early adopters of new electronic musical instruments and technologies. The mellotron, particularly, was a signature sound of early progressive bands. Pink Floyd utilized an EMS Synthi A synthesizer equipped with a sequencer on their track "On the Run" from their 1973 album Dark Side of the Moon. In the late 1970s, Robert Fripp, of King Crimson, and Brian Eno developed an analog tape loops effect (Frippertronics). In the 1980s, Frank Zappa used the Synclavier for composing and recording, and King Crimson utilized MIDI-enabled guitars, a Chapman Stick, and electronic percussion.


Concept albums: Collections of songs unified by an elaborate, overarching theme or story are common to progressive rock. As songs by progressive rock acts tend to be quite long, such collections have frequently exceeded the maximum length of recorded media, resulting in packages that require multiple vinyl discs, cassettes, or compact discs in order to present a single album. Concepts have included the historical, fantastical, and metaphysical, and even, in the case of Jethro Tull's Thick as a Brick, poking fun at concept albums.


Lyrical themes: Progressive rock typically has lyrical ambition similar to its musical ambition, tending to avoid typical rock/pop subjects such as love, dancing, etc., rather inclining towards the kinds of themes found in classical literature, fantasy, folklore, social commentry or all of these. Peter Gabriel (Genesis) often wrote surreal stories to base his lyrics around, sometimes including theatrical elements with several characters, while Roger Waters (Pink Floyd) combined social criticism with personal struggles with greed, madness, and death.


Presentation: Album art and packaging is often an important part of the artistic concept. This trend can be seen to have begun with The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and played a major part in the marketing 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 Hipgnosis for their work with Pink Floyd and several other progressive rock groups.


Stage theatrics: Beginning in the early 1970s, some progressive rock bands began incorporating elaborate and sometimes flamboyant stage theatrics into their concerts. Genesis lead singer Peter Gabriel wore many different colourful and exotic costumes in one show and frequently acted out the lyrical narrative of the songs, and the band used lasers and giant mirrors synchronized with the music. Yes incorporated futuristic stage sets designed by Roger Dean, including massive spaceship props and complex lighting. Yes also performed 'in-the-round', with the band on a round stage set up in the middle of the arena. Jethro Tull released rabbits on stage (see here). One of ELP's many stage antics include Emerson's "flying piano" at the California Jam concert, in which a Steinway grand piano would be spun from a hoist. Pink Floyd used many stage effects, including crashing aeroplanes, a giant floating pig, massive projection screens, and, in 1980, an enormous mock brick wall for The Wall performances. Rush incorporated lasers and film backdrops into their stage show. Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention used a giant giraffe prop and did improvisational comedy skits. Marillion's former lead singer Fish wore a jester costume inspired by the band's first album, Script for a Jester's Tear.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Progressive rock".