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CLEMOFNAZARETH

Bob Moore


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SPECIAL COLLABORATOR: Prog Folk Researcher

Member since: 8/17/2005 • Forum posts: 4548 • Last visit: 1/13/2023 11:48:53 AM EST
Location: United States

Progressive Biography

My formative years were mostly in the 70s, so I have the advantage of having been around when some of the early progressive classics were still fairly new. As a teenager my favorite music was psychedelic/space (Jefferson Airplane, the Doors, Pink Floyd, David Bowie) and symphonic rock (Yes, Moody Blues), but also a lot of popular music like the Beach Boys, Chicago, and the Kinks.

Being from the American Midwest it was inevitable I would also be surrounded with some great blues-based music (Lynyrd Skynyrd, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Molly Hatchet), as well as a newer generation that leaned a bit closer to the experimental side (Bo-Deans, Jason & the Scorchers, R.E.M., Lone Justice, Cowboy Junkies), and even post-punk with social/folk tendencies (Jim Carroll, X, Joy Division, Concrete Blonde, Violent Femmes).

The bands who overlapped and expanded on these sounds for me don't seem to have a convenient genre name. Many of them are found here on the archives and some aren't. Those that are will often be found under the heading of Proto-prog or Prog-related. But I think if you asked them most of these guys would simply say they make music, regardless of the label. Spirit, Supertramp, the Decemberists, Faun Fables, Pererin, Beat Circus, Rasputina and After Crying all fit parts of this description and are among some of my favorites groups you'll find here. I'm also this site's official #1 Kansas fanboy.

These days my focus is primarily on progressive folk music. There are three characteristics of virtually all progressive folk that I find irresistible:

1) the stories told in the lyrics, which sometimes outshine the music itself;
2) heavy use of acoustic and often ethnic instruments, usually resulting in an earthy, natural and world-focused sound; and
3) an ever-present awareness of culture, history and traditions (both good and bad).

I think jazz fans share a similar joy in discovering that occasional gem at the back of a stack of dusty old records, the one that captures some musician or group engaged in a blatant act of full-frontal expression; or the modern equivalent where we have the opportunity to listen to tomorrow's discoveries today. There are certainly far worse ways to spend limited discretionary time and income.

Today there is an incredible body of progressive and art-related music available to old fans, as well as those just getting into prog music. This means there are many opportunities to listen to and appreciate the expressions of real artists, which means never having to spend your time or money on mass-produced pop drivel whose only message and goal is the separation of you from your hard-earned cash. My reviews are written with this in mind - that we all have limited income and even more importantly, that we all have a limited amount of time, and that we want to make sure it is spent productively and not listening to musical works by people who didn't even really try. Hopefully you'll find the few highly-rated works worthy of your time like I did.

Bands I've added to ProgArchives:

3 Daft Monkeys | A Presenca das Formigas | Rabih Abou-Khalil | Accolade | Afforested | Agincourt | Almondegas | Alva | Amber | An Dro | The Angels of Light | Aparecidos | Dan Arborise | Atman | Avalanche | Ave Sangria | Babadag | Baby Whale | Bambir/The Bambir | Barr | Bran | Paul Brett (Sage) | Vashti Bunyan | Caedmon | Camelias Garden | Can Am des Puig (aka Book of AM) | Marcello Capra | Philippe Cauvin | Chalibaude | Cherche-Lune | Chimera (Dutch) | Clogs | Corde Oblique | Crematorium | Nancy Elizabeth (Cunliffe) | Current 93 | Daemonia Nymphe | Dancer | Darnakes | Dawnwind | the Decemberists | Detektivbryan | Dr. Strangely Strange | Dulcimer | Elane | Electric Desert | Engel (Miguel Angel de la Llave Jiminez) | Faraway Folk | Faun (Prog Folk) | Fauns | Feathers | Fields Burning | Flairck | Folklore | Foreningen Til Livets Beskyttelse | Fragua | fred | Gallery (UK) | Genesis de Colombia | Glaz | Gorgo | The Green Children | Larkin Grimm | Group 87 | Gwerz | Hapshash and the Coloured Coat | Hazari | Heaven & Earth | Help Yourself | I Folli Di Dio | Ilous & Decuyper | Brian Imig | The Incredible String Band | Bert Jansch | The Jesterdays | Nigel Mazlyn Jones | Justine (Prog Folk) | Carla Kihlstedt & Matthias Bossi | King Fish Crow | Kladivo Konj In Voda | Kolibri | Kolinda | Bruce Lamont | Leafblade | Li Troubaires de Coumboscuro | Lisa o Piu | Lot Lorien | Clare Louise | Lucci Marsola Tatini & Burani (SĂŁo Quixote) | Lumsk | Benito Lurtxundi | Magickfolk | Brian Malone | Marlboro Man | Mary Jane | Shelagh McDonald | Me and My Kites | The Merlin Bird | Messenger (UK) | Midlake | Moğollar | Colin Mold | Montreal | Mourning Phase | Czesław Niemen | the Nocturnes | Nomads of Hope | Michel Normandeau | The Nova Project | Nya Ljudbolaget | O.W.L. (Of Wondrous Legends) | Orfanado | Orpheus GhostSong | Pan-Ra | Paradox | Emmanuelle Parrenin | Patanga | Jean Luc Payssan | Pearls Before Swine/Tom Rapp | Linda Perhacs | Piirpauke | Plankton Wat | Plastic People of the Universe | Principal Edwards Magic Theatre | Prudence | Quintal de Clorofila | Quinteto Armorial | Rada & Ternovnik (the Blackthorn) | Rasputina | Kari Rueslatten | The Sallyangie | Nate Scoble | Secret Green | Serpentyne | Shannon | Shave the Monkey | Shide & Acorn | Smell of Incense | Soft Hearted Scientists | Sorne | Spires That in the Sunset Rise | Stone Angel | Storsveit Nix Noltes | String Cheese | Stringpuree Band | Stumari | Suburbano | Sussita | Tangerine | Tarujen Saari | Bob Theil | The Third Estate | Thistletown | Tir Na Nog | Trocarn | Tyrannosaurus Rex | United Bible Studies | Uqbar | Us and Them | Verdun | Water Into Wine Band | Robin Williamson | Wovenhand | Writing on the Wall | WyrDGeneS | Gabriel Yacoub | Yggdrasil (Prog Folk) | Zartong | Zeit | Zlye Kukly | Zrni | Żywiołak.


peace


Reviews distribution by sub-genre


 Sub-genreNb of reviewsAvg rating
1 Prog Folk3473.16
2 Symphonic Prog1533.16
3 Crossover Prog1182.96
4 Eclectic Prog943.00
5 Prog Related502.72
6 Heavy Prog372.68
7 Post Rock/Math rock373.05
8 Proto-Prog373.00
9 RIO/Avant-Prog303.17
10 Psychedelic/Space Rock293.28
11 Neo-Prog183.22
12 Jazz Rock/Fusion143.79
13 Experimental/Post Metal142.71
14 Progressive Metal93.00
15 Krautrock52.80
16 Rock Progressivo Italiano43.00
17 Various Genres33.33
18 Indo-Prog/Raga Rock34.00
19 Progressive Electronic22.00
20 Zeuhl24.00
21 Canterbury Scene24.00
22 Tech/Extreme Prog Metal23.00

Reviews and Ratings

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