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Various Artists (Concept albums & Themed compilations) - Supernatural Fairy Tales - The Progressive Rock Era CD (album) cover

SUPERNATURAL FAIRY TALES - THE PROGRESSIVE ROCK ERA

Various Artists (Concept albums & Themed compilations)

 

Various Genres

3.14 | 18 ratings

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ClassicRocker
4 stars Rhino's sprawling set of "fairytales" attempts to compile many of the significant bands which contributed to the original Progressive movement of the late-60/70s, and for the most part succeeds. It really has something for everyone: The Moody Blues, ELP, Genesis, and Yes for those who may be new to Prog; some deeper cuts like VDGG, Caravan, PFM, Nektar, and Zappa; and of course the extremely obscure tracks from bands like Quiet Sun, The Savage Rose and Lard Free.

It was quite an adventure listening to this compilation the first few times - wondering what sub-genre would be covered next and how it would sound; I was especially surprised upon my introduction to things like Krautrock, some Avant-garde (other than Frank Zappa), and the strangeness of Zeuhl! While not all of these "new" tracks were enjoyable (that's pretty hard to imagine in a 5-disc set anyways), they expanded my musical horizons as a great intro to other prog that's out there.

Prior to listening, I already knew many bands of the era (basic and "intermediate" level), and this box presented many more rare/obscure artists and tracks that would normally cost a lot to get a hold of. Highlights (and now favorites) of my newly discovered material include Aruthur Brown's "Sunrise"; Focus' "Hocus Pocus"; Seventh Wave's "Starpalace of the Sombre Warrior"; Banco's "Traccia II"; and Samla Mammas Manna 's "Andra Satsen". The only real downside to this album was some of the Krautrock tracks and Magma.

Although it's extremely long (5 discs worth!), missing some "essential" tracks/artists, and very broad in the sheer amount of content, I find myself enjoying this compilation of "Classic Prog" more and more each time I listen. This was definitely an excellent addition to my prog collection.

ClassicRocker | 4/5 |

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