Timeline of progressive rock - Progressive Rock Music Forum

Author

Message

Topic Search

Topic Options

fuxi

Prog Reviewer

Joined: March 08 2006
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 2488

Posted: April 16 2010 at 12:35

carlmarx38 wrote:

What about Soft Machine, the VdGG debut, the Magma debut, the Gentle Giant debut, etc ?

If you think those are all essential, I'll put them in ! My current Timeline doesn't have any

Van Der Graaf albums until PAWN HEARTS, but I know there are a lot of VdGG fans on

here, so I should probably include more. As for the others you mentioned, I have

SOFT MACHINE ""Third", and I think the first Magma album I have listed is

"Mekanik Destructiw Kommandoh". You really think Gentle Giant's debut is essential

to the early lineage ?

If there's no limit, I'd call the first THREE Soft Machine albums essential. If I could have only one, I'd go for VOLUME TWO. In my view, "Rivmic Melodies", the suite on its original A-side, is the best thing the band ever did, together with "Moon in June" and the "Love Makes Sweet Music"/"Feelin Reelin Squeelin" single.

AtomicCrimsonRush View Drop Down

Special Collaborator

Honorary Collaborator

Joined: July 02 2008
Location: Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 14258

Posted: April 16 2010 at 11:32

carlmarx38 wrote:

Nice list but so many definitive albums are missing - i have spent a long time researching and making prog polls on each of the prog years here, and it takes some effort to come up with 15 or 10 albums per year but it is possible.

Do you agree with the above post to include Magma (debut), Soft Machine (debut),

and VdGG ? (btw, most of my release dates are from "Strawberry Brick's Guide to

Progressive Rock", I'm going on faith that they are mostly accurate)

Yeah include those definitive albums on your list. Check the polls too if you need help as I used Strawberry Guide too, but the PA have a better guide also. I would include the debut albums of all the eclectic bands that began the genre.

carlmarx38 View Drop Down

Forum Groupie

Joined: February 01 2010
Status: Offline
Points: 60

Posted: April 16 2010 at 11:28

I don't understand this project. Normally desert islands don't allow "only 100 or so". It's easy to put albums in chronological order, it's a lot tougher to name the importance of albums based on when they were released and the events that made them important to the scene.

........good point......and the "events that made them important to the scene" had to do

with popularity and visibility in the public's eye. The debut albums by Magma, Soft Machine,

Gentle Giant, and VdGG had little or no visibility at the time of their release (especially

in the States), which is probably why I didn't include them. I think this timeline is meant

to be somewhat of a compromise between a History Project (focusing on historical

relevance at the time), and a critical appraisal of the essential albums to the develop-

ment of the genre. The debuts by Magma and Soft Machine are essential in retrospect,

but from a historical perspective of how prog evolved they aren't so important, because

hardly anyone knew of them at the time they were released.

Thanks for the feedback, though. The main question, is whether people are

interested in this thing (regardless of which albums are included) ? I thought

it would be nice to have something like this on the PROG MUSIC GUIDES link,

for new listeners, but I won't pursue it if people think it's a dumb idea.

carlmarx38 View Drop Down

Forum Groupie

Joined: February 01 2010
Status: Offline
Points: 60

Posted: April 16 2010 at 11:15

Nice list but so many definitive albums are missing - i have spent a long time researching and making prog polls on each of the prog years here, and it takes some effort to come up with 15 or 10 albums per year but it is possible.

Do you agree with the above post to include Magma (debut), Soft Machine (debut),

and VdGG ? (btw, most of my release dates are from "Strawberry Brick's Guide to

Progressive Rock", I'm going on faith that they are mostly accurate)

carlmarx38 View Drop Down

Forum Groupie

Joined: February 01 2010
Status: Offline
Points: 60

Posted: April 16 2010 at 11:11

What about Soft Machine, the VdGG debut, the Magma debut, the Gentle Giant debut, etc ?

If you think those are all essential, I'll put them in ! My current Timeline doesn't have any

Van Der Graaf albums until PAWN HEARTS, but I know there are a lot of VdGG fans on

here, so I should probably include more. As for the others you mentioned, I have

SOFT MACHINE ""Third", and I think the first Magma album I have listed is

"Mekanik Destructiw Kommandoh". You really think Gentle Giant's debut is essential

to the early lineage ?

AtomicCrimsonRush View Drop Down

Special Collaborator

Honorary Collaborator

Joined: July 02 2008
Location: Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 14258

Posted: April 16 2010 at 09:41

friso

Prog Reviewer

Joined: October 24 2007
Location: Netherlands
Status: Offline
Points: 2506

Posted: April 16 2010 at 03:04

What about Soft Machine, the VdGG debut, the Magma debut, the Gentle Giant debut, etc..?

Queen By-Tor View Drop Down

Special Collaborator

Honorary Collaborator

Joined: September 13 2006
Location: Xanadu
Status: Offline
Points: 16111

Posted: April 15 2010 at 19:35

Lodij van der Graaf View Drop Down

Forum Senior Member

Joined: July 21 2009
Location: Jakarta
Status: Offline
Points: 150

Posted: April 15 2010 at 19:22

I would start from 1967, so the likes of the Nice, Procol Harum, and a couple of others could be on the list..

Grace is a name,
like Chastity,
like Lucifer,
like mine!!!!!!!!!!!!!

carlmarx38 View Drop Down

Forum Groupie

Joined: February 01 2010
Status: Offline
Points: 60

Posted: April 15 2010 at 18:18

Here's my current rough draft of my Timeline of Progressive Rock. If I were banished to a Desert
     Island, and could only take a hundred or so titles, this is what I would listen to. Or if it were 1971
     again, these are the albums I would buy (if only I knew then what I know now !)

1969

       YES (first album)
     IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING
      STAND UP (Jethro Tull)
      UMMAGUMMA

1970

   MAY    BENEFIT (Jethro Tull)
   JUN
   JUL    TIME AND A WORD
   AUG
   SEP
   OCT   TRESPASS
   NOV   EMERSON, LAKE AND PALMER (1st album)
   DEC

1971

   JAN
   FEB
   MAR   THE YES ALBUM (# 7 UK)
   APR   AQUALUNG    (#7 US / #4 UK)
   MAY   IN THE LAND OF GREY AND PINK (Caravan)
   JUN   TARKUS (#9 US / #1 UK)   (FIRST PROG ALBUM TO GO #1 ?)
   JUL
   AUG   ACQUIRING THE TASTE (Gentle Giant)
   SEP
   OCT   PAWN HEARTS (van der graaf generator)
MOVING WAVES (Focus)
   NOV   NURSERY CRYME (#39 UK)
              PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION (#10 US / #2 UK)
   DEC THE INNER MOUNTING FLAME (Mahishnu Orchestra)
MEDDLE

   1972 (the "golden age" of prog begins !)

   JAN    FRAGILE (#7 UK / #4 US)
   FEB    STORIA DI UN MINUTO (PFM)
   MAR BANCO DEL MUTUO SOCCORSO (these dates for the italians are just "estimates" !)
   APR THICK AS A BRICK (#1 US / #5 UK.......FIRST PROG ALBUM TO HIT #1 IN US)
   MAY
   JUN    SPACE SHANTY (Khan, featuring Steve Hillage)
   UOMO DI PEZZA (Le Orme)
   JUL    LIVING IN THE PAST (#3 US / #8 UK)
   TRILOGY (#5 US / #2 UK)
   AUG
   SEP    CLOSE TO THE EDGE (#3 US / #4 UK)
   PER UN AMICO (PFM)
   OCT    FOXTROT (#12 UK)
   NOV    DARWIN ! (Banco del Mutuo Soccorso)
   DEC    OCTOPUS (Gentle Giant)
FOCUS 3
_____________________________________________________________________________

   that's it for now.....i've completed this timeline up to 1975. will stop here, though to get feedback.
.......this to me is close to the "epicenter" of classic prog. Especially Sep/OCT '72 when
   both CLOSE TO THE EDGE and FOXTROT were released within a month of each
   other !