Fettucini finnforest

Well, without Topographic Oceans and The Wall being on the list, it makes it a little easier for me.  But not much. 

Gryphon doesn't tug at my heartstrings enough.  Sinatra was in the mix but since he's not on the site I'll let that slide.  Same with Joni, sadly not here despite her glorious jazz years with Jaco and Methany.  Jacula is tempting but too new to my fave list to be on top, same with Bededeum and BDM.  Prince was pretty weak and Jesse V, apart from irritating religious conservatives in our legislature which I will always love him for, never cut a great prog album.  Cervello is great but again hasn't pierced my heart as much as my three finalists from this list, which would be Kate, Syd, and QVL. 

Choosing from those 3 is akin to eating my lima beans, water torture, or going without coffee in the morning.
QVL the romantic beauty full of piano and violin, with that great album cover.  Kate, whose live performance on the Tour of Life video actually makes me cry in at least 3 places (good tears).  And Syd.  The single most underappreciated and misunderstood artist on the site.  Taste differences are one thing and I accept that....but not recognizing the importance of Piper to rock music is unforgivable ignorance in my book.  And I see it all the time around the Web, sometimes even perpetuated by his former bandmates.  

I really can't choose firmly between Kate and Syd, but the vote goes to Piper as a nod of respect to broken ground in mid 1967.....hitting space running well before any crimson kings.....he may not be prog by many people's definitions (conveniently written off as "psych" only) but he was progressive to me.  In a big way. 

As Smith writes in his prog book....."Piper is the earliest album length example of modern progressive music....it did not accept the pop forms of the era as it found them, choosing instead to create playful, surreal stereo soundscapes....the album is critical to understanding the radical breaks from popular styles that progressive music introduced." 

My thanks to Thomas and John Davie for their continued proggy inspirations.  John (Sinkadotentree) was the absolute first collab at this site to reach out with kindness and encouragement when I first came here, overlooking my ignorance on certain topics, helping me become a better reviewer, and sharing our collective laments of lost youth.  He is non-judgemental, open-minded, and a great ambassador for the site.  


Edited by Finnforest - February 28 2009 at 10:18