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deepcutsprog 
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 Topic: 5 Best Albums to get someone into Classic Prog?
Posted: July 21 2016 at 16:54 |
Hi guys,
I recently uploaded a video designed to help get people into Classic Prog, and thought I would share it with you all.
Do you agree with my list? My feelings change every hour on which albums I should have included, but I had to set it in stone at some point!
The vid is here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KMZGMh1Gec
My Top 5:
1) King Crimson – In The Court Of The Crimson King (1969)
2) Genesis – Selling England By The Pound (1973)
3) Rush – Moving Pictures (1981)
4) Yes – Fragile (1971)
5) Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here (1975)
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Nogbad_The_Bad
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Posted: July 21 2016 at 17:07 |
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Only changes I'd make are swap CTTE & DSOTM into the list.
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Ian
Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on Progrock.com
https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-avant-jazzcore-happy-hour/
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zravkapt
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Posted: July 21 2016 at 18:09 |
I would change the albums to...
Red Foxtrot A Farewell To Kings The Yes Album Animals
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Magma America Great Make Again
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andreol263
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Posted: July 21 2016 at 18:16 |
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Bucklebutt
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Posted: July 21 2016 at 18:55 |
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Supertramp - Crime of the Century is a nice easy listen, not very proggy tho
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TheLionOfPrague
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Posted: July 21 2016 at 20:30 |
Dark Side of the Moon, Close to the Edge, Selling England by the Pound, Thick as a Brick and In the Court of the Crimson King.
It hurts me to leave ELP out, but they're usually harder to get into. They might be a bit of a turnoff for someone that doesn't like prog at first listen.
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I shook my head and smiled a whisper knowing all about the place
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Magnum Vaeltaja
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Posted: July 21 2016 at 20:59 |
I think that for the most part it wouldn't be too wise to go for anything with really extensive epics if you're just compiling a playlist for first time listeners. So, great as it is, that would leave Close To The Edge off. Same for Thick as a Brick, Foxtrot, etc.
My 5 albums would probably be - Genesis - Selling England by The Pound
- Yes - Fragile
- King Crimson - In The Court of the Crimson King
- Camel - Mirage
- Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
Dark Side, while not especially "prog" IMO, is important to include in case the new listener in question really isn't connecting with the more elaborate stuff and needs something accessible to fall back on.
Selling England by The Pound would be a fine choice to include, with a good mix of more accessible and more symphonic material. Nursery Cryme would probably do just fine as a substitution and has the added benefit of not containing a 10+ minute flub (i.e. Epping Forest). Mirage would do well to accompany it, with its primarily symphonic leanings.
The Yes and King Crimson albums would be well-suited once they're ready to get into more abstract stuff, especially the latter. It would be criminal not to include an album by either of these bands in a classic prog-related anything, and I feel that Fragile and Court are the best respective starting points.
Alternatively we could consider the "sink or swim" philosophy and go balls-to-the-wall immersion right off the bat: - King Crimson - Larks' Tongues In Aspic
- Gentle Giant - The Power and The Glory
- Van der Graaf Generator - Pawn Hearts
- Henry Cow - Western Culture
- Art Bears - Winter Songs
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when i was a kid a doller was worth ten dollers - now a doller couldnt even buy you fifty cents
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BunBun
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Posted: July 21 2016 at 21:03 |
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^ yea, ELP is definitely not an easy band to get into, in fact, it might scare some people away from prog lol
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DDPascalDD
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Posted: July 22 2016 at 03:02 |
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My start with prog wasn't too long ago, and I can remember very clear that Animals and Selling England By The Pound were for me very hard to get into. I think Fragile, The Yes Album and Dark Side Of The Moon are very good starters. The danger of Moving Pictures (and maybe even dark side as well) is, that it can cause confusion about what prog is and what makes it different from classic rock.
Also it depends on your audience (obviously), I noticed that people can quite well listen to some Dream Theater but they'll have to be able to listen to metal.
Also it doesn't have to be the most simple prog there is just because it is easy to listen. People expect to hear something different and are ready to be blown away, maybe Awaken is just what someone wants to hear...
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Cristi
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Posted: July 22 2016 at 03:22 |
Genesis - SEBTP or Wind & Wuthering Yes - The Yes Album Pink Floyd - WYWH Marillion - Misplaced Childhood Camel - Moonmadness
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Sean Trane
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Posted: July 22 2016 at 03:54 |
 zravkapt wrote:
I would change the albums to...
Red Foxtrot A Farewell To Kings The Yes Album Animals |
You're going to scare a potential prog newbie with that kind of list (provided the candidate is a pure mainstream guy) You even chose the most aggressive Floyd album, whenb that's exactly the kind of band to make a smooth intro to prog (I'd even give two Floyd in the first five albums to taste: Wall and WYWH, for ex) AFTK and Red will provoke also a WTF reaction >> go for MP and ITCOTCK, instead as for Genesis, I'd say SEBTP or more likely ATotT (both a kinder on the ears) TYA is good, though, but Crime of The Century was my gateway to prog... The album that started it all
Edited by Sean Trane - July 23 2016 at 11:33
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moshkito
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Posted: July 22 2016 at 07:16 |
Hi,
It's a hard choice and I prefer not to choose. The minute I choose one, I listen to Chicago 1 or 2, or Santana 1, or The Doors, and the shine goes right out.
There is way too much stuff out there that is just as good, if not better than anything listed here, and I am not sure that "limiting" the listening ability for someone is a good thing to do.
Like us, they must "discover" the life in the music, not have you and I tell them!
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Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
www.pedrosena.com
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Jeffro
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Posted: July 22 2016 at 10:42 |
I attribute my love of prog to that fact that I was introduced to The Beatles at a very early age. I really believe that's what planted the seed. Took a long time to germinate though.
I would start with albums that have lots of appeal and are easier to listen to but contain proggy bits.
I would probably start with some of the more experimental Beatles albums. The Yes Album is a fine choice as well Dark Side of the Moon, while not as hardcore as some others, would serve well as an intro.
As a 35+ year Rush fan I want to say Farewell To Kings or Hemispheres but I'd likely go with Moving Pictures first.
Edited by Jeffro - July 22 2016 at 10:43
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Jeffro
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Posted: July 22 2016 at 10:45 |
moshkito wrote:
Hi,
It's a hard choice and I prefer not to choose. The minute I choose one, I listen to Chicago 1 or 2, or Santana 1, or The Doors, and the shine goes right out.
There is way too much stuff out there that is just as good, if not better than anything listed here, and I am not sure that "limiting" the listening ability for someone is a good thing to do.
Like us, they must "discover" the life in the music, not have you and I tell them! |
Of course, but sometimes it helps to have someone at least point you in the right direction. For instance, I had never heard of Gentle Giant until I came to this site. Sometimes you don't know what you don't know.
Edited by Jeffro - July 22 2016 at 10:45
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Terrapin Station
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Posted: July 23 2016 at 06:54 |
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I always think that answers to questions like this are best tailored to the individual we're talking about. It depends on what other sorts of music they're into, what their interests are, etc. I think it's usually best to gradually ease someone into something, going for stuff closest to the music they already love first. At least unless you know they're the sort of person who might dig culture shock, so to speak. Then give them something far removed from what they've experienced already.
Edited by Terrapin Station - July 23 2016 at 06:55
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BaldFriede
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Posted: July 23 2016 at 07:43 |
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I think five albums would not be enough; you would need ten to show all the variety of prog. So my choice would be:
King Crimson - Lizard
Van der Graaf Generator - Pawn Hearts
Hawkwind - Warrior on the Edge of Time
Amon Düül 2 - Tanz der Lemminge
Can - Tago Mago
Magma - Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandöh
Gong - You
Embryo - Embryos Reise
Guru Guru - Hinten
Tangerine Dram - Rubycon
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 BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue.
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Cristi
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Posted: July 23 2016 at 08:26 |
BaldFriede wrote:
I think five albums would not be enough; you would need ten to show all the variety of prog. So my choice would be:
King Crimson - Lizard
Van der Graaf Generator - Pawn Hearts
Hawkwind - Warrior on the Edge of Time
Amon Düül 2 - Tanz der Lemminge
Can - Tago Mago
Magma - Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandöh
Gong - You
Embryo - Embryos Reise
Guru Guru - Hinten
Tangerine Dram - Rubycon
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most of these albums would scare away a newbie to classic prog nice list, no doubt, but won't do much for a beginner IMO.
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micky
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Posted: July 23 2016 at 08:44 |
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hmmm for the thread win
1. Yes - Close to the Edge
for the wussy sympho English sh*t..
2. Osanna -Palepoli
for the red blooded sexual joy of life sh*t...
3. Magma - Kobaia
for the wacky, off the wall kind of 'progressive' sh*t
4. Amon Duul 2 - Yeti
for the drugged out freaky trippy sh*t..
5. Captain Beyond - s/t
for the pure joy of hearing an Englishman sing like some southern hayseed hick...with plenty of kickass guitars and drums. The quintessiential heavy prog album
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The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip
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micky
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Posted: July 23 2016 at 08:52 |
and for the bonus points as I take my victory lap for winnning the thread.. the album that has converted more non-prog fans to prog fans than any of you all sh*tty English suggestions... my running count over the years... 21 non proggers I've exposed... and 19 ADORED the album. Given away 6 copies of the album in fact... my favorite was some guy at my bar.. I ran home and grabbed my copy and gave it to him after he listened to it via youtube... it helps it is cheap to repurchase haha 6) 
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The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip
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Pastmaster
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Posted: July 23 2016 at 10:15 |
Terrapin Station wrote:
I always think that answers to questions like this are best tailored to the individual we're talking about. It depends on what other sorts of music they're into, what their interests are, etc. I think it's usually best to gradually ease someone into something, going for stuff closest to the music they already love first. At least unless you know they're the sort of person who might dig culture shock, so to speak. Then give them something far removed from what they've experienced already.
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I certainly agree. 
I know back when I got into prog, I was recommended Rush first due to my love of hard rock/heavy metal.
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5 Best Albums to get someone into Classic Prog?
