21st Century Prog Among the Giants of the 1970s

With that said I had a similar feeling about Wobbler's From Silence To Somewhere.

Agreed! I think this is exactly why the newer stuff will never generate the loyalty that the old "classics" do. Thanks!

We live in good times for prog. The height of the 70s giants may seem unreachable for modern day mortals, yet some albums of the post-classic era can be numbered among the classics:

Discipline - Unfolded Like Staircase

Maudlin of the Well - Part the Second

Big Big Train - English Electric (Part One) (and maybe Grimspound)

Anekdoten - Until All the Ghosts Are Gone

Wobbler - From Silence to Somewhere (time will tell, but this may be a good candidate as well)

Just to mention a few...

Personally while i love the golden era and consistently dig deeper, i'm in love with modern progressive ideas and don't find any battle amongst the decades. It's ALL good in my world and i hold no particular fondness for the golden age because i didn't experience it in its day. 

Just a few disconnected thoughts. I love modern music for sure, but there is  something special about the early 70s in rock, not just prog rock.  It isn't "nostalgia for my youth" in my case because I was too young to be involved with that era.

Generally, albums today are often so long, so loud, and have that modern production that I can't really appreciate as much. When I think of the classics, I like the fact that they are so much shorter, so much warmer, full of space.  Not every song was intended to be "epic of epics!"  Think about certain short tracks on Meddle or Atom Heart just as an example.  They seemed like some guys just kicking back and playing without it having to be some huge thing.  Maybe it was just capturing the feel of a morning in the country.   And sometimes the smaller pre-internet world and regional sound vibe is helpful...British albums often *sounded* very British, same with Italian/French. Some still do, but some are more affected by outside influences/generic/samey songwriting and perhaps I like those more distinct regional vibes.  Then when these bands did try swinging for the fences of longer "epics," the tracks were paced and constructed, but still warm and inviting. Piano. Quiet spots. I dunno. I have no real answer, except that I feel the reason is more about album sound and vibe than nostalgia or changing the world, for me.  Warm is the word that keeps coming back to me. Early 70s albums felt like candlelight while modern albums feel very 6000K icy-blue if you're familiar with the Kelvin scale. 

Again, I enjoy new music too so this is no indictment of modern music and, hopefully, isn't taken as negative.

Well said! I am fortunate enough to have the time and wherewithall to celebrate 21st Century artists--partly because I want to do whatever I can to perhaps promote them, partly because their music and talents inspire me--but I've also discovered, thanks to PA, so many incredibly talented and worthy artists from the 70s that flew under the radar. Sad!  

I agree, Wiz(ar)d Kid! But, like I said in the original post, a few--and i mean a very few --albums have presented themselves in this century who seem to qualify for that "innovative" label. That said, it is really difficult to be innovative with a limited number of sounds human instruments and voices can produce. The Fairlight CMI, drum machines, Berlin School sequencers, sampling, allowed for innovation--but in a direction that alienated us because it was de-humanizing the music. I think we progheads relish--even revere--the capacity for humans to synthesize, create, and perform, but only when it is human skill that is the ultimate mover behind the sound (i.e., technical skill, mental "mathematical" focus, "mind-blowing" creativity).

I agree with regards to H.C.E.--as well as with several other Wilson projects (Fear of a Blank Planet and other earlier individual PT songs). In my opinion, Steven has occasionally been able to capture the zeitgeist of our times like no other prog artist--and I say this even though I am NOT a lyrics guy! Sometimes the things that are said in a song just pierce through my deafness. 

Not sure i agree with that totally. Remember that many bands of that era haven't become well known or respected until the modern era. In effect it took 40 years for the majority of golden era prog to become reverred as much as they have.

Same goes for music of the 80s, 90s and the current era.

There are bands that are just as innovative now that are 40 years ahead of their day just like those bands were and most music lovers only now catching up to the golden era won't recognize their true genius. Bands like Secret Chiefs 3, Satanique Samba Trio, Atman, Azure Emote, Bumblefoot, Dodheimsgard, Unexpect, Jean Louis, Stabscotch just to name a very few are utterly unique and have forged exciting new musical paths in the modern era. Buried beneath the massive wealth of music and ignored by those who are stuck in retro mode, they probably won't ever be recognized for their awesomeness until they are re-examined decades down the road. It's weird how this works.

While new instrumentation was a factor in the old days, there are infinately more sounds available on a modern synthesizer than the entire music universe of yestercentury. Still, i get your drift. The first wave of prog is special because it created that whole new world of possibilities and in the beginning there was less competition.