Italian progressive, 1973.

micky wrote: ^ nice.  Got the f**k out of dodge while you could ehh.   ^^^ great list David..  I might add one of my personal favs. A top 10'r fav of all RPI albums. What a dark and vicious little album. with more balls than the average prog band could dream of possessing..

 

Saperlipopette! wrote: Logan wrote: Saperlipopette! wrote: Logan wrote: Mascodagama wrote: Saperlipopette! wrote: Raff wrote: debunk the myth that prog is about elves, dragons and wizards. I've been checking out all things prog since my teens - now can someone please steer me towards some of these legendary progalbums about elves, dragons and wizards? I'd really like to hear at least one of them someday. You could try Blind Guardian's Nightfall In Middle Earth. I mean it's terrible, but you could. I'd rather play Bo Hansson's Music Inspired by Lord of the Rings or Uriah Heep's Demons and Wizards. Ah right thanks! I already got that Bo Hansson-album of course... I don't think the-prog myth stems from an instrumental album peaking at 34th in the UK and 154 in the US - or a 1998-album. So the guilty one has got to be that Heep-album I guess (although mainly heavy rock isn't it?)... which is actually in my vinyl-collection but I've never really listened to (another one bougth for less than the price of a pack of gum). Uriah Heep's Demons and Wizards is what I might call a Heavy Rock/ Progressive Rock Crossover. At the time I could imagine it being considered both heavy metal or hard rock and progressive rock (well, actually I still could and one might call it Heavy Prog). That said, I think that it played a bigger part in metal's fascination with such fantasy themes (very influential to heavy metal/metal album, I think). I was too young to appreciate Prog's heyday, but I think that the lines between Heavy Metal/ Hard Rock and progressive Rock were often blurry -- well, still can be. One reason why I think Prog is associated with fantasy, which some people think of as elves, dragons and wizards, is Roger Dean's album covers -- and Rick Wakweman's capes and the sci-fi-ish nerdiness of bands like Rush and Camel's "Nimrodel/The Procession/The White Rider" and the fey theatrics of bands such as Genesis. I could listen to Camel, Yes and Genesis and get this fantasy vibe no matter what the lyrics are. Jon Anderson himself has had elfin qualities to me, and Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull can have a lascivious fairy folkishness about him.   I think that the theatrics of Prog is part of what has built on that "myth". Yes I guess its mostly an understandable generalization by rockers preferring three chords in three minutes that probably never actually listened to prog - but dissmissed it alltogether based on the coverart, the capes and the fluteplayer with one leg raised... and then there's the title track of In the Court which was probably heard in 69/70 + perhaps Syd Barretts version of Pink Floyd

Yeah.... And there's something fantastical about Prog to me. I don't have statistics to back this up, but I could imagine a greater percentage of "Proggers" or fans of progressive electronic music such as Tangerine Dream playing Dungeons and Dragons and reading Tolkien than, say, fans of pop music such as Paul Anka or Ricky Martin.

Marillion named themselves after Tolkien's Silmarillion (their original name then shortened), and one of their popular songs is "Grendel". Then there's Gandalf and Gandalf's Project included in Crossover Prog and Gandalf's Fist included in Neo-Prog. I think of Tolkien and the like being referenced quite a bit in Neo-Prog type acts. And the whimsical nature of certain Prog (like Gong or various in Canterbury), and the unusual lyrics and themes can lends itself to a sort of fantasy sort of world more than standard blues rock or country music.

Prog quite often deals with mystery, mythology, legend, occult topics etc. and can be rather esoteric -- compare the themes in progressive acid folk such as Comus to songwriters such as Nicki Minaj (okay, a very lame comparison). Prog partially grew out of psychedelia, and psych often got into such themes. Proto Prog bands such as Cream (proto prog to me) were also delving into such fantasy and myth.

Prog has lent itself to fantasy more than most popular music or barroom rock, or lounge music, I think. A lot of Symphonic Metal, and other metal, of course, seems interested in such things. Prog is often not very down-to-earth and direct in subject matter. I would sooner expect some elements of fantasy in Prog Rock than in pub rock. EDIT: And of course Vander created a fantasy world for Magma's music, and something of a language to boot.

Edited by Logan - January 13 2019 at 13:21

Raff wrote: All great albums, but to me Arbeit Macht Frei stands head and shoulders above the rest. Every time I listen to it, I wonder at how fresh it still sounds. One of the very best debut albums ever without a doubt. I also endorse my other half's recommendation of Jumbo's Vietato ai minori di 18 anni?. It's a pity most people on this forum (and elsewhere for that matter) won't get to appreciate the lyrics, which alone are enough to debunk the myth that prog is about elves, dragons and wizards. "Specchio" is like a punch in the gut - a tale of loneliness and marginalization more direct and effective that anything Peter Hammill has ever written. Lewian wrote: Squonk19 wrote: I see London has changed to Italy, Lewian! Hope it goes well... Which part of Italia? Hope the wine is of a good standard! Bologna... I'm actually more of a foodie than a drinker but Bologna's quite right in that respect. Bologna is one of my favourite cities in Italy, and I hope one day I'll be able to visit it again. It is heartwarming to see that people are moving there from abroad, seen as my fellow Italians seem to think they are living in some sort of hell on earth.

I still hear often and love all of these. 

PFM

What an incredible year in Italy. I voted Banco, but could and maybe should have voted Area. The Jumbo, Battiato, Cervello and Dedalus albums are also close to my heart.

Edited by Mascodagama - January 15 2019 at 02:20

Lewian wrote: Some Italians are indeed very skeptical about why anyone would want to move to Italy, and they told me that it's great for visitors but it's something quite different to live and work there.

I can say the same thing about my country 

About living in Italy: it really depends on the place tgat you choose and the kind of life you want to live. Italy has beaches and islands, some close to Africa, but it has also the highest European mountains. There are hills, lakes, big cities and small towns. It really depends.

All of them!!!

Felona