Prog Artists Most Often Compared to Each Other

1. Yes/Genesis (especially from 1970 - 1973)

Interesting and informative discussion so far man. Right on.

It's worth noting that artists can also be contrasted to each other. For example, I've seen A Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers described as the antithesis of Supper's Ready. I've also seen Van der Graaf Generator, in particular Pawn Hearts, described as being for people to whom Gentle Giant is not out-there enough.

Mascodagama wrote: Awesoreno wrote: Return to Forever and Mahavishnu Orchestra get compared often when talking about fusion groups to listen to. ...and yet they are nothing alike. Imagine being told this, checking out RTF and thinking “not my cuppa” and never bothering with Mahavishnu

richardh wrote: Other Gentle Giant and PFM

moshkito wrote: richardh wrote: Other Gentle Giant and PFM Hi, I always thought that PFM's vocals were more "classical" than they were "modern" like GG's vocals were. GG's vocals remind me of a lot of the classical music that was going around, where the idea was strictly odd anything they could get their fingers and mouths on ... however, I really think that GG's biggest point was using these within a rock context, since no one had really done anything remotely as close to it. It could also be said that some of PFM's vocals were also much more lyrical and aligned with strands of pop music, something which was/is huge in Italy.

Cristi wrote: I've never heard people compare Dream Theater and Porcupine Tree, very different bands IMO. What about The Beatles and the Stones? The mainstream music media even invented some conflicts between the two bands, probably to sell more magazines, rather lame if you ask me. I remember talking about this with my older brother, he preferred the Stones to the Beatles (although he loved Abbey Road a lot) and I preferred the Beatles to the Stones.

No Starcastle comments yet?

I think we're still misinterpreting this. It's what bands are often part of a "which is better" or "is more representative of a quintessential sound" comparison. Starcastle would rarely ever win in that battle against Yes for most people under this scenario. Can their sound be compared based on similarities? Yes, absolutely. But no one would ask "who better represents," say, "symphonic prog better, Yes or SC?" Yes has had more of an impact, has way more albums, and clearly directly influenced SC. You may like SC more, but would you recommend them a newcomer to prog? Would you list them as a band that someone may know when trying to describe the classic prog era? No. Genesis and Yes will come up every time (along with KC, Rush, and usually PF).

Awesoreno wrote: ... I would say GG employs more baroque techniques than modern. Especially in those vocal passages. Well, I suppose I hear a lot in GG, maybe some modern and romantic era included :). PFM I mostly hear the romantic influence.