Simple statistics, misconceptions disproved.

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thellama73 View Drop Down

Collaborator

Eclectic Prog Team

Joined: May 29 2006
Location: United States
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Points: 8368

Posted: December 17 2012 at 09:17

Snow Dog wrote:

Didn't anyone say Blue Oyster Cult?

Ah, that is a good point. They are pretty great.

moshkito

Forum Senior Member

Joined: January 04 2007
Location: Grok City
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Points: 7949

Posted: December 19 2012 at 08:08

presdoug wrote:

When thinking of great US bands, i think of Blue Cheer and Bloodrock, competition in heavy music, and of course Grand Funk, who were already mentioned

Shhhhhhhh!!!!!

We can not name half known and unknown American bands no one has ever heard ... specially if they came out of the Fillmore and Monterey days ...

Of course, you're right ... but then ... even mentioning Al Kooper or Paul Butterfield, Sugar Loaf, Ides of March, (heaven forbid!) Mason Profit ... and many others, around here, sends shivers up the progressive spine! And I haven't started on the SF scene, which was bigger than the midwest scene ... but I could add Sons of Champlin!

... none of the hits, none of the time ... now you know what the art is all about!
www.pedrosena.com

progbethyname View Drop Down

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Joined: July 30 2012
Location: HiFi Headmania
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Posted: December 19 2012 at 11:41

thellama73 wrote:

rogerthat wrote:

thellama73 wrote:

Zappa and Neil Young aren't bands (Neil Young is Canadian, anyway). I am not rally a fan of any of the others mentioned, although CC Revival are pretty good.

Each to his own then. The Doors were way more important to rock music than Aerosmith. I thought you said greatest and not just the one that's your favourite?

My point was that I initially thought it absurd that Aerosmith could call themselves that, but I was surprised to have such difficulty coming up with American bands I like better. I think it says something about the quality of American rock music compared to Britain. When I think rock bands, I immediately think of The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Dire Straits, Queen, etc.America does have some great solo artists, though. Hendrix, Dylan, Alice Cooper, Springsteen, Zappa, Beefheart, Warren Zevon, etc. Maybe something to do with our individualistic nature.

Oh Dire Straights is great. Love the album BROTHERS IN ARMS. Mark Knopler is an incredible guitarist and a very accomplished one at that. :)

Raving and drooling I leaned on his neck with a screeeeeeeamm! ;)

progbethyname View Drop Down

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Posted: December 20 2012 at 01:50

Dean wrote:

Sumdeus wrote:

I think there's no way anyone could seriously say Dream Theater are the greatest American band.

Agreed, career sales of 10 million, while being impressive, pale into insignificance compared to American bands like Boston, Journey, ZZ Top, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Green Day, Creed, Eagles, Guns & Roses, Bon Jovi etc. achieve that on a single album.

Fine, but do any of those bands come close to the sheer skill and musicianship of Dream Theater??
No freakin' way. Boston is pretty awesome, but not Dream Theater awesome.

Raving and drooling I leaned on his neck with a screeeeeeeamm! ;)

Dean

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Retired Admin and Amateur Layabout

Joined: May 13 2007
Location: Europe
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Posted: December 20 2012 at 02:47

progbethyname wrote:

Dean wrote:

Sumdeus wrote:

I think there's no way anyone could seriously say Dream Theater are the greatest American band.

Fine, but do any of those bands come close to the sheer skill and musicianship of Dream Theater??
No freakin' way. Boston is pretty awesome, but not Dream Theater awesome.

You're the one who brought up statistics as a criteria

How do you measure skill and musicianship and is that really an indication of "the greatest band in America"?

I would imagine popularity and influence are far more important.

"You know what uranium is, right?
It’s this thing called nuclear weapons.
And other things.
Like lots of things are done with uranium.
Including some bad things.
But nobody talks about that."

Sumdeus

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Joined: October 23 2012
Location: SF Bay Area
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Points: 828

Posted: December 20 2012 at 03:55

I don't really care about how technically proficient musicians are at playing their instruments if I find their music completely boring. To me bands like The Doors were just as proficient in the context of their time and were much more inventive and revolutionary with their music.

Edited by Sumdeus - December 20 2012 at 03:56

Sumdeus - surreal space/psych/prog journeys

Ivan_Melgar_M View Drop Down

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Symphonic Prog Specialist

Joined: April 27 2004
Location: Peru
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Points: 19447

Posted: January 11 2013 at 12:48

Thandrus wrote:

Did a simple search in ProgArchives symphonic prog section to see which country had the most symphonic prog bands. See results below in the photo attached.

I was as amazed as some of you might get. The results proved wrong the most rooted prog misconception according to which UK was the center of symphonic prog. As you can see here, there are almost two times more symphonic prog bands in US than in UK. Germany has just as many symphonic prog bands as UK. Could what we've thought all this time be just a matter of exposure? Share your thoughts, please!

P.S. This doesn't even take into the account all the Italian prog bands, who were mostly of symphonic variety.

Let me see:

The number of bands is not everything:
The big six bands are

King Crimson: Symphonic Debut (UK)
Yes Symphonic (UK)
Genesis Symphonic (UK)
ELP: Symphonic (UK)
Jethro Tull Folk (UK)
Pink Floyd Psych/Space (UK)

Most if the USA Symphopnic bands are post 70's, so in the 70's when the genre was young, UK wasc the center along with Italy, with the difference that most italian bands are one shot bands that released one album and vanished
Most German bands are derivative in different degrees
Italy has it's own genre.

So Yes, UK is the source and center of Symphonic.

Iván

PD: Just in case I have heard at least one album of each and every band listed in Symphonic

Edited by Ivan_Melgar_M - January 11 2013 at 12:51

Tapfret

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Eclectic & C/JRF Prog Team

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Posted: January 11 2013 at 13:14

Snow Dog wrote:

It makes sense that The US have more. Much huger population equals more varieties of everything under the sun.

Huger? That better not be a jab at our weight. Don't make us try to get up off this couch!

Edited by Tapfret - January 11 2013 at 13:15

Vampire in opposition.
Avant to suck your blood.

Ivan_Melgar_M View Drop Down

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Symphonic Prog Specialist

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Posted: January 11 2013 at 13:23

One more thing

Check how many bands claim to be influenced by Yes, Genesis, King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull or ELP.

I calculate around 90%, if not more.

Now tell me, ¿How many bands claim to have been influenced by bands from other nations?

The percentage will be incredibly smaller

Stool Man

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Posted: February 26 2013 at 11:41

Imaginary scenario:

How progressive rock might have developed without including the UK's bands (let's say, for example, that all the UK's psychedelic bands moved on to country rock by 1969, just like the US ones did)

1960s:

Miles Davis, Frank Zappa & Brian Wilson inspire a generation of US prog bands.

Daevid Allen, Konny Plank, & Christian Vander inspire a generation of European bands

1970s:

Jazz/Fusion rules in the US

Everyone else flies away to Planet Gong.

Which is pretty much what happened anyway!

rotten hound of the burnie crew

SquonkHunter View Drop Down

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Joined: January 22 2013
Location: Texas, by God!
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Posted: March 15 2013 at 06:35

presdoug wrote:

When thinking of great US bands, i think of Blue Cheer and Bloodrock, competition in heavy music, and of course Grand Funk, who were already mentioned

Growing up in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area in the early 70s, Bloodrock was a huge local favorite. Always nice to see hometown boys make good. Clap

"You never had the things you thought you should have had and you'll not get them now..."