Who are "The Beatles" of Prog?

chopper wrote: Svetonio wrote: Beach Boys might be a good equivalent of the Beatles, but for some unfathomable reason, they are not on the PA proto-prog / prog related list of the bands But they're not a prog band by any stretch of the imagination, so they can't be the Beatles of prog.

Not even proto prog?


Edited by SteveG - September 05 2014 at 08:34

Svetonio wrote: Beach Boys might be a good equivalent of the Beatles, but for some unfathomable reason, they are not on the PA proto-prog / prog related list of the bands

Hmmm, Pet Sounds not Proto? Does anyone know why?


Edited by SteveG - September 05 2014 at 08:32

I'm in the camp of those who consider Floyd to be progressive (small 'p') but not Prog (people have different views on that, I know). But if one does allow for Floyd to be included as a Prog band, then they probably would be the closest to The Beatles. In the 70's, every album was greeted by much hoopla (radio went crazy, and everyone knew about the new Floyd album, whether you liked them or not). And they seemed to be respected by the critics, each album was something of an event (sort of like Zeppelin). That wasn't so much the case with Genesis or Crimson. I even remember TV commercials for some of their albums when they came out (definitely The Wall). Never my cup of tea, Floyd, but no denying that they were huge as far as having an impact on a pop (rock)culture.


Edited by bucka001 - September 05 2014 at 06:25

Nogbad_The_Bad wrote: There is no prog equivalent of the Beatles.

True dat. With each record from the Rubber Soul/Revolver period forward, they were out on their own doing stuff that hadn't been done. I mean, I love Piper (just about the only Floyd I love) and I own S F Sorrow, but neither were quite like Sgt Pepper from the same year. And each Beatles album from the mid 60s on is widely considered a groundbreaking classic. You couldn't say that for Yes, Genesis, Crimson, ELP, etc, even during their heydays. Jaxon of VdGG once was quoted as saying that once Sgt Pepper came out, it opened everyone up to the possibilities of what could be done with rock music, it was a cultural event (Hammill said the same about the song "Tomorrow Never Knows"). That couldn't be said for anything put out by Genesis, Yes, et al. (well, maybe for ITCOTCK, but after that KC was on the runmill just like all the other Prog acts). So, there is no Beatles equivalent in Prog.

The Moody Blues or King Crimson

NYSPORTSFAN wrote: Catcher10 wrote: I am not a Beatles fan, everyone knows that....Had their time and they are done, long time ago. They could not handle the fame and fortune...I agree with moshkito especially his first sentence. It seems what most bands credit them with is song writing influence, they wrote great pop songs....Genesis wrote great pop songs too as did Marillion. Who are the Beatles of hip-hop, R&B, disco, country...polka? It's unfortunate you are not a Beatles fan. You lose any credibility IMO if you and Moskito don't think The Beatles were the most important formative influences on the majority early progressive rock musicians. Here is a comment from Steve Hackett of Genesis and let's be honest there are many who feel this way. “I was a huge Beatles fan, and they really set the template for what we called ‘progressive’ music,” says Steve Hackett, legendary guitarist for progressive rock kings Genesis from 1971 to 1977. “The most interesting period of the Beatles for musicians is basically ‘Revolver’ through ‘Sgt. Pepper’ through ‘Magical Mystery Tour.’ That was the golden period for production, ideas, the beginning of what was being called ‘progressive.’ Much of what followed with British music was in the wake of that. I owe a huge debt to the Beatles.”

Kati wrote: I truly believe Helter Skelter was the first metal song ever written :)

Kati wrote: The Beatles were the core of prog, the white album alone, no record label to date would take the risk to release an album like that. Even before prog had a meaning in the moozik world, I truly believe Helter Skelter was the first metal song ever written :)

Well said Kati

The Beatles were the Beatles, no band can be compared to them, really :)

There really is no "Beatles of prog" imo. However, the closest would be Gentle Giant. They were around for only ten years which is only a little bit longer than the Beatles but what GG did in that short period of time is very similar and equally groundbreaking(but in a different way)to the fab four. YES would also be a contender although their longetivity is more akin to a prog equivalent to the Rolling Stones(again imo).