Biggest 70's prog bands

BaldJean wrote: Blacksword wrote: BaldJean wrote: Blacksword wrote: BaldJean wrote: not having any German bands on the list is pretty unrealistic; at least Amon Düül 2, Can and Tangerine Dream have to be on it. how anyone can put Rush on the list is beyond me; they did not even exist in the 70s. my list would be like this:1) Genesis2) ELP3) Yes4) Pink Floyd5) King Crimson6) Gentle Giant7) Can8) Magma9) Tangerine Dream10) Amon Düül 2 I think the thread starter was referring to the most popular prog bands, not necessarily the 'best' ... Tangerine Dream is a good call, they were pretty big, if I remember rightly, but Can and Amon Duul 2? Were they bigger than Rush, even in the 70's?? I wouldn't have thought so. I did name only popular bands. Tangerine Dream, Can and Amon Düül 2  had a popularity that went far beyond Germany.Can is one of the most influential bands EVER, outside Germany as well; they were as influential as Pink Floyd.and Amon Düül 2 also had big success in France and England; they couldn't have toured there else, as they did several times. I am not pulling the names out of an hat I'm not suggesting you are pulling names out of a hat. I'm merely suggesting that bands like Can and Amon Duul, although influential and popular, were not premier league prog bands, in terms of record sales. The thread is about the 'Biggest' 70's prog bands. Whether the bands on the list were the best is another discussion. Rush did very much exist in the 70's. I know you dont rate them very highly, but they were at their most 'prog' at that time, and albums like Fly By Night and 2112 went gold in the US alone. By the time they were touring Hemispheres in 1978, they were packing out arenas. I think that would earn them aplace on the 'Biggest' bands list, above those you mentioned. it very much depends on how you define "premier league". if you go by record sales they probably weren't.; they never were chart busters. but have you any idea how many bands claim to have been heavily influenced by Can? that I think is more important than record sales

I agree whole heartedly about the importance of influence. Many of those German bands are cited as influences on many different types of music, including some of the early 80's synth pop that emerged in the UK.

The term 'premier league' in the context of this thread, I took to mean the biggest sellers, and you make good points about the size and nature of the markets.

As an after thought, I added Hawkwind to my list. I was surpised they were missing from the list in the OP. Certainly in the UK, Hawkwind albums were charting quite high up to and including Warrior. The Calvert fronted albums also made top 40 ( I think) Their influence has also been broad, outside the prog field.

I don't love tham all, so it will be easy for me to rank them!
1.Pink Floyd.
2.Yes.
3.Genesis.
4.Gentle Giant.
5.Camel.

I'm not interested in the others very much. Where are Premiata Forneria Marconi and Banco del Mutuo Soccorso in the question?

Edited by Jake Kobrin - January 20 2010 at 21:58

My goes like this: 

Edited by darksideof - January 20 2010 at 23:50

> Genesis
> Pink Floyd
> Yes
> Jethro Tull
> Van der Graaf Generator
> PFM
> Tangerine Dream
> Camel
> Gong
> The Trip

Edited by thellama73 - January 27 2010 at 23:27

1  -  Rush