Nobuo Uematsu for...symphonic prog? I got no clue.

I'm really at a lost as to which genre he belongs in. Obviously progressive electronic is stretching it, and crossover prog seems a tad insane. Prog related would be a good bet, but that seems to be the catch-all pool for 'bands we like, but aren't progressive in their own right' and usually get by on influence alone. Uematsu wasn't very influential to any prog rock movements. He did spearhead the Black Mages, but that's not too influential, either (well, not in general. Lots of idiots wanted to make metal covers of game songs after they bopped around - but before, too). 

But if you're going to include the band that performed a fully progressive album (Black Mages debut), you'd think you'd include the guy who...I dunno...wrote and recorded all the songs in the first place? I'm not doing the X versus Y thing, I'm just a-sayin'. 

Here are some of his recordings. Yep, it's probably going to hurt your ears, but he did pioneer the 'art' in game music. He is so unfathomably influential in the field of soundtrack and video game soundtrack material it's not funny. Without this guy our newest games like Mass Effect might have the Pac-Man theme instead of the progressive ambient it does have. 

The Final Fantasy 6 soundtrack is diverse. It's also probably the best argument for his inclusion. Here are some facts about it:

It's 187 minutes in length, with song durations ranging from thirty seconds to SEVENTEEN MINUTES. 

Here's "Dancing Mad" which is arguably more 'prog' than the 12 minute Black Mages version. It's seventeen minutes in length, features multiple parts, and contains unusual time signatures. If this isn't prog in some sense, what good is this f**kin' site, anyway? 

The songs range between piano pop, ragtime, blues, jazz, and a goddamn opera. 

Here's the goddamn opera: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltoc0XD5waI

Don't laugh! those warbles were intended to be voices. It was the Super Nintendo. We aren't arguing if it sounds good or not. Here's a more expansive version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaavtbeP2g0

There's also more 'rocking' music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYLvj5WrKAQ.

I don't know what to say. It's conceptual - it's tied to a plot and tells of the character's issues instrumentally. If you disagree, all I gotta ask is: Is Camel's Snow Goose a concept album? This is fairly well the same exact situation. I'm not a worshiper, I don't think everything he did was complex or intricate or all that rot. I don't love or even like everthing he did. I DO however think enough of it was to include the guy. All the stuff from the Final Fantasy 6 soundtrack points to fullblown prog in some form or another for these here raisins:

-Unusual album duration

-Complex song structures/time signatures

-Extended suites/unusual song lengths

-Diverse, influential song collections

-His other band is already in PA, so there's gotta be something tied in with that. 

-Conceptual themes

-An attempt to push a genre into 'loftier' more 'thought-provoking' heights, which is EXACTLY what Yes and Genesis were trying to do with rock music, right? Why should he be completely ignored just because he was doing what Yes did, for game soundtracks and whatever you call it?

-Adding heavy classical elements, which, if I'm not mistaken, is exactly what ELP were notable for, right? This guy's classical composing and studying is at least on par with theirs, right? Am I nuts?

The guy's done nearly everything, musically - rock, blues, metal, jazz, funk, whatever. And I know, it's not what he does, it's how he does it. Some of his main influences were Jimi Hendrix and late 1960's/early 1970's rock bands. So far I've only been showing you music from one 'album'. 

Does this have any prog value whatsoever? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7wJ8pE2qKU That's his most well-known work. It is another showcase of his attempted fusion of rock and classical. Listen to the opening, that's highly reminiscent of Purple Haze, isn't it? Listen to the alternative melodic break at approximately the 3 minute mark, the slow build, the crash, the shifts and changes and motifs and what have you. Isn't that the least bit complicated, non-commercial, experimental, or at the very least prog in some way? 

What the hell is this, anyway? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xA_4I6SY0FY

I've done most all I can. If this post doesn't get the guy in, I doubt anything will. He's done everything from religious prayer to prog rock epic, from folk blues to celtic orchestra. His influences take into consideration world music, classical, rock, jazz, fusion, etc. ELP were probably an influence, and Hendrix definitely was. What do you folks say? I think I've done a good job representing him, and I haven't seen him personally proffered up for suggestion, personally (only his metal band). So, what do you say?