oh christ there are progressive elements in everything, let it go

Aaron

Syzygy wrote: Let's see - 2 double concept albums, all really good musicians (especially The Ox), synth loops based on Terry Riley's 'A Rainbow in Curved Air' - can't see anything prog about that at all.

Hey! The Beatles included backwards tape loops in some of their songs. Maybe we should consider every band that experimented with sounds progressive then we wouldn't be having these discussions .

Bring on the Beach Boys...

Certif1ed wrote: Bring on the Beach Boys...

Now you mention it, Smiley Smile should be at home in any progger's collection.

I think "Who's Next" falls into the area Dick Heath has been promoting for some time, where we should include in the site one off prog or prog influenced albums by bands who are not prog.

Great album by the way, I call that a bargain, the best I ever had! 

Easy Livin wrote: I think "Who's Next" falls into the area Dick Heath has been promoting for some time, where we should include in the site one off prog or prog influenced albums by bands who are not prog. Great album by the way, I call that a bargain, the best I ever had!

Agreed!

It was also so in vogue to have more complicated rock also and everyone tried at it. Outside of Entwistle , although all good players, there were no real virtuoso. Moon was a fabulous player and Townsend also correct but they were too busy putting on a show to be as virtuoso like Mister Cool himself Entwistle. And with Daltrey sending his mike in the lightspots , someone had to keep this tight.

Another thing making this album a little endearing to progheads is that this is the remains of another rock opera called Lighthouse. With Tommy just before and Quadrophenia next , one would have a case for partial inclusion of The Who discography in the Archives. That was three rock opera in a row and if that is no concept albums.....

Cluster One wrote:

Just finished listening to "Who's Next". And although it is obvious this classic rock band are not traditionally considered 'progressive', this album does have some progressive elements on it. In particular 'Won't Get Fooled Again' and maybe 'Baba O' Riley'.

Am I completely off base here? Does anyone else see any progressive elements in THE WHO's discography?

I have 'who's next'

pretty good album,there were so many musical styles at the time,you can't actually put an accurate label on any bands music...Some call Pink Floyd ''Progressive'' i think not some how....Same with the Who...They do have the odd moment on these later classics...Do love the way Pete townsend hooked up his Hammond to the ARP '2600' synth...Sounds fantastic..

Emperor wrote: The Who was the band which released the 1st Rock-Opera in the world!

Oh no it's not!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (And for the umpteenth time of saying)

Townshend acknowledges the Pretty Thing's S.F Sorrow as his inspiration. Keith West almost got in before with Teenage Opera (singles were released but the whole album then took 25 years to be released) -  a project with members of Tomorrow (including Steve Howe). And if the Ray Davis and co. hadn't had legal problems, who knows if the Kinks would have got their opera out first...............................

Townshend's  A Quick One (Whilst He's Away) was recorded at the insistence of manager Kit Lambert, who thought that LP recording was too short, but PT only had fragments of songs to record. By sticking those bits together, Quick One evolved (and let's face it Francis The Mute, with it cut and paste attitudes show Mars Volta have  adopted the same principles making magna opi). Tommy was a significant advance, by cut and pasting whole tunes together. By the time of the Lifehouse project, (from which Who's Next was "salvaged"), Peter Townshend's composition and arrangement skills were considerably more sophisticated. Lifehouse was/is a play with music and originally performed at London's Old Vic Theatre in the early 70's. Eventually BBC Radio 3 broadcast Lifehouse with modern musical accompaniment by Townshend at the end of the 90's. Subsequently Townshend issued a multi-CD set, Lifehouse Project, of the demos, the BBC Radio 3 play recording, CD of classical influences and a double set of live performances of the Lifehouse/Who's Next tunes (some greatly changed in arrangement). If you can afford it  check it out to hear the tunes of Who's Next  (and note some Lifehouse demos ended up on later Who albums through to Who Are You?), put into their original context on the first two CDs of the Lifehouse Project  box set.

Quadraphenia I've long heard as Townshend/The Who doing prog - it is very hard to escape that the rules of prog at the time are being applied, e.g. the long instrumental keyboard tune are prog rock. So again, if and when that section "Bands with  one- or two-off prog albums" is created, this is my candidate album from the Who.

Dick Heath wrote:   Quadraphenia I've long heard as Townshend/The Who doing prog - it is very hard to escape that the rules of prog at the time are being applied, e.g. the long instrumental keyboard tune are prog rock. So again, if and when that section "Bands with the one or two-off prog albums" is created, this is my candidate album from the Who.

At least there must be three canditade-albums by The Who: Tommy, Who's Next and Quadrophenia + Live At The Carnegie Hall too... ;-) 

Quadrophenia has some very prog moments. Its one of those albums, like Zeps 'Houses of the Holy' which I think sits comfatably on the cusp between heavy rock and prog rock.

Great album and very good film.

Blacksword wrote: Quadrophenia has some very prog moments. Its one of those albums, like Zeps 'Houses of the Holy' which I think sits comfatably on the cusp between heavy rock and prog rock.

I think, Houses Of The Holy lies much further from Prog than Quadrophenia. There's even another Zepp's album closer to Prog - I'm talking about In Through The Out Door

 these guys are prog. Maybe no prog all the way, but I love them anyway. they have the elements of a prog band.

ROCK ON PETE!

RIP Keith 

In particular 'Won't Get Fooled Again' and maybe 'Baba O' Riley'.

I think there's a difference between something being inventive (like Townshend messing around with keyboards) and being progressive.  The main riff's aren't really developed throughout the song like in most prog eg. time sigs and such.  I would say they're better characterised as jams than anything else.  Awesome songs though.

The Who=The greatest Rock'n'roll bad of all time. They influenced prog. No dought about that. I sent a request to get them added as proto-prog, but haven't gotten a response.

Emperor wrote: Proggers, open your eyes abd ears! The Who was the band which released the 1st Rock-Opera in the world! The Who have performed the real multipart suite for almost 10 minutes (A QUICK ONE SUITE), their next album was already the conceptual one (1967) and their 4th release was Rock Opera TOMMY (1969), which is absolute early Progressive (Not Proto-Prog, just Progressive!)... I even don't speak about WHO'S NEXT and their greatest (IMO) masterpiece QUADROPHENIA (which is the perfect Progressive record)!

I hear a lot of Quadrophenia in the Lamb Lies Down on Broadway so I think it influenced the Genesis album.  I think that there are progressive elements to The Who, like someone mentioned the Riley influence, the opera and large scale concept albums.  By and large though, they are a straight up hard-rock band.  I think an avenue worth exploring is the R and B roots of rock and how prog wants to move away from them. It seems the more R and B something is, the less prog it is. Also the more it moves away from popular song structures, esp. aaba and abacab, the more prog it becomes. 

This "progressive" word BLOWS!

The presense of (highly subjective) "progressive elements" should justify the inclusion of hundreds, (if not thousands) of hitherto unlisted artists.

Will the madness never cease?

whatever....

Don't understand. Everybody discuss whether The Who deserves to appear as a Proto Prog band, but The Beatles , Radiohead ,  Queen (???) and Iron Butterfly !!! have enough merits to do so.... something's wrong somewhere..

I think Tommy, Quadrophenia, and Who's Next are more than enough reasons to consider them as a Prog influenced band or Proto Prog. As a progger, I think these albums may completely fulfill any progger's expectations.  

These guys deserve our attention..

The Who are a great rock band but they are not progressive.If a band dips their toe into the world of prog briefly do we then consider them prog? surely not.If so I want Wishbone Ash in here.

Cluster One wrote: Just finished listening to "Who's Next". And although it is obvious this classic rock band are not traditionally considered 'progressive', this album does have some progressive elements on it. In particular 'Won't Get Fooled Again' and maybe 'Baba O' Riley'. Am I completely off base here? Does anyone else see any progressive elements in THE WHO's discography?

Maybe they kinda .. ventured into it during the 70s seen as Progressive rock was the 'thing' in the 70s :) Their 60s stuff is very Mod-like though :)

I love Keith Moon soooo much ...      

:D

He's a cootiepie ...

I never knew Pete wrote most of their songs.  

Yeah, you're right. They probably decided to go Prog because a wider audience would listen to them. Just like Phil Collins and his later Genesis.

DAMN YOU COLLINS!!!

x

Hehe .. wasn't it Keith Moon (cootiepie) who said to Jimmy Page, your band will go down like a led zeppelin ... ;)

x

Moonie is the best. I worship him.

BTW, I'm listening to Live at Leeds right now, and can't but to 'air-drum'.

I saw My Generation on telly this morning.

I love Keith sooo much :P

he's sexy, and witty .. probably better than Roger and Pete.