I don't like Neo Prog, change my mind

Categories or subgenres or whatever you want to call them are good for figuring out what you like and can give you a rough idea(sometimes very rough)as to what something sounds like. I think sometimes people use it as a crutch though to avoid discovering something they might otherwise possibly be into. I'm guilty of this myself as I tend to stay away from stuff labelled "RIO" or "avant" as well as maybe a few other genres. So it because a matter of convenience but it can be taken too far imo. If you think you might like something listen to it on youtube regardless of how it's labelled here. 

Edited by AFlowerKingCrimson - April 04 2020 at 09:48

Cristi wrote: Catcher10 wrote: softandwet wrote: Can Phideaux be considered as a Neo Prog band? And there is your problem......Who cares!! Do you like Phideaux? If you do then what is the problem? Why insert a musical category buffer that not many people even consider a genre anymore. So many people lose out on simply sitting down and listen to music without having to FIRST categorize it, then decide if its worthy of a spin. Honestly, neo-prog is not a genre of music but a period in time and that period has come and gone.  I would not say it's gone, otherwise how can anyone explain the rise of Polish neo-prog. Even Riverside were influenced by it earlier in their career, their early albums.

Catcher10 wrote: softandwet wrote: Can Phideaux be considered as a Neo Prog band? And there is your problem......Who cares!! Do you like Phideaux? If you do then what is the problem? Why insert a musical category buffer that not many people even consider a genre anymore. So many people lose out on simply sitting down and listen to music without having to FIRST categorize it, then decide if its worthy of a spin. Honestly, neo-prog is not a genre of music but a period in time and that period has come and gone.

Right on! 

softandwet wrote: Can Phideaux be considered as a Neo Prog band?

softandwet wrote: I think I don't like Neo Prog because it is way too outdated and has a very 80-90ish sound : too much clearness, a lack of emotion, a digital sound (not an analogic one). This is definitely not my cup of tea for a 70's prog lover as me but the fact is that I don't dislike 80's and 90's music but I like it punk, so the Neo Prog domain is maybe too Pop for me, too clean. I don't know. But I feel like making a mistake when I see the high ratings of Neo Prog albums such as IQ's, Marillion's or Flower King's.

A lack of emotion isn't how I'd describe a lot of Neo-Prog, it can be very dramatic and emotional. I'm a very reserved type of person and am uncomfortable expressing my emotions in public (at this forum I feel a little more comfortable opening up), so the emotionality of much Neo-Prog was rather off-putting to me. And I'm not a big fan of symphonic Prog or most crossover prog, or melodic rock/AOR or arena rock type things, so it wasn't a natural fit.

When you posted, I assumed that you would have tried to explore the PA category quite a bit already, and we'd be looking for more obscure bands and lesser-known albums. Christi mentioned this above, but see: http://www.progarchives.com/subgenre.asp?style=18

Marillion, IQ, Pendragon, Arena, and Magenta are some of the biggest names. Sometimes, as others have mentioned, that which is included in Neo_Prog here I would have thought of as Crossover first -- the categories cross over, as it does with symphonic, heavy prog etc.,that's kind of prog's nature. Like with every category at PA, there is music included that I enjoy (there would be a lot if I took the time).

I suggest going through that Neo-Prog page I linked to above, and check out the top Neo_prog albums chart: CLICK HERE FOR LIST. Then maybe you can tell us which of those bands and albums you've explored. Also,maybe list your top ten favourite bands so that we can find ones that should appeal to the same tastes. I do think it's more up to you to change your own mind if you want to, you do that with research, trying to understand it, and listening to plenty.

While I'm sure given enough time,and that you are a good listener and commenting on the suggestions thoroughly, people could find music you like in the category, that wouldn't make a fan of the category. Well, it could lead to you finding more and more to like. But you have to be willing to put the time and effort into it.Obviously it helps if you already know how it is we define it at this site and know representative of it albums. I actually think it's a category I could like a lot more than I used to think I could (I did explore it quite well, but my tastes were narrower back then, and in fact more experimental/ out there than they generally are now).

Looking at the rateyourmusic Neo-Prog chart: CLICK , I like one of the big names, Twelth Night (I enjoyed Fact and Fiction). EDIT: a reason why I like rate your music charts is because they classify by the album rather than by act -- acts might show a diversity of styles across albums, but at PA we can't label or multi-label albums (except in reviews and bios) and just label bands.

One that was once recommended to me that I enjoyed was The Watch (helped that I like Genesis). My favourite was Discipline in Neo-Prog, but then it got moved to Symphonic Prog. I liked Unfolded Like Staircase, which is Symph, but I guess it's Disciplines debut which might be best described as Neo-Prog. I like various Marillion, and have found IQ that I like....


Edited by Logan - April 04 2020 at 09:17

Can Phideaux be considered as a Neo Prog band?

Personally I consider Neal Morse either Neo Prog or Crossover prog. I think he fits there better than symphonic prog imo.

Personally this has become my all time favourite genre, and I can easily tell, what goes into it and what not, when I'm listening to new stuff.

Tom Ozric wrote: I’m not a massive fan of Neo, but I love Pendragon, Spock’s Beard and Magenta.