Did the 70's prog bands go too far?

Nothing is by accident. It was meant to be. I first heard Tangerine Dream's and Goblin's music in movies, and liked both, before I knew what "progressive rock" was. In high school, the floodgates were opened by two friends (not mutual) who introduced me to Tangerine Dream and Rush. 

I first dove headlong into the electronic sector (Jarre, Synergy, Vangelis, etc.) and then the "rock" sector (Yes, Genesis, King Crimson).

When I got my first Wayside Music mail order catalog, I really went nuts. Then I started buying sampler tapes from Doug Larson, which led to me buying CDs from him (I was already buying from Syn-phonic).

I first heard Camel (became a fan) and Nektar (did not) by buying some old records in a shop. I also visited Tower Records, which was an hour-and-a-half drive for me, semi-regularly. I blew a lot of dough on music!

You have hit the nail on the head right there . But you forgot the little puff before hand lol .

Jethro Tull- Thick as a brick  It is a concept album covering an entire album with one song.

"          "  - A Passion Play - Similar to above with just one track over an entire album but a different concept.

Nektar - Remember the Future      Another concept album with just one song about a blind boy who sees into the future(or something like that).

Yes- Tales From Topographic Oceans        Four songs over a double album.

Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway   Not so much the music itself since it's mostly shorter songs but I can't think of a weirder concept in all of prog.

Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells (one track spanning an entire album but in two parts). His other stuff from the seventies would qualify too but this is the one I'm most familiar with.

Also albums by Gong and Magma. Of course there are plenty of other examples including but not limited to Grobschnitt, Triumvirat, Eloy, Banco, Caravan, Can, Tangerine Dream, etc. 

All you have to do is look at what these bands were doing and it was really strange at times and not just for it's time but even by today's standards. These bands were trying to be so far out it's no wonder very few of them were played on the radio. Today many prog bands seem to focus on shorter songs or at least songs under ten minutes long. Not back then. Whole album sides seemed much more common with strange album covers and concepts. I'm used to it but I can imagine younger folks these days thinking it was strange. Also, I wonder how much an influence drugs were on some of these ideas and music. It sure seems that way at times. The idea seemed to have been to go against the grain and just be totally different than most mainstream music. 

Albums like the Lamb, Tales, and Remember the Future have always been viewed as over-pretentious, ridiculous and unnessecary by the general music press - which is probably true - but that doesn't alter the fact that we prog fans here love it, and if those albums and others had not been made, this website wouldn't be here. They were and still are essential to the creation of progressive rock itself, and thus the less pretentious, more sensible prog that less pretenious, more sensible people like you enjoy.

One more point: just because prog rock maybe "went too far" and progressed so much, perhaps, that it became a bit ridiculous, doesn't nessecarily mean it's not good music. You may never have thought that, but to those who do; consider my point.