Printed From: Progarchives.com
Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Top 10s and lists
Forum Description: List all your favourites here
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=76484 Printed Date: August 12 2025 at 03:04 Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.01 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Under Appreciated Prog KeyboardistsPosted By: topographicbroadways
Subject: Under Appreciated Prog Keyboardists
Date Posted: March 07 2011 at 12:34
Same as the under-appreciated Guitarists thread nominate the keyboardists you think have slipped under the radar a bit too much.
For me Mathew Fisher from Procol Harum is a criminally under-appreciated Hammond player. His subtle touch just makes Procol Harum's music magical.
and of course Rick Wright (RIP) was an incredible player who was often forgotten
-------------
Replies: Posted By: Vibrationbaby
Date Posted: March 07 2011 at 12:52
Snce you didn't say underated I'll offer a response. Laszlo Benko of Omega fame. Next to guitar players keyboard players are a dime a dozen. You have to be exceptional.
-------------
Posted By: topographicbroadways
Date Posted: March 07 2011 at 12:54
Vibrationbaby wrote:
Snce you didn't say underated I'll offer a response. Laszlo Benko of Omega fame. Next to guitar players keyboard players are a dime a dozen. You have to be exceptional.
would it be the grammar or word you took issue with?
-------------
Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: March 07 2011 at 12:56
Hi,
Rick Wright for sure ... you ought to take a couple of PF pieces into Ableton Live, or another DAW, and then mute some of the parts and just listen to Rick by himself ... it's excellent.
The Falk U Rogner (I've always wondered if the name is fake!) for Amon Duul 2 is fabulous, and gets the least amount of credit for than anyone else in the band ... and that person all did all the early art work which is magnificent.
The keyboard player/s for Ange ... in the early days, and there were 2 of them.
Keyboards for PFM are out of this world in the first 5 albums
Keyboards for Banco ... are ... not even saying it!
Too many ... way too many ... when we only listen to the top ten ... you gotta listen to the bottom ten in order to find the true gems.
------------- Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told! www.pedrosena.com
Posted By: lucas
Date Posted: March 07 2011 at 13:14
topographicbroadways wrote:
For me Mathew Fisher from Procol Harum is a criminally under-appreciated Hammond player. His subtle touch just makes Procol Harum's music magical.
and of course Rick Wright (RIP) was an incredible player who was often forgotten
Are you sure these two are underrated ?
PF and PH get frequent airplay on the radio...
What about Eduardo del Barrio from Caldera who also released an interesting solo album, 'Free Play' :
------------- "Magma was the very first gothic rock band" (Didier Lockwood)
Posted By: topographicbroadways
Date Posted: March 07 2011 at 13:22
lucas wrote:
topographicbroadways wrote:
For me Mathew Fisher from Procol Harum is a criminally under-appreciated Hammond player. His subtle touch just makes Procol Harum's music magical.
and of course Rick Wright (RIP) was an incredible player who was often forgotten
Are you sure these two are underrated ?
PF and PH get frequent airplay on the radio...
The bands get frequent airplay but the players often get forgotten because neither played dazzling solo's but both added so much to the music
-------------
Posted By: The Quiet One
Date Posted: March 07 2011 at 13:35
I'd say:
Peter Bardens: lovely melodies and noteworthy Hammond playing. His synths are exquisite.
Dave Sinclair: another master of simply but beautiful melodies, great organ work as well.
Dave Stewart: the forgotten prog keyboard master.
Mike Ratledge: may not be technically great, but the soundscapes he created are unmatchable. BTW, his organ work is pretty great.
George Duke: technical proficient and yet he seems to do it so easily with groove that not many keyboardists are able.
Joe Zawinul: another master on making unique soundscapes and beautiful original melodies.
Of course, all these are inclined towards fusion/jazz that might be the reason why they're not often mentioned around this place. If most Prog fans knew them, they would hesitate by calling the likes of Rick Wakeman and Keith Emerson as the best keyboardists around.
Posted By: topographicbroadways
Date Posted: March 07 2011 at 13:40
The Quiet One wrote:
I'd say:
Peter Bardens: lovely melodies and noteworthy Hammond playing. His synths are exquisite.
Dave Sinclair: another master of simply but beautiful melodies, great organ work as well.
Dave Stewart: the forgotten prog keyboard master.
Mike Ratledge: may not be technically great, but the soundscapes he created are unmatchable. BTW, his organ work is pretty great.
George Duke: technical proficient and yet he seems to do it so easily with groove that not many keyboardists are able.
Joe Zawinul: another master on making unique soundscapes and beautiful original melodies.
Of course, all these are inclined towards fusion/jazz that might be the reason why they're not often mentioned around this place. If most Prog fans knew them, they would hesitate by calling the likes of Rick Wakeman and Keith Emerson as the best keyboardists around.
Agreed i love his albums with Egg and Bruford
-------------
Posted By: yanch
Date Posted: March 07 2011 at 14:23
Rick Wright-Definitely doesn't get enough credit for his immense talent and what he brought to Pink Floyd.
Larry Fast-Synergy and Peter Gabriel. Always interesting without being over the top.
John Evan-Jethro Tull. His playing on Thick as a Brick and A Passion Play is terrific. He was great live, both as a player and performer.
Allan "Taff" Freeman-original keyboard player for Nektar. Like Rick Wright, understated, but without him Nektar wouldn't have been the same.
Mark Kelly-Marillion. If you aren't a fan of Marillion do people even know who he is? Great player, vital to the way the band sounds.
Posted By: Manuel
Date Posted: March 07 2011 at 14:38
Even though just mentioned, John Evan gets my vote, great pianist and keyboard master. Vince DiCola is also hardly mentioned, but talented and versatile.I don't hear much about Eddie Jobson in this forum, but his work is truly outstanding.
Posted By: Vibrationbaby
Date Posted: March 07 2011 at 15:05
If someone's or something is underated. By whom or what are they uderated by? It's so ambiguious. The word annoys me just about as much as teenage girls who use the word " like " as puncuation. As far as keyboardists go not everyone in progressive rock wanted to be a Keith Emerson or Rick Wakeman.
-------------
Posted By: chefrobb
Date Posted: March 07 2011 at 15:05
Hugh Banton....nuff said
------------- chefrobb
Posted By: harmonium.ro
Date Posted: March 07 2011 at 15:16
My current 70s favourite:
Also, not to say that he was a great technically gifted player, but I really love the contributions of the guy from Nektar:
Posted By: presdoug
Date Posted: March 07 2011 at 15:52
some keyboardists that are not mentioned near as much as they should be, and have done some incredibly compelling music-
Jurgen Fritz from Triumvirat
Toni Pagliuca from Le Orme
Oliviero Lacagnina from Latte e Miele
Eddie Spence from Strange Days
Joe Vescovi from The Trip
Peter Robinson from Quatermass and Brand X
Jurgen Dollase from Wallenstein and the Cosmic Jokers
Posted By: chefrobb
Date Posted: March 07 2011 at 16:19
Additionally; although not a technical master of keyboards, per se, Wooly Wolstenholme (RIP, BJH) was a unqualified master of the mellotron....
------------- chefrobb
Posted By: topographicbroadways
Date Posted: March 07 2011 at 16:23
Vibrationbaby wrote:
If someone's or something is underated. By whom or what are they uderated by? It's so ambiguious. The word annoys me just about as much as teenage girls who use the word " like " as puncuation. As far as keyboardists go not everyone in progressive rock wanted to be a Keith Emerson or Rick Wakeman.
I think it is an overused term absolutely. But there are times that it can be a valid term. I'm not going to defend the 6,000 threads that will come up if i searched for it but to write off everything that says underrated/overrated is a little excessive
-------------
Posted By: Gerinski
Date Posted: March 07 2011 at 16:26
Fully agree with Jurgen Fritz, Toni Pagliuca, Dave Stewart...
I would also add
Kansas Joe Walsh, often regarded just as a singer, but listen to his keyboard playing in The Spider.
Dave Greenslade was a great keyboardist but unfortunately lacked the level of inspiration of others.
Par Lindh is not really under-appreciated but often forgotten. Similar situation with Erik Norlander. Clive Nolan is rarely mentioned but with the amount of work he has done I believe that he deserves credit, as well as Neal Morse.
I also believe that Geoff Downes is better than what the music he plays shows.
There's a little know italian guy named Luca Zabbini leader of the band Barock Project who is a real young keys virtuoso, very much influenced by Keith Emerson, check out their videos on You Tube.
Posted By: The Quiet One
Date Posted: March 07 2011 at 16:32
topographicbroadways wrote:
The Quiet One wrote:
I'd say:
Peter Bardens: lovely melodies and noteworthy Hammond playing. His synths are exquisite.
Dave Sinclair: another master of simply but beautiful melodies, great organ work as well.
Dave Stewart: the forgotten prog keyboard master.
Mike Ratledge: may not be technically great, but the soundscapes he created are unmatchable. BTW, his organ work is pretty great.
George Duke: technical proficient and yet he seems to do it so easily with groove that not many keyboardists are able.
Joe Zawinul: another master on making unique soundscapes and beautiful original melodies.
Of course, all these are inclined towards fusion/jazz that might be the reason why they're not often mentioned around this place. If most Prog fans knew them, they would hesitate by calling the likes of Rick Wakeman and Keith Emerson as the best keyboardists around.
Agreed i love his albums with Egg and Bruford
You shouldn't stop there. His organ work on Khan's Space Shanty is delightful. And his full keyboard work on both Hatfield & the North and National Health is incredible.
Posted By: topographicbroadways
Date Posted: March 07 2011 at 16:34
The Quiet One wrote:
topographicbroadways wrote:
The Quiet One wrote:
I'd say:
Peter Bardens: lovely melodies and noteworthy Hammond playing. His synths are exquisite.
Dave Sinclair: another master of simply but beautiful melodies, great organ work as well.
Dave Stewart: the forgotten prog keyboard master.
Mike Ratledge: may not be technically great, but the soundscapes he created are unmatchable. BTW, his organ work is pretty great.
George Duke: technical proficient and yet he seems to do it so easily with groove that not many keyboardists are able.
Joe Zawinul: another master on making unique soundscapes and beautiful original melodies.
Of course, all these are inclined towards fusion/jazz that might be the reason why they're not often mentioned around this place. If most Prog fans knew them, they would hesitate by calling the likes of Rick Wakeman and Keith Emerson as the best keyboardists around.
Agreed i love his albums with Egg and Bruford
You shouldn't stop there. His organ work on Khan's Space Shanty is delightful. And his full keyboard work on both Hatfield & the North and National Health is incredible.
I've checked out all 3 of them several times but have yet to commit much of them to memory. The first Hatfield album is great though, and though i can't remember much of Khan i know i really enjoy it
-------------
Posted By: boo boo
Date Posted: March 07 2011 at 16:55
topographicbroadways wrote:
and of course Rick Wright (RIP) was an incredible player who was often forgotten
Yeah, remember when Pink Floyd did Live 8 and there were no close ups of Wright because the cameraman couldn't identify who the fourth band member was?
Posted By: walrus
Date Posted: March 07 2011 at 17:38
VAN HALEN!!
------------- you and whose army?
Posted By: TODDLER
Date Posted: March 07 2011 at 18:00
Rod Argent because his history of credibility is often set aside from prog. The Zombies during the British Invasion with hits like "She's Not There" and "Time Of The Season" (late 60's Pop), and his role in the band Argent was considered straight up "Classic Rock" with hits like "Hold Your Head Up" and the semi-famous "God Gave Rock n' Roll to you". The first indication of him falling into the realm of a universal player would turn up during the electric piano solo in the center of "She's Not There". It's not a song that I simply go for but to play a piano solo of that nature in the center of a pop song during 1964 or 1965 is bizzare. Through the years I purchased Argent titles and was amazed at the keyboard work on "Ring Of Hands". There is always a hit or 2 on each Argent title then proceeding to get progressive throughout. At one time he was dressing in a cloak along with everyone else in prog that may have worn tights, capes, or robes. He tried to give himself that image. He really didn't need to. He was an outstanding keyboardist with great knowledge of different musical styles. But he is not truly thought of in that particular way because somewhere along the line, his career moves may have caused fans of prog to maybe get the wrong impression of him.
Posted By: WyattEarp
Date Posted: March 07 2011 at 19:16
Here's one:Tim Blake
Keyboardist for both Gong and Hawkwind.
In Gong everyone(Including myself) gives credit to Daevid Allen,Gilli Smyth and Steve Hillage.
But
It was Tim Blake who made those Spacey sounds(Radio Gnome Series) with his keyboard playing.
Plus
He influenced Steve Hillage who went on to a Out-of-this-World solo career.
Plus
With those Spacey sounds and influencing Steve Hillage it not only makes him underrated,sorely underrated.
I'm talking about he should be mentioned as one of the pioneers of the Space rock genre.
Posted By: topographicbroadways
Date Posted: March 07 2011 at 19:23
WyattEarp wrote:
Here's one:Tim Blake
Keyboardist for both Gong and Hawkwind.
In Gong everyone(Including myself) gives credit to Daevid Allen,Gilli Smyth and Steve Hillage.
But
It was Tim Blake who made those Spacey sounds(Radio Gnome Series) with his keyboard playing.
Plus
He influenced Steve Hillage who went on to a Out-of-this-World solo career.
Plus
With those Spacey sounds and influencing Steve Hillage it not only makes him underrated,sorely underrated.
I'm talking about he should be mentioned as one of the pioneers of the Space rock genre.
good one. I saw him with Hawkwind last year and he was very good
-------------
Posted By: Andy Webb
Date Posted: March 07 2011 at 19:29
Ryo Okumoto (Spock's Beard)
He does some crazy stuff, and Morse got most of the attention when he was in Spock's. Now Ryo plays the part of 2 keyboardists for the older stuff.
------------- http://ow.ly/8ymqg" rel="nofollow">
Posted By: dave-the-rave
Date Posted: March 07 2011 at 19:29
Jon Lord (Deep Purple). People focus on Blackmore's guitarring and Gillan's screaming, at the expense of Lord's organing.
Posted By: presdoug
Date Posted: March 07 2011 at 20:14
dave-the-rave wrote:
Jon Lord (Deep Purple). People focus on Blackmore's guitarring and Gillan's screaming, at the expense of Lord's organing.
yeah, i quite like Jon Lord, especially live (never saw Deep Purple, but am referring to DP videos, where you can see he really holds his own with the rest of the band!)
Posted By: Jon89
Date Posted: March 07 2011 at 20:27
The late legened Klaus Schonning
------------- jon 89
Posted By: Padraic
Date Posted: March 07 2011 at 20:29
Patrizio Fariselli
Posted By: presdoug
Date Posted: March 07 2011 at 20:30
Jon89 wrote:
The late legened Klaus Schonning
That name is totally new to me. Can you tell me a bit about him?
Posted By: fuxi
Date Posted: March 08 2011 at 03:03
The Quiet One wrote:
I'd say:
Peter Bardens: lovely melodies and noteworthy Hammond playing. His synths are exquisite.
Dave Sinclair: another master of simply but beautiful melodies, great organ work as well.
Dave Stewart: the forgotten prog keyboard master.
Mike Ratledge: may not be technically great, but the soundscapes he created are unmatchable. BTW, his organ work is pretty great.
George Duke: technical proficient and yet he seems to do it so easily with groove that not many keyboardists are able.
Joe Zawinul: another master on making unique soundscapes and beautiful original melodies.
A fun list, although none of these are exactly underrated ON PROGARCHIVES. You could add Don Preston and Alan Gowen, both of whom play/played a mean mini-moog!
Posted By: ExittheLemming
Date Posted: March 08 2011 at 04:07
Brian Auger, Morgan Fisher, Gianni Nocenzi (Banco), Patrick Moraz, Mike Garson, Vincent Crane, Patrizio Fariselli (Area), Alan Park (Beggars Opera), T. Bronsdon? (Bram Stoker) Rod Argent
-------------
Posted By: TODDLER
Date Posted: March 08 2011 at 04:49
Jon89 wrote:
The late legened Klaus Schonning
He died? I loved his works. Many of the cd's I own by him do not cross into "New Age".
Posted By: AtomicCrimsonRush
Date Posted: March 08 2011 at 06:44
Vincent Crane
Neal Morse
Dave Sinclair
Ryo
Bardens
-------------
Posted By: The Dark Elf
Date Posted: March 08 2011 at 08:06
dave-the-rave wrote:
Jon Lord (Deep Purple). People focus on Blackmore's guitarring and Gillan's screaming, at the expense of Lord's organing.
Definitely Jon Lord. He could get that Hammond screaming in concert. I think he is often overlooked because he did not rely on synthesizers like Emerson or Wakeman.
Also John Evan of Tull, and Rick Wright of Floyd, who really never got his due as a primal force inside Floyd compositions, sort of like the heartbeat of the band.
------------- ...a vigorous circular motion hitherto unknown to the people of this area, but destined to take the place of the mud shark in your mythology...
Posted By: Dick Heath
Date Posted: March 08 2011 at 09:44
The Quiet One wrote:
Mike Ratledge: may not be technically great, but the soundscapes he created are unmatchable. BTW, his organ work is pretty great.
Very much support his inclusion, however, left wondering about the statement "not technically great". I always thought Mike did postgraduate studies in music at Oxford University in the 60's. And listening to some of his improv on Soft Machine's Middle Earth Tapes circa '67, '68 then the competition at that time sounds inferior, for instance Keith Emerson. He may have got 'lazier' during his tenure in Machine post Hugh Hopper's departure, also muddying the waters with statements (reported secondhand) that the earlier Machine line-up sometimes felt out of their depth with the jazzers brought in. However, Ratledge in partnership with the fair better known Karl Jenkins, are said to be responsible for what is known nowadays as "cross-over" classical music.
------------- The best eclectic music on the Web,8-11pm BST/GMT THURS.
CLICK ON: http://www.lborosu.org.uk/media/lcr/live.php - http://www.lborosu.org.uk/media/lcr/live.php
Host by PA's Dick Heath.
Posted By: presdoug
Date Posted: March 08 2011 at 11:21
Jasper van't Hof
Posted By: The Quiet One
Date Posted: March 08 2011 at 13:07
Dick Heath wrote:
The Quiet One wrote:
Mike Ratledge: may not be technically great, but the soundscapes he created are unmatchable. BTW, his organ work is pretty great.
Very much support his inclusion, however, left wondering about the statement "not technically great". I always thought Mike did postgraduate studies in music at Oxford University in the 60's. And listening to some of his improv on Soft Machine's Middle Earth Tapes circa '67, '68 then the competition at that time sounds inferior, for instance Keith Emerson. He may have got 'lazier' during his tenure in Machine post Hugh Hopper's departure, also muddying the waters with statements (reported secondhand) that the earlier Machine line-up sometimes felt out of their depth with the jazzers brought in. However, Ratledge in partnership with the fair better known Karl Jenkins, are said to be responsible for what is known nowadays as "cross-over" classical music.
Oh I didn't know that, thanks! I was just guessing that he wasn't "techincally proficient", I mean I love him but he doesn't sound as a technical player, whatever that means. I'm no keyboard player, so again, I was just guessing.
The duo of Jenkins and Ratledge was marvellous.
Posted By: The Quiet One
Date Posted: March 08 2011 at 13:08
presdoug wrote:
dave-the-rave wrote:
Jon Lord (Deep Purple). People focus on Blackmore's guitarring and Gillan's screaming, at the expense of Lord's organing.
yeah, i quite like Jon Lord, especially live (never saw Deep Purple, but am referring to DP videos, where you can see he really holds his own with the rest of the band!)
Jon Lord is not an underappreciated keyboardist here and much less in rock/hard rock realms.
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: March 08 2011 at 13:59
Martin Orford (IQ and John Wetton Band) -sadly now retired very talented guy both on the writing and playing side. Check out his two solo albums.
Francis Monkman - Criminally ignored yet did great things in Curved Air and Sky as well as penning one of the best film soundtracks (Long Good Friday)
Ton Scherpenzeel - Kayak were the Dutch equivalent of Genesis. Every bit as talented as Tony Banks imo.Terrific arranger as well.
Dave Greenslade - Check out Colosseum - Valentyne Suite. Not familiar with his solo work although I bet its good!
Vincent Crane - Superb organist with no peers in the late sixties proto prog scene.
Eddie Jobson - mainly for the UK albums and his solo album Theme Of Secrets (not familiar with his other work)
Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: March 08 2011 at 14:10
Hi,
Some others:
Edgar Froese -- hard to miss or not include him, and he knows his stuff.
Irmin Schmidt -- We can talk about Can all day ... but the individuals in there were all magnificent in their own way.
Phil Ryan -- Specially his work with Man ... his solo stuff is not as good, or his stuff with Pete Brown.
Jean Yves Labat -- worked with Todd and his 2 solos in the early days were excellent and fun
Erik Norlander - Rocket Scientists and Lana Lane as well. Magnificent player and knows his equipment and technical stuff well enough to mix digital and analog quite well. Some say that he is a Emerson clone, but I would like to suggest that Erik is much more flexible and sometimes better than Emerson.
There are simply too many of them ... and there are so different from each other and do so many different things that it is hard to think that anyone is better than anyone else.
------------- Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told! www.pedrosena.com
Posted By: BrufordFreak
Date Posted: March 08 2011 at 14:32
Argentina's LALO HUBER from NEXUS is, IMHO, this century's prog keyboard god!
Posted By: John McIntyre
Date Posted: March 08 2011 at 15:23
Could I add Robert Fripp?
We all know him as a Guitar God with King Crimson, but he played Mellotron, Pianet and a Harmonium from 1970-74, reprising The Mighty Tron in 1994 (THRAK). Plenty of people tried the Tron, but Fripp stuck with it - there are >50 Crimson albums with him playing Tron.
I concur about Rick Wright and Phil Ryan (Man, [Iorweth Pritchard and] The Neutrons and Eyes of Blue, plus a few others)
------------- I am one of only about 1,800 people in the world with an original M400 Mellotron!
Posted By: The Wrinkler
Date Posted: March 08 2011 at 16:15
Aww someone already beat me to Irmin Schmidt! I under appreciated him too, until I saw some live videos on youtube. He is awesome, now making me listen to CAN again, but for the keys. They are super subtle, but add so much to the music.
Posted By: BaldFriede
Date Posted: March 08 2011 at 17:40
Ingo Bischof of Guru Guru, Kraan and Karthago (who are not in the archives; they should be in prog-related).
-------------
BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue.
Posted By: Progosopher
Date Posted: March 08 2011 at 19:19
So many good artists mentioned so far, especially as the polls tend to favor two particular individuals I need not name right now. In relation to them, almost anybody else is under appreciated. Here are some names that popped into my head, in no particular order:
Patrick Moraz
Pete Bardens
Jean-Michele Jarre
Robert John Godfrey
Don Airy
Rick Wright
John Paul Jones
Nick Magnus
Maybe not underappreciated by some folk, but darn good players.
------------- The world of sound is certainly capable of infinite variety and, were our sense developed, of infinite extensions. -- George Santayana, "The Sense of Beauty"
Posted By: presdoug
Date Posted: March 08 2011 at 20:23
forgot to mention Wolfgang Dauner
Posted By: stonebeard
Date Posted: March 08 2011 at 21:56
Mark Kelly.
Any Berlin School artist.
------------- http://soundcloud.com/drewagler" rel="nofollow - My soundcloud. Please give feedback if you want!
Posted By: clarkpegasus4001
Date Posted: March 09 2011 at 00:16
Dave Stewart from Bruford, definately, Geoffrey Pearcy from Lake who never gets a mention anywhere...now he has! Patrick Moraz who often gets overshadowed by Wakeman I think. Tom Coster from Vital Information.
------------- Tony C.
Posted By: ten years after
Date Posted: March 09 2011 at 03:27
Francis Decamps of Ange produced some pretty impressive keyboards in the early 70s. Hardly ever gets a mention though.
Posted By: JeanFrame
Date Posted: March 09 2011 at 09:56
And for Heaven's sake! Billy Ritchie, the first Lead keyboard player of them all! Without whom etc etc.....
Posted By: jcleary
Date Posted: March 09 2011 at 14:00
JeanFrame wrote:
And for Heaven's sake! Billy Ritchie, the first Lead keyboard player of them all! Without whom etc etc.....
What's your connection to Clouds? Obviously a family member or friend. Well Clouds have no one to blame for their lack of success except themselves. They had every opportunity to create two great cutting edge progressive rock albums, but instead they made two VERY MEDIOCRE albums. Both you and Alex, the guy that does their Website, have claimed that the albums were ahead of their time. Well i was there and bought Scrapbook when it came out and i can tell you that it was WAY BEHIND all of the great albums that were coming out of the UK before and at the same time. Just to refresh your memory check out all of these albums that came out that were alot better than Scrapbook and WaterColour Days.
Jimi Hendrix Experience Are You Experienced May 1967
The Beatles Sgt Pepper June 1967
Pink Floyd Pipper At the Gates of Dawn August 1967
Moody Blues Days of Future Passed November 1967
Cream Disraeli Grears November 1967
Procul Harum Procul Harum November 1967
Traffic Mr Fantasy December 1967
The Rolling Stone Their Satantic Majesties Request December 1967
The Zombies Odessey And Oracle April 1968
The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown Debut June 1968
Caravan Caravan October 1968
Jeff Beck Truth October 1968
The Nice Ars Longa Vita Brevis November 1968
Procul Harum Shine On Brightly February 1969
Spooky Tooth Spooky 2 March 1969
Moody Blues On The Threshold Of A Dream April 1969
The Who Tommy May 1969
Procul Harum A Salty Dog July 1969
Yes Yes August 1969
The Nice Nice August 1969
Clouds Scrapbook August 1969
Blind Faith Blind Faith September 1969
The Beatles Abbey Road September 1969
Ten Years After Sssh September 1969
King Crimson In The Court of the Crimson King October 1969
Pink Floyd Ummagumma November 1969
Rare Bird Rare Bird December 1969
Egg Egg March 1970
Argent Argent March 1970
Atomic Rooster Atomic Rooster April 1970
Quatermass May 1970
King Crimson In the Wake of Poseidon May 1970
Srawbs Just A Collection Of Antiques And Curios July 1970
Yes Time And A Word August 1970
Pink Floyd Atom Heart Mother October 1970
Emerson Lake and Palmer Debut Album November 1970
Gentle Giant Gentle Giant November 1970
Genesis Trespass December 1970
King Crimson Lizard December 1970
Van Der Graaf Generator H to HE December 1970
Egg the Polite Force January 1971
Yes The Yes Album February 1971
Clouds WaterColour Days May 1971
Strawbs From the Witchwood July 1971
Yes Fragile November 1971
Posted By: Garion81
Date Posted: March 09 2011 at 15:12
Gerinski wrote:
Fully agree with Jurgen Fritz, Toni Pagliuca, Dave Stewart...
I would also add
Kansas Joe Walsh, often regarded just as a singer, but listen to his keyboard playing in The Spider.
Dave Greenslade was a great keyboardist but unfortunately lacked the level of inspiration of others.
Par Lindh is not really under-appreciated but often forgotten. Similar situation with Erik Norlander. Clive Nolan is rarely mentioned but with the amount of work he has done I believe that he deserves credit, as well as Neal Morse.
I also believe that Geoff Downes is better than what the music he plays shows.
There's a little know italian guy named Luca Zabbini leader of the band Barock Project who is a real young keys virtuoso, very much influenced by Keith Emerson, check out their videos on You Tube.
I think you meant Steve Walsh. Kansas would have been a very different band if Joe had been the lead singer and keyboard player.
Also Kerry Livgren. Generally Walsh played the organs with some vibes and synth while Livgren played the pianos and almost all the synths.
-------------
"What are you going to do when that damn thing rusts?"
Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: March 09 2011 at 16:27
Hi,
Now we're getting it on with this list ... lovely to see people spread out a bit ... and get away from the famous ones ... and some others that deserve the credit as well.
Imai (ex-Sadistic Mika Band, I think)
Riuiyshi Sakamoto --- ohh well, at least he has an Oscar in his closet and his name etched in Movie History ... !
... did I not see Brian Eno?
------------- Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told! www.pedrosena.com
Posted By: zachfive
Date Posted: March 09 2011 at 18:09
I have yet to see anyone mention Kit Watkins of Happy the Man/Camel fame. He is with out a doubt very talented and is one of my personal favorites.
Posted By: valravennz
Date Posted: March 09 2011 at 18:36
My small list. some already mentioned:
Dave Stewart; Patrick Moraz; Rod Argent; Rick Wright; Brian Eno; Eddie Jobson; Fred Schendel (Glass Hammer) and John Evan (Jethro Tull).
------------- "Music is the Wine that fills the cup of Silence"
- Robert Fripp
Posted By: TODDLER
Date Posted: March 09 2011 at 19:46
zachfive wrote:
I have yet to see anyone mention Kit Watkins of Happy the Man/Camel fame. He is with out a doubt very talented and is one of my personal favorites.
Me too!
Posted By: TODDLER
Date Posted: March 09 2011 at 19:47
BaldFriede wrote:
Ingo Bischof of Guru Guru, Kraan and Karthago (who are not in the archives; they should be in prog-related).
Wow! Ingo Bischof....HE IS GREAT!
Posted By: TODDLER
Date Posted: March 09 2011 at 19:50
moshkito wrote:
Hi,
Some others:
Edgar Froese -- hard to miss or not include him, and he knows his stuff.
Irmin Schmidt -- We can talk about Can all day ... but the individuals in there were all magnificent in their own way.
Phil Ryan -- Specially his work with Man ... his solo stuff is not as good, or his stuff with Pete Brown.
Jean Yves Labat -- worked with Todd and his 2 solos in the early days were excellent and fun
Erik Norlander - Rocket Scientists and Lana Lane as well. Magnificent player and knows his equipment and technical stuff well enough to mix digital and analog quite well. Some say that he is a Emerson clone, but I would like to suggest that Erik is much more flexible and sometimes better than Emerson.
There are simply too many of them ... and there are so different from each other and do so many different things that it is hard to think that anyone is better than anyone else.
I can't believe it! Phil Ryan? Why is he not mentioned more often?
Posted By: TODDLER
Date Posted: March 09 2011 at 19:55
I like Robert John Godfrey from THE ENID. He is a great player. He creates some beautiful string sounds for soundscape type stuff but is also one hell of a classical player.
Posted By: dwill123
Date Posted: March 09 2011 at 20:12
Joe Zawinul David Sancious Greg Phillinganes Bernie Worrell
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: March 10 2011 at 01:15
valravennz wrote:
My small list. some already mentioned:
Dave Stewart; Patrick Moraz; Rod Argent; Rick Wright; Brian Eno; Eddie Jobson; Fred Schendel (Glass Hammer) and John Evan (Jethro Tull).
Yep I somehow forgot the wonderful Fred Schendel when I made my list.
Posted By: BaldFriede
Date Posted: March 10 2011 at 05:18
Cyril Verdeaux of Clearlight should be named too.
-------------
BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue.
Posted By: Jon89
Date Posted: March 10 2011 at 16:46
Klaus Schonning is a wonderful keyboardist from Denmark or Norway and made some of the most intresting music ever.
------------- jon 89
Posted By: Jon89
Date Posted: March 10 2011 at 16:46
Klaus is alive not dead. Sorry to him and his fans
------------- jon 89
Posted By: RoyFairbank
Date Posted: March 10 2011 at 19:52
Beria Lackarsky-Polkov
Polish-Russian Studio fill in from the late 90s. He's barely ever mentioned.
Posted By: WyattEarp
Date Posted: March 10 2011 at 23:12
Here's some more
Faton Cahen of ZAO: Wow he can make that piano sound sooo beautiful,elegant and trippy at the same time.
I mean when you listen to a ZAO song,his piano mesmorize your mind
Here's a example of his incredible piano playing:The Song Free Folk by ZAO
Posted By: horla
Date Posted: March 10 2011 at 23:32
how come no one has mentioned kerry minnear?
he wasn't a solo show off like emerson, but the complexity of his keyboards gave an amazing depth to all gentle giant's tunes.
Posted By: m2thek
Date Posted: March 11 2011 at 00:26
I agree with Minnear. He pretty much made GG what they were.
Posted By: The_Jester
Date Posted: March 11 2011 at 06:57
Kerry Minear is simply a God of the keys. No one can say other than that.
------------- La victoire est éphémère mais la gloire est éternelle!
- Napoléon Bonaparte
Posted By: friso
Date Posted: March 11 2011 at 10:35
I will mention some of my favorite keyboard players that aren't mentioned to often:
Kerry Minear (who also played a couple of other interesting instruments)
Ton Scherpenzeel (it was nice I wasn't the first to mention him, the first four Kayak albums are really good)
Józef Skrzek (SBB is always forgotten.. )
R.J Stips (Supersister has a very special distorted key-sound, a trench of the English Canterbury movement)
Dave Steward (indeed one of the better and more productive musicians of the progressive genre)
Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: March 11 2011 at 14:44
moshkito wrote:
Some others:
Edgar Froese -- hard to miss or not include him, and he knows his stuff.
For pure keyboarding, I'd cite Ed's former bandmate Johannes Schmoelling. His style was very prevalent on TD albums from '80-'85. Paul Haslinger came later and is also conservatory-trained but his playing wasn't as unique as Johannes.
moshkito wrote:
Erik Norlander - Magnificent player and knows his equipment and technical stuff well enough to mix digital and analog quite well. Some say that he is a Emerson clone, but I would like to suggest that Erik is much more flexible and sometimes better than Emerson.
I think Erik has more in common with Wakeman, but he's one of the best guys on keys out there in prog right now. That cannot be refuted. And he balances techique with analog advocacy, whereas most keyboardists emphasize one over the other.
Posted By: BarryGlibb
Date Posted: March 11 2011 at 16:51
horla wrote:
how come no one has mentioned kerry minnear?
he wasn't a solo show off like emerson, but the complexity of his keyboards gave an amazing depth to all gentle giant's tunes.
I think he is not mentioned as he is not under appreciated. If you go by the recent keyboardist poll http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=75928 he's in front by a fair margin.
Andrew Giddings, Tull's keyboardist from the early 90s until late 2000s is definitely underappreciated. His work on Ian Anderson's Divinities album is astonishing. I'd go as far as to say that keyboard contribution to that album was a work of a genius.
Posted By: brainstormer
Date Posted: March 12 2011 at 00:48
Tomita! (well not quite prog, and certainly appreciated in electronic music)
------------- --
Robert Pearson
Regenerative Music http://www.regenerativemusic.net
Telical Books http://www.telicalbooks.com
ParaMind Brainstorming Software http://www.paramind.net
Posted By: moodyxadi
Date Posted: March 14 2011 at 21:56
Since nobody mentioned him I believe he can be classified as under appreciated (at least in thsi poll): Mike Pinder from The Magnificent Moodies. And he was a wonderful singer too.
The Nocenzi Bros from Banco, already mentioned, made a peculiar duo. I like Flavio Premoli a lot but Toni Pagliuca is one of my favs. Better than Emerson IMO - or at least a better composer.
Live Dave Sinclair a lot.
Finally, there's a lot of names on this thread that can't be classified as underappreciated. The only guy from a great great band that was really underevaluated by most people was the late Richard wright, one of my personal heros. And a great singer as well.
------------- Bach, Ma, Bros, Déia, Dante.
Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: March 14 2011 at 23:21
I don't know most keyboard players mentioned here, but I'd like to add a few whom I didn't see mentioned here (though I didn't read all the replies fully, so I might just as well have missed them). John Tout from Rennaisance, and Thijs Van Leer from Focus.
Posted By: Cactus Choir
Date Posted: March 15 2011 at 08:46
Dave Greenslade shines on Colosseum's Valentyne Suite and his solo album Cactus Choir (great name!) is an under-appreciated prog gem.
Vincent Crane of Atomic Rooster and Brian Auger also come to mind. The Brian Auger Trinity's 1970 album Befour has some brilliant Hammond playing.
Agree with Mr Lemming about Tony Bronsdon of Bram Stoker, an obscure but extremely talented player.
Another vote for John Evan of Jethro Tull, very good on keyboards and I loved his onstage Harpo Marx persona. Pretty nifty on helmet percussion and maracas as well:
------------- "And now...on the drums...Mick Underwooooooooood!!!"
"He's up the pub"
Posted By: philhepple
Date Posted: March 15 2011 at 11:18
Christopher North from the band Ambrosia is one of the better American Prog Hammond Organ and Piano players. Check out his playing on the song Danse With Me George http://www.christophernorthmusic.com" rel="nofollow - http://www.christophernorthmusic.com
Posted By: BenevolentBehemoth
Date Posted: March 15 2011 at 18:54
Anyone mention Kerry Minnear?
Posted By: jaybird77
Date Posted: March 15 2011 at 21:27
Kevin Moore: The best songwriter and composer Dream Theater ever had!
Posted By: Padraic
Date Posted: March 15 2011 at 21:29
BenevolentBehemoth wrote:
Anyone mention Kerry Minnear?
Not sure - if only there was some way to find out...
Posted By: webmasterraj1
Date Posted: March 16 2011 at 04:11
harmonium.ro wrote:
My current 70s favourite:
Also, not to say that he was a great technically gifted player, but I really love the contributions of the guy from Nektar:
Very nice posting really. I like the video very much.
Posted By: Slartibartfast
Date Posted: March 16 2011 at 07:05
At first I was thinking all prog keyboardists are appropriately regarded, then I remembered Larry Fast as Synergy and Vangelis are both classified as prog related here, which I regard as being under appreciated.
------------- Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...
Posted By: OT Räihälä
Date Posted: March 16 2011 at 07:07
What is underrated? Not enough of people being enthusiastic about a keyboard player? A lot of people don't like ELP or Yes - does this mean Emerson and/or Wakeman are underrated by them?
I don't rate keyboard players by their quickness but the style and sound. For that reason I like Kerry Minnear the most, but don't think he's ever been underrated as a musician. Another one who I appreciate a lot is Jukka Gustavson of Wigwam, who is not that well known among the forumists here, but anyway I can't say he is underrated - just that too few people know about him.
------------- http://soundcloud.com/osmotapioraihala/sets" rel="nofollow - Composer - Click to listen to my works!
Posted By: topographicbroadways
Date Posted: March 16 2011 at 07:19
having a few haters and lacking any critical acclaim are different things. The latter is what this thread is about
-------------
Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: March 18 2011 at 00:31
jaybird77 wrote:
Kevin Moore: The best songwriter and composer Dream Theater ever had!
Their first couple albums are definitely my favorites.
Posted By: frippism
Date Posted: March 19 2011 at 17:58
First keyboard player that is more unknown than under appreciated: William D. Drake of Cardiacs. His lines are so beautiful and genius, that they really have a texture and voice of their own, plus un-human technique. Dave Stewart deserves a mention again. So does Ratledge, who's work in "Out-Bloody-Rageous" has been played in my mind for over two years now.
Posted By: rikkinadir
Date Posted: March 20 2011 at 10:01
1. Hugh Banton (van der graaf) 2. Fredrik Hermansson (pain of salvation) 3. Duncan Mackay (10cc , cockney rebel , kate bush , solo) 4. Kerry Minnear (gentle giant) 5. John Tout (renaissance) 6. Per Wiberg (opeth , spiritual beggars , arch enemy)
Posted By: Aragon
Date Posted: March 20 2011 at 10:38
yanch wrote:
Mark Kelly-Marillion. If you aren't a fan of Marillion do people even know who he is? Great player, vital to the way the band sounds.
Agree completely, altough he showed his much versatile abilities in 1980 era.
Posted By: topographicbroadways
Date Posted: March 20 2011 at 10:41
Aragon wrote:
yanch wrote:
Mark Kelly-Marillion. If you aren't a fan of Marillion do people even know who he is? Great player, vital to the way the band sounds.
Agree completely, altough he showed his much versatile abilities in 1980 era.
His playing on Marbles is stunning he adds a lot to the music with his ambient synths and piano playing
-------------
Posted By: ferush
Date Posted: March 20 2011 at 21:03
jaybird77 wrote:
Kevin Moore: The best songwriter and composer Dream Theater ever had!
Yes may be.
Posted By: rogerthat
Date Posted: March 20 2011 at 21:07
Alan Gowen. Don't think he was mentioned earlier in the thread - apologies to anyone who did - but one of the best keyboardists from the Canterbury scene.
Posted By: Ruby900
Date Posted: March 21 2011 at 07:43
The Quiet One wrote:
I'd say:
Peter Bardens: lovely melodies and noteworthy Hammond playing. His synths are exquisite.
Dave Sinclair: another master of simply but beautiful melodies, great organ work as well.
Dave Stewart: the forgotten prog keyboard master.
Mike Ratledge: may not be technically great, but the soundscapes he created are unmatchable. BTW, his organ work is pretty great.
George Duke: technical proficient and yet he seems to do it so easily with groove that not many keyboardists are able.
Joe Zawinul: another master on making unique soundscapes and beautiful original melodies.
Of course, all these are inclined towards fusion/jazz that might be the reason why they're not often mentioned around this place. If most Prog fans knew them, they would hesitate by calling the likes of Rick Wakeman and Keith Emerson as the best keyboardists around.
Right on the money with all these!
------------- "I always say that it’s about breaking the rules. But the secret of breaking rules in a way that works is understanding what the rules are in the first place". Rick Wakeman
Posted By: AtomicCrimsonRush
Date Posted: March 21 2011 at 07:51
i want to mention Ronnie Brown keyboardist for Pallas - his work on the debut The Sentinel is stunning - listening to him go now, amazing stuff.
listen here
-------------
Posted By: jean-marie
Date Posted: March 21 2011 at 09:23
The Quiet One wrote:
I'd say:
Peter Bardens: lovely melodies and noteworthy Hammond playing. His synths are exquisite.
Dave Sinclair: another master of simply but beautiful melodies, great organ work as well.
Dave Stewart: the forgotten prog keyboard master.
Mike Ratledge: may not be technically great, but the soundscapes he created are unmatchable. BTW, his organ work is pretty great.
George Duke: technical proficient and yet he seems to do it so easily with groove that not many keyboardists are able.
Joe Zawinul: another master on making unique soundscapes and beautiful original melodies.
Of course, all these are inclined towards fusion/jazz that might be the reason why they're not often mentioned around this place. If most Prog fans knew them, they would hesitate by calling the likes of Rick Wakeman and Keith Emerson as the best keyboardists around.
good choice! and what about brian auger?
Posted By: jean-marie
Date Posted: March 21 2011 at 09:28
Slartibartfast wrote:
At first I was thinking all prog keyboardists are appropriately regarded, then I remembered Larry Fast as Synergy and Vangelis are both classified as prog related here, which I regard as being under appreciated.
quite agree about vangelis! and it's a fact that fast is not that wellknown
Posted By: giselle
Date Posted: March 25 2011 at 18:55
jcleary wrote:
JeanFrame wrote:
And for Heaven's sake! Billy Ritchie, the first Lead keyboard player of them all! Without whom etc etc.....
What's your connection to Clouds? Obviously a family member or friend. Well Clouds have no one to blame for their lack of success except themselves. They had every opportunity to create two great cutting edge progressive rock albums, but instead they made two VERY MEDIOCRE albums. Both you and Alex, the guy that does their Website, have claimed that the albums were ahead of their time. Well i was there and bought Scrapbook when it came out and i can tell you that it was WAY BEHIND all of the great albums that were coming out of the UK before and at the same time. Just to refresh your memory check out all of these albums that came out that were alot better than Scrapbook and WaterColour Days.
Jimi Hendrix Experience Are You Experienced May 1967
The Beatles Sgt Pepper June 1967
Pink Floyd Pipper At the Gates of Dawn August 1967
Moody Blues Days of Future Passed November 1967
Cream Disraeli Grears November 1967
Procul Harum Procul Harum November 1967
Traffic Mr Fantasy December 1967
The Rolling Stone Their Satantic Majesties Request December 1967
The Zombies Odessey And Oracle April 1968
The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown Debut June 1968
Caravan Caravan October 1968
Jeff Beck Truth October 1968
The Nice Ars Longa Vita Brevis November 1968
Procul Harum Shine On Brightly February 1969
Spooky Tooth Spooky 2 March 1969
Moody Blues On The Threshold Of A Dream April 1969
The Who Tommy May 1969
Procul Harum A Salty Dog July 1969
Yes Yes August 1969
The Nice Nice August 1969
Clouds Scrapbook August 1969
Blind Faith Blind Faith September 1969
The Beatles Abbey Road September 1969
Ten Years After Sssh September 1969
King Crimson In The Court of the Crimson King October 1969
Pink Floyd Ummagumma November 1969
Rare Bird Rare Bird December 1969
Egg Egg March 1970
Argent Argent March 1970
Atomic Rooster Atomic Rooster April 1970
Quatermass May 1970
King Crimson In the Wake of Poseidon May 1970
Srawbs Just A Collection Of Antiques And Curios July 1970
Yes Time And A Word August 1970
Pink Floyd Atom Heart Mother October 1970
Emerson Lake and Palmer Debut Album November 1970
Gentle Giant Gentle Giant November 1970
Genesis Trespass December 1970
King Crimson Lizard December 1970
Van Der Graaf Generator H to HE December 1970
Egg the Polite Force January 1971
Yes The Yes Album February 1971
Clouds WaterColour Days May 1971
Strawbs From the Witchwood July 1971
Yes Fragile November 1971
Are you nuts? Opinion is one thing but this fruitcake stuff is what gives the archives a bad name
Posted By: resurrection
Date Posted: March 27 2011 at 02:55
jcleary wrote:
JeanFrame wrote:
And for Heaven's sake! Billy Ritchie, the first Lead keyboard player of them all! Without whom etc etc.....
What's your connection to Clouds? Obviously a family member or friend. Well Clouds have no one to blame for their lack of success except themselves. They had every opportunity to create two great cutting edge progressive rock albums, but instead they made two VERY MEDIOCRE albums. Both you and Alex, the guy that does their Website, have claimed that the albums were ahead of their time. Well i was there and bought Scrapbook when it came out and i can tell you that it was WAY BEHIND all of the great albums that were coming out of the UK before and at the same time. Just to refresh your memory check out all of these albums that came out that were alot better than Scrapbook and WaterColour Days.
Jimi Hendrix Experience Are You Experienced May 1967
The Beatles Sgt Pepper June 1967
Pink Floyd Pipper At the Gates of Dawn August 1967
Moody Blues Days of Future Passed November 1967
Cream Disraeli Grears November 1967
Procul Harum Procul Harum November 1967
Traffic Mr Fantasy December 1967
The Rolling Stone Their Satantic Majesties Request December 1967
The Zombies Odessey And Oracle April 1968
The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown Debut June 1968
Caravan Caravan October 1968
Jeff Beck Truth October 1968
The Nice Ars Longa Vita Brevis November 1968
Procul Harum Shine On Brightly February 1969
Spooky Tooth Spooky 2 March 1969
Moody Blues On The Threshold Of A Dream April 1969
The Who Tommy May 1969
Procul Harum A Salty Dog July 1969
Yes Yes August 1969
The Nice Nice August 1969
Clouds Scrapbook August 1969
Blind Faith Blind Faith September 1969
The Beatles Abbey Road September 1969
Ten Years After Sssh September 1969
King Crimson In The Court of the Crimson King October 1969
Pink Floyd Ummagumma November 1969
Rare Bird Rare Bird December 1969
Egg Egg March 1970
Argent Argent March 1970
Atomic Rooster Atomic Rooster April 1970
Quatermass May 1970
King Crimson In the Wake of Poseidon May 1970
Srawbs Just A Collection Of Antiques And Curios July 1970
Yes Time And A Word August 1970
Pink Floyd Atom Heart Mother October 1970
Emerson Lake and Palmer Debut Album November 1970
Gentle Giant Gentle Giant November 1970
Genesis Trespass December 1970
King Crimson Lizard December 1970
Van Der Graaf Generator H to HE December 1970
Egg the Polite Force January 1971
Yes The Yes Album February 1971
Clouds WaterColour Days May 1971
Strawbs From the Witchwood July 1971
Yes Fragile November 1971
And I could give you just as long a list of important music people (beginning with BOWIE) who think exactly the opposite. Your list isn't opinion, it's nut and fruit cake.
Posted By: Mista-Gordie
Date Posted: March 27 2011 at 11:12
John Tout form Renaissance
Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: March 29 2011 at 16:19
Hi,
The Keyboard player with Djam Karet ... makes a lot of these things listed look ... rather ... weak! ... and awfully conventional! ...
------------- Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told! www.pedrosena.com