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PROTO-PROG

A Progressive Rock Sub-genre


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Proto-Prog definition

The denomination Proto Prog comes from the combination of two words, Proto from the Greek The earliest,. and Prog which as we know is a short term for Progressive Rock, so as it's name clearly indicates, refers to the earliest form of Progressive Rock or Progressive Rock in embryonary state.

These bands normally were formed and released albums before Progressive Rock had completely developed (there are some rare Proto Prog bands from the early 70's, because the genre didn't expanded to all the Continents simultaneously

The common elements in all these bands is that they developed one or more elements of Prog, and even when not completely defined as part of the genre, they are without any doubt, an important stage in the evolution of Progressive Rock.

Generally, Proto Prog bands are the direct link between Psyche and Prog and for that reason the Psychedelic components are present in the vast majority of them, but being that Progressive Rock was born from the blending of different genres, we have broadened the definition to cover any band that combined some elements of Progressive Rock with other genres prior to 1970.

Some of these bands evolved and turned into 100% Prog, while others simply choose another path, but their importance and contribution in the formative period of Prog can't be denied, for that reason no Prog site can ignore them.

Iván Melgar - Morey

Proto-Prog Top Albums


Showing only studios | Based on members ratings & PA algorithm* | Show Top 100 Proto-Prog | More Top Prog lists and filters

4.49 | 1212 ratings
ABBEY ROAD
Beatles, The
4.50 | 710 ratings
QUADROPHENIA
Who, The
4.36 | 1371 ratings
DEEP PURPLE IN ROCK
Deep Purple
4.38 | 1121 ratings
REVOLVER
Beatles, The
4.35 | 1252 ratings
SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND
Beatles, The
4.34 | 1377 ratings
MACHINE HEAD
Deep Purple
4.43 | 712 ratings
WHO'S NEXT
Who, The
4.33 | 823 ratings
THE DOORS
Doors, The
4.25 | 639 ratings
STRANGE DAYS
Doors, The
4.27 | 530 ratings
THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE: ARE YOU EXPERIENCED
Hendrix, Jimi
4.18 | 906 ratings
MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR
Beatles, The
4.16 | 1003 ratings
THE BEATLES [AKA: THE WHITE ALBUM]
Beatles, The
4.09 | 473 ratings
THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE: ELECTRIC LADYLAND
Hendrix, Jimi
3.98 | 899 ratings
RUBBER SOUL
Beatles, The
4.01 | 675 ratings
TOMMY
Who, The
3.99 | 600 ratings
L.A. WOMAN
Doors, The
4.03 | 379 ratings
THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE: AXIS - BOLD AS LOVE
Hendrix, Jimi
3.87 | 946 ratings
BURN
Deep Purple
4.14 | 214 ratings
TWELVE DREAMS OF DR. SARDONICUS
Spirit
3.93 | 394 ratings
NOW WHAT?!
Deep Purple
4.06 | 228 ratings
THE CRAZY WORLD OF ARTHUR BROWN
Brown Band, The Arthur

Latest Proto-Prog Music Reviews


 L.A. Woman by DOORS, THE album cover Studio Album, 1971
3.99 | 600 ratings

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L.A. Woman
The Doors Proto-Prog

Review by Progfan97402
Prog Reviewer

3 stars I found Morrison Hotel a bit overrated. To me, it's a classic rock album lacking a bit of the adventure of previous albums. It does have a stronger blues feel therefore providing a relief from both fans and critics. Fans and critics didn't like how The Soft Parade was swamped in strings and horns, and had a loungey approach (to be fair, actually most of the album isn't that bad and I liked about 80% of the album with "Tell All the People" easily my least favorite). But I really did miss the more adventurous material on previous albums, it's almost like on Morrison Hotel they were playing it safe to get more radio airplay and get the rock critics back on their side. L.A. Woman is the final Doors album as far as fans (and even the press) are concerned (although if you view the two post-Morrison albums as more Ray Manzarek/Robbie Krieger albums they're not that bad). L.A. Woman could be seen like the Double Fantasy (John Lennon) or Blackstar (Bowie) of The Doors knowing that Morrison will no longer be with us shortly after the release of L.A. Woman. Like Morrison Hotel I found it rather overrated. In this case a stronger blues presence and I have never been much of a blues fan, and it sounds like blues I've heard millions of times, with Jim Morrison naturally adopting a more bluesy voice. Half the album is blues-dominated, and I find them rather boring. It's when the album moves away from blues and more into pop and psych realms is where this album really shines. "Love Her Madly" is the most pop-oriented piece on the album and naturally a hit. Even Ray brings out his old Vox, so it sounds like The Doors everyone can recognize. "L'America" is a really weird psych piece, to say the least. "Hyacinth House" is also a nice pop-oriented number, but there's no doubt the highlights for me are the title track and "Riders on the Storm". "Riders on the Storm" is nothing short of a classic. Even as a kid I really dug the tune and that ominous tone, not to mention that wonderful electric piano solo Ray Manzarek gives us along with the sound of thunder. The title track is also a great adventurous number but no need explaining it, classic FM rock plays that one constantly along with "Riders on the Storm". "WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat)" is one of the better blues numbers on this album and I do enjoy it, but I really think they should have gone back to what they have done on their first two albums although with an updated sound. L.A. Woman won back the fans and the critics, but I felt too much of the blues bogged it down. To me an overrated album but has some great stuff (usually the stuff that moves away from the blues).
 Now What?! by DEEP PURPLE album cover Studio Album, 2013
3.93 | 394 ratings

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Now What?!
Deep Purple Proto-Prog

Review by PapaPork

2 stars A very average album, not quite good enough to be a good one, but also good enough to be okay. This is a loaded album, a very heavy rock sound. Each song does have a cool(not good or great) solo, but they are not enough to make the songs rise. They do however help to keep them from mediocrity. Who could possibly give this album anything higher than a three star rating? They could have trimmed the album to forty minutes and it would have fared better. The music is very uninspired and sixty minutes of this is too much. Hopefully "Woosh" and "=1" are better than this, but I won't be holding my breath.
 Live in Texas '75 by WHO, THE album cover DVD/Video, 2012
3.87 | 12 ratings

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Live in Texas '75
The Who Proto-Prog

Review by Finnforest
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

4 stars Last Stand

I really wasn't expecting much when I stumbled on this video. It had a rather low-budget look about it coming from such a high profile band. Turns out, this is an excellent document of the band at the end of their period of peak ability and relevance. Just around the corner, Moon's decline and Pete's apathy towards the band would render them far less vital in my opinion, but that is not yet an issue here in Houston in November, 1975. Moonie is still working magic and Pete is still very much engaged, both appearing to be delightfully sober and in good spirits, although Pete has a few moments where one detects that moodiness. This is very much an exciting and powerful and well-rounded performance of a variety of their material.

The presentation and visual of this show is going to divide people. What you are going to see here is remarkably bare-bones, nuthin' fancy, basically zero "stage show." You will see four men standing on a stage that is no more extravagant than a high school gymnasium. It feels like it was filmed by a high school theater group using their cameras from a perch in maybe the 10th row. Almost zero lighting, almost zero fast-edit shifts, almost zero....everything, except music. For some viewers who are used to concerts having to be huge "events" with a big show and lots of excitement from things beyond music, this show may turn them off or bore them silly. If you *need* a show, you will be bored. For those of us who don't give two sh-ts about the stage show nonsense, this is exactly what a concert should be, a document of musicians playing together. The focus is the music, the quality of interplay, and to a lesser extent, how much you relate or connect with the band.

So having established that this is an old school, no-nonsense gig that is only about music, the question becomes how well do they deliver. Quite well, actually. The reviews of the tour were mostly positive, and Entwistle noted that "Moon and the Who reached their live performance peak during the tour." This film pretty much proves that to me: gutsy, aggressive, emotional, raw, and even playful at times. There are some nice moments captured here where Keith playfully badgers John, jokes around, and where Pete gives his "little speech" announcing the end of his drinking career. Sadly, while Keith was very good and behaved on this night, the wheels would begin coming off the wagon as the next year went on. His behavior became more erratic and dangerous, and his final public concert was less than a year away. They should have hung it up when Keith died and moved on, as Zeppelin had the class to do when Bonham died. Instead, Townshend/Daltrey chose to keep milking the name in a situation they've admitted wasn't very enjoyable. This wasn't the Grateful Dead where all of the members enjoyed each other and enjoyed jamming for their fans each night in a positive communal setting that made sense to continue. Anything but, yet they chose to continue the charade.

All that said, this last stand on film transcends such criticisms as they clearly deliver the goods, a well-chosen mix of material dating back to the '60s right up through the current album. In my view, there's too much Tommy, my least favorite, and not enough Quadrophenia and By Numbers, but that's just a taste thing. I love the chunky punch that Pete gives the old '60s hits, and I loved the reserved yet committed performance John gives to "Boris the Spider." I loved the defiant embellishment they still managed to find on material they've played a million times. I truly was surprised at how good this video ended up being given that it flies below the radar of some of their other projects. If you are a Who fan and you don't mind the lack of a "stage show," then this really is an essential title to own.

 The First U.S Visit by BEATLES, THE album cover DVD/Video, 1991
3.64 | 16 ratings

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The First U.S Visit
The Beatles Proto-Prog

Review by martindavey87

2 stars None of this makes sense to me. The Beatles are undoubtedly the biggest band in history, no argument there, but I guess, being late to the Beatlemania party, I just can't comprehend how big they really were, and just how big of a deal it was when they made it over to the States. And looking by the audiences in a lot of these clips, the American people were absolutely rabid for the British quartet.

How much you enjoy this ultimately comes down to how much you enjoy the Beatles. I like them, and I have all their studio albums on CD, but watching them perform live for 90 minutes while thousands of people lose their minds? No thanks. Not for me. Decent enough addition to the collection, but not something I think I'll come back to.

 Big Beat Box by BEATLES, THE album cover Boxset/Compilation, 2001
1.67 | 3 ratings

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Big Beat Box
The Beatles Proto-Prog

Review by martindavey87

1 stars Sign #14 that a DVD will suck: when it states on the packaging that this is the artists' story "in their own words".

Like many unofficial DVD's, this is a quick cash-grab, compiling whatever tacky footage the producers could get the rights to, and cramming it on DVD, weirdly, in some horrendous monochrome colours. By horrendous, I mean, legitimately ugly and painful to look at. Imagine every black and white clip with a different coloured hue. Absolutely hideous. On top of that, most of the footage has a backing track of a band, The Overtures, I believe (who?), playing Beatles covers.

Thankfully, they included all these life-changing covers on a bonus CD! Life doesn't get any better!

 The Best of the Doors  by DOORS, THE album cover Boxset/Compilation, 1973
2.76 | 14 ratings

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The Best of the Doors
The Doors Proto-Prog

Review by VianaProghead
Prog Reviewer

3 stars Review nº 847

The Doors was an American band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. The origins of The Doors emerged from a meeting between two UCLA film school students Morrison and Manzarek on the Venice Beach, California in July 1965. Morrison told Manzarek he had been writing songs and at a request of Manzarek, he sang "Moonlight Drive", a song that would appear on "Strange Days". Impressed by Morrison's lyrics, Manzarek suggested they could form a band.

"The Best Of The Doors (1973)" is a compilation of The Doors. It was released in 1973 and has eleven tracks. It features tracks from five of their six studio albums when Morrison was member of The Doors. It has three tracks from "The Doors" of 1967, three tracks from "Strange Days" also of 1967, one track from "Waiting For The Sun" of 1968, one track from "The Soft Parade" of 1969 and two tracks from "L.A. Woman" of 1971. Thus, it hasn't any tracks from their fifth studio album "Morrison Hotel". So, "Soul Kitchen", "Take It As It Comes" and "Light My Fire" are from "The Doors". "People Are Strange", "Love Me Two Times" and "Moonlight Drive" are from "Strange Days". "Hello, I Love You" is from "Waiting For The Sun". "Touch Me" is from "The Soft Parade". "Riders On The Storm" and "Love Her Madly" are from "L.A. Woman". But, it has also a track that never was released in any studio album of them, "Who Do You Love".

"Who Do You Love" appears for the first time on their live album "Absolutely Live", of 1970. It's a cover from an original song recorded in 1965 by Bo Diddley. This is a good song with a nice Krieger's slide guitar work. It sounds pretty, actually. "Soul Kitchen" is a tribute to the soul food restaurant "Olivia's" in the Venice Beach, Los Angeles, California, where Morrison and Manzarek met for the first time and represents the place where all began. It's a nice rock song played with energy. "Hello, I Love You" was a big commercial success. Despite be considered one of the most pop songs by The Doors and be frequently criticized, it's a great and catchy song. I never understood the dislike of many fans of the band about it. "People Are Strange" is about the alienation and be an outsider and a very loner person. This is another good and enjoyable song, but it's also at the same time a sad song with a dark musical atmosphere. It's a song with simple lyrics, ironic and sarcastic. "Riders On The Storm" represents, one of the greatest highlights of the band. This is a legendary track, which seems to be the last song recorded by The Doors, as well as Morrison's last recorded song to be released. It seems that it have been played live only once, on The Doors last public performance with Morrison, on the "L.A.Woman" tour at The Warehouse, in New Orleans, USA in 1970. "Touch Me" is a notable song for the extensive use of the brass and string instruments and also because the use of a saxophone solo by Curtis Amy. The orchestral arrangements work perfectly well and they accent Jim Morrison's vocals, even more. "Love Her Madly" became as one of the highest charting hits of The Doors. It's an interesting rock song with good lyrics, very good performances by all band's members, especially the guitar performance of Krieger is really amazing. "Love Me Two Times" is about a sailor and his last day with his girlfriend before shipping out to the Vietnam War. It's one of the most normal and typical rock songs made by the band. It has a slight touch of blues, which is a very normal common thing with many songs of The Doors. "Take It As It Comes" is a beautiful pop rock song, well made, highly attractive and which still sounds fresh and young in our days. We can say this song is so well written that sounds much better than many of the songs on the pop scene today. "Moonlight Drive" is known by fans as being one of the first songs written by Morrison, the song that started all. It's the song that Morrison sung to Manzarek in the Venice Beach. In many ways, this is the song that helped to form The Doors. It's a good song with a nice rhythm. "Light My Fire" was the first great success of them. It has brought the world fame and recognition to the band in the summer of 1967, bringing The Doors to the top of the charts and a symbol of that generation of the late 60's. It's one of the songs that immortalized the band.

Conclusion: "The Best Of The Doors (1973)", is really one of the best compilations released by The Doors. Seven of the eleven songs chosen to be part of it were taken from their three best studio albums "The Doors", "Strange Days" and "L.A. Woman". Only one was taken From "Waiting For The Sun" and one other from "The Soft Parade". None was chosen from "Morrison Hotel" and, fortunately, none was chosen from "Other Voices" and "Full Circle", the two albums released without Jim Morrison. Sincerely, I never got used to of hearing The Doors, without Morrison. Still, if you don't know The Doors very well and you need to by a compilation of the band, I sincerely advise you to buy "The Best Of The Doors", released in 1985, or the double CD compilation "The Very Best Of The Doors", released in 2007, because they're better and more representative from the career of the band when Jim Morrison was a member of The Doors.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

 Tommy by WHO, THE album cover Studio Album, 1969
4.01 | 675 ratings

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Tommy
The Who Proto-Prog

Review by Hector Enrique
Prog Reviewer

4 stars Pete Townshend's obsessive quest to express his concerns about the feeling of not fitting into a harsh and aggressive world, ends up giving life in "Tommy" (1969), the Who's fourth album, to a traumatised child who from birth suffers terrible situations that make him retreat deep inside himself, falling into a kind of post-traumatic autism until his amazing ability to play pinball games among other things helps him return to the outside world and become a massive phenomenon.

And beyond a few thematically nonsensical episodes, "Tommy" has an enormous instrumental and harmonic fluidity, appreciable from the very introduction with the orchestrated "Overture", a medley that functions as a teaser for the following tracks, with a solvent and very loquacious Townshend with the acoustic guitar in songs of overflowing musicality even in their acoustic simplicity as in the brief "Its a Boy" and "Tommy Can You Hear Me", or in the medieval- scented opening chords of "Welcome", and an impeccable band that backs him up to generate countless moments of melodic brilliance, as in the tragic "1921" (excellent vocal interplay), the suffocating and urgent "Eyesight To The Blind (The Hawker)" and "Christmans" (heartbreaking Roger Daltrey), the painful "Cousin Kevin" (another great choral set), the incredible "Pinball Wizard" (fantastic acoustic and electric riffs by Townshend), or the energetic "Go to the Mirror!" (another great electric guitar riff).

And after tracing the life of the troubled character, "Tommy" reserves for its closing section the imperishable "We're Not Gonna Take It / See Me, Feel Me/ Listening To You" with the stupendous rhythm that Keith Moon and John Entwistle structure for the chorus and Daltrey's singing, in one of the pieces that helped install The Who in the definitive Olympus of rock heroes.

One of the many examples of the repercussions of an album that transcended frontiers is the detail of the father of former Spanish tennis player Tommy Robredo (number 5 in the ATP world ranking in the 2000s), who named his son in honour of the English rock-opera.

Indispensable.

4/4.5 stars

 In Concert by DOORS, THE album cover Live, 1991
3.85 | 71 ratings

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In Concert
The Doors Proto-Prog

Review by VianaProghead
Prog Reviewer

4 stars Review Nº 826

The Doors began with a meeting between Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek on Venice Beach, in Los Angeles. At the time, Manzarek was in a band called Rick And The Ravens with his brothers Rick and Jim, while Robby Krieger and John Densmore were playing with The Psychedelic Rangers. During the year of 1965, Densmore joined together with members of the Ravens and bass player Patty Sullivan and recorded a six-song demo, in September 1965. The demo was very pirated and since then circulated widely as a bootleg recording and finally appeared in full later, in 1997, in a collection of The Doors. That month the group recruited Robby Krieger and the final line up of The Doors was formed.

The Doors had a relatively short life due to the dead of Jim Morrison. During those years the band released six studio albums, their eponymous debut and "Strange Days", both in 1967, "Waiting For the Sun" in 1968, "The Soft Parade" in 1969, "Morrison Hotel" in 1970 and "L.A. Woman" in 1971, and only a live album "Absolutely Live" in 1970. However, the band did many live sets all over those years. Later, many of those live acts would be released in several formats. So, from those days we have an amount of live releases of those live sets. This is the case of this live album, "In Concert".

"In Concert" is a live album that was released in 1991. But, "In Concert" isn't a live album released from a single live set from the band. In reality, "In Concert" is comprised of live recordings that can previously be found on three other live albums from the band, "Absolutely Live", "Alive, She Cried" and "Live At The Bowl '68", with the exception of the last track of "In Concert", "The End", that wasn't unavailable until now on CD in The Doors live releases and that was taken from the live concert that was made at the Hollywood Bowl. So, "In Concert" is a live album that was recorded between 1968 and 1970 in Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Detroit and Copenhagen. Thus, the picture of the band's live work is still a bit disjointed because the uneven levels of inspiration achieved at various moments.

"In Concert" is a very extensive live album with 2 CD's with about 2 hours and 20 minutes long. It covers a significant part of their career. It has many of their most known tracks, such as, "Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar)", "Backdoor Man", "When The Music's Over", "Break On Through (To The Other Side)", "Soul Kitchen", "Roadhouse Blues", "Light My Fire", "The WASP (Texas Radio And The Big Beat)", "Love Me Two Times", "Moonlight Drive" and "The End". Besides that, it has many other live parts with some very improvising parts, mainly a rare track, "The Celebration Of The Lizard". The CD 1 is exclusively filled with "Absolutely Live". It's the most consistent part on the set, and it almost specifically bypasses the band's most popular songs. It opens with a non-music track "House Announcer" that is nothing more than the presentation of the band. Than we have "Who Do You Love" that can keeps the flavor of the original song with some psychedelic declinations and highly electric turns. The medley of four songs with "Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar)", "Back Door Man", "Love Hides" and "Five To One" is excellent. "Build Me A Woman" is a fairly standard blues. "When The Music's Over" follows the album's version pretty faithfully, but this an extended version. "Universal Mind" sounds much like most of "Morrison Hotel" material. "Petition The Lord With Prayer" and "Dead Cats, Dead Rats", are two short tracks with some vocal improvisations by Morrison. "Break On Through (To The Other Side)" is a great live version of the song. "The Celebration Of The Lizard" is a great piece originally planned for "Waiting For The Sun" that was never finished. "Soul Kitchen" is brilliantly chosen to end "Absolutely Live" and this CD. The CD 2 is less consistent. It opens with "Roadhouse Blues" one of their classic songs followed by "Gloria", a version of a Van Morrison's song. After that we have "Light My Fire", "You Make Me Real", "The WASP (Texas Radio And The Big Beat)" and "Love Me Two Times". "Light My Fire" is a landmark of the band, one of their most beloved. "You Make Me Real" is a nice song. "The WASP (Texas Radio And The Big Beat)" is a great song with recited lyrics. "Love Me Two Times" is a nice rock song with a blues' touch. All these tracks are good versions. "Little Red Rooster" is a version of a Willie Dixon's song. "Moonlight Drive", "Close To You" and "Unknown Soldier" represent also three nice live moments. The album and CD close with "The End". It's probably the most iconic piece of The Doors and the most progressive track ever made by the band too.

Conclusion: "In Concert" contains almost all of the material from the band's live releases, and can paints an accurate picture of the magic that these trailblazing iconoclasts were capable of making onstage. Free from the strictures of the recording studio, The Doors were able to stretch out both musically and conceptually, with some extended jams and Morrison's spontaneous poetics making once familiar songs into exciting new explorations. Once "In Concert" is a kind of a best off of three of their previous live albums, "Absolutely Live", "Alive, She Cried" and "Live At The Bowl '68", we can say this is a nice and cheap way to have that live stuff. It also can be a good introduction to the world of the band.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

 The Who Sell Out by WHO, THE album cover Studio Album, 1967
3.59 | 306 ratings

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The Who Sell Out
The Who Proto-Prog

Review by DangHeck
Prog Reviewer

3 stars From my viewpoint, The Who Sell Out is a great display of how at-the-right-place-and-time The Who truly were. Released at the end of 1967, this artsy Psych-Pop-Rock aesthetic--am I gonna sound like an *ssh*le in this review, or what[?]--blazed the way for their continued, ever-improved and amalgamated form: earliest-possible, and weightiest, Power Pop and Art Rock out there. It's the album, next to the even-more trailblazing Who's Next ('71), which always jumps to the fore when I think of "The Who". If this is a representation of them as artists, even in its playful silliness, I can't see that being all that bad. I'm feeling good; let's do this thing [not like I've been putting this review off for nearly a year...]. Rating on a track-specific basis, those moreso poppy tunes, less progressive or compositionally adventurous--perhaps fairly inconsistent of me from album to album, honestly--if a track is in some way excellent despite this, I'm allowing for a range of 2.5/5.0 to 3/5.

DON'T DELAY!!! A barrage of Radio London adverts are coming your way! "Armenia City In The Sky", a concept I certainly haven't considered before, opens us up (and closes...) with a supposedly 'sonovox' vocal effect, one of a number of simultaneous wall-to-wall effects, including a back-tracked guitar melody at the end. John Entwistle, just one of the multi-instrumentalists present, plays the horns (here and throughout). Who knew this was so timely and specifically appropriate the sort of sound one might've heard for those most classic of radio ads? I mean, I didn't. "Heinz Baked Beans" poses a rather current-era-sounding question--and seemingly totally unrelated to its title-- 'What's the tea?' They don't skip a beat, and four times we get a rapido 'MORE MUSIC!' leading to the Folk Pop classic "Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand"; it's Simon-and-Garfunklesque (but more exciting and non-demestic, a la castanets?). Verily, people should know this one.

We get a style and lead-vox switch-up (Pete Townsend) on the really great "Odorono". It's some Power Pop Lite, k? Roger Daltrey then exchange vocals duty on "Tattoo", a [Who-specific]track[type] I feel must have influenced Yes to some degree. The Sunshine-Jangle of "Our Love Was" reveals some really spectacular psychedelia; very delicious to mine ears, and with a strikingly beautiful guitar solo. Overall, an expertly crafted tune. Next is a track which, by name alone, is so well-known, nay, so iconic, I actually might not've been able to reliably identify the band were you to ask me: "I Can See For Miles". But of course, hearing it, y'know, there's no mistaking this is L'Who, and part of that is the trademark BOOM from naughty-nun Keith Moon working behind the kit. Bolded this'n because, in its relatively experimental psychedelic display, it is technically proto-Prog in fine form. The cool Country Western advert is so charming hahaha. You TOO can 'turn into a Beast of a Man!' So funny, personally.

The cutesy "I Can't Reach You" is yet another lead by Townsend. Entwistle then takes up the charge, much to my surprise, on "Medac", yet another charmer (better than the one prior). I feel I can only think of him as singing "Boris the Spider" (Fake fans: please report) [like the Ringo of the group, but, no offense to the wonderful Starkey, far more talented]. "Relax" to follow is quite lovely--I did chuckle to myself at the boyish chirp from again-lead vocalist Petey--and I think interesting in the use of an organ, another contribution from Mr. Entwistle. The keyboard role then continueth next... I sort of see why, but I don't recall the unusual Chamber Pop of "Silas Stingy". Great ideas herein, but other groups at the time and thereafter sonically succeeded far more. Then we get, in stark (quieted) juxtaposition, the classically-informed folksy nicety of "Sunrise", the softest entry as one of the album highlights for me. And here we are, the final statement of the (original) LP, "Rael [1]" . Roger Daltrey is the obvious choice for front man, as many of us know; in his sweetest contributions he still shows great power. Yet another iconic force from the most excellent The Who; another, more sure entry in Proto-Prog should-hears. The last minute+ has so much to offer your ears.

Again I repeat, especially to those of you in the back, DON'T DELAY! THE WHO SELL OUT TODAY! Peace be with you and yours.

Finally, returning a week later, here are my recommends from the bonus material (1995 version): "Melancholia" (slick, dark and then moody Garage-Psych), "Someone's Coming" (playful Pop Rock), "Early Morning Cold Taxi" (some great early Power Pop), "Hall of the Mountain King" (a fun, truly Proto-Prog rendition; the second moment after "Melancholia" that reminded me of early Pink Floyd), "Mary Anne With the Shakey Hand" (seriously so charming version with a very prominent organ, and it's a tad longer than the album version, replete with key change), "Glow Girl" (just some good ol' fashioned The Who The Whoin')

 Pan & Regaliz [Aka: I Can Fly] by PAN & REGALIZ album cover Studio Album, 1971
3.55 | 39 ratings

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Pan & Regaliz [Aka: I Can Fly]
Pan & Regaliz Proto-Prog

Review by siLLy puPPy
Special Collaborator PSIKE, JRF/Canterbury, P Metal, Eclectic

4 stars Along with Máquina!, the psychedelic proggy, jazzy, folky and bluesy rock band PAN & REGALIZ is considered one of the very first progressive bands to emerge in Spain as well as having been one of the most prominent bands in all of the Catalonian region at the time. Emerging from the ashes of a local Barcelona folk group called El Mussols in 1967 and started by vocalist / flautist Guillem París, this band reinvented itself in 1969 once París discovered the folk rock charm of Ian Anderson and Jethro Tull and then continued to evolve its sound to include a number of influences. Originally starting out as Agua de Regaliz (Water of Licorice) this early precursor managed to release one single and then due to some sort of contractual issues were forced to change their name which became PAN & REGALIZ which is Spanish for Bread & Licorice!

The year 1971 launched the band into instant success with the debut of its one and only self-titled album that featured eight tracks of early Spanish psych and prog as well as performing at the Granollers Progressive Music Festival where they immediately made a huge impression as Spain hadn't quite latched onto the early sounds of progressive rock brewing in the UK, Germany and abroad. The members of PAN & REGALIZ on the other hand clearly had their hands on the pulse of the international market as they eschewed crafting lyrics in their native Catalan or even Spanish and rather performed in English. Likewise the band emulated the British scene with clear references to Jethro Tull and early Pink Floyd as well as finding affinity with the early German Krautrock scene and its psychedelic excesses.

Although this album only ran for about 30 1/2 minutes it displays an interesting contrast between the A side of the original album and the B side. Side One featured the band's most accessible sounds including the first single "Dead Of Love" all of which exemplified the affinity of Jethro Tull influences with the early blues rock of "This Was" and the guitar and flute soloing trade offs as heard on albums like "Stand Up" and "Benefit" however PAN & REGALIZ wasn't a clone and made these styles their very own with highly varied compositions and a more psychedelic and jazzy touch. The first side culminates with the flute-laden instrumental "Thinking In Mary" which showcased the band's unique rhythmic style as well as use of acoustic guitars and soloing improvisation.

The second side of the album is something else altogether with each track going down completely different roads. The unexpected "A Song For The Friends" takes a journey back to the days of the music hall which features a cabaret piano performances with a rather theatrical foxtrot dance performance which was popular in the 1930s. Then with "When You Are So Bringdown" the band jumps back into blues rock with a bit of Jimi Hendrix swagger. The true progressive psychedelic trip of the album though comes with "Today Is Raining" which immediately exudes an Amon Duul II meets Guru Guru reckless abandon for convention and immediately finds a throbbing bass groove accompanied by trippy organs, spastic drumming and even a jew's harp! Even the vocals display a rather drugged out persona reminding of Can. The music still implements bluesy guitar licks and leads while the cyclical loop style of Krautrock propels the track into a sprawling procession of strange motifs laced with sound effects and detached escapist cosmic unorthodoxies. The track really floats off into space towards the end.

The album ends with the more standard "I Can Fly" which also served as the title of the album when it was reissued on the Orange label in 1979 with a completely different track listing. This was the only reissue to feature this title and all others after reverted back to the eponymous original intention. This track is a nice little confidence booster with bouncy bass groove and psychedelic guitar and sound effects and is by far the most standard psychedelic rock track on the album. One of the coolest tracks on the album as well.

Later reissues also included the pop single "Magic Colors" which features a funky guitar riff and sounds more like a British psych pop hit from around 1968 or some of the crossover prog of The Moody Blues only with a more energetic display of guitar heft and a healthy dose of the Tull-ish flute that dominates the album's content. Overall PAN & REGALIZ may have displayed its influences clearly on its sleeve and doesn't sound even remotely Spansih in any possible way but still managed to emulate the English and German scenes without sounding overly much like the influences they were worshipping. Many may find this album to be lopsided and uneven or even unfocused but i tend to love these kind of albums that offer a wider display of a band's creativity and given that the band only release one album they made it count. While the band was successful it pretty much ended when bassist Artur Domingo decided to join the band Evolution and drummer Pedro van Eeckout followed stuff and joined Jarka. París tried in vein to keep the band going but finally called it quits in 1973.

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Proto-Prog bands/artists list

Bands/Artists Country
ANDROMEDA United Kingdom
APPALOOSA United States
BAKERLOO United Kingdom
THE BEATLES United Kingdom
BRAINBOX Netherlands
THE ARTHUR BROWN BAND United Kingdom
THE COLLECTORS Canada
COVEN United States
THE CROME SYRCUS United States
DEEP PURPLE United Kingdom
THE DOORS United States
EARTH OPERA United States
THE ECLECTIC MOUSE United States
FLAMING YOUTH United Kingdom
FORD THEATRE United States
GATTCH Slovakia
GILES GILES & FRIPP United Kingdom
THE GODS United Kingdom
THE GUN United Kingdom
H.P. LOVECRAFT United States
HANSSON & KARLSSON Sweden
HAPSHASH AND THE COLOURED COAT United Kingdom
JIMI HENDRIX United States
IRON BUTTERFLY United States
IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY United States
JEFFERSON AIRPLANE United States
KALEIDOSCOPE United Kingdom
LES MALEDICTUS SOUND France
MÁQUINA! Spain
THE MASTERS APPRENTICES Australia
THE MOVE United Kingdom
NIRVANA United Kingdom
PAN & REGALIZ Spain
PÄRSON SOUND Sweden
THE PRETTY THINGS United Kingdom
QUIET WORLD United Kingdom
SALAMANDER United Kingdom
THE SHIVER Switzerland
SILVER APPLES United States
SPIRIT United States
SPOOKY TOOTH United Kingdom
SWEETWATER United States
TOMORROW United Kingdom
TOUCH United States
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA United States
VANILLA FUDGE United States
THE WHO United Kingdom

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