I’ve been trying really hard to avoid the news lately, and political stuff in particular. That stuff is worse for you than a steady diet of Jack Daniels’ and cigarettes! The whole world seems to have lost it’s collective mind, and seems intent on taking me down with it, so I’m enveloping myself in music even more so these days.
So rather than letting the political Progressives raise my blood pressure, I’m gonna focus on progressive MUSIC and stay on an even keel today. I was pretty young when most of this stuff came out, and to me it really holds up all these decades later. Sure, we’ve got up and coming “kids” doing things with instruments we never thought possible nowadays, but these guys below are where all that started. The original risk takers and mold-breakers!
If you are at all familiar with this genre of music, you will undoubtedly notice several notable prog bands missing… Well, what can I say – if I put them ALL in I’d be here all day! And some of the classic prog bands, I just never really got into (looking at you, Emerson, Lake & Palmer!) and besides, “progressive” is a bit subjective, really. I mean, you could say the Beatles were “progressive”, and you wouldn’t be wrong, but their name NEVER comes up in discussions about (capital P) Progressive bands. And these selections aren’t necessarily my favorite tracks from all the bands, but I do enjoy them all. Anyhow, that is enough of my yappin’
Enjoy!!
Have a great weekend everyone! Thanks for stopping by!!
The Boring Old Man 
Totally agree… The Beatles were the very essence of “progressive music”! One could say that they had a hand in creating the genre. These days “progressive” seems to be all about chops and how fast and accurate you can play. All well and and good and I am a fan, as long as it is not at the expense of the music itself. Great progressive bands use all that choppy goodness to tell a story… I don’t need to hear a thousand notes when one or two could do the job just as well, if well placed and played with passion. The older I get the more I try to simplify my solos to try to make them more melodic, not just showy, although I still try to sneak the showy stuff in now and again (lets face it, it is fun to do!).
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Well said brother! Sometimes you can say a lot more with a sustained whole note than with a series of screaming fast arpeggios. I find myself blown away often by the skill of some of these young cats, but there is a distinct lack of soul with much of it. That being said, I’m going to see Polyphia next week and I can’t wait!!
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