Prog Rock

Prog Rock

Prog rock elevated the wildly inventive rock music of the 1960s by adding technically proficient musicianship, sci-fi and fantasy-themed lyrics, avant garde ideas, grandiose concepts, new recording innovations, and plenty of synths. It combines elements from classical music, jazz, and psychedelia rock. The genre reached peak popularity in the 1970s, a decade that also saw the advent of Disco and Punk. It has been critically maligned as “pretentious” by influential ‘70s rock critics like Lester Bangs and Robert Christgau. However, Pink Floyd’s 1973 prog-rock opus Dark Side of the Moon remains one of the best-selling albums of all time. It is such a rite of passage for anyone discovering rock music that it holds the record for the longest charting album in Billboard history.

The Beatles set the table for prog rock when they released Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band in 1967. The groundbreaking album, which synthesized the musical fads of the day, included strings, horns, sitar, and a whistle only audible to dogs. The album was designed to be listened to from start to finish, with each song leading into the next.

That same year, another British band, the Moody Blues, released Days of Future Passed, which was intended as a demonstration of their record label Deccas’ new stereophonic technology. Days of Future Passed was recorded with the London Festival Orchestra, a big swing for the former R&B group. It spawned the melodramatic “Nights In White Satin,” one of the defining hits of the 1960s. The song is bolstered by the Mellotron keyboard, which uses magnetic tape to simulate other instruments. The Mellotron would become a staple of prog rock, eagerly adapted by Yes, Genesis and King Crimson. Rick Wakeman of Yes (one of the genres’ preeminent instrumentalists) played the Mellotron on David Bowie’s 1969 hit “Space Oddity.” The MiniMoog synthesizer, released in 1970, quickly became a must-have for prog-rock bands like Yes, Genesis and Pink Floyd.

With the plan and the pieces in place, prog-rock began to blossom. In 1969, the band King Crimson released the influential concept album In The Court of the Crimson King, which featured classical instruments, Mellotron riffs, odd time signatures, and gothic lyrics that inspired the first heavy metal bands. In 1970 and 1971 they doubled down on the artistry with The Wake of Poseidon and Lizard, two albums featuring ambitious synths and guitarist Robert Fripps’ unconventional picking and riffing.

In the 1970s, bands like Genesis, Yes, and Emerson, Lake and Palmer gained popularity with rock fans as they released concept albums of increasing pomposity. Genesis, led by Peter Gabriel, combined theatrical performances with social commentary on albums like Foxtrot (1972) and The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974). Emerson, Lake, and Palmer were a progressive rock supergroup with a deep appreciation for classical music. Their live 1971 album Pictures at an Exhibition features the group’s rock adaptation of Russian Romantic composer Modest Mussorgsky’s piano suite of the same name. They have also covered Bach, Copland, Prokofiev and Ginastera. Jethro Tull’s 1972 concept album Thick As A Brick (concieved by the band’s leader and flautist, Ian Andersen) features one long continuous song on each side. Yes’s 1973 album Tales From Topographic Oceans is a psychedelic song cycle based on ancient Hindu scriptures.

Progressive rock became uncool in the 1980s, as punk, alternative, and hip hop captured the imaginations of young record buyers. Genesis frontman Peter Gabriel adapted a streamlined 1980’s electronic sound and became a global pop star with the Grammy-nominated album So. Genesis promoted drummer Phil Collins to vocalist, and had several top 40 hits from the 1986 album Invisible Touch. Yes also changed their sound to suit the times, scoring a hit with 1983’s “Owner Of A Lonely Heart.”

However, the genre remained an important touchstone for the metal, hard rock and alternative rock that followed. In the 90’s, bands like Radiohead and Tool carried the torch for progressive rock, releasing musically adventurous concept albums like OK Computer and Aenima. Other bands flying the prog rock banner include Primus, Muse, At The Drive In, and Smashing Pumpkins.

Perhaps the band most associated with prog rock today is Rush. The Canadian band’s high-pitched hits like “Tom Sawyer” and “Spirit of the Radio” are still played several times a day on classic rock radio. Rush released their first album in 1974, and remained active until drummer Neil Peart (whose custom kit included more than 30 pieces) died in 2020.

The 2009 hit comedy I Love You Man, starring Paul Rudd and Jason Segel, is about two man-children who bond over their love of Rush. The band makes an appearance in the film, which also finds Rudd and Segel performing their song “Limelight.”