Progression

I grew up in the 1970's and 80's. It was a time of great transformation in the musical world. Punk smashed its way into spotlight in 1975/6 with bands like the Sex Pistols, The Ramones, The Damned and the Buzzcocks hitting the scene with in your face music that wanted to burst the bubble of what was seen by some as overblown and self indulgent rock music. The Who, Led Zeppelin and other hard rock bands escaped the wrath of music journalists wishing to trash the big name rock acts of the day.
Meanwhile, I was sharing a bedroom with an older brother who hadn't bought into punk. He was an avid Yes and Genesis fan. He didn't seem to listen to many other progressive groups at the time but they were enough for him I guess. His musical tastes had ranged from David Bowie, Alice Cooper to the Strawbs. I was listening mainly to the Who and Rolling Stones but gradually became beguiled by the complex music he was into. Yes are the most successful progressive rock band to have come out of the UK. They have experienced countless line up changes, fierce criticism at the hands of some music journalists and changes in style and delivery over their 50 year existence.
I remember my first music lesson at secondary school. My teacher played extracts from various different artists as examples of modern music. She chose an instrumental passage from the 1972 Yes album, Close To The Edge. It was like a bizarre jazz rock roller coaster which most of my class thought was rubbish. I on the other hand, instantly recognised the distinctive guitar playing of Steve Howe and bass of Chris Squire. I found it one their more challenging pieces but at the same time, engaging. I sought to defend it against others in the class, eventually dismissing them as philistines. What did they know, listening to the Bay City Rollers, Mud and ELO (prog rock for the safe).
Yes were different.
They wrote music like classical compositions with movements. They were all astonishingly talented musicians who played faultlessly complex music. Jon Anderson wrote lyrics no one could ever understand but nevertheless sounded great. My favourite Yes album will always be the 1977 masterpiece Going For The One. Hell, it even had a single that got on Top of the Pops (Wonderous Stories). It was a perfect album from start to finish with not a duff track on it. The magnum opus of the album was the 15 minute track Awaken. The piano intro is superb. Rick Wakeman was and is a total show pony but boy can he play. The track rolls and soars, drives on, slows down, drifts ethereally and climaxes like a magnificent symphony.
I still believe it is the best example of Alan White's skills as a drummer/percussionist. It was recorded in Switzerland during a brief happy period for the band. They were all getting on and playing at the top of their game. Yes were in many ways, everything the punk press hated. They were also one of the biggest stadium bands of the 70's who were a huge success in the USA as well.

Go on, tell me you didn't enjoy that!

The other band my brother was mad about was Genesis. Formed around the same time in the late 1960's as Yes, Genesis came from a group of Charterhouse school friends. 

The band had a few changes of personnel in the early years before settling on a five piece with Peter Gabriel on vocals, Tony Banks on keyboards, Mike Rutherford on Bass, Steve Hackett on guitar and Phil Collins on drums. This line up produced four stunning albums between 1971 and 1974 when Peter Gabriel left. Unusually for bands of the time, they promoted Collins to lead vocals as well as drums. His place was filled on the drums by Chester Thompson when playing live. They made two more albums Trick of the Tail and Wind & Wuthering before guitarist Steve Hackett left to go solo. The remaining three piece went on to ever greater commercial success in the 1980's. Genesis also often composed tracks like classical pieces and would go for expansive tracks such as Suppers Ready from the 1972 album Foxtrot. 

Their style was however very different to Yes. It was more quintessentially English, nostalgic, comical in places. They were also consummate musicians who could produce superb arrangements. They lacked the vocal harmony of Yes or the electrifying pace but they knew how to produce thoroughly engaging music. I remember buying a very poor Spanish import of Selling England By The Pound and playing it to death ( which didn't take very long as it turned out). I still think it is their finest album although it has a couple of slightly weaker numbers on it. Like Yes, they produced an album which subsequently split the line up but was in itself a masterpiece (Lamb Lies Down on Broadway).   

 

How great was that! (Peter Gabriel at his most avant garde)

I did also enjoy the pomp and grandiosity of Emerson Lake and Palmer at that time. My only problem with some of their music was it kind of dragged on a bit. at their best they were brilliant but I found them a tad self indulgent even for my musical tastes. I still regard their album Brain Salad Surgery as their finest moment. 

By the early 1980's, I was embracing more new wave bands like XTC but still managed to discover other great progressive acts such as Canel and more rock acts in particular Rush.

Rush, a Canadian three-piece comprising Geddy Lee on bass and lead vocals, Alex Lifeson on guitars and Neil Peart on Drums. yet again, superb musicians who could make the most astonishing music. They were considerably heavier than Yes or Genesis but still managed to make complex, and on occasions lengthy pieces of music. They started in the early 1970's but hit their pinnacle around 1981 with the release of the fantastic Moving Pictures album. I would argue that in album form, it's probably my favourite side one of any artist. The album starts with the track Tom Sawyer. This is such a brilliantly powerful number to begin and album with. Neil Pearts drumming on this almost defies belief! They continued to produce and adapt to changing musical trends but have always retained their essential Rushiness. 

The list of what could be regarded as progressive acts to come out of the 1970's is considerable but my tastes were refined. I consider the three featured bands as being at the pinnacle of progressive mountain top. 

I haven't include one of the most influential rock bands ever, namely Pink Floyd. I think their musical output kind of deserves a blog post all on its own. 

I don't really like the sound of Progressive Rock as a label and certainly not Prog Rock. It belittles, hugely commercially successful rock acts for just simply daring to do their own thing regardless of what the popular movement was at the time. 

If they were to attempt to produce albums they released in the 1970's today, the record companies would run a mile. Not enough broad based appeal, too complicated. 

They deserve their place in the pantheon of popular music for making music that challenged the listener and rewarded them with wonderful, symphonic productions.