The 10 Greatest PROG Albums of 1973 | RANKED
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- Опубликовано: 24 янв 2023
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Andy is a drummer, producer and educator. He has toured the world with rock legend Robert Plant and played on classic prog albums by Frost and IQ.
As a drum clinician he has played with Terry Bozzio, Kenny Aronoff, Thomas Lang, Marco Minneman and Mike Portnoy.
He also teaches drums privately and at Kidderminster College 
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Especially Brain Salad Surgery needs some credit. From the cover of Alien Giger, it's the most extreme English aesthetic Prog album of all time. From the reworked and banned English hynn "Jerusalem" to the extreme metal like "Toccata" the English folk style "Still..." to the music hall "Benny" and of course the 30 minute "Karn Evil 9" - a Sci fi tale about a forbidden planet where any form of humanity is erased and where technology, computers and AI dictate and opress society. The subsequent world tour was the biggest tour undertaken for any rock band at that time. Culminating in the headline spot of Cal Jam 1974. A record way, way ahead of it's time, from the "Alien" cover art, to the newly invented electronic drums on "Toccata", the first polyphonic synthesizers and the subject matter of man vs. machine.
Everyone seemed to be progging out in 1973. Black Sabbath with Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, the Who's Quadrophenia, even Elton John dabbled on Goodbye Yellow Brick Road with Funeral for a Friend/Loves Lies Bleeding.
And the Grateful Dead, with "Eyes Of The World" and "Weather Report Suite" from Wake Of The Flood.
I agree with your selection.
What comes to mind, also, is Eno's first - "Here Come The Warm Jets."
Stay warm.
Peace on earth.
I was 16 and listened and bought most of this stuff. Lark's was and still is extraordinary.
I got Brain Salad Surgery for Xmas 73. Thanks, mum! Topographic Oceans was the real game changer for my 14 year old head. Could I live without Dark Side? Yes. TFTO? No chance.
When I was younger, I lived at "the party house" by the restaurant we worked. People would never leave and come over at any time of the day. The only way we got them to leave (rudeness or hinting aside) was cranking out Gentle Giant. We loved it-it confused the guests who then would file out. We called it the "Gentle Giant Method".
My list of ten favorite prog albums from 1973 IMHO (in no particular order):
-Gentle Giant--In A Glass House
-Mahavishnu Orchestra--Between Nothingness And Eternity
-Genesis--Selling England By The Pound
-Yes--Tales From Topographic Oceans
-Hatfield And The North--self-titled
-Henry Cow--Leg End
-ELP--Brain Salad Surgery
-Dedalus--self-titled
-Agitation Free--2nd
-Amon Duul II--Wolf City
Some of my favorite prog-related albums from 1973:
-Stevie Wonder--Innervisions
-Mwandishi/Herbie Hancock--Sextant
-Billy Cobham--Spectrum
-Steely Dan--Countdown To Ecstasy
-Brainticket--Celestial Ocean
-Return To Forever (Mk. 1)--Light As A Feather
-Placebo--self-titled
-Aktuala--self-titled
-Airto Moreira--Fingers
-Oregon--Distant Hills
-Eberhard Weber--The Colors Of Chloe
-Tangerine Dream--Atem
-Les McCann--Layers
Topographic still blows my mind after all these years.
I consider myself fortunate that I bought many of these and more when they came out- such an amazing time
1. Brain Salad Surgery 2. Tales From Topographic Oceans 3. Yessongs 4. Dark Dide Of The Moon 5. Selling England By The Pound 6. Passion Play 7. In A Glass House 8. Ashes Are Burning 9. Greenslade 10. Tubular Bells. I'm a lover of virtuoso playing so ELP and Yes always at my top.
Caravan's FGWGPITN is very pleasing !!
A great year, where are ... Greenslade - Bedside, Doobies - Captain, PFM - Photos, Mann- Solar fire , Genesis- Pound, Ash - Argus (BSS at 6 , you must be a Vila fan !)
Hey Andy, sorry you were cold when you filmed this video! I don't know a ton of Prog Rock, but from what I do know, I was thrilled to see you brought Gentle Giant into the mix! I agree that they are "Prog's Prog." Like so many other bands for so many other people, Gentle Giant was introduced to me at the perfect time in my life, though decades after their career. I was born in 1991 for context. While other bands you bring up - Genesis, Yes, Pink Floyd - are all amazing bands, Gentle Giant just holds a special place in my heart. "In A Glass House" is probably my favorite album, in competition only with "Three Friends." I think the title track, the closer, is probably my favorite GG song, and I would argue it is in their top 3 best compositions. It encapsulates who Gentle Giant is by always taking music to new heights. Still, I get why you ranked Pink Floyd and King Crimson higher. Definitely agree that "Dark Side of the Moon" is a Progressive Rock album, with all the avant-garde elements incorporated. I still would always put "In A Glass House" first, simply because of my bias towards Gentle Giant. I truly think they redefine Prog and Rock music in general. Their 10-year career is as much as a legacy as that of the Beatles - no question.
i first heard DSotM in 1978 still remember being astonished
I totally agree with a lot of this list. Differences for me would be the inclusion of Tull's Passion Play and Museo Rosenbach's Zarathustra.
In a Glass House blew me away in '73 and still blows me away in '23. 50 years of magic. My favourite GG album and in my all time top 10.
They regrouped leaner and neater for IAGH after Phil Shulman left. I would have loved a follow up to Three Friends though with Phil as they lost some soul when he went.
1973 undoubtedly the best year for Prog!
I find it hard to call Pink Floyd a prog band. Progressive music was unique atomically because it drew primarily from classical, not R&B like everything else in that time period.
Pink Floyd is a psychedelic blues band. They play blues chords, blues scales, blues progressions.
Is On The Run or The Great Gig in the Sky ‘psychedelic blues’?
Echoes?
Is Another Brick in the Wall all parts ‘psychedelic blues’?
People include bands like Jethro Tull in the prog category. Tull have a lot of blues in their sound. A lot of the Canterbury bands could be described as ‘psychedelic folk’ using your logic rather than ‘prog’.
If we go down this route, you can start ruling a lot of bands out. And ruling some in- the Moody Blues ironically enough have a lot of classical and symphonic influence from Days of Future onward. Procul Harum have lots of classical influence with Matthew Fisher’s compositions.
You’ve created a neat way of ruling Pink Floyd out but it turns the whole genre upside down.
Is the album Deep Purple made with a classical orchestra more progressive than any Pink Floyd album? Are Deep Purple more prog than Floyd?
@@jimmycampbell78 Pink Floyd have sold too many albums to be considered Prog😄
A great year for sure. 50 years? And we still return back to listen to those recordings….
Andy, some solid choices there. As much as I love 'Larks' Tongues' I would have to put 'Dark Side of the Moon' above it - a flawless album that sounds absolutely timeless to me. Also, since I regard the early Roxy Music as progressive rock, 1973 saw the release of their two finest albums in my opinion - 'For Your Pleasure' and 'Stranded' - both masterpieces that have aged incredibly well. How many other bands released TWO albums of that quality in the same year? I can't think of any.
Elton John (yeah, it was a band) released Don't Shoot Me and Goodbye Yellowbrick Road (double) in '73.
In terms of prog - Genesis had a good year in '76, releasing Trick of the Tail and Wind and Wuthering.
It wasn't uncommon in the 1970s for artists to release two albums in a 12 month period. Elton John's contract with DJM stipulated that he had to deliver two each year.
Thank you for your channel. It has revitalised my love of Prog. I had just turned 15 in late 69 and turned 21 at the end of 75. So many of the prog bands were the sound of my late teens. I drifted away with the birth of Punk and Australian Pub Rock. Those primal sounds were the soundtrack to my 20s. Then I discovered art rock and post rock. But Jethro Tull, Yes, Genesis and ELP have always been close to my heart. Your show has brought to my attention many bands that somehow I missed in my teens. Lots of exploring to do. 😊
I loved prog in my teens then stopped listening to it. Then about twenty years ago I put on And You and I by Yes and it floored me, And for different reasons to why I liked when I was younger. This channel in part is about my rediscovery of prog and the realisation that I am at heart a prog musician.
Hello Andy, I'd love to visit Kidderminster. Anywhere in England and/or Europe. So much history. Tales From Topographic Oceans (huge Yes fan). Brain Salad Surgery is another classic. In 73' I was 16. A very rich period. Dark Side of the Moon blew everybody's mind. Did Traffic put out anything in '73? Not really a Prog band? Kinda sort of maybe? peace from across the pond my friends...
No Quarter constitues all the wonder of various musical genres and influences. Succinct, melodic, ethereal and totally magical.
Outstanding assessment, Andy. Great to see #1 getting some love. I shant spoil it for others. Excellent reasons too. I will be spending more time with it. The album contains both their heaviest sound and their gentlest ballads, one of which is playing in my mind as I write. Can't wait to also explore more GG whose ludibund and playful soul is most like my own. Cheers!
Some won't agree with my number 1. But that is because my number 1 challenges the very essence of classic prog.
Brilliantly insightful, as ever. Danke
Jethro Tull: A Passion Play worth a big mention.
"Passion Play" is where they jumped the shark.........they did however, redeem themselves the following year with "War Child" and went on to produce the masterpiece that was "Minstrel in the Gallery"
Absolutely.
It's a good album but it's too much... Prog for the sake of it, not the fun of it.
Cool list! Passion Play? Henry Cow Legend? QUADROPHENIA? On the arguable periphery? ... Excellent epic conceptualist of a needed sociopolitical critique... Here Comes the Warm Jets isn't quite Prog but Fripp & Eno are already at the forefront pioneering what will become post punk new wave.🎭 ☀️🌛☢️🏔️🌋
1972 to 1974 were the years that I was heavily into progressive rock. When I look at my own collection here's what stands out now from 1973, in the sense that these were among my favourite records then. With the exception of Can's 'Future Days', I've mostly excluded electronic/krautrock (e.g. TD's 'Atem', Klaus Schulze's 'Cyborg', Ash Ra Tempel 'Join Inn'), as well as 'prog-ish' rock (Led Zeppelin 'Houses of The Holy', Procol Harum 'Grand Hotel', Electric Light Orchestra 'ELO II', Ken Hensley 'Proud Words on a Dusty Page', Golden Earring 'Moontan' ), progressive glam (Roxy Music 'For Your Pleasure', Carmen 'Fandagos in Space', Roy Wood's 'Wizzard'), and fusion (Mahavishnu Orchestra's 'Birds of Fire') as these feel more like separate but parallel/interweaving genres:
YES: Tales From Topographic Oceans
KING CRIMSON: Lark's Tongues in Aspic
STRAWBS: Bursting at The Seams
GENESIS: Selling England By The Pound
PREMIATA FORNERIA MARCONI: Photos of Ghosts
CAN: Future Days
FRIPP & ENO: No Pussyfooting
GENTLE GIANT: In a Glass House
BADGER: One Live Badger
ARTHUR BROWN/KINGDOM COME: Journey
RICK WAKEMAN: Six Wives of Henry VIII
NEKTAR: Remember the Future
PETE SINFIELD: Still
ELP: Brain Salad Surgery
FLASH: Out of Our Hands
GREENSLADE: Greenslade
RENAISSANCE: Ashes Are Burning
PINK FLOYD: Dark Side of The Moon
I guess this looks like a pretty cliche list now, but it seemed kind of cutting edge then!
Six of those made my list...
That Flash album is supremely underrated.
The strawbs. Yeah that’s a good one.
"Six Wives" was Rick at his best. Classic indeed.
A great year for prog. Even the folkies were getting influenced: see Al Stewart’s “Past, Present, and Future” which includes two extended tracks:”Nostradamus” and “Roads to Moscow”
Absolutely yes to Al Stewart with Past Present Future , a flawless album with first rate songs
That was a fantastic album...still is...
Would love to hear your story of Al Stewart, Andy! I bought the 50CD Set, a bit more than I need thought, but lots of excellence!
Just listened to the vinyl of that on my new turntable just 20 minutes ago.
An under appreciated classic.
Saw Al Stewert back around 74/75 in Nashville. Before playing Terminal Eyes he dedicated it to the Beatles. Love that song and the Fab Four. Still have my copy of Past, Present, and Future. Classic Al.
I would highlight "MDK" by Magma and three italians masterpieces: "Arbeit Macht Frei" by Area, "Zarathustra" by Museo Rosenbach and "Io Sono Nato Libero" by Banco. Great prog albums being made outside the UK (also Tangerine Dream, Can...).
That was on the list but then got jettisoned for another album. I also listened in depth to the Area album this but I'm afraid it did not make my list either. I will do at some point a special video about European prog, but I will need a collaborator on that as it's not my field of knowledge.
@@AndyEdwardsDrummernice! Hope you find this collaborator! It would be a cool video. And do check Area's discography. Virtuoso players with high creativity and stunning vocal works. Looking forward to your list!
@@ramoncardinali I have someone in mind
Magma "MDK" also makes my list, "Arbeit Macht Frei" barely not. But Battiato is holding up the italian flag.
Great video! Love your rant on PF. Look forward to more of your views on Floyd. I never put Mark Knopfler alongside David Gilmour, but now I think about it I see where you are coming from about their similar styles. Thanks Andy, 1973 was a great year in music!
Well done. You have mentioned the greatest album of 1973 - Selling England by the Pound by Genesis.
It smelt a bit musty THEN 😄
My friend, the first album in rock conception where a musician make everything was "McCartney". Tubular Bells was very steps higher but we can´t forget the input of Paul (as always been)
Andy, your thesis would be convincing if not for the fact that 1974 saw the release (on this side of the Atlantic) of the debut album by Kansas. On this album, Kansas said, "Hang on a moment--there are still vast expanses of unexplored territory in this domain you have opened up. Come see what we're building here. Come explore with us." And sure enough, many of the greatest prog albums were made during the second half of the seventies and even into the beginning of the eighties.
I would include Happy The Man's first two albums along with both of U.K.'s albums among the great prog albums of the second half of the '70s.
Camel's debut album came out in '73 and while it may not be as proggy as their next album it's still quite good. Never Let Go is a great track with a terrific guitar outro by Andy Latimer.
Quite good does not get you on my top ten....
@@AndyEdwardsDrummer I love much of what Camel has done, and Andrew Latimer is a fave guitarist of mine, but I must say, good response, Andy. 'Quite good' does not carry the energy to demand a positive response.
Andy, you're one of the few who actually understand that the mainstream rock bands (especially from Britain) and all the bands we started to call Prog Rock in the early 80s, were all progressive bands, along with The Who and others. It was all under the umbrella of rock. Bravo! But TfTO ahead of Brain Salad Surgery? Lol!!! Also, ELP's primary focus was not in their albums for home listening, but as a concert band. They were perhaps the biggest live band in the 70s, selling out venues like Zeppelin.
Progressive rant at its best by by Mister Andy. Hats off to you.
Love your choices
Thank you Pierre
Very enjoyable video Andy
Glad you enjoyed it
Great video, it made me feel fantastic listening to what you said about all those albums that have meant so much to me over the decades.
The only (mild) niggle I'd have would be that I'd have substituted Gong for A Passion Play, but that's just me.
Great special effects with that finger thing too 😄.
Passion Play nearly made the list. I talk about on the video about 1973
1973 was a rich prog year indeed. There were a lot of albums that year that are not technically prog through and through but have amazing prog moments on them. Amon Düül II’s two releases that year. And Roxy Music’s For Your Pleasure has great prog moments. And similar to Tubular Bells was Fripp/Eno’s No Pussyfooting; maybe not prog by definition, but prog-experimental ambient.
I just realized you mention several of the ones I was thinking of.
I love it when someone mention Amon Duul II in the coments....
That would be a fun story to explore. I think of them together with Fela Kuti.
Heck, I hope there's a recording of Amon Duul II jamming with Fela Kuti. Don't know if that ever happened, but if it did...
Wonderful Video Andy.
You always bring back great memories.
One thing I was thinking about the second half of the 70’s is I think I was buying more albums from individuals rather than bands. Such as Alphonso Johnson, Billy Cobham, Brian Eno, George Duke, Zappa and too many more to list. This was my late teenage years. I was also buying older albums such as Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Miles and the like. I also liked punk but did not buy much. I’m curious if my experience as an “end of the baby boomers “,
was common and if it might better explain the perception of Prog being replaced by punk.
...another thoroughly lucid, charming vid from Andy. Simply a great light on RUclips. So: Townshend's Quadrophenia is in need of mentioning imho. (Love Crimson at the top of his list) For me, the compostional genius Townshend unleashes with Quad is staggering. Have you all heard Pete's demos of this masterwork? ruclips.net/video/Y1Gm1Rj2oKk/видео.htmlsi=OiIELKSdzgj80VJQ The versions of 'Dirty Jobs' and 'Is It In My Head?' blow my mind -- always among from my favourite Townshend compositions. If only Pete had completed 'Lifehouse'...but it has gotten its due over the decades. Talk about an English aesthetic -- Pete is that, in spades.
Thanks Andy.
You make Life better.
Another triumph Andy.
Well, I bought them in 1973, I totally agree with your choice. I don't remember Angel's Egg, but I liked Gong (even saw them play some kind of improvised gig in Jussieu university in the early 70s). I remember "You" very well but this one was released in 1974. So I will listen to Angel's Egg again. Congratulations for your channel, it is so interesting!
You can see the influence King Crimson had on two points in this list. Fripp quit working with Pete Sinfield after "Islands", and went with another lyricist who was a friend of John Wetton, the KC bassist on LTIA. Sinfield, a friend of Greg Lake from the first version of KC, wrote most of the lyrics on "Brain Salad Surgery".
And, infamously the lyics to 'Pirates' .. and the holiday tthat went with it..
I love your videos Andy and watch them asap.
Thank you Rand. I will keep doing them!
@@AndyEdwardsDrummer I doubt you will get in trouble for playing your own lps on youtube. Jim Newstead is in England also and plays full album sides daily. I didn’t have a turntable for 3 decades and my lps are literally mint- in condition.
On the evening of October 28th 1973 I was on a bus heading to Birmingham when I was offered a ticket to see Larks Tongue performed at Birmingham Town Hall that night. I was tempted but turned it down and, in preference, attended Birmingham Hippodrome to watch the Selling England tour - I think that was a wise call, sorry to disagree. 73 was a great year for gigs.
You delivered like usual a well entertaining 50min information video.
5 of the 10 are a must. The other 5 have the same right to be on top10 list like 10 others. So everything is ok.
I might suggest that Henry Cow's first album in 1973 was worthy of inclusion in a list like this.
Ralph Humphrey was the drummer on Zappa's Overnight Sensation and Apostrophe, not Chester Thompson. Chester joined during Roxy and then was the sole drummer on One Size Fits All. The live Roxy movie is freaking incredible as Ralph, Chester, Ruth Underwood and Zappa all play drums and percussion on that one.
Yes, a slip of the tongue there. Check out my interview with Ralph I did just before he passed away
I still listen to Topographic a couple times every week...............................................
"Overblown and Pretentious" is what I thought, yet I loved ELP as a kid. But Mahavishnu was SO advanced. Trilogy is still my favorite, but this album is epic. Like to see GG near your top!
Born in the early 60's, I have only bought and listened to many of these albums for the very first time just in the last 2 years. So, I'm a newbie to prog, fusion, etc. other than the classics I heard on the radio back in the day upon their release. If you are in the right 'frame of mind' and value genuinely creative / transcendent music, you have no choice but to value Tales of Topographic Oceans. Criticisms of this album bug me. Well done is well done. Just discovered Gong, have heard most of their discography and enjoy / am moved by all of it. Ditto of Genesis but still a few I have not heard...yet. Of course I want to know why its freezing cold in your house. Thanks Andy and have fun with the new turntable.
The fuel prices have gone through the roof here in the UK. Normal people cannot afford to put the heating on.
@@AndyEdwardsDrummer Very sorry to hear that. If I had any idea that was going to be your response, I wouldn't have asked. I thought maybe you had a broken furnace. I live in the states up north where not running the furnace isn't an option, paid the most I ever have this year.
Andy, once again another great video. Pretty much spot on! To think I was 13 years old at the time and absorbed into many of these bands is kind of crazy. I don't this would happen today. I didn't know Gentle Giant at the time, but by 16, I was sold! I am curious about one American band you never mention, as far as I know. I haven't seen all your videos. Zappa wasn't the only one here in the US pushing boundaries. You never mention the Grateful Dead. 1973 was the year Wake of the Flood came out. The second side of the album is amazing - Here Comes Sunshine, Eyes of the World, and the epic Weather Report Suite. OK, the Dead doesn't have the British aesthetic, but they do explore music like almost nobody else. Albums like Wake of the Flood, Blues for Allah and Terrapin Station are very proggy, jazzy, experimental. And even though they didn't try to address Punk, they did take a shot at Disco (Shakedown Street). I'd like to know if you ever gave them a go or just assumed they were a flaky hippy country jam band.
Everytime I listened to them I hated them. I might not have listened to the right stuff however...
"Wake of the Flood" is 110% prog/jazz fusion. The Dead circa 1970 had the Miles Davis band opening for them at the Fillmore and various other performances, and Jerry was absolutely floored by what he heard. To paraphrase he almost felt ashamed having to follow up such a monolithic act on stage and it pushed him and the band into a much more diverse jazz improvisation area that culminated on 1973's Wake of the Flood. I personally don't like the production of the studio album but LOVE the tracks live as they were performed (with Freedom Hall KY 6/18/74 being an absolute scorcher). Tracks like "Weather Report Suite", "Here Comes Sunshine", "Stella Blue" and "Eyes of the World" are literally oozing with prog/jazz fusion.
@@AndyEdwardsDrummer Fair enough. I wasn't a fan at first either. My school was overrun by obnoxious Deadheads and I hated it. But as I got older and opened up to music outside prog, I discovered what the Dead were really all about. Lets see if any other Dead fans chime in. Interstellar already gave them a nice shoutcout.
And considering their unabashed love of improvisation in every song, they were always as much a jazz band as a rock band. Plus with second drummer Mickey Hart's absence during this time, original drummer Bill Kreutzmann helped give their music a light, nimble jazz feeling, and Jerry Garcia was spending his off-time during this era playing local Bay Area club gigs with jazz/R&B keyboardist Merl Saunders who influenced his playing (and Garcia had likewise played with and absorbed from an earlier jazz-related keyboardist, Howard Wales). And their more open-ended improvisational tunes like "Dark Star", "The Other One", and "Playing In The Band" were now vehicles for much freer playing akin to free jazz than they had been just two years earlier.
I smile at the occasional bits of irony, like Led Zeppelin being progressive for referencing James Brown and reggae, or Carl Palmer being the ultimate progressive drummer when he was really just a Buddy Rich wannabe with bigger drums and an unstoppable ego.
As for the padding to extend 'Tales of a Topographic Ocean', yes, Wakeman was right. As reference, Johnny Winter's 'Second Winter' was only three sides with the fourth left blank. Smart move, as three sides was enough.
Though some prog fans restrict their definition of the genre as being that which I feel was introduced by Vanilla Fudge in 1967, then anglocised by the likes of the Nice, King Crimson and Yes by the end of the 60s, it is good to see that your defintion is more from a musician's perspective.
Your point about musicians asking where they might go next was also insightful.
In responding to a question put to him on RUclips - 'Is there a burning question he would like someone to ask him?' - he responded at length, concluding with this: "What does the future require of me?"
Though an ideal response for a progressive like Mr. Fripp, that should be every musician's question to self.
Gong still great! Saw them four days ago at a double header with Ozric Tentacles! Kavus Torabi i keeping the dream alive!
Saw ELPs Works tour….first concert that put me to sleep….this album will bore you to tears….cant sleep?!Put on ELPs Works….
Couldn't disagree more.
Totally agree with you on how epic and experimental the early floyd is, 67-73 Floyd is hands down my favorite. Animals is amazing as well! That early Floyd just had a unique magic to it that was completely their own.
Fantastic list and great explanations too. I would kick out Oldfield though and put in Nektar - Remember The Future. Such a beautiful piece of music
Tubular Bells is number one for me
A fun listen to be sure, Andy. Thanks to your recommendation I'll revisit In a Glass House. Among my favorites from that year would have to be Strawbs' *Bursting at the Seams* which is the kind of album some dislike because it's stylistically all over the place. To me, that's its strength.
For me Tales From Topographic Oceans is the best from 1973. I say this knowing that it’s not as perfect as Dark Side Of The Moon, and it’s completely understandable that many will say it’s overblown, pretentious, etc.
I’ve always loved it, though, and am captivated by what they tried to do. It’s an imperfect masterpiece for, while it does have it’s flaws, it’s best moments are among the best, most beautiful, moments in Prog history!
I LOVE Gong Angel Egg! Brilliant! Thanks!
Genesis and King Crimson seemed to look towards the USA after '73; when you mention prog bands wondering what to do after '73.
Always great clips.
I think I would have included Can "Future Days", "No Pussyfooting" by Fripp & Eno, "Paris 1919" by John Cale, "Neu2" by Neu, and "For Your Pleasure" by Roxy Music. Maybe "Space Ritual" by Hawkwind. I was going to even suggest "Innervisions" by Stevie Wonder.
I did consider those but in the end I went for these 10
1973 was the best , so many super great albums that were released .
Other good years for albums 1967 & 1970 , my opinion.
Tales was the challenge to listeners to understand long form composition.
We needed it and I am thankful for it.
3 sides would have been perfect. Just like the Lamb.
I've just got a new turntable too - to listen to these albums of which you speak. The only way to appreciate them. Unfortunately, I ditched my LPs 25 years ago so I'm forking out again 🙃
LTIA-
I was listening to a LOT of free jazz when this lp came out. One thing that struck me about it was how much the opening reminded me of Don Cherry's Eternal Rhythm-the stark side of free music-Derek Bailey, Han Bennink-Fripp had managed to integrate a European free music model with rock and removed any tentativeness King Crimson had earlier. They finally sound sure of themselves. I liked SABB best of this incarnation, but this was the first stable KC lineup-and I was thrilled in Spring of 1973 when I first heard it.
"Starless + Bible Black" for me too, of great importance!!
A bit late in the game here, but my day got done just the same🤩
I have said this before about Pink Floyd. There isn't much musical progression between Meddle and Animals, quite a long period of time. Dark Side sticks out so much because of the greatness of the songs.
Once Syd goes they lose their songwriting genius and what they do after that is very interesting experimental rock. The songwriting does develop I think as time goes on.
I’ll put in a chip for Hawkwind’s Space Ritual here. One of the best live albums and stands alone as a unique effort with some tracks only being issued in this version
Ralph Humphrey is the drummer on Over-Nite Sensation. He also played the drums on side one of Apostrophe.
There is an excellent interview on RUclips with him, Chester Thomson, Ruth Underwood and Terry Bozzio, if memory serves me well.
Yes, great interview. Ralph is a great reader and interpreter and then Zappa brought in Chester to give him that funky Cobham sound. They played together live and that works amazingly well on Roxy. And this perhaps inspired Genesis to bring him in as part of their double drummer set up.
First, the praise: Great video! I was gratified to see Angel's Egg in the mix -- I have been addicted to the entire Radio Gnome Invisible Trilogy since I learned about it in one of your recent videos. Side 2 of Angel's Egg is my favourite Gong -- Oily Way, Love is How You Make It, I Never Glid Before, and Eat That Phonebook Coda are four of the best songs ever.
Now, the criticism: No list of the best prog albums of 1973 can be taken seriously without Jethro Tull A Passion Play. There, I've said it. Maybe that was your number 11? Also, minor quibble, I believe that Tales from Topographic Oceans should have been Number 1. I'm a huge Genesis and King Crimson fan, but let's be real: Selling England by the Pound and Larks' Tongues in Aspic simply don't hold a candle to Tales.
100% agree with Genesis comments. Nursery Cryme is magestic.
Museo Rosenbach - Zarathustra
Great list and presentation. although not a studio album Focus Live at the Rainbow was huge for me in 73
Great video as always. Now waiting for Andy's top ten donkey facts where we discuss how many legs a donkey has.
10 Reasons why a donkey has four legs:
1. because any less and they would be called a Wonkey
2. because.....oh, do I have to?
Great list great year
I found some vinyl in my collection that I never played, mainly because I didn't like it. Took some to the second-hand shop in Norwich. I had to make the guy take Brain Salad Surgery for nothing, that's how great it is.
That won't be because of the musical quality, it will be because how many copies are out there.
Houses of the holy is my favorite Zep album and easy one of the best albums of that year 1973 , where I list also Goodbey Yellow Brick Road ; Sheet music ; Billion dollar babies ; Brothers and sisters ; The captain and me ; Abandoned luncheonette ; Space ritual ; The smoker you drink , the player you get ; Bananamour ; Let's get it on ; Pronounced Lynyrd Skynyrd ; Innervisions ; Dixie chicken or Berlin. Sinatra would have said : " it was a very good year "
But I would never have listed Zep in this top ten of Prog. Rather the more unknown album Atlantis from the Dutch band Earth & Fire or Paint a picture from the band Fantasy.
Still very good list since the Zappa one I don't have & In a glass house ...I used to have but sold it when I got rid of about 300 cd's in my collection because of rarely played.
The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get!! Awesome album. Yes is my favorite band.
Big thumbs up for Innervisions!
Andy, do you like Eloy? Their 2nd album Inside came out in '73 but similarly to Camel it was a precursor to a true prog rock gem to be released in '74. Seems like Eloy gets very little love on the prog rock channels. Thanks for the video.
Eloy is the best Space Rock band of all time!!!!
It's incredible that from the bright utopian 1972 we go to the dark extreme of 1973. Dark Side, Larks, Brain Salad, Lamb, Passion, Tales etc. Fast forward 50 years on it's incredible how these albums still are extremely current especially Dark Side and Brain Salad. The unease, madness, war, totalitarian society, out of control technology/computer. On The Run, Us & Them, Toccata, Karn Evil 9 are more current than ever.
"In Embryo".
Perfect description of Selling England by the Pound.
JT
No way that crimson record beats the Floyd , ever .
Of course it does. It's more innovative, more futuristic and influential, more virtuoistic, heavier, darker and changed the future of prog. Darkside was a summation of what prog represented and from then on Pink Floyd would veer closer and closer to the middle of the road. take personal taste out of it Larks Tongues is the greater of the two.
@@AndyEdwardsDrummer It might be more innovative, more futuristic more influential, more virtuoistic, heavier, darker etc. but non of these attributes dertermine, whether it's a better or greater album (btw I have huge respect for Fripp as a guitar player, producer and composer, but would still veer towards the Floyd record)
PF is a mix, between psychodelic and experimental music. A lot of many blues and jazz, results amazing music , because progrock make everything ritms toguether and building the best rock in the planet Earth. Progrock created many masterpieces, and bring beauty to Rock.
A great summary of 1973, Andy.
My only observation would be my usual one that Camel don't see to get sufficient recognition on your channel. OK, I wouldn't include their 1973 release in the top ten but, if we stretch your definition to "recorded in 1973" we then get "Mirage" which is arguably Camel's prog rock zenith.
Talk about the English aesthetic .... not only does Tolkien feature strongly but even Sir Edward Elgar gets a look-in and you don't get more English than Sir Edward. Camel even transmogrified into a Canterbury scene band after a few years. Surely Camel tick all your Progometer boxes, and then some? 😉
Richard
Yes, Camel tick all the prog boxes but for me lack a little edge and seem to be followers, not trend setters. I heard them when i was very young, getting into prog and they didn't chime like Yes or King Crimson
Regarding Houses of the Holy, another musician on the VC informed me recently that the orchestral music you can hear on The Rain Song was actually all done on a Mellotron. Shocking. I still don't know if I believe it. What do you think Andy?
Yes it is. John Paul jones was a highly skilled arranger
1973 was the peak of prog! 🤓
Yes Tubular Bells was iconic and unique and for my money ought to be number one all day long. Why ? , well because it was so left field and unlike anything else at that or any other period .
Yes...there is a strong case for this/ It is groundbreaking, innovative and it was extremely popular. It's just musically a bit uneven.
@@AndyEdwardsDrummer perfect in every way possible for me. Been playing it regularly for the last 50 years and I never get tired. It’s a masterpiece.
1973 also the year of the póst Joycean/ greatest Prog Novel, Pynchons GRAVITYS RAINBOW... 🌈🌀⚡🏔️🌋
I am a fan of his german translator: Elfriede Jelinek and her choise for the german book title. Die Enden der Parabel
@@narosgmbh5916 That's far out! It must work well since Pynchon uses a Rilke idiom vernacular throughout... I dated a girl whose German father had a German translation of ULYSSES, I can't imagine haha. Lots of Zarathustra, Hegel Heidegger and Holderlin would prolly help utilize a semblance of a radical translation ... to capture the zeitgeist of the Geisteswissenschaften. Cheers! 🎵
A passion play by Jethro Tull is a great prog album!
I like LTIA as number 1. Robert Fripp was a visionary artist in the 1970's and he still is today.
He is...Fripp and Zappa
The track lengths on In a Glass House are organized the same way as they are on The Yes Album and Drama. Cool! Side 1: long, short, long, and Side 2: long, short, and long. I need to get into In a Glass House. I've never listened to it even though I absolutely love Gentle Giant, Three Friends, and Octopus.
Selling England by the Pound also has this structure, alternating the big long pieces with shorter “breather” tracks, plus an extra breather at the end of side one.
Ah yes 1973 the year I went to big school and started my discovery of great music that between then and the end of the 70's included many of these choices - the Zappa, Gong, Gentle Giant and Pink Floyd came some years later biut typical that I started off just at the point when things started to slowly decline.
Great list. I particularly like the inclusion of Zep and Floyd for the reasons you stated. Not that it should have been in the Top 10, but I'm curious about your thoughts on Wakeman's The Six Wives of Henry VIII.
That one nearly made my list.
@@AndyEdwardsDrummer Well there's always "Journey" next year 😉
My 1 issue is that Tubular Bells would never be known anywhere if it wasn’t for the exorcist.
Its a groundbreaking album, and it shows if challenging music like this is given the right platform it sells millions
My list in no specific order:
Magma: MDK
John Cale: Paris 1919
Can: Future Days
Popol Vuh: Hosianna Mantra
Henry Cow: Legend
Who: Quadrophenia
Roxy Music: For Your Pleasure
Pink Floyd: Dark Side Of The Moon
King Crimson: Lark's Tongues In Aspic
Franco Battiato: Sulle corde di Aries
@Andy: Hope the Cale qualifies as Prog Rock ;-)
1972.
@@ericarmstrong6540 Which album?
Genesis is probably my favorite band. That being said, I don't understand the love for "Selling.....". Too many disposable songs: Epping Forest, Aisle of Plenty, After the Ordeal. For me there's a lot of filler. The rest of the album is really good. I just don't feel it is one of their stronger attempts
I think I feel the same...its goog filler, but filler none the less...
Hi Andy, I’m not sure if you’re aware, but Dave Stewart commented on your ‘Ten Best Prog Keyboard Players’ vid. Just to let ya know, in case you missed it.
Overnite Sensation is a belter. Definitely a Mahavishnu influence on that one.
Wow....which one? not the fella from Eurhythmics? :)
@@AndyEdwardsDrummer The right one!
@@ganazby Hatfield North, National Health? I like that bloke. Especially with BB!
Also loved Alan Gowen - pity he left us so early
What printing of 'The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway' do you have?
#10 - Gong??? I worked in a record shop in the mid 70s but I'd never heard of them until I heard you mention them a few months ago Andy. What the! I think you must be a Prog Messenger - not to be confused with Jazz Messenger. LOL. You didn't call this "My favourite......" so you open yourself up with some odd calls like your first two. I heard that Zappa album on release and put it in the "musical comedy" category! "Houses" is Zepp's most prog and my favourite Zepp album.