I was in my late teens when 1970 rolled around and I went all of the way down the prog rabbit hole . For me , part of what defined a prog band was what they could do in the live setting as well . I saw all of the bands multiple times in the 70s , and the most entertaining concerts were always delivered by Jethro Tull , and Emerson , Lake & Palmer ( with Genesis and Yes not too far behind them ) . Therefore ELP would have an album in my top 10 ( likely Tarkus or Brain Salad Surgery ) . Cheers !
To me Relayer was a huge disappointment because I was buying those Yes records as they were released. CTTE was so damn good that the anticipation for the next record was very high. Although Relayer had some great moments I found it a bit harsh and Moraz’s Keyboard work too chaotic and non melodic. In a nutshell the Album made me kind of seasick when I listened to it. The return of Wakeman for Tales was a great relief and the anticipation for that Record was killing me as I wanted that huge recovery from the Moraz “years”. Once again some good stuff but I agree with Wakeman when he said it basically would have made a good single record. Even at that it’s a far cry from CCTE. This was the sentiment of many fans and critics in real time during 1974-1976. I’ve tried through the years to listen to and re evaluate my opinion and am even disappointed in the same way with Going For The One and Tormato. Both have great stuff but… Most fellow Yes fans find me crazy but I actually like Drama more than most post CTTE Records.
Chronologically the best Prog Rock albums are: In The Court Of The Crimson King (1969) The Yes Album (1971) Aqualung (1971) Fragile (1971) Thick As A Brick (1972) Close To The Edge (1972) Foxtrot (1972) Dark Side Of The Moon (1973) Selling England By The Pound (1973) Brain Salad Surgery (1973)
Heard all those albums and none are in my top 10. Let’s start with Porcupine Tree , Riverside, Malina, Haken, Dream Theater, something that’s not over 50 years old. You’re suggesting Prog is. Dead
@@kenjones6441 All those acts are hybridised bands of no rock importance that completely ripped off the bands of the actual progressive rock period of the late 60s/early 70s who created original music. You stick with your unoriginal bands and I’ll stick with my original prog rock bands.
@@kenjones6441Love the bands you’ve mentioned but ‘Prog’ is progressive which it was 50 years ago.Dont think there is anything progressive from the likes of Dream Theater,Riverside etc.other than they’ve mixed prog with metal….Great stuff though..Just my opinion
Nice to hear you pointing out “Heart of the Sunrise” and “South Side of the Sky.” Those are my favorites from “Fragile” as well (along with “Mood for a Day”). And yes, “Grace Under Pressure” (for me) stands nearly as tall as “Moving Pictures.” This underscores my affinity for darker music. (see: HotS and SSotS)
@@nectarinedreams7208 🤣Just say you don’t like it that much; it’s never been deemed “overrated” Later albums have that distinction, but certainly not that one!😵💫
It is interesting and delightful that Roger Dean's name is mentioned in many prog related documentaries and top tens and top forties. I believe his art works are becoming the visual landscape for prog rock music for many listeners.
Many of us had cool friends who introduced us to great music in our teens. Life took over, we lost contact and the music moved on. But you have become the cool guy for me that gets the juices going again. And the best part is that i no longer think I'm looking back when i listen to you.
Glad to see someone else giving props to that Focus album. “ Eruption “ is definitely one of the great, epic prog tunes ever. And yet hardly anyone ever talks about it on all of these prog websites. That’s a real head scratcher.
@ER-me1ii I'm unfamiliar with that name as well. In fact I have only 2 albums from them, Moving Waves and the Hamburger Concerto which I've grown very fond of. I really need to track down a couple of more from those guys.
I find it interesting that Alan Parsons' name is so rarely mentioned in these kinds of lists. APP's 'Tales of Mystery and Imagination' would certainly be hovering around my Top 10 Prog Albums.
Alan Parsons' is pretty much excluded from the prog party these days. So is Supertramp. I think they're both a little too sunny for the present day prog conversation.
Very good list!!! My top 10 would be 10- "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" Genesis 9- "Trilogy" Emerson, Lake & Palmer 8- "Thick as A Brick" Jethro Tull 7 - "Larks Tongues In Aspic" King Crimson 6 - "Foxtrot" Genesis 5 "Fragile" Yes 4 "Aqualung" Jethro Tull - 3 - "Red" King Crimson 2- Selling England By The Pound" Genesis 1- "In The Court Of The Crimson King" (just the track "Epitaph" overshadows all prog rock songs)!! I don't include Pink Floyd because I think it has prog but is much space rock or art rock. I'm so sorry not to include "Moonmadness" by Camel or any Gentle Giant, Focus, or PFM but it's just 10 albums!!!
CTTE is still on high rotation for me. If the title track plays, I always let it finish. And at 18+ minutes, it just seems to fly by. The greatest prog song and album of all time, IMO. Every song is flawless.
Moody Blues-To Our Children's Children's Children...Porcupine Tree-Signify...Jethro Tull-Benefit...Mothers Of Invention-We're Only In It For The Money...Yes-Time And A Word...Genesis-The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway...Joe Byrd And The Field Hippies-The American Metaphysical Circus...Rollers-Elevator...Kayak-Royal Bed Bouncer...Mike Oldfield-Ommadawn...
I like the meanderings of Fragile, which so much was my background music to reading The Lord of the Rings, but you are right that Close To The Edge holds up best and also because Yes retained the same members a Fragile. Along with The Yes Album = Three of a perfect pair.
Here's my list: Close to the Edge, The Yes Album, Fragile, Thick ad a Brick, Permanent Waves, The Grand Illusion, Yessongs, Beyond These Shores, The Book of Kells, Heaven's Bright Sun.
I expected, to see Meddle up in the top 10. You should see how many likes and comments there are, on the Pink Floyd RUclips channel, especially Echos, many many youngsters love it. I can see Echos, included with the great compositions from the so called Golden era, that will be heard and loved for centuries to come.
Haven't seen the whole list but Moving Waves and the Power And The Glory by GENTLE GIANT should have been on the top ten list. Why would two bands be listed twice?
Not sure why ELP never get their due. Just tremendous work on their part, but no top ten here, the Hall of Fame hates them and so does Rolling Stone. Brain Salad Surgery has to be in the running or even their debut with “Take a Pebble” etc. Pictures at an Exhibition is also amazing. I understand the value of obscure contributors to the genre, but you cannot skip ELP.
I agree with number 1. Close to the Edge is a pure masterpiece! But I would have liked to see Rush's 2112 and Marillion's Misplaced Childhood on the list.
In agreement with 80's Rush. Love Grace Under Pressure, Power Windows, Signals and even Presto. While I love Moving Pictures, Permanent Waves add Clockwork Angels might better fit. There's so many albums that could fit the top 10. 1 Foxtrot by Genesis 2 Permanent Waves by Rush 3 Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd 4 Crime Of The Century by Supertramp 5 Operation Mindcrime by Queensryche 6 Selling England By The Pound by Genesis 7 Freak Out by The Mothers Of Invention 8 ELO II by ELO 9 Clockwork Angels by Rush 10 Tarkus by ELP
I fully agree with you about A PASSION PLAY. Superior! No need to apologize for your neighbors, hardly heard it. You might want to hold onto something though so as not to knock anything over with your talking hands. 😆
@ 0:48 , THANK YOU! I was caught up a bit in a progressive rock community and they kept insisting PFM's first album came out in the 1980's. Trying to make a nut case out of me I suppose. Now, the album I had in the 1970's was not this album, though, I did have an album from the later 1970's. I suppose they were just jealous because I knew who PFM was before they did. Huh.
Who am I to argue? My re appreciation of YES in my twilight years has proved to be a highlight of my lost vinyl experience as a youth whose ear wasn't trained to their sonic landscapes. I personally consider In the Court of the Crimson King a kind of one off album given Ian McDonald's contributions so noticeably absent from the next album. King Crimson as we know them re-emerged on the third album, Lizard, and continued through their various metamorphoses from there. The first album exists in a universe all its own.
I can agree to Close To The Edge being the #1 Prog Album but as a HUGE Beatles fan I would gladly admit that Dark Side is the #1 Album in the history of “Rock”.
I've looked up the top 50 UCR list of Prog albums. It has all the favorites, the usual suspects. But it doesn't allow space for one album that surpasses many or nearly all of them. Hybris by Änglagård. Few Progressive Rock albums sound as good as they did after you've fallen deeply for the wonder of this album. Änglagård re set the bar with that one.
They didn't even list it in the top 50? I agree, not top 10, but its probably in my top 20 somewhere. I have seen Anglagard live 3 times, the 1st time they had THREE mellotrons on stage! Incredible band.
As a Rush fan whose first album was 2112 at the age of 15 in 1977 and was consumed by them through high school and throughout my life (62 atm), they are prog as prog gets...I have never heard any Rush fan say otherwise.
My top 10: 1. Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd 2. In the Court of the Crimson King - King Crimson 3. Animals - Pink Floyd 4. Red - King Crimson 5. Close to the Edge - Yes 6. El Jardin Des Los Presentes - Invisible 7. The Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd 8. Selling England By the Pound - Genesis 9. Meddle - Pink Floyd 10. Larks Tongue in Aspic - King Crimson
I'm a massive genesis fan so forgive me when I say my favourite genesis album is duke. It's got everything genesis always were , as far as yes is concerned it's going for the one , all day long and twice on Sunday.
Two albums in the top ten from Genesis is fine, but three is asking a lot; but deserved. 'The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway' must be included, since it is not just one of the best Prog albums, but one of the best rock albums of all time.....certainly of the 20th century.
That's a fair opinion, but I don't think many in the progosphere would agree with it. Lamb is interesting, but it doesn't have the hooks of many of the best prog albums.
It was Hackett’s exit, not Gabriel’s, that ended the classic era of Genesis. There’s a wonderful moment in the version of “Firth of Fifth” on “The Tokyo Tapes” where the arrangement veers from the Genesis original composition and gets all squirrelly and menacing. Then, Hackett pieces through with one single sustained note... a single note that miraculously makes it suddenly sound like Genesis...
@emceesmith6665 Considering Phil and Mike helped him out with that album, which was at odds with Genesis' band policy at the time, Steve could have at least stood more loyal to the band rather than skip out after W&W. Its a shame of what could have been. Steve's a nice guy, and I've been to all his Genesis Revisited concert tours (and met and talked to him 4 different times!) but again, he's doing MUCH better financially since he started doing those tours. Before doing so much more Genesis on his tours, I saw Steve in a tiny theater in Springfield IL one year that probably held 300 at the most, and it was half full. I also saw him playing live on a Sat afternoon drumming up sales at a Borders in Chicago. Tony Banks said that Steve could never accept the fact that his strongest point was his PLAYING,not writing songs. Oh well, spilt milk 🥛.
@@theoriginalchefboyoboy6025Hmmm, I hear plenty of passion and fury in Trick of the Tail, Wind and Wuthering, ATTWT, Duke, and in long form gems like Abacab, Home by the Sea, Domino,Fading Lights, The Dividing Line, Uncertain Weather, There Must Be Some Other Way etc. Dance on a Volcano/drum duet/Los Endos live defines prog passion and fury.
The arguments surrounding the quality and identity of Genesis after Gabriel's departure will never end. 50 years later and fans are still trying to impose personal taste to define fact and not preference. I would only interject by saying let it go; relax and enjoy what you like and let others do the same. You aren't going to change anyone's mind.
A nicely done presentation despite the neighbours , can't really argue with that list, I have all the albums mentioned, there are one or two choices I would prefer but its not my favourites list , these albums represent some very important and musical highlights, what I find interesting is most are from the 70's, which has to be the greatest era for Prog.
The Top Three are exactly right choice-wise, although I might have Crimson at #1. I'd also have to throw Gentle Giant (Octopus) and Caravan (... for Girls Who Grow Plump In The Night) in there. ELP was a lot of talent that produced a lot of "meh"; the debut and BSS are their strongest statements. Prog-wise, Wish You Were Here is probably PF's best. Tried to think of a Renaissance album that might qualify and only came up with Ashes Are Burning, and I'm not sure that's enough. My personal Yes choice would be Relayer, but I'm aware that it's probably not the stronger of the two. Moving Pictures is damn-near perfect, but I'd agree that it's somewhat less proggy than PW and its immediate predecessors.
Thank you for the list! Love the Mars Volta inclusion! Great album! Agree with Close to the Edge. Totally expands musically complexity but the beauty and atmospheric wonder of the album draws you in. And all the dissonance and jazz meets prog rock. It's amazing! Really - I agree with most. I LOVE 70's Rush. But when they get to Motion Pics it seems the guitar sound has lost all the gritty guts and power and transitioned into the Strat, chorus etc enhanced but no-guts sound... to me Fly By Night or Farewell to Kings or Permanent Waves... Plus the Rush boys are excellent musicians, however, I always thought of prog rock as being bands were everyone is an absolute master musician and they changes keys and time sigs a lot. Geddy is a genius bass player, but not on keyboards. Love to hear your thoughts on that. haha! Thanks again!
@@classicalbum oh sorry - I guess I spaced out on that first 30- seconds or so. Hahahaha. I know you're a Passion Play - Topographical guy. Ha! 2 albums I admire, but don't love like Thick and Close.
I think his guitar sound rapidly changes in the 1980s to fit the new atmosperics they were exploring. But I like what Rush were doing in the 80s - 'Hold Your Fire' I have criticised, but that's more due to the production than the songs themselves
Fly by Night is nowhere CLOSE to being a Prog album. Its a straight ahead pedestrian hard rock album. Rush's first 3 albums are not Prog Rock. That started with 2112 and Hemispheres. I would say Kansas' 70s albums are much more progressive than Rush's first 6 albums. I'd put Leftoverture in the top 10 over Moving Pictures. Back in the 70s, no one ever considered Rush as "prog" like Yes, Genesis, ELP, Crimson. After Perm Waves and Moving Pictures they started getting more prog credibility in the early 80s.
I have to put in a word for Gong's Expresso 2 album, released in 1978 when Pierre Moerlen was at the helm of the band. It's the most wonderfully and exotically inventive work I've encountered in the prog genre.
Huge fan of Prog and Space Rock/Krautrock and have been since 1979 when I bought Court Of The Crimson King and Camenbert Electrique on a whim (liked the covers!!)...think both albums cost me something like £1.99 each! Anyway, never understood the love in for Rush...just don't get it. I should like their music it has all the right ingredients, long instrumental passages, brilliant musicianship etc. But I just can't get into them. A mates brother used to play 2112 ALL the time and rave about it (as well as Fly By Night). To me it just sounded like ELO mixed with a bit of Zeppelin. Good to see Mars Volta getting a mention.
Tull, Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, King Crimson, and Rush all have albums that belong in the top 10 for sure, although the “proper” album wasn’t always picked. And where are groups like ELP and the Moody Blues ??👨🏻
ELP has strangely dropped in prominence in a lot of media, which I find odd. That said, they never had a full album that I was 100% into. Trilogy for me was their best overall album.
Agree that the "proper" album wasn't always selected for each band. The albums listed are probably more important in prog history in terms of their influence, rather than what I would necessarily listen to by that band. For example, I would rather listen to Relayer than CTTE and Red over ITCOTCK. As for Floyd, I have no problem with DSOTM. I would rate Animals a close second. I know many Floyd fans would rather have seen Wish You Were Here, but I find it a difficult listen. I think it's mainly because of the overly bright sound, plus I think they were just trying too hard. That album could really have used Alan Parsons. Selling England was a good choice, IMO being the best Genesis album. I'm sure many Tull aficionados would pick Aqualung, but I don't consider it prog, certainly not like TAAB or APP.
@@kbrewski1Learn how to read .. I didn’t say I would put ELP or the Moody Blues above those other bands! Do you just make stuff up to have something to say ? Geez..
@shipsahoy1793 If you want to add 2 more bands to the top 10, not only do you have to pick an ELP album and a Moodies album that is worthy of the top 10, but you then need to drop 2 from their list. This isn't just a list of top 10 bands. Its basic math. Or, you could just continue to whine if you don't have the balls to do it.
Very respectable list. Every choice could be easily defended. I am excluding Mars Volta as I don't recollect hearing it but I OWN a copy of all the rest. You could pick Ten Winners over and over again and make a series out of it without diluting the quality.
A good list and I would agree with most of those inclusions, I think when you look at a list like this objectively, even though some of those might not be personal favourites by said band, they are milestones of the genre. My personal top ten would be: 1: Yes- Close to the Edge 2: Jethro Tull - Thick as a Brick 3: Camel : Snow Goose 4: Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here 5: Genesis - Foxtrot 6: King Crimson - Red 7: Van Der Graaf Generator - Still Life 8: Focus - Moving Waves 9: ELP - Tarkus 10: PFM: Per Un Amico
Tarkus is unique and Karn Evil 9 is also unique. Those guys went well beyond "rock" in those two "songs". In comparison, many other progrock songs look so conventional or bland-ish.
Greenslade as well as Gryphon's Red Queen deserve an honourable mention. I feel that the top 9 of the list are also among the top 9 most commercially successful. A case should be made for some brilliant albums that have remained undeservedly ignored.
I certainly appreciate this list a lot more than the top ten songs list. It does seem like they are biased towards Yes and Genesis - a deserved bias, but still it causes a loss in terms of bands like ELP, Porcupine Tree, Marillion, etc. I do agree that Deloused in the Crematorium should be in the top ten. It is a really incredible album. I concur about In the Court of the Crimson King - personally, I like Larks Tongues in Aspic more than Red, though Starless is hands down a most amazing song that still gives me chills.
👨🏻Lol.. I feel that way about “One More Red Nightmare” .. one other thing, I like the BRGHC line up of Genesis as well as the next guy, but I don’t think they’re album Nursery Cryme gets enough love. It was their first together, and it was indeed awesome. As soon as I saw the cover art, I thought, hmm, this could be good. Well, it was bloody excellent, and hence, several “classic” albums followed. Sadly, all things must pass eventually..
Foxtrot is #1 . I’ve only decided that after the getting over the drama of 26th March 2022 at the O2. And some quiet reflection. Oh and One day Marillion will occupy the top ten . IMHO of course
The one group who always gets overlooked is Greenslade, a wonderful mix of Jazz, prog, and classical into one fantastic whole. Spyglass guest and bedside manners are extra are awesome albums. But sadly for them, they where not Genesis or Yes or ELP so where overlooked.
Love the mention of Mahavishnu Orchestra's influence upon several Prog Rock bands. Such a great group of gifted musicians. Curious if you hear any influences from Weather Report in Prog?
But how do you know? People often hear connections between music and other music, when it turns out that the creators of said music had never heard the music that they were supposed to have been inspired by. He didn't really elaborate on the reference to Mahavishnu and might have been guessing.
I thoroughly enjoy your reviews. Since opinions are like A-holes as they say mine is about as valid as anyone’s but as you were counting down I was in shock that my pick was number 1. PFM, Rush, 2 for Genesis and what? No ELP? C’mon. Tarkus needs to be on there. But hey, they got the 1 spot right. What else could it be? I’m biased anyway. CTTE dominated my teen years and impacted me more than any release will ever be able to.
Though I'm not a Prog expert I do own the eight albums ranked 1-8. I propably will try to find PFM on CD and check out if The Mars Volta is something for me.
I won't join in on the Pink Floyd, are they Prog debate, but just ask this question. Why do the majority of Prog fans own a copy of Dark Side? PFM definitely deserve a place on this list. I attended their UK premier at the Saddlers Wells theatre, where they opened for Pete Sinfield, who had just released Still, and they were great. Making that gig more memorable was Greg Lake joining Sinfield on stage for the title track Still. (Also saw Mike Rutherford queuing outside before the doors opened)
1. Close to the Edge 2. Hemispheres 3. The Lamb Lies Down 4. Animals 5. Relayer 6. Red 7. Tarkus 8. Selling England by the Pound 9. Brain Salad Surgery 10. Going for the One
5:21 Couldn't agree more; then again I really do like the albums prior to Hackett as well. My favourite Genesis tunes are Fifth of Firth, In the Wilderness and the Serpent amongst others. I would have had replaced the #1 with Genesis' from Genesis to Revelation. And #8 with Junipher Greene - Friendship. I have attempted acquiring a taste for Yes on multiple ocations to no avail.
Puts Selling England in front of Dark Side. Gotta love this guy. I don't suppose Moody Blues were quite prog but still....Children's Children's....etc. The British Invasion❤❤
@@ghostship85 This isn't the channel creator's list.Did you not READ the title? Did you not hear him in the video? Its Ultimate Classic Rock magazines list. 😮 🤪
Genesis to Revelation? Are you serious? That sounds at its best like a Denny Laine era Moodies album, ie mid 60s, and at its worst a 60s era Bee Gees album. Genesis has plenty of classic Prog gems, you don't need to shoehorn their 1st tepid step into the music industry on the list.
I've been mad for fucking years Absolutely years, been over the edge for yonks Been working me buns off for bands I've always been mad, I know I've been mad Like the most of us have Very hard to explain why you're mad Even if you're not mad Hahahahahahaha! Hehehehehehehe! Ah-ah-ah...
My number ONE prog album is Dangers of Strangers by Abel Ganz. It's such a singular album because it sounds like none of their previous nor following albums. The rest of my Top 10 would be made up of Jethro Tull & (Fish era) Marillion.
This is a very interesting top 10 Prog album list. No need to debate, it does seem that both Yes and Genesis command leadership having 2 records each on this list. Also seeing Rush on this list is lovely shout to them, and especially that MP is the one that has to be the definitive album for any hybrid Prog choice! King Crimson is deniably up in the tops with CCK. I have to mention Love the Permanent Waves shirt- at least one day a week, that is my favorite Rush Record! Cheers
I am completely impressed that PFM was listed on the top 10! They and other Italian bands were musically right up there with the best of the Brits. Banco, Il Balletto di Bronzo, Area, Museo Rosenbach to name a few. I also like the inclusion of the Mars Volta. Although I would not put them in the top 10, nice to see them listed. Rush definitely had their 'prog period', but I just don't think they did prog very well. Their overall sound was just too close to mainstream rock for my tastes. I don't want to get into the 'were Pink Floyd prog' debate, but if they were, they did not do it very well. And I used to be a huge fan. Now, unlike most of the other bands on this list, they bore me to tears. ItCotCK would not make my top 10, but Larks' Tongue or Red would. Gentle Giant certainly deserved to be higher on the list. They would make my top 10. I was happy to see Harmonium make the list. One of the most drop dead, most beautiful prog albums ever. I certainly would have liked to see some avant-prog on the top 50. Univers Zero, Henry Cow, Thinking Plague, Art Zoyd, or others could have easily replaced several choices on the list for me. Even with current bands, avant-prog is the source for the most innovative and creative music in prog. I do like the inclusion of Magma. If anyone in the prog milieu has created timeless music, Magma has to be considered.
Greatest albums without repeating band. Yes- Fragile King Crimson-In the Court of the Crimson King Pink Floyd- Dark Side of the Moon Genesis- Selling England by the Pound UK-UK Beatles-Sgt.Peppers Moody Blues- Days of Future Passed Rush- Moving Pictures Transatlantic-Bridge Across Forever.
These are only my opinions. I agree with your comments about Genesis without Hackett. When he left, the band lost a vital element. Who has been keeping Genesis music alive in this millennium? Foxtrot vs SEBTP. Close, but I think Foxtrot by a short nose. There isn't a single weak track. Time table and Can-utility are often overlooked, but they are also under-rated. On the other hand, the middle section in Firth of Fifth is perhaps the finest instrumental break ever, flute, piano, synth, then Hackett's wonderful solo. King Crimson - was there ever an album side with 3 such contrasting pieces? - the frenetic mania of 21st Century Schizoid Man followed by the wonderful tranquility of I Talk to the Wind, and then the majesty of Epitaph which I think just pips the title track. DSOTM - don't try and pigeon-hole it into a genre. It's simply a great album with Roger Water's finest lyrics set to wonderful music which just flows from start to finish. And the spoken bits add so much context.
Steve Hackett should be grateful that Genesis didn't put up a legal stink with him calling all these tours, cd, dvd, and blu ray releases GENESIS Revisited. Its given him a comfy retirement fund for his 7 years of labor in the band. That wouldn't have happened if he had been in Yes (see ABWH, ARW etc). Or Crimson. I love Hackett, have been to all his Genesis Revisited Tours, bought most of his albums, but I also saw him live BEFORE he started playing a lot of Genesis tunes in his show,and they didn't draw quite as well. Springfield IL, small 300 seat theater, not quite half full. Border's book store in Chicago on a Saturday afternoon, playing some acoustic stuff live trying to sell some tickets to a gig. He should be very grateful.
@@kbrewski1 I agree, Hackett's use of both the Genesis name and playing Genesis music is a much bigger draw-card than his solo stuff. It's equivalent to a classical pianist playing Chopin vs his or her own compositions. The comparison of Genesis vs Yes or Crimson doesn't quite stack up. Both Yes and Crimson have had a revolving door of musicians and have remained much more active than Genesis, who post Calling All Stations only got back together for a couple of tours - no new music. It would not have made sense, financial or otherwise, for the remaining members of Genesis to block Hackett from using the name. They have benefited considerably from songwriting royalties from all the DVD sales. A win-win situation.
@madhouze1 I didn't claim Genesis SHOULD have raised a legal stink. I said they COULD have, but did not. The Yes messy situation is a perfect example. Genesis has too much class to do that.
I really like PFM, not heard that album though. Didn't know them until they released 'Celebration'. I've never though of Floyd as Prog, they are for me in a genre all of their own. I do agree with the number one choice though but not putting Genesis above 'Fragile'. Then again I've never really liked them all that much.
Indeed, Genesis without Hackett isn't Genesis. Good call! But for me, Lamb is just the greatest in their catalog. It's such an evolution and peak of their efforts.
I was in my late teens when 1970 rolled around and I went all of the way down the prog rabbit hole .
For me , part of what defined a prog band was what they could do in the live setting as well .
I saw all of the bands multiple times in the 70s , and the most entertaining concerts were always delivered by Jethro Tull , and Emerson , Lake & Palmer ( with Genesis and Yes not too far behind them ) . Therefore ELP would have an album in my top 10 ( likely Tarkus or Brain Salad Surgery ) .
Cheers !
Incomplete without Gentle Giant. Any album. Even the "bad" ones. But "Playing the Fool" is one of the best live albums ever.
I agree
live at the bbc is even better than playing the fool
I don't understand why Relayer always gets overlooked. To me it's their highest achievement and some of their most accomplished and daring work.
It took some time for Relayer to grow on me, but Moraz will never be in the same class as Wakeman, and that's why the album is docked a bit.
I often forget Relayer as well. I think it's as good as Close To The Edge.
Absolutely agree. I rank Relayer in position 2. You can see my comment.
Relayer is my favourite Yes album. Closely followed by Tales from Topographic Oceans.
To me Relayer was a huge disappointment because I was buying those Yes records as they were released. CTTE was so damn good that the anticipation for the next record was very high. Although Relayer had some great moments I found it a bit harsh and Moraz’s Keyboard work too chaotic and non melodic. In a nutshell the Album made me kind of seasick when I listened to it. The return of Wakeman for Tales was a great relief and the anticipation for that Record was killing me as I wanted that huge recovery from the Moraz “years”. Once again some good stuff but I agree with Wakeman when he said it basically would have made a good single record. Even at that it’s a far cry from CCTE. This was the sentiment of many fans and critics in real time during 1974-1976. I’ve tried through the years to listen to and re evaluate my opinion and am even disappointed in the same way with Going For The One and Tormato. Both have great stuff but… Most fellow Yes fans find me crazy but I actually like Drama more than most post CTTE Records.
Chronologically the best Prog Rock albums are:
In The Court Of The Crimson King (1969)
The Yes Album (1971)
Aqualung (1971)
Fragile (1971)
Thick As A Brick (1972)
Close To The Edge (1972)
Foxtrot (1972)
Dark Side Of The Moon (1973)
Selling England By The Pound (1973)
Brain Salad Surgery (1973)
Really nice list. I’ll have to check out Foxtrot since we have similar tastes.
Heard all those albums and none are in my top 10. Let’s start with Porcupine Tree , Riverside, Malina, Haken, Dream Theater, something that’s not over 50 years old. You’re suggesting Prog is. Dead
@@kenjones6441 All those acts are hybridised bands of no rock importance that completely ripped off the bands of the actual progressive rock period of the late 60s/early 70s who created original music.
You stick with your unoriginal bands and I’ll stick with my original prog rock bands.
@@kenjones6441Love the bands you’ve mentioned but ‘Prog’ is progressive which it was 50 years ago.Dont think there is anything progressive from the likes of Dream Theater,Riverside etc.other than they’ve mixed prog with metal….Great stuff though..Just my opinion
A Yes fan by any chance?
No Area? PFM? Magma?
Red is better than ITCotKC. It's much better than anything by ELP.
IMO of course.
Nice to hear you pointing out “Heart of the Sunrise” and “South Side of the Sky.” Those are my favorites from “Fragile” as well (along with “Mood for a Day”).
And yes, “Grace Under Pressure” (for me) stands nearly as tall as “Moving Pictures.” This underscores my affinity for darker music. (see: HotS and SSotS)
As a Floyd aficionado I do wish Meddle or atom heart mother was in the list 😢
AHM - one of their finest
You just picked two of the absolute best Pink Floyd albums, my man.😉
I’m confident with time and perhaps alcohol you’ll get over it….
Atom Heart Mother is great, Meddle overrated
@@nectarinedreams7208 🤣Just say you don’t like it that much; it’s never been deemed “overrated”
Later albums have that distinction, but certainly not that one!😵💫
It is interesting and delightful that Roger Dean's name is mentioned in many prog related documentaries and top tens and top forties. I believe his art works are becoming the visual landscape for prog rock music for many listeners.
I think they always were!
Totally. You got the full experience with his art work.
@@notreallydavid yes I meant that.. wrong grammar ... ✌
Many of us had cool friends who introduced us to great music in our teens. Life took over, we lost contact and the music moved on. But you have become the cool guy for me that gets the juices going again. And the best part is that i no longer think I'm looking back when i listen to you.
Glad to see someone else giving props to that Focus album. “ Eruption “ is definitely one of the great, epic prog tunes ever. And yet hardly anyone ever talks about it on all of these prog websites. That’s a real head scratcher.
Agree all the way ! Don’t get discussed enough in my opinion. Super band and fantastic live when I saw them in the 70’s.
Focus was amazing. I even got into their guitarists solo album back then. Forgot the name, it’s been a while.
@ER-me1ii
I'm unfamiliar with that name as well. In fact I have only 2 albums from them, Moving Waves and the Hamburger Concerto which I've grown very fond of. I really need to track down a couple of more from those guys.
@@stevecowder4774 The double album 'Focus 3' is, in my opinion, absolutely sublime...check it out!
@@stevecowder4774 Jan Ackerman! The name came to me. His solo album was awesome. Multi tracked guitar, very prog.
I find it interesting that Alan Parsons' name is so rarely mentioned in these kinds of lists. APP's 'Tales of Mystery and Imagination' would certainly be hovering around my Top 10 Prog Albums.
I concur!
Alan Parsons' is pretty much excluded from the prog party these days. So is Supertramp. I think they're both a little too sunny for the present day prog conversation.
@@willyupshaw Which is why I mention 'Tales of Mystery and Imagination'. Hardly 'sunny'!
1000% I agreed with you. My top ten best progs albums include Tales of Mystery and Imagination
Agreed.
Very good list!!! My top 10 would be 10- "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" Genesis 9- "Trilogy" Emerson, Lake & Palmer 8- "Thick as A Brick" Jethro Tull 7 - "Larks Tongues In Aspic" King Crimson 6 - "Foxtrot" Genesis 5 "Fragile" Yes 4 "Aqualung" Jethro Tull - 3 - "Red" King Crimson 2- Selling England By The Pound" Genesis 1- "In The Court Of The Crimson King" (just the track "Epitaph" overshadows all prog rock songs)!! I don't include Pink Floyd because I think it has prog but is much space rock or art rock. I'm so sorry not to include "Moonmadness" by Camel or any Gentle Giant, Focus, or PFM but it's just 10 albums!!!
CTTE is still on high rotation for me. If the title track plays, I always let it finish. And at 18+ minutes, it just seems to fly by. The greatest prog song and album of all time, IMO. Every song is flawless.
I really enjoy listening to all the Progeny versions - there is about 2 hours well spent
Moody Blues-To Our Children's Children's Children...Porcupine Tree-Signify...Jethro Tull-Benefit...Mothers Of Invention-We're Only In It For The Money...Yes-Time And A Word...Genesis-The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway...Joe Byrd And The Field Hippies-The American Metaphysical Circus...Rollers-Elevator...Kayak-Royal Bed Bouncer...Mike Oldfield-Ommadawn...
Yes! Jethro Tull's THICK AS A BRICK makes the list. Superb record. Good to see Pink Floyd's DARK SIDE OF THE MOON here as well.
So glad to see PFM in there.
They are often criminally overlooked and underrated
Franco Mussida Is an amazing guitar player! But they aré all great really
So many bands from Italy. Area, Banco, Biglieto per l inferno, Celeste, Maxophone to name just a few.
Totally agree. There is a great little box set floating round containing the four Manticore label studio albums 1973-77. Some great music to be had.
I don t think so. In my opinion, the only great PFM record is L'isola di niente
PFM's "Cook" is one of the best live albums ever.
I think ELPs Trilogy or Brain Salad Surgery should have been included
Agree
Just forget this list, no ELP on the list is just crazy.
I like the meanderings of Fragile, which so much was my background music to reading The Lord of the Rings, but you are right that Close To The Edge holds up best and also because Yes retained the same members a Fragile. Along with The Yes Album = Three of a perfect pair.
Here's my list: Close to the Edge, The Yes Album, Fragile, Thick ad a Brick, Permanent Waves, The Grand Illusion, Yessongs, Beyond These Shores, The Book of Kells, Heaven's Bright Sun.
Saw rush on both the moving pictures and permanent waves tour here in the UK. And saw tangerine dream in Preston guild hall.
IMO Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon is the greatest album ever! first heard it on it's release in 1973 and still listen to it today 51 years later.
I expected, to see Meddle up in the top 10.
You should see how many likes and comments there are, on the Pink Floyd RUclips channel, especially Echos, many many youngsters
love it.
I can see Echos, included with the great compositions from the so called Golden era, that will be heard and loved for centuries to come.
Focus and the magnificent Moving Waves album is my personal no. 1 prog album.....
It’s a wonderful album and also Focus 3 is about as good.
@@paulkazakoff9231 agreed my friend....👍
Haven't seen the whole list but Moving Waves and the Power And The Glory by GENTLE GIANT should have been on the top ten list.
Why would two bands be listed twice?
Let us not forget that the moody blues really ushered in prog in nineteen sixty seven with their use of the melotron.
Just got home from London. Jon Anderson 50 years of CTTE. His voice is still amazing and did a wonderful set of 70’s YES.
100% agree with Close to the Edge as number 1. A masterpiece.
Not sure why ELP never get their due. Just tremendous work on their part, but no top ten here, the Hall of Fame hates them and so does Rolling Stone. Brain Salad Surgery has to be in the running or even their debut with “Take a Pebble” etc. Pictures at an Exhibition is also amazing. I understand the value of obscure contributors to the genre, but you cannot skip ELP.
I agree with number 1. Close to the Edge is a pure masterpiece! But I would have liked to see Rush's 2112 and Marillion's Misplaced Childhood on the list.
Yes, I agree. I think it was no. 60 on the UCR list.
Misplaced Childhood is amazing by Marillion 👍
Definitely 2112
Really like your commentary pal. Articulate and amusing.
Thank you... do consider subscribing
Any Prog list Must include (at a minimum):
Yes
Genesis
King Crimson
ELP
Period. That is Prog.
Since that's 4 of the Big 5 of Prog, you won't get much debate on that. Pink Floyd of course is also in the Big 5. (Sorry Ian, Geddy).
U missed VDDG who Is fundamental
In agreement with 80's Rush. Love Grace Under Pressure, Power Windows, Signals and even Presto. While I love Moving Pictures, Permanent Waves add Clockwork Angels might better fit. There's so many albums that could fit the top 10.
1 Foxtrot by Genesis
2 Permanent Waves by Rush
3 Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd
4 Crime Of The Century by Supertramp
5 Operation Mindcrime by Queensryche
6 Selling England By The Pound by Genesis
7 Freak Out by The Mothers Of Invention
8 ELO II by ELO
9 Clockwork Angels by Rush
10 Tarkus by ELP
I fully agree with you about A PASSION PLAY. Superior!
No need to apologize for your neighbors, hardly heard it. You might want to hold onto something though so as not to knock anything over with your talking hands. 😆
The Magnus Pike of prog
@ 0:48 , THANK YOU! I was caught up a bit in a progressive rock community and they kept insisting PFM's first album came out in the 1980's. Trying to make a nut case out of me I suppose. Now, the album I had in the 1970's was not this album, though, I did have an album from the later 1970's. I suppose they were just jealous because I knew who PFM was before they did. Huh.
Who am I to argue? My re appreciation of YES in my twilight years has proved to be a highlight of my lost vinyl experience as a youth whose ear wasn't trained to their sonic landscapes. I personally consider In the Court of the Crimson King a kind of one off album given Ian McDonald's contributions so noticeably absent from the next album. King Crimson as we know them re-emerged on the third album, Lizard, and continued through their various metamorphoses from there. The first album exists in a universe all its own.
I can agree to Close To The Edge being the #1 Prog Album but as a HUGE Beatles fan I would gladly admit that Dark Side is the #1 Album in the history of “Rock”.
I've looked up the top 50 UCR list of Prog albums. It has all the favorites, the usual suspects. But it doesn't allow space for one album that surpasses many or nearly all of them. Hybris by Änglagård. Few Progressive Rock albums sound as good as they did after you've fallen deeply for the wonder of this album. Änglagård re set the bar with that one.
They didn't even list it in the top 50? I agree, not top 10, but its probably in my top 20 somewhere. I have seen Anglagard live 3 times, the 1st time they had THREE mellotrons on stage! Incredible band.
Another stellar episode!!!
I concur on your assessment of Genesis without Hacket.
Wouldn't be Genesis without Banks !!
I saw Genesis 10 times live all the way through to 2007, and IT WAS ALWAYS GENESIS LIVE.
As a Rush fan whose first album was 2112 at the age of 15 in 1977 and was consumed by them through high school and throughout my life (62 atm), they are prog as prog gets...I have never heard any Rush fan say otherwise.
My top 10:
1. Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd
2. In the Court of the Crimson King - King Crimson
3. Animals - Pink Floyd
4. Red - King Crimson
5. Close to the Edge - Yes
6. El Jardin Des Los Presentes - Invisible
7. The Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd
8. Selling England By the Pound - Genesis
9. Meddle - Pink Floyd
10. Larks Tongue in Aspic - King Crimson
I'm a massive genesis fan so forgive me when I say my favourite genesis album is duke. It's got everything genesis always were , as far as yes is concerned it's going for the one , all day long and twice on Sunday.
Great list. IMHO should be included in places 10, 9, and 2 "Animals" (PF), "Brain Salad Surgery" (ELP) and "Relayer" (Yes), respectively.
Two albums in the top ten from Genesis is fine, but three is asking a lot; but deserved. 'The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway' must be included, since it is not just one of the best Prog albums, but one of the best rock albums of all time.....certainly of the 20th century.
That's a fair opinion, but I don't think many in the progosphere would agree with it. Lamb is interesting, but it doesn't have the hooks of many of the best prog albums.
My friend listen to turn lose the swans by my dying bride ! tragedies by funeral also
Steve Hacket’s Voyage Of The Acolyte deserves Selling England By The Pound’s spot. Slide Dark Side Of The Moon and Foxtrot higher.
It was Hackett’s exit, not Gabriel’s, that ended the classic era of Genesis. There’s a wonderful moment in the version of “Firth of Fifth” on “The Tokyo Tapes” where the arrangement veers from the Genesis original composition and gets all squirrelly and menacing. Then, Hackett pieces through with one single sustained note... a single note that miraculously makes it suddenly sound like Genesis...
"Voyage of the Acolyte," especially with all the musicians Hackett was teaming with, feels like a genuine Genesis album
Listening to that track now, will take many more voyages down that road.
With Gabriel left the passion. With Hackett left the fury...
@emceesmith6665
Considering Phil and Mike helped him out with that album, which was at odds with Genesis' band policy at the time, Steve could have at least stood more loyal to the band rather than skip out after W&W. Its a shame of what could have been.
Steve's a nice guy, and I've been to all his Genesis Revisited concert tours (and met and talked to him 4 different times!) but again, he's doing MUCH better financially since he started doing those tours. Before doing so much more Genesis on his tours, I saw Steve in a tiny theater in Springfield IL one year that probably held 300 at the most, and it was half full. I also saw him playing live on a Sat afternoon drumming up sales at a Borders in Chicago.
Tony Banks said that Steve could never accept the fact that his strongest point was his PLAYING,not writing songs. Oh well, spilt milk 🥛.
@@theoriginalchefboyoboy6025Hmmm, I hear plenty of passion and fury in Trick of the Tail, Wind and Wuthering, ATTWT, Duke, and in long form gems like Abacab, Home by the Sea, Domino,Fading Lights, The Dividing Line, Uncertain Weather, There Must Be Some Other Way etc.
Dance on a Volcano/drum duet/Los Endos live defines prog passion and fury.
The arguments surrounding the quality and identity of Genesis after Gabriel's departure will never end. 50 years later and fans are still trying to impose personal taste to define fact and not preference. I would only interject by saying let it go; relax and enjoy what you like and let others do the same. You aren't going to change anyone's mind.
A nicely done presentation despite the neighbours , can't really argue with that list, I have all the albums mentioned, there are one or two choices I would prefer but its not my favourites list , these albums represent some very important and musical highlights, what I find interesting is most are from the 70's, which has to be the greatest era for Prog.
Agree. The birth of a new idea usually is the freshest and most demanding of an audience.
The Top Three are exactly right choice-wise, although I might have Crimson at #1. I'd also have to throw Gentle Giant (Octopus) and Caravan (... for Girls Who Grow Plump In The Night) in there. ELP was a lot of talent that produced a lot of "meh"; the debut and BSS are their strongest statements. Prog-wise, Wish You Were Here is probably PF's best. Tried to think of a Renaissance album that might qualify and only came up with Ashes Are Burning, and I'm not sure that's enough. My personal Yes choice would be Relayer, but I'm aware that it's probably not the stronger of the two. Moving Pictures is damn-near perfect, but I'd agree that it's somewhat less proggy than PW and its immediate predecessors.
Thank you for the list! Love the Mars Volta inclusion! Great album!
Agree with Close to the Edge. Totally expands musically complexity but the beauty and atmospheric wonder of the album draws you in. And all the dissonance and jazz meets prog rock. It's amazing!
Really - I agree with most. I LOVE 70's Rush. But when they get to Motion Pics it seems the guitar sound has lost all the gritty guts and power and transitioned into the Strat, chorus etc enhanced but no-guts sound... to me Fly By Night or Farewell to Kings or Permanent Waves... Plus the Rush boys are excellent musicians, however, I always thought of prog rock as being bands were everyone is an absolute master musician and they changes keys and time sigs a lot. Geddy is a genius bass player, but not on keyboards. Love to hear your thoughts on that. haha!
Thanks again!
It's not my list, but it aint bad
@@classicalbum oh sorry - I guess I spaced out on that first 30- seconds or so. Hahahaha. I know you're a Passion Play - Topographical guy. Ha! 2 albums I admire, but don't love like Thick and Close.
Any thoughts on the Alex's guitar sound on MPs?
I think his guitar sound rapidly changes in the 1980s to fit the new atmosperics they were exploring. But I like what Rush were doing in the 80s - 'Hold Your Fire' I have criticised, but that's more due to the production than the songs themselves
Fly by Night is nowhere CLOSE to being a Prog album. Its a straight ahead pedestrian hard rock album. Rush's first 3 albums are not Prog Rock. That started with 2112 and Hemispheres. I would say Kansas' 70s albums are much more progressive than Rush's first 6 albums. I'd put Leftoverture in the top 10 over Moving Pictures. Back in the 70s, no one ever considered Rush as "prog" like Yes, Genesis, ELP, Crimson. After Perm Waves and Moving Pictures they started getting more prog credibility in the early 80s.
Great video including the first two I’ve not heard of. Need to check them out now so thanks 😊
Hope you enjoy!
I have to put in a word for Gong's Expresso 2 album, released in 1978 when Pierre Moerlen was at the helm of the band. It's the most wonderfully and exotically inventive work I've encountered in the prog genre.
The Race for Space by Public Service Broadcasting is imo a modern prog classic.
Huge fan of Prog and Space Rock/Krautrock and have been since 1979 when I bought Court Of The Crimson King and Camenbert Electrique on a whim (liked the covers!!)...think both albums cost me something like £1.99 each!
Anyway, never understood the love in for Rush...just don't get it. I should like their music it has all the right ingredients, long instrumental passages, brilliant musicianship etc. But I just can't get into them. A mates brother used to play 2112 ALL the time and rave about it (as well as Fly By Night). To me it just sounded like ELO mixed with a bit of Zeppelin.
Good to see Mars Volta getting a mention.
A great list! I love your break downs of Albums
Tull, Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, King Crimson, and Rush all have albums that belong in the top 10 for sure, although the “proper” album wasn’t always picked. And where are groups like ELP and the Moody Blues ??👨🏻
ELP has strangely dropped in prominence in a lot of media, which I find odd. That said, they never had a full album that I was 100% into. Trilogy for me was their best overall album.
Agree that the "proper" album wasn't always selected for each band. The albums listed are probably more important in prog history in terms of their influence, rather than what I would necessarily listen to by that band. For example, I would rather listen to Relayer than CTTE and Red over ITCOTCK. As for Floyd, I have no problem with DSOTM. I would rate Animals a close second. I know many Floyd fans would rather have seen Wish You Were Here, but I find it a difficult listen. I think it's mainly because of the overly bright sound, plus I think they were just trying too hard. That album could really have used Alan Parsons. Selling England was a good choice, IMO being the best Genesis album. I'm sure many Tull aficionados would pick Aqualung, but I don't consider it prog, certainly not like TAAB or APP.
Which ELP and/or Moody Blues album would you put ahead of those Yes, Genesis, Floyd and Crimson albums? Put your $$ where your foot is!
@@kbrewski1Learn how to read .. I didn’t say I would put ELP or the Moody Blues above those other bands! Do you just make stuff up to have something to say ? Geez..
@shipsahoy1793
If you want to add 2 more bands to the top 10, not only do you have to pick an ELP album and a Moodies album that is worthy of the top 10, but you then need to drop 2 from their list. This isn't just a list of top 10 bands. Its basic math. Or, you could just continue to whine if you don't have the balls to do it.
For me ... 1. Genesis - Selling England 2. Pink Floyd - The Wall 3. Marillion - Misplaced 4. Yes - Close To The Edge 5. Big Big Train - Underfall Yard
Good choices, can never decided which is my favourite Marillion album between Misplaced childhood and Clutching at straws, Fugazi is good also
Very respectable list. Every choice could be easily defended. I am excluding Mars Volta as I don't recollect hearing it but I OWN a copy of all the rest. You could pick Ten Winners over and over again and make a series out of it without diluting the quality.
Completely with you on Hackett’s importance to Genesis
You have to include one Porkupine Tree or Steven Wilson. I would put the Raven Who Refused to Sing in place of Rush.
A good list and I would agree with most of those inclusions, I think when you look at a list like this objectively, even though some of those might not be personal favourites by said band, they are milestones of the genre.
My personal top ten would be:
1: Yes- Close to the Edge
2: Jethro Tull - Thick as a Brick
3: Camel : Snow Goose
4: Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
5: Genesis - Foxtrot
6: King Crimson - Red
7: Van Der Graaf Generator - Still Life
8: Focus - Moving Waves
9: ELP - Tarkus
10: PFM: Per Un Amico
No Tarkus or Brain salad surgery, both highly original and pure prog and so well played.
ELP should have been on the list
Tarkus
Tarkus is unique and Karn Evil 9 is also unique. Those guys went well beyond "rock" in those two "songs". In comparison, many other progrock songs look so conventional or bland-ish.
I loved the Thick As A Brick album cover. The news articles and ads inside the “newspaper” cover was interesting to read while listening to the album.
I gotta go with In the Court of the Crimson King for #1! PLAY LOUD
Awesome Vid!
Thank You very much for Your Work! Greetings from Germany
Greenslade as well as Gryphon's Red Queen deserve an honourable mention. I feel that the top 9 of the list are also among the top 9 most commercially successful. A case should be made for some brilliant albums that have remained undeservedly ignored.
I certainly appreciate this list a lot more than the top ten songs list. It does seem like they are biased towards Yes and Genesis - a deserved bias, but still it causes a loss in terms of bands like ELP, Porcupine Tree, Marillion, etc. I do agree that Deloused in the Crematorium should be in the top ten. It is a really incredible album. I concur about In the Court of the Crimson King - personally, I like Larks Tongues in Aspic more than Red, though Starless is hands down a most amazing song that still gives me chills.
👨🏻Lol.. I feel that way about “One More Red Nightmare” .. one other thing, I like the BRGHC line up of Genesis as well as the next guy, but I don’t think they’re album Nursery Cryme gets enough love. It was their first together, and it was indeed awesome. As soon as I saw the cover art, I thought, hmm, this could be good. Well, it was bloody excellent, and hence, several “classic” albums followed.
Sadly, all things must pass eventually..
😊😊
Foxtrot is #1 . I’ve only decided that after the getting over the drama of 26th March 2022 at the O2. And some quiet reflection. Oh and One day Marillion will occupy the top ten . IMHO of course
The one group who always gets overlooked is Greenslade, a wonderful mix of Jazz, prog, and classical into one fantastic whole. Spyglass guest and bedside manners are extra are awesome albums. But sadly for them, they where not Genesis or Yes or ELP so where overlooked.
Love the mention of Mahavishnu Orchestra's influence upon several Prog Rock bands. Such a great group of gifted musicians. Curious if you hear any influences from Weather Report in Prog?
But how do you know? People often hear connections between music and other music, when it turns out that the creators of said music had never heard the music that they were supposed to have been inspired by. He didn't really elaborate on the reference to Mahavishnu and might have been guessing.
I thoroughly enjoy your reviews. Since opinions are like A-holes as they say mine is about as valid as anyone’s but as you were counting down I was in shock that my pick was number 1. PFM, Rush, 2 for Genesis and what? No ELP? C’mon. Tarkus needs to be on there. But hey, they got the 1 spot right. What else could it be? I’m biased anyway. CTTE dominated my teen years and impacted me more than any release will ever be able to.
This wasn't his list. Read the title.
@@kbrewski1 where did I say this was his list? Read my comment.
Though I'm not a Prog expert I do own the eight albums ranked 1-8. I propably will try to find PFM on CD and check out if The Mars Volta is something for me.
"Heart of the Sunrise" & "South Side of the Sky" are ICONIC prog songs!
I won't join in on the Pink Floyd, are they Prog debate, but just ask this question. Why do the majority of Prog fans own a copy of Dark Side?
PFM definitely deserve a place on this list. I attended their UK premier at the Saddlers Wells theatre, where they opened for Pete Sinfield, who had just released Still, and they were great.
Making that gig more memorable was Greg Lake joining Sinfield on stage for the title track Still. (Also saw Mike Rutherford queuing outside before the doors opened)
Also a huge fan of both Heart of the Sunrise and South Side of the Sky. Those and Starship Trooper may be my favorite three Yes tracks.
1. Close to the Edge
2. Hemispheres
3. The Lamb Lies Down
4. Animals
5. Relayer
6. Red
7. Tarkus
8. Selling England by the Pound
9. Brain Salad Surgery
10. Going for the One
This album list is certainly more decent than the ultimate classic rock top prog songs list.
Especially happy they acknowledged The Mars Volta.
Always appreciate a "Blackadder" reference!
5:21 Couldn't agree more; then again I really do like the albums prior to Hackett as well. My favourite Genesis tunes are Fifth of Firth, In the Wilderness and the Serpent amongst others. I would have had replaced the #1 with Genesis' from Genesis to Revelation. And #8 with Junipher Greene - Friendship. I have attempted acquiring a taste for Yes on multiple ocations to no avail.
Puts Selling England in front of Dark Side. Gotta love this guy. I don't suppose Moody Blues were quite prog but still....Children's Children's....etc. The British Invasion❤❤
@@ghostship85
This isn't the channel creator's list.Did you not READ the title? Did you not hear him in the video? Its Ultimate Classic Rock magazines list. 😮 🤪
Genesis to Revelation? Are you serious? That sounds at its best like a Denny Laine era Moodies album, ie mid 60s, and at its worst a 60s era Bee Gees album. Genesis has plenty of classic Prog gems, you don't need to shoehorn their 1st tepid step into the music industry on the list.
@@kbrewski1 Like most people do not acknowledge Setting the controls for the Heart of the Sun as Pink Floyd's magnum opus.
@@gjermundification
What the hell are you talking about?
Your neighbor's renovations would have fit right in on "The Gates of Delerium" though... 😂
Good thing you specified what you meant when you said you needed a stiff one.
Fantastic choices friend ,I don't agree with some of them but that's what music is all about 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Sure, but it's not my list, this is the list by Ultimate Classic Rock
Henry Cow/Slap Happy?
Glad to hear Red, my Favorite KC album, mentioned.
I've been mad for fucking years
Absolutely years, been over the edge for yonks
Been working me buns off for bands
I've always been mad, I know I've been mad
Like the most of us have
Very hard to explain why you're mad
Even if you're not mad
Hahahahahahaha! Hehehehehehehe!
Ah-ah-ah...
Love the Permanent Waves T shirt, such a great album!!
Moving Pictures is legendary bc of its groundbreaking blend of genres, compositional originality and instrumental prowess
All beautiful albums. My advise , make it best 25. Gentle Giant, Zappa, Magma, more continental?
1972. I remember it well, just.
Great selection. I had many in the days of vinal
Brain Salad Surgery has to be in the top ten.
My number ONE prog album is Dangers of Strangers by Abel Ganz.
It's such a singular album because it sounds like none of their previous nor following albums.
The rest of my Top 10 would be made up of Jethro Tull & (Fish era) Marillion.
“Sonic palate” and “remarkable”. I’m gonna have a sip of beer every time you say those expressions!
They had no Floyd in the Top Ten Songs so they have a lot to make up for :)
This is a very interesting top 10 Prog album list. No need to debate, it does seem that both Yes and Genesis command leadership having 2 records each on this list. Also seeing Rush on this list is lovely shout to them, and especially that MP is the one that has to be the definitive album for any hybrid Prog choice! King Crimson is deniably up in the tops with CCK. I have to mention Love the Permanent Waves shirt- at least one day a week, that is my favorite Rush Record! Cheers
I am completely impressed that PFM was listed on the top 10! They and other Italian bands were musically right up there with the best of the Brits. Banco, Il Balletto di Bronzo, Area, Museo Rosenbach to name a few.
I also like the inclusion of the Mars Volta. Although I would not put them in the top 10, nice to see them listed.
Rush definitely had their 'prog period', but I just don't think they did prog very well. Their overall sound was just too close to mainstream rock for my tastes.
I don't want to get into the 'were Pink Floyd prog' debate, but if they were, they did not do it very well. And I used to be a huge fan. Now, unlike most of the other bands on this list, they bore me to tears.
ItCotCK would not make my top 10, but Larks' Tongue or Red would.
Gentle Giant certainly deserved to be higher on the list. They would make my top 10.
I was happy to see Harmonium make the list. One of the most drop dead, most beautiful prog albums ever.
I certainly would have liked to see some avant-prog on the top 50. Univers Zero, Henry Cow, Thinking Plague, Art Zoyd, or others could have easily replaced several choices on the list for me. Even with current bands, avant-prog is the source for the most innovative and creative music in prog.
I do like the inclusion of Magma. If anyone in the prog milieu has created timeless music, Magma has to be considered.
Metamorfosi's Inferno is my favorite Italian album. Synths galore.
Magma wasn't in the top 10.
Greatest albums without repeating band.
Yes- Fragile
King Crimson-In the Court of the Crimson King
Pink Floyd- Dark Side of the Moon
Genesis- Selling England by the Pound
UK-UK
Beatles-Sgt.Peppers
Moody Blues- Days of Future Passed
Rush- Moving Pictures
Transatlantic-Bridge Across Forever.
What a neat intro and top video.
Thank you.
Glad you liked it!
These are only my opinions.
I agree with your comments about Genesis without Hackett. When he left, the band lost a vital element. Who has been keeping Genesis music alive in this millennium?
Foxtrot vs SEBTP. Close, but I think Foxtrot by a short nose. There isn't a single weak track. Time table and Can-utility are often overlooked, but they are also under-rated. On the other hand, the middle section in Firth of Fifth is perhaps the finest instrumental break ever, flute, piano, synth, then Hackett's wonderful solo.
King Crimson - was there ever an album side with 3 such contrasting pieces? - the frenetic mania of 21st Century Schizoid Man followed by the wonderful tranquility of I Talk to the Wind, and then the majesty of Epitaph which I think just pips the title track.
DSOTM - don't try and pigeon-hole it into a genre. It's simply a great album with Roger Water's finest lyrics set to wonderful music which just flows from start to finish. And the spoken bits add so much context.
Steve Hackett should be grateful that Genesis didn't put up a legal stink with him calling all these tours, cd, dvd, and blu ray releases GENESIS Revisited. Its given him a comfy retirement fund for his 7 years of labor in the band. That wouldn't have happened if he had been in Yes (see ABWH, ARW etc). Or Crimson.
I love Hackett, have been to all his Genesis Revisited Tours, bought most of his albums, but I also saw him live BEFORE he started playing a lot of Genesis tunes in his show,and they didn't draw quite as well. Springfield IL, small 300 seat theater, not quite half full. Border's book store in Chicago on a Saturday afternoon, playing some acoustic stuff live trying to sell some tickets to a gig. He should be very grateful.
@@kbrewski1 I agree, Hackett's use of both the Genesis name and playing Genesis music is a much bigger draw-card than his solo stuff. It's equivalent to a classical pianist playing Chopin vs his or her own compositions.
The comparison of Genesis vs Yes or Crimson doesn't quite stack up. Both Yes and Crimson have had a revolving door of musicians and have remained much more active than Genesis, who post Calling All Stations only got back together for a couple of tours - no new music.
It would not have made sense, financial or otherwise, for the remaining members of Genesis to block Hackett from using the name. They have benefited considerably from songwriting royalties from all the DVD sales. A win-win situation.
@madhouze1
I didn't claim Genesis SHOULD have raised a legal stink. I said they COULD have, but did not. The Yes messy situation is a perfect example. Genesis has too much class to do that.
I really like PFM, not heard that album though. Didn't know them until they released 'Celebration'. I've never though of Floyd as Prog, they are for me in a genre all of their own. I do agree with the number one choice though but not putting Genesis above 'Fragile'. Then again I've never really liked them all that much.
Close to the edge is so short ! It is like Foxtrot had only Suppers ready (5 minutes shorter) watcher of the skies and utility and the coastliner !
Indeed, Genesis without Hackett isn't Genesis. Good call! But for me, Lamb is just the greatest in their catalog. It's such an evolution and peak of their efforts.