Intro, Definitions, and a History Lesson

Hey, all. I’ve decided to do something I’ve wanted to do for a while: write articles on my beloved progressive (prog) rock. Those of you that navigated here are all smart people, and I think you’ll really enjoy this music if you choose to explore it. Sorry for being such a dinosaur with my music tastes. I hope to do this at least monthly, maybe more. The schedule will be sporadic. Some articles will be in a list format, like Cracked.com or something up that vein. “10 Most Innovative Pink Floyd Songs”, “12 Great Prog Bands with Female Singers”, or “10 Best Prog Albums from Japan”, for example. Others will just be typical article fare. They normally won’t be anywhere near this long. However, I thought it right to just have a general overview of prog’s style and history as a good way to start. There are many key terms here, try to remember the styles more than bands or albums, as those can be jogged easier. Due to length, I'm publishing it in three parts. Do enjoy!
*Quick note, s/t means an eponymous album

What is Prog?

Progressive Rock, also known as Prog or Art Rock, is a subgenre of rock music developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s that intends to expand and retool the boundaries of traditional rock n’ roll. Prog rock integrates structures and instruments from jazz, classical and global music, and occasionally invents completely new elements. Lyrical concepts include fantasy, politically-charged, abstract, symbolic, literature-based, and existential topics rather than love and dancing (although the prog love song is still moderately common). The typical verse-bridge-chorus structure of pop music is distorted or eliminated. Large suites or melodies exceeding 10, 15, or sometimes even 20 minutes are a signature of prog rock. Musicians play with the timbre of the instruments, often in improvisation. The 4/4 rhythm we all know and love appears less frequently than in other music, with odd time signatures such as 7/4 and 11/8 occasionally making their way in. Melodic and harmonic structure gets toyed with, I-IV-V chord progression being very rare.

In addition to the actual structure of the progressive music, prog rock as a scene has other well defined elements. Progressive rock groups love concept albums. Album art and packaging tend to be visually pleasing and colorful, taking full advantage of the entire vinyl sleeve to add to the art as a whole. In fact, artist Roger Dean is famous almost solely for his prog album cover paintings, especially with Yes. Bands often deploy stage theatrics such as acting out the lyrics of their songs, laser and light shows, pyrotechnics, and all sorts of whimsy. Prog evolved in and is most closely associated with The United Kingdom, but Germany, Italy, the USA, Spain, France, Canada, and many other countries all had their own rich, unique prog scene, often influencing each other.

A Brief History of Classic Prog

In most genres of rock, it is hard to pinpoint an exact starting point for the music. After Bill Haley and the Comets released “Rock Around the Clock” in 1954, the rock n’ roll era steadily evolved through rockabilly, the British invasion, psychedelia, soul, hard rock, soft rock, funk, punk, new wave, metal, alternative, indie, and countless smaller phases. There are often set points, however, of when a genre went through a major change, the release of very famous albums, such as Elvis’s debut, or The Sex Pistol’s Never Mind the Bollocks (firmly established punk as the top subgenre for the next 3-4 years after its 1977 release.) Prog rock, however, is the opposite. The foundation for prog is near universally accepted with the release of King Crimson’s In the Court of the Crimson King on October 5th, 1969. The key dates surrounding the lead up to this are much less clear, as are the dates when prog took major turns in direction and evolved.

Proto-Prog

What influences did King Crimson draw upon to found progressive rock? Which bands used progressive elements prior to October ’69? These questions are the basis of the examination of what is known as the Proto-prog era, lasting from either 1966 or 1967 until In the Court. Proto-prog is largely mixed and synonymous with the psychedelic age of rock. The bands of proto-prog mainly changed the mold of rock music toward the art rock scene through several key innovations: the double album, the tape loop, use of the Studio as an instrument, the concept album, and more inventive use of guitar and keyboard in their works.

While there is some debate of proto-prog beginning in 1966, this column will consider it to last from January 1967 to September 1969. Early on, key albums include The Doors’ self titled debut (1967), The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) and Abbey Road (1969), The works of Jimi Hendrix in ’67 and ’68, The Small Faces' Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake (1968), Frank Zappa and the Mothers Of Invention’s Albums (1966-1969, his Freak Out! Being an exception to my ’67 date), and The Who’s Tommy (1969), amongst others.

These albums made major innovations to the structure and form of rock music. Jim Morrison, John Lennon, and Frank Zappa pioneered the use of dark, political, and unorthodox lyrics, removing the seeming requirement for rock to be about love gained, love lost, or peace and love. Meanwhile, The Beatles on Sgt. Pepper, with the help of producer George Martin, began to experiment with new studio trickery. Technological improvements to recording in the mid 60s led to a new ability to clean and polish the sound, allowing for more complex sounding material. Pioneering work by the Beatles in the field made for quick popularization of the new technique of using orchestral instruments in rock, employing 8 track tape recording, and the integration of non-rock influences into their music.

In addition to lyrical and structural changes, the actual form of playing morphed. Hendrix invented new, fiery guitar playing methods. His seamless hybrid of blues and technicality pervades progressive music, as it allows for lots of power and emotion to fly from the strings. Hendrix also pioneered guitar distortion, along with groups like Vanilla Fudge and Deep Purple. Other groups of the period such as the Doors and Jefferson Airplane started to develop the common rock instrument of the organ (it was a staple over the entire 1960’s before disappearing) into the modern keyboard. Jefferson Airplane also invented the light show, along with the then-unknown Velvet Underground (not the least bit a proto-prog group, they ironically became proto-punk, the genre which would end the age of classic prog).

As 1967 and 1968 continued, these influences began to grow all over rock and in the heart of the public. Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake became a major influence not only as being one of the most popular early concept albums, but with its packaging, as instead of the typical vinyl square, it came in a circular form with the vinyl inside. During this period, a future behemoth of prog had evolved, in the form of Pink Floyd, although their music was still mainly psychedelic, not quite yet full prog. Jethro Tull also existed as a blues band. In 1969, The Beatles made their second major contribution to prog’s evolution on Abbey Road, the segway of one song into another on the famed B-side medley, courtesy Paul McCartney. The Who’s rock Opera Tommy, released in June, was the bona- fide king of double concept albums up to that point, paving the way for record companies to be willing to release the prog album slew.

And then there was In the Court. This album gets its reputation as the first prog album for no small reason. King Crimson experimented with medieval classical structure in their songs “Epitaph” and “The Court of the Crimson King”. The lyrics of the album contain the full allegorical and fantasy elements of a prog album. Ian MacDonald played woodwinds on this album, adding the new experimental instrumentation to the scene. A whole article could be written on the influence and innovation of In the Court (Perhaps someday!)