October 2009 is a milestone month, as it's now been 40 years since In The Court of the Crimson King went to store shelves and changed music. All this month, I'll be reviewing some of the best known Prog albums. To kick of the festivities, I'm going to make a nice list of underrated gems I quite like. I'll get to review them in time, but in a month where I'm intentionally going to be reviewing the most well known of prog albums, they deserve a mention and your time.
Campo Di Marte
An Italian Prog one hit wonder, their only album, which is self titled, is a cool little wonder. They use all sorts of assorted horns (not just the flute) and lots of acoustics. I'd describe them as "pastoral".
Chris Squire- Fish out of Water
Chris Squire has always been my favorite member of Yes. His distinct slap-bass like sound is what makes Yes unique, if you ask me. This solo album, released during the Yes hiatus of 74-77, showcases him in full form. He sounds great as the vocal star, too!
Frank Zappa
Famous, yes, but I think Frank gets a bit overlooked in the scope of Prog. I'm not going to argue that "Why Does it Hurt When I Pee?" is at all progressive, but a lot of his instrumental stuff, particularly Hot Rats and Waka Jawaka, is really awsome Jazzy prog. Let's not forget some of his most serious social commentary, which is defiantly prog in spirit if not execution.
Post Gabriel Genesis until 1981
For all too many Prog fans, anything Genesis did after Peter Gabriel left is considered crap. I can't say I agree at all. On both A Trick of the Tail and Wind and Wuthering it's not hard to find some truly wonderful and progressive moments, like "In that Quiet Earth", "Dance on a Volcano", and "Ripples". Even ...and Then There were Three and Duke have some value. Yet, these four albums get continually lambasted by Prog-heads, mostly based on the poor pop-rock quality of the next 4. Give them a chance, they will reward you.
Pink Floyd's Meddle
This one usually gets good reception, but gets lost in the shuffle under Dark Side and The Wall and then the two in-betweens. Meddle does offer one total clunker ("Seamus"), but you can;t argue with the sheer genius of "Echoes" or "One of these Days." A psychadellic masterpeice for sure! Not to mentioned something that sounds like a stoned cookie monster.
The Netherlands
Sitting right in the shadow of Germany, our Dutch friends tend to get a bit underrated. But, they've got some fantastic bands to thier name, like Focus, Finch, Earth & Fire, and Supersister. Also, this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpV5InLw52U
Thijs van Leer is the most awsome person to ever live, barring Theodore Roosevelt.
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Thijs van Leer is indeed phenomenal, and with Jan Akkerman has given so much musical delight over the years. Haven't a clue what he's doing now though.
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