The Minimalisim vs. Complexity Scale

If I had to break Prog down into two categories, there's a nice little sliding scale between the bands that prefer sparse construction and the bands that like to throw in the whole 9 yards. For every Pink Floyd, and Tangerine Dream, for every Soft Machine, a Neu!. This difference bridges many divides in Prog, over many sub genres and nationalities.

This raises the question about which is superior. The general opinion seems to favor the complex over the simple, as bands like Pink Floyd, Yes, and King Crimson remain very popular and respected while Prog electornic seems to slip into obsucrity with each day. Minimalistic art in any form is always hardest to comprehend, as there's not much direction given to the audience. Still, I think that the criminaly underated Progressive Electronic Genre is so wonderfull due to its minimalizim, that trance of sound that exists.

However, it's not for everyone. So, I'm going to introduce a sliding scale of minimalisim to use in my reviews. I've put some groups to use as benchmarks to comapre to.

1- Extremely Minamalistic- Tangerine Dream
2- Minimalistic- Faust
3- Somewhat Minimalistic- Hawkwind
4- Neutral- Genesis
5- Somewhat Complex- Pink Floyd
6- Complex- Soft Machine
7- Extremely Complex- Gentle Giant

My hope is that this can help pin down how "Proggy" an album is, as the more compelx, the more progressive. Over time, perhaps you can get a feel of where you like your music.