I am a dedicated music fan, with over 1200 CDs. In addition to progressive rock, I also enjoy rock (many forms), blues, Celtic/traditional, folk, new age, jazz, world, reggae, classical, baroque, medieval and even a smattering of opera and country. I watch very little TV, but my stereo is almost always on.
I was very glad to stumble upon this great website, and to read about and sample so many newer prog acts that were previously unknown to me! I had thought that no one was making this type of music anymore -- it's great to have been mistaken! I try not to be "stuck in the 70s," but most of what I hear on the radio these days leaves me cold.
(Come to think of it, most of what I heard on commercial radio in the 70s was less than inspiring as well!) My main focus, when rating and reviewing a disc is: "How much do I like this music?" I don't worry overmuch about the categorization of that music (which is largely subjective) or the date of its release, because, for me, the "pleasure factor" is the primary consideration.
I have therefore, on at least one occasion, given a glowing review to an album that I don't even regard as progressive rock (see Audience - LUNCH), while others have slammed it for not being "progressive" enough. If I see an album that I am familiar with listed here, I will consider reviewing it (even if I think that it doesn't belong here), approaching it first and foremost as MUSIC, plain and simple. Another question I ask myself, when listening to newer "prog" albums, is: "Would I have enjoyed this back in the 70s?
" Still, I am not oblivious to issues of originality: a more recent band's being inspired by the "founding fathers" is a laudable thing, but I don't like to hear blatant imitation. (Sometimes, that's a fine -- and highly subjective -- line!) I don't expect newer bands to constantly take the music somewhere new, nor do I really want them to.
I believe that if prog had kept "progressing" (ie, changing) since its late 60s inception, it would now, some thirty-six years later, have arrived at a "place" (or sound) that would bear little or no resemblance to its vaunted starting point. (Perhaps this has already happened with the so-called "progressive metal" of Dream theater and their ilk, and those newer, "controversial" acts whose inclusion under the banner of "progressive rock" is so often hotly debated by prog fans.) My favourite bands/artists in the progressive rock vein include: Genesis, Yes, Jethro Tull, King Crimson, PFM, Tangerine Dream, Gentle Giant, Nektar, ELP, and Steve Hackett.
Collection of progressive CDs: about 200 (That's a tough question, because it's hard to know how to classify some bands and albums. But I have at least that many..
. and counting!
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