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Progland was founded by John Gabbard in 2005. It's purpose has been to provide you, the music community with the latest music and dvd reviews. It will continue to be your link to the most popular music reviews in the progressive world.

 

"Jerry Lucky's" (Progressiveland's) Commentary

Buy Jerry's Books Interested in buying Jerry's books click on picture above or see below:
Commentary-By "Jerry Lucky"

Neo-Prog Misconceptions 3 through 6:

Last time we started our journey looking at some of the popular misconceptions that are used to describe what has come to categorized as Neo Progressive Rock. As we dig deeper into this question I hope it becomes clear that many of these descriptives really don't do the job and in fact are misleading to the prog newcomer. So here we go with misconceptions 3 through 6..

Misconception 3 – Neo-Prog is essentially shorter songs This is a descriptive that shows up in more than a few places but again seems to ignore the history of Progressive Rock. Prog bands have always written shorter songs from time to time. It’s not always about the epics. The big five, Yes, Genesis, ELP, Pink Floyd and Jethro Tull have a rich musical history of shorter compositions going all the way back to their beginnings. Even much of Gentle Giant’s material hovered around the 4-minute mark. Add to this the slew of European prog bands that always had a fair share of 3 or 4-minute pieces on their recordings. Then they might include one or two longer 7 to 10-minute compositions. Even Le Orme at their most complex (Contrappunti) (and remember I’m not talking about complexity here, just length of composition) out of seven tracks, four are under 4-minutes and one is under 5-minutes with only one long track at just under 9-minutes. And listen to the CD; you have one instrumental that boasts a lot of complexity, followed by an acoustic ballad, which then is followed by a off kilter almost novelty piece. I could be describing any modern Neo-Prog band here as well. As to the length aspect contrast Le Orme with the latest Pendragon where there are a couple of 8 minute pieces, and then a 21-minute track and it’s obvious that Neo-Prog is not about “shorter” songs.

From the very outset of the Progressive Rock revival of the early Eighties we can see that 4 of the 6 tracks off Marillion’s first recording were over 8-minutes, IQ’s first album had a side-long 24 minute track and Pallas included a couple over 10-minutes on their first album. So where this idea that Neo-Prog bands write essentially shorter songs is a puzzler to me. I’m not even sure how such a flawed form of measurement has even come to be included in the various Neo-Prog descriptions because you can pick any band you like from Mona Lisa to PFM and there will usually be a mixture of long and short compositions. Always has been and always will I reckon. So clearly, NO, Neo-Prog is NOT essentially shorter songs.

Misconception #4 – Neo-Prog is more radio friendly We’ve already talked about the mixture of long and short compositions that has carried on from Progressive Rock’s early days, so the idea that Neo-Prog is more “radio friendly” seems to me to be again, a bit puzzling. What radio stations are playing Neo-Prog? The radio friendly descriptive seems to be a red herring since radio stations aren’t even playing this stuff. I guess when I read radio friendly I’m supposed to think it’s somewhat more accessible. We’ll deal with that misconception a little later, but as we’ve already seen what goes for Neo-Prog isn’t always as accessible as one might think. Granted it may not the most complex genre of prog but then neither were Barclay James Harvest or Le Orme. So what’s really being claimed by using this misconception?

While it’s true Marillion found their way onto the radio in their early days, they were pretty much an exception and a short lived one at that for they quickly disappeared from the radio as programmers went in search of the next big thing. Truth is Neo-Prog is no more or less radio friendly than any other Symphonic Prog recordings. The opportunity to hear anything from band’s considered Neo-Prog is certainly no greater than ever hearing any of the shorter songs from the early recordings from bands such as Yes or Genesis. If anything, the use of this misconception seems to be more of a moral judgment rather than a musical one aimed at calling into question the band’s motivations, implying that these bands intentionally set about seeking radio exposure and that that in some ways cheapens their musical output. A thorough listening can easily put that misconception to rest. ·

Misconception #5 – Neo-Prog is a musical movement that started in the mid-Eighties Of all the descriptors, this perhaps comes closest to the mark in terms of being accurate in that the term itself came into the prog world sometime in the mid to late Eighties to initially describe the then current Progressive Rock revival going on in England. The term seems to have made its first appearance in the U.K., most likely in Sounds or Kerrang magazines which were both providing a lot of coverage for the prog revival. Strangely the term never really caught on with the fan base there but certainly seemed to find a home more in the United States. With the advent of the internet and its global nature, the term has loosely, but not consistently spread to all corners of the globe. Perhaps more importantly is that the term has assumed a negative connotation, based on many of the misconceptions outlined here, and is generally used as a pejorative or as an expression of disdain. But the truth is it is far from what might be considered a universal term.

At the core however is whether now in 2006 we really need another term to describe bands that clearly fall into the more all-encompassing and descriptive Symphonic category. We already have a term for them and it is clear their music has evolved along with the genres originators to continue to be in the symphonic tradition. Another words the music created by bands like Yes and Glass Hammer has continued on the same developmental path and these bands are all now performing in a well established tradition. Let’s face it 1983 is a long time ago.

The bands too often labeled as Neo-Prog are a logical extension of what came before. The fact that a few of the them came into existence in the Progressive Rock revival of the Eighties is no more reason to call them Neo-Prog than we should come up with yet additional descriptives to identify each generation of new bands. If the bands of the Eighties constitute the “Neo-Prog” group, then perhaps those of the Nineties should be “Really-Neo-prog” and then those of the new millennium could be the “Retro-Really-Neo-Prog” bands…where does it end if we go down that path. But then what about a bands like Greenslade or Gryphon who showed up around 1973, three or four years after King Crimson, Yes and Genesis, should we attach “Retro-Neo-Prog” to show they were of the era, but actually came into existence after the genre’s leaders! It’s ridiculous. Clearly, these are all Symphonic Prog bands to one degree or another, some more so than others but symphonic none-the-less. The Symphonic label holds true and needs no other descriptive, especially to a younger generation who knows little if anything of Progressive Rock’s origins. In fact the term Neo-Prog is perhaps most confusing to this younger generation, who can clearly figure out what Symphonic means but may struggle with trying to understand the meaning of the term Neo-Prog. ·

Misconception #6 – Neo-Prog is influenced mostly by early Genesis This one is kind of interesting because many critics can’t seem to use the term Neo-Prog without some kind of passing reference to the Genesis influence. You rarely hear of Neo-Prog bands being influenced by Yes or Van der Graaf Generator which begs the question of course, if they were, would they still be considered Neo-Prog?

Many will point to early Marillion as the root of this reference and there is no denying that Genesis was indeed an influence on the band. In point of fact, Genesis was instrumental in laying the foundation for the Progressive Rock tradition. The significance of their composition “Supper’s Ready” on many of the band’s involved in the Progressive Rock revival of the early eighties can by no means be understated, but it’s almost as if the reference to Genesis is meant as a slur to both the new band AND Genesis. It’s almost as if by making the reference in such a derogatory manner they are subconsciously attempting to pay Genesis back for becoming a commercial success. What else could really be taken from consistently making this association? In the case of early Marillion, if one were to actually take the time to go back and listen carefully you would not only find the Genesis influence but also that of Pink Floyd and even the Doors. So again, what valuable point is really being made by using the Genesis reference in this manner?

It’s also possible to listen to a band such as Italy’s Locanda della Fate and hear Genesis all over it. Their album Forse Le Lucciole Non So Amino Pui which came out in 1977 has Wind and Wuthering (released that same year), written all over it in terms of compositional structure and specific instrumentation. But does that take away from its strength? Absolutely not. Do we label Locanda as Neo-Prog because of the Genesis influence? I dare say no! They’re both symphonic and just because they both have that similarity doesn’t demean one over the other. Similarly, bands today who continue to be influenced by Genesis or for that matter Locanda della Fate are by no means simply cheap imitations deserving of the Neo-Prog branding.

Well that's that. Only another 7 to go! Listen I'm always looking for feedback...pro or con...send it my way at jlucky@pacificcoast.net

To buy Jerry's book's - The Progressive Rock Files/20th Century Rock and Roll : Punk /The Psychedelic Rock Files /20th Century Rock and Roll : Women in Rock - Click Here

 

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