Andy, don't know if you will ever see this post, but I wanted to reach out. I just discovered your fantastic channel. Being 64yrd old, a guitar player, I really appreciate you bringing your opinion to the masses. I have been binge watched every video you have put out. I also agree with every opinion. Our local area produced: Cheap Trick & Jazz great Bix Biederbecke. I hope one day to hear your opinion of both. Also, my father-in-law is from Solihull. Rock on...
The Dream Police is one of my favourite songs, some of their songs I really love, and some not so much. Bix was a beautiful genius, undone by insecurities which probably were based in his family upbringing. Louis loved Bix. That is high praise enough
Andy, much thnx for your opinion. PLEASE know that WE are out there hanging on every word of yours. Never change. Your instant recall of music on the spot is spell binding. Patreon, here I come.
Don't worry, Andy, I've definitely put a "LIKE" on this "Citizen Kane of Ranking Videos on TH-cam". What a monumental effort. You have obviously worked very hard on this one, especially getting your notable guests to make their own inserts. Great video, and thank heavens I had booked the day off work today to be able to watch this. Many thanks and Happy New Year! 😎
I saw GG backing up Yes back in 1972.Never heard of the band before.Fell in love with them right away my friend and I the next day picked up their first 4 albums.One of my favorite bands till this day
OMG this is great!! Gonna have to watch in bitesize bits. Nice to see our shy and retiring gentleman from across the pond....Mr Lade 😂 Well done Andy!! If you do a jazzrock epic like this, I would love to be involved....
Outstanding video. I’m less interested in who’s number one (Floyd, Yes, Genesis, Crimson etc), a lot more interested in stuff I’ve never really listened to (Amon Dul, Colosseum etc). So thank you! (PS A band I’ve never heard mentioned on your channel are your fellow West Midlanders, Magnum 😊)
Great stuff Andy. The best TH-cam channel there is ,and I guess you’re a national treasure by now. You should really get Rick Wakeman as a guest. You two would have been the best team-up ever.
My favourite song from a movie... Jaws. On the boat. Right at the end of your glorious video. Then..... "what should I do next?" 😂 thank you so much Andy Edwards. Haha... You pulled out the Hawkwind LP.... I asked my friend at random what he thought of Hawkwind earlier on. 👍
So, let me follow up. In 1976, as a student at Michigan State University I bought Magma Live on a whim, largely because it was a double record with just 5 songs, one of which covered 2 sides. The music was mind blowing. I was hooked. Over time, I managed to find other Magma fans- in Japan and in France and in Germany, and we wrote each other letters and shared articles, and saw how little the band was really known. Then came the internet and it just exploded. In 1988, I wrote an article about Magma for Option magazine, which included an interview I did with both Christian and Stella Vander. I've collected banker's boxes of articles on the band, over 200 live recordings, met Christian Vander as well as Phillip Bussonnet in 2015 in Chicago, saw them live 3 times (1999, 2015, 2016), wrote an article about them for Sea of Tranquility, and have a picture that Herve Aknin sent me of me watching them at Reggie's bar in Chicago. 55 years later they are going strong- they just played some gigs last week. And now with 7 singers...including the amazing Caroline Indjein. th-cam.com/video/2oOj3fCV8zg/w-d-xo.html
Great account! Vander must be among the top 3 drummers ever. He's really a *monster* drummer, he's that good. And he was always had great, great bass players. Y Top and B Paganotti.... the tone they have....
When I looked at the duration of this video, I thought I would just watch Pulp Fiction instead as they are both over 21/2 hours long. But I thought I've seen Pulp Fiction (more than once) so I'll watch Andy give his rundown of prog bands. And am I glad I did! Very clever concept, like prog art. Here's to King Crimson, the first prog band I ever heard, even though I was unaware of the term "prog". I'm sure Robert Fripp was as well. Remember this was the early 70's, I didn't have a clue, I was just a kid (is it "that" or "who") listened to the music. Thank you, Andy.
I'm appreciating the segmentation into parts, unfortunately t'other 'arf won't appreciate me binging the whole of this. Great video though Andy (and the other contributors too, cheers guys)
When I was about 15, I used to borrow records from Wolves public library. There was always a Henry Cow album there, the knitted sock thing. I picked it up a couple of times wondering what it was like. Looks like Deep Purple was the right choice.
Hey Andy - I was oh so happy to see Crack The Sky mentioned online by someone other than me. Been a huge fan from day one in 1975 with their debut album right up to now. I was living in the Baltimore, Maryland area which is where they settled after coming together in the Weirton, West VIrginia area (a couple of guys are from closer to the Pittsburgh area I think). Superb musicianship... superb, eclectic and fresh songwriting... FANTASTIC LIVE BAND! Over 500 concerts in my life and a couple of their shows rank in the top few for me, having seen them close to 30 times (including late last year). They were pratically 12 arms with one brain, mind-blowing - so tight they squeaked. My best of recommendations to you are (album and songs in case of Spotify): Crack The Sky - Hold On, Surf CIty, She's A Dancer, Mind Baby Animal Notes - Wet Teenager Safety In Numbers - Nuclear Apathy, Long NIghts, Flashlight, Lighten Up McGraw, Safety In Numbers White Music - Hot Razors In My Heart From The Greenhouse - From The Greenhouse, Lost In America There's a bunch after that but nothing comes close to these. Their original drummer was Joey D'Amico - John Tracey in the middle period of the band was OK. Kinda shrimpy, not even remotely close to six feet or two hundred pounds. Had an awesome feel for syncopation, time skips, odd meters, whatever you want to call that stuff. Changed lead vox mid-way through but not a big deal either way. Later incarnations included bassist Carey Zeigler - a monsta' I tell ya, A MONSTA! I have several earth-shattering bootlegs of these guys and they were unreal live. To top it off, I got to meet them many times before or after gigs and they're all super nice guys. Lead guitarist Rick Witkowski and original bassist Joe Macre have their own studios they run. Founder/songwriter/rhythm guitarist/vocalist (and erstwhile John Lennon wannabe) John Palumbo now works in the psychiatric field (registered therapist/counselor or so). Sorry to write so much, but I have a huge place in my heart for CTS, being a fantastic local/regional band of super nice and classy guys.
I was a teenager on vacation with a few of my buddies in Ocean City, the summer that Surf City was a hit. It was such a perfect song. As you might imagine, our interests were mainly to get older folks to buy us liquor and beer, swim in the ocean, soak up the sun and meet girls on the boardwalk in the evening. Fun Days. Surf City was the perfect song that summer. Later I was fortunate to hear them play live a few times. If I had to describe them to someone who never experienced their show. I would describe it as FUN !!! They loved playing, the audience always full of energy. Really. So much fun ! Much like NRBQ. There are some musicians, where it doens't matter
Seeing them live in the 70s more than once, I would say that Genesis were the most entertaining, but Yes were the band that moved me the most, especially seeing Jon, Chris, and Steve harmonizing on I Get Up, I Get Down.
Give Van der Graaf Generator more listens. I'm 63 and just got into them. Had Pawnhearts years ago but did not like at the time. Now with 'mature' ears I really like them. Favorite is H TO HE, WHO AM THE ONLY ONE, followed By GODBLUFF. Go for the latest remasters which sound great & include a remix along with the original version remastered. I have warmed up to Pawnhearts as well. Really unique band that sounds like no one else. There is a darkness, but beauty with an indescribable quality and depth to their music. Check out LIVE AT ROCKPALAST - LEVERKUSEN 2005 & see how great they were live.
VdGG Rockpalast is among the greatest live prog concerts ever recorded. Perfect vocals 3 decades plus into performing & last tour with Jackson on reeds. Excellent set list with great new material. Sheer perfection.
Great video!!! It sounds very strange that a member of Genesis thought they were not playing prog rock until 1977. I can only understand that if Collins was already thinking about his future solo pop career.
Im a 66yo and happy to be in the prog head crowd. One band thar should at least get honorable mention is Renaissance with Annie Haslam. There was a single mention in one of the comments. Another band originally formed in the US and always overlooked in David Clark Allen's band Carmen. After relocating to london they caught David Bowie's attention who showcased Carmen on Midnight Special.
Renaissance like Barclay James Harvest in the UK tend to get get overlooked although they were the exact bands that were current in the day for 66 y.o's like ourselves. If there was a category of "pastoral prog" maybe they'd get a mention. Might check out Carmen on your advice..
"I'm like David Lee Roth"..... Genesis is my number one, because I know what I like and I like what I know. But many thanks to you, Andy, and everyone who shared their thoughts and contributed. Major undertaking indeed, but the final product is a lot of fun. Keep them mowin' blades sharp!! Carry on.
On a good system, the original CD sounds better. The Remaster is too trebly and boomy. Overall the Yes 2002/3 remasters are very bad, better go for the 1994 ones.
Very, very, very, Prog-ish style of viddly - diddly - o. So, well done Andy Pandy. Good work. My only complaint is the constant use of the capital city of the Czech Republic, Prague, instead of Prog (Progressive Rock).
Amazing iam really getting into prog big time so great more bands for me to explore, but i have one question THE MOODY BLUES maybe i missed them !!! if not a massive omission. The moodys were the start i mean mike pinder did work in the factory that made THE prog instrument the mellotron, i think they should be there in that list excuse me again if i missed them. And one the major birmingham acts, but in all this was a brilliant show thank you all.
As a big prog rock fan it was great to see the inclusion of Bands like Can, Tangerine Dream, etc but it's also time for you to catch up with the prog metal coming from one of the greatest bands of the past 20 years..The Band...TOOL...The Album..."FEAR INOCULUM" and also bands like Dream Theatre. Us "old" guys, who were listening to CAN ( Tago Mago..what an album!!!!) in Australia, back in the early 70's, are still looking out for "prog" today and TOOL are at the top of that tree in 2025.
@@DrOz-007 and here too. Saw them 5 times on the Something wicked tour, loved them beyond almost all other prog bands. Classical music on electronic instruments, the very definition of prog. Fucking magnificent.
and me love that touch me album especially cortège somber drums then the synths mellotron flute come it affects me every time i listen to it as if it uplifts me affects me mentally makes me feel good
All of Andy's future ranking videos need to be watched in reverse so that you can spoil the number one before he does. To be fair, it was obvious. Somehow I managed to remain in Andy's unique space-time continuum for the full duration of the video with no ill effects.
Well, I made it through this long winded epic and quite enjoyable, but I did have to take my medications towards the end. Laugh out loud excellent presentation. The only thing that might’ve made it better is if you had Orson Wells doing the narration for yes.
Thank for including FOCUS! The falling camera 2x must have been Devine intervention signalling that Roundabout should be nr.1 . It's a nobrainer, innit?! 🙃😉
I dont know if youve ever given Argentine prog a chance, but i highly HIGHLY recommend Seru Giran (La Grasa de las Capitales) and Invisible (Duranzo Sangrando or El jardin de los presentes). They are phenomenal bands, legendary within their own country, and should be in the same conversation as any other international prog superstars of the 70s.
I went to see No Direction Home in the theater, which is a film about the early career of Bob Dylan. An underlying question in the story (though none of the characters uttered this exact quote) was “What is folk music?” And then right near the end of the film, the underlying question might have been “What is rock & roll?” So I guess the underlying question of this video might be “What is prog?” On this channel, I’ve heard a couple of unique music terms I’ve never heard before; one is Trust-Fund rock, and the other is Punk-Prog. Maybe you could do a list of odd music terms at some point here.
Gentle Giant are the greatest prog band for me. After that: King Crimson, Yes, Genesis, Van der Graaf Generator, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Hawkwind, Rush, Jethro Tull and Pink Floyd (yes I believe those last four are prog!) in any order you want in the top ten.
Totally agree...are they prog?? 😂 I would put them in the jazzrock category myself... Vimana is one of the best fusion albums of all time. It is absolute perfection to me, produced by Robin Lumlet, recorded beautifully at Trident, with guests Percy Jones, Narada, Phil Collins and the late great Zakir Hussain!!!
I Love your videos Andy, and I use your explanation of politics to explain how I feel about left/right issues to other people because you verbalize exactly how I feel. Anyways.. I haven’t ever seen you mention this band. It’s probably an elephant in the room. I just got back from their new years show at Madison Square Garden, they have played MSG over 50 times. I have personally seen them 200 times since 1997. When people ask me how I would define them, I would absolutely use the term “Jazz Rock” they have been selling out big venues in the US since 96, they picked up a lot of fans from the Grateful Dead but they most certainly are much more. They are almost undefinable genre wise.. in America they are the number 1 “Jam Band”.. and every time you talk about prog, I wonder .. why hasn’t he mentioned this band. They are an enigma in the current music scene, as they don’t have commercially successful #1 hits, they are a real traditional 4 piece band, and they have been and are still currently a top Grossing touring band. IE they make all their money TOURING.. they do it by playing amazing shows And the Band is Phish th-cam.com/video/6mpwRZHYgkI/w-d-xo.htmlsi=SAEz4_Zh3iQ4aFG6 th-cam.com/video/t-8xOyAEV4A/w-d-xo.htmlsi=RxpMmWmfgobbSrwi Can you honestly tell me that Kansas is better than this American Prog band.. No effing way you can.. no way no how ..in fact I got em easily in the top 5 if not top 3 prog bands ever..
If you take into account every aspect you can, Yes is a very obvious choice (but that doesn't mean it not right). Even during the period of Magnification, The Ladder and a couple other releases, each album has at least a couple of excellent tracks. I am totally with you about Yes being the best of all time, and I totally agree that Awaken is the epic of all epics ever recorded (ELPs Karn Evil 9 is a close second). Guys spit out "Close To The Edge" automatically like they just drank the kool-aid and I'm tired of it. Yes, it's great and I love it, but...
I will champion Genesis, and I would probably be the one who sends a video and says, "Yes,yes, my favorite period, of course, is the early 90s, "We Can't Dance" period, with the walk, and..." That was ((roughly)) about the time I fell into Genesis (actually a decade earlier) and then I slowly picked up the rest of the albums. My favorite wavers between "Nursery Cryme," "Selling England..." or "The Lamb". If Genesis was docked because of the hits, so be it. I fell into the band during the 1980s.
I used to have the free album they gave away with the Monty Python Matching Tie and Handkerchief set. I seem to recall it had some good songs on it. And the Goons have some great songs! Without them we'd never have had a Yin Tong Song, for instance. And they made some great improvements to Unchained Melody. th-cam.com/video/XqqNsyHajb0/w-d-xo.html Just based on that, you could do a few videos on the Goon Show contribution to Contemporary Endogamous Event Music and all the composters who compost this.
Kansas, though formed in Kansas, was based out of Atlanta, GA, at least for a while. As far as I'm concerned they are better than at least the next 10 bands on this list. But to each his own....
bonkers genius. there's no wonder nobody with any sense is watching telly anymore. i was moved and excited to see, amongst the predictables, that Henry Cow, Can, Soft Machine were featured. Phd Rock, yes please.Van der Graaf should be No.1 though, proper visionaries. Evidence? Godbluff, Pawnhearts, Still Life, amongst many others.
i can understand that - Pawn hearts a biggish production number, godbluff a more stripped back sound, a question of taste i guess. me, i love em both. i think the main reason people struggle with VDGG , at least with skeptics i speak to, is P.Hamill's voice, which is definitely an acquired taste. incidentally, maybe that's why they were so big it Italy - our Italian chums tend to love those big dramatic lead voices don't they.
To be honest if Free, the Beatles, Henry Cow, Can, Faust and Pink Floyd are on the list (no shade to any of those), they absolutely should have been. In these broad terms the Velvet Underground fit this - combination of Bob Dylan extended songwriting, garage rock, the modern classical minimalism of LaMonte Young&Tony Conrad and the free jazz of Ornette Coleman and a big inspiration for a lot of these European bands like Can and Plastic People. The Murder Mystery in particular is fairly and squarely a prog rock masterpiece.
Many bands, except perhaps 10 that are at the center of the genre, are right in the limits. Just as counter-example, I don't think that any of the members of the bands considered as classic prog like the term (case in point, Fripp). At any rate, Progarchives is a good source to see how different people consider different bands as prog. Tangerine Dream are likely "prog electronica". I guess my question back to you is "why not?". Andy has a good video on the criteria to classify a band as prog or not. I think TD meets several, but not all, of those criteria. Also, the first albums (pre Virgin) could be considered "experimental prog, "avant garde prog" or straight "krautrock", who many people argue is a sub-genre of prog. In sum, "it's complicated".
Nice to see Yes in the spot the King Crimson usually gets. But, no prog list is complete without the mention of Greenslade even tho they only produced 4 albums. But 2 of those, the 1st two, are master works in the vein of Genesis and Camel. Like Yes their music can take you on a fantastical journey -- you won't find any better atmospheric mellotron passages anywhere else, except maybe on some early TD.. And their music is as tight, concise and polished as the top five on this list. There is a lot of turgid, meandering, plodding prog listed here which really baffles me on how Greenslade are so overlooked -- and also bands like Eloy and Grobschnitt who are more prog than Kansas.
Andy McCulloch, great drummer. I love the mellotron bits too. But there something I don't like about Greenslade.... not sure how if i can express it.... perhaps it's a bit "bland"? Not sure this is the correct term, it's too strong, but there's something there.
@@jdmresearch thanks for input. If you feel that way about them then you would have multiply that by a factor of ten for bands like Colosseum (Dave Greenslade's previous band) and Caravan with their over drawn sudo-jazz/folk instrumentals. With a lot of the bands that appear on the list, if you take a random track from each of them it would be hard to distinguish them apart -- while Greenslade like the top five, whether you liked it or hated it, have a very distinct sound. The tunes were tight, they had distinct melodies and their instrumentals had wonderful atmosphere.
@@roygaiot8105 Agreed about Colosseum, less so about Caravan (it was part of the whimsical aspect of the Canterbury scene), but I get what you're saying that other bands in the list are far from being 'dark'.
Not only did your patrons vote for Free, but they voted for Free AHEAD OF RUSH and PFM!!! You've got to start asking yourself some questions, my friend.
Free as Prog band? Actually, I can see (hear) that. I'm a full-on Bad Company fan, and find Free more "challenging" - and Prog, you could say, implies something which challenges the senses. If you're used to the slightly heavier Bad Co vibe, Free can seem a little slow and ponderous, unless you go into their albums with fewer expectations of pre-Company policies. And, although early Mott the Hoople had some Prog tendencies, and Boz Burrell was actually in King Crimson, neither Mick Ralphs nor Boz has shown much tendency to pursue that direction.
I think Prog came from experimentation, psychosis, psyhcodelia, hippy movement non conformists and folks with alternative lifestyles. The bands we love now had roots in this. Pink Floyd, Hendrix, Hawkwind, the Nice, Cream, Blind Fairh,maybe the Beatles... Some bands were reeled in till we got normal, accepable bands like pink Floyd, Moody Blues, King Crimson, Jethro Tull the we go Rush ELP, Genesis Yes etc.
They may be one of Andy's favourites and yours, but I would contend that Gong are a psychedelic rock band rather than prog. I notice in the comments that a lot of people seem to like disqualifying bands for spurious reasons, so I'll join in.
@@jimmycampbell78 If we're going to try to put correct labels (a chimera, really).... Pink Floyd 67 was British psychedelic rock, as well as Tomorrow and Perhaps Soft Machine 1.... ... Jefferson Ariplaine was American psychedelic rock.... Gong was clearly different. I'd say an early example of space rock. But I agree they definitely can be fit into the broader umbrella of prog rock.
King Crimson wasn’t the first prog band, nor the biggest, but no other band defines progressive rock better than the League of Fripp’s Musician. Just look, the word ‘progressive’ can be interpreted as …. progressive, going further, expanding the boundaries, trying new tricks …. and no other hand has done that more than King Crimson.
Andy, don't know if you will ever see this post, but I wanted to reach out. I just discovered your fantastic channel. Being 64yrd old, a guitar player, I really appreciate you bringing your opinion to the masses. I have been binge watched every video you have put out. I also agree with every opinion. Our local area produced: Cheap Trick & Jazz great Bix Biederbecke. I hope one day to hear your opinion of both. Also, my father-in-law is from Solihull. Rock on...
The Dream Police is one of my favourite songs, some of their songs I really love, and some not so much. Bix was a beautiful genius, undone by insecurities which probably were based in his family upbringing. Louis loved Bix. That is high praise enough
Andy, much thnx for your opinion. PLEASE know that WE are out there hanging on every word of yours. Never change. Your instant recall of music on the spot is spell binding. Patreon, here I come.
This is simply one of the best and most creative TH-cam videos I've seen.
And I've seen a few.
Thanks for releasing again.
Agreed!
This was a major work. Great job. I’m in awe really. Epic
Don't worry, Andy, I've definitely put a "LIKE" on this "Citizen Kane of Ranking Videos on TH-cam". What a monumental effort. You have obviously worked very hard on this one, especially getting your notable guests to make their own inserts. Great video, and thank heavens I had booked the day off work today to be able to watch this. Many thanks and Happy New Year! 😎
I saw GG backing up Yes back in 1972.Never heard of the band before.Fell in love with them right away my friend and I the next day picked up their first 4 albums.One of my favorite bands till this day
Lucky you!
This video was so cool Andy. My favorite parts were the Steve Palmer and Andy Graziano guest appearances. You da man!👍
OMG this is great!! Gonna have to watch in bitesize bits. Nice to see our shy and retiring gentleman from across the pond....Mr Lade 😂
Well done Andy!!
If you do a jazzrock epic like this, I would love to be involved....
Thank-you Andy's patreons for voting for Henry Cow. Thank-you Andy for giving so much time to them.
"Casablanca Moon" by Slapp Happy is a more accessible track.
Outstanding video.
I’m less interested in who’s number one (Floyd, Yes, Genesis, Crimson etc), a lot more interested in stuff I’ve never really listened to (Amon Dul, Colosseum etc).
So thank you!
(PS A band I’ve never heard mentioned on your channel are your fellow West Midlanders, Magnum 😊)
agree 100%
I was glad to see you had Pete Pardo and Scot Lade get in on this.
Great video, Andy. Informative and entertaining.
Great stuff Andy. The best TH-cam channel there is ,and I guess you’re a national treasure by now. You should really get Rick Wakeman as a guest. You two would have been the best team-up ever.
Yeah, his first three solo albums belong to my all time favourites and since the beginning of the 2000s he released some really good albums too.
@@spaceman3793Criminal Record is very good too.
My favourite song from a movie... Jaws. On the boat. Right at the end of your glorious video.
Then..... "what should I do next?" 😂 thank you so much Andy Edwards.
Haha... You pulled out the Hawkwind LP.... I asked my friend at random what he thought of Hawkwind earlier on. 👍
Priceless video. Glad to see Magma on the list. Thanks!
Andy let me talk about it in the video. Embarassing, I know. Apologies for the simplicity of it. Magma deserved something better.
@@jdmresearch Haha, no worries😊. We should ask Andy to make a video about it some day.🤞
This is a very hard job, I admire your work and hope that my five favourite bands are in your list.
Excellent video Andy. Thanks
A newbie to prog but who better to learn from than Andy....Thanks for the monumental video on prog! (Thanks to all your friends, also!)
So, let me follow up. In 1976, as a student at Michigan State University I bought Magma Live on a whim, largely because it was a double record with just 5 songs, one of which covered 2 sides. The music was mind blowing. I was hooked. Over time, I managed to find other Magma fans- in Japan and in France and in Germany, and we wrote each other letters and shared articles, and saw how little the band was really known. Then came the internet and it just exploded. In 1988, I wrote an article about Magma for Option magazine, which included an interview I did with both Christian and Stella Vander. I've collected banker's boxes of articles on the band, over 200 live recordings, met Christian Vander as well as Phillip Bussonnet in 2015 in Chicago, saw them live 3 times (1999, 2015, 2016), wrote an article about them for Sea of Tranquility, and have a picture that Herve Aknin sent me of me watching them at Reggie's bar in Chicago. 55 years later they are going strong- they just played some gigs last week. And now with 7 singers...including the amazing Caroline Indjein. th-cam.com/video/2oOj3fCV8zg/w-d-xo.html
Great account! Vander must be among the top 3 drummers ever. He's really a *monster* drummer, he's that good. And he was always had great, great bass players. Y Top and B Paganotti.... the tone they have....
@ I miss Bubu!
When I looked at the duration of this video, I thought I would just watch Pulp Fiction instead as they are both over 21/2 hours long. But I thought I've seen Pulp Fiction (more than once) so I'll watch Andy give his rundown of prog bands. And am I glad I did! Very clever concept, like prog art. Here's to King Crimson, the first prog band I ever heard, even though I was unaware of the term "prog". I'm sure Robert Fripp was as well. Remember this was the early 70's, I didn't have a clue, I was just a kid (is it "that" or "who") listened to the music. Thank you, Andy.
The ‘director’s cut’ will likely run 3:20 or thereabouts
At 21 minutes, I stand corrected. Thank you Andy.
Great effort by you and your patrons andy.
Thanks Andy. That was a great watch on this dull thursday evening. Dont agree with everything but have to say yes to Yes.
Great video Andy, I also know Ian and Steve Palmer , Steve used my Drum Set at Ronnie Scott's and I worked with Ian for a long time.
Andy really is our favorite crazy uncle of TH-cam musicians.
I'm appreciating the segmentation into parts, unfortunately t'other 'arf won't appreciate me binging the whole of this. Great video though Andy (and the other contributors too, cheers guys)
Good reference for the German Beat Club TV show. There was some great stuff on there.
When I was about 15, I used to borrow records from Wolves public library. There was always a Henry Cow album there, the knitted sock thing. I picked it up a couple of times wondering what it was like. Looks like Deep Purple was the right choice.
Hey Andy - I was oh so happy to see Crack The Sky mentioned online by someone other than me. Been a huge fan from day one in 1975 with their debut album right up to now. I was living in the Baltimore, Maryland area which is where they settled after coming together in the Weirton, West VIrginia area (a couple of guys are from closer to the Pittsburgh area I think). Superb musicianship... superb, eclectic and fresh songwriting... FANTASTIC LIVE BAND! Over 500 concerts in my life and a couple of their shows rank in the top few for me, having seen them close to 30 times (including late last year). They were pratically 12 arms with one brain, mind-blowing - so tight they squeaked. My best of recommendations to you are (album and songs in case of Spotify):
Crack The Sky - Hold On, Surf CIty, She's A Dancer, Mind Baby
Animal Notes - Wet Teenager
Safety In Numbers - Nuclear Apathy, Long NIghts, Flashlight, Lighten Up McGraw, Safety In Numbers
White Music - Hot Razors In My Heart
From The Greenhouse - From The Greenhouse, Lost In America
There's a bunch after that but nothing comes close to these. Their original drummer was Joey D'Amico - John Tracey in the middle period of the band was OK. Kinda shrimpy, not even remotely close to six feet or two hundred pounds. Had an awesome feel for syncopation, time skips, odd meters, whatever you want to call that stuff. Changed lead vox mid-way through but not a big deal either way. Later incarnations included bassist Carey Zeigler - a monsta' I tell ya, A MONSTA! I have several earth-shattering bootlegs of these guys and they were unreal live. To top it off, I got to meet them many times before or after gigs and they're all super nice guys. Lead guitarist Rick Witkowski and original bassist Joe Macre have their own studios they run. Founder/songwriter/rhythm guitarist/vocalist (and erstwhile John Lennon wannabe) John Palumbo now works in the psychiatric field (registered therapist/counselor or so). Sorry to write so much, but I have a huge place in my heart for CTS, being a fantastic local/regional band of super nice and classy guys.
I was a teenager on vacation with a few of my buddies in Ocean City, the summer that Surf City was a hit. It was such a perfect song.
As you might imagine, our interests were mainly to get older folks to buy us liquor and beer, swim in the ocean, soak up the sun and meet girls on the boardwalk in the evening.
Fun Days. Surf City was the perfect song that summer.
Later I was fortunate to hear them play live a few times. If I had to describe them to someone who never experienced their show. I would describe it as FUN !!!
They loved playing, the audience always full of energy. Really. So much fun !
Much like NRBQ. There are some musicians, where it doens't matter
There are some musicians, where it doesn't matter if you know them well,
You will have a blast at the show.
Seeing them live in the 70s more than once, I would say that Genesis were the most entertaining, but Yes were the band that moved me the most, especially seeing Jon, Chris, and Steve harmonizing on I Get Up, I Get Down.
Give Van der Graaf Generator more listens. I'm 63 and just got into them. Had Pawnhearts years ago but did not like at the time. Now with 'mature' ears I really like them. Favorite is H TO HE, WHO AM THE ONLY ONE, followed By GODBLUFF. Go for the latest remasters which sound great & include a remix along with the original version remastered. I have warmed up to Pawnhearts as well. Really unique band that sounds like no one else. There is a darkness, but beauty with an indescribable quality and depth to their music. Check out LIVE AT ROCKPALAST - LEVERKUSEN 2005 & see how great they were live.
VdGG Rockpalast is among the greatest live prog concerts ever recorded. Perfect vocals 3 decades plus into performing & last tour with Jackson on reeds. Excellent set list with great new material. Sheer perfection.
Great video!!! It sounds very strange that a member of Genesis thought they were not playing prog rock until 1977. I can only understand that if Collins was already thinking about his future solo pop career.
Im a 66yo and happy to be in the prog head crowd. One band thar should at least get honorable mention is Renaissance with Annie Haslam. There was a single mention in one of the comments. Another band originally formed in the US and always overlooked in David Clark Allen's band Carmen. After relocating to london they caught David Bowie's attention who showcased Carmen on Midnight Special.
Renaissance like Barclay James Harvest in the UK tend to get get overlooked although they were the exact bands that were current in the day for 66 y.o's like ourselves. If there was a category of "pastoral prog" maybe they'd get a mention. Might check out Carmen on your advice..
Andy, I think I passed away three times during this so I’ll have to go back and review fantastic
"I'm like David Lee Roth"..... Genesis is my number one, because I know what I like and I like what I know. But many thanks to you, Andy, and everyone who shared their thoughts and contributed. Major undertaking indeed, but the final product is a lot of fun. Keep them mowin' blades sharp!! Carry on.
90125 especially the remaster is brilliant 👏 don't know why it gets the hate !
On a good system, the original CD sounds better. The Remaster is too trebly and boomy. Overall the Yes 2002/3 remasters are very bad, better go for the 1994 ones.
Great stuff Andy.
I miss Manfred Mann's earth band.
Mabe the most cachy and funky
British 70's prog band.
Just listen to the Solar Fire album😊
🇨🇦 R U S H 🇨🇦 🎸 🥁 🎸
Jon Anderson may have had the vision, but it was mainly Howe’s and Squire’s compositional interplay of ideas that made that vision real.
Very, very, very, Prog-ish style of viddly - diddly - o. So, well done Andy Pandy. Good work. My only complaint is the constant use of the capital city of the Czech Republic, Prague, instead of Prog (Progressive Rock).
Amazing iam really getting into prog big time so great more bands for me to explore, but i have one question THE MOODY BLUES maybe i missed them !!! if not a massive omission. The moodys were the start i mean mike pinder did work in the factory that made THE prog instrument the mellotron, i think they should be there in that list excuse me again if i missed them. And one the major birmingham acts, but in all this was a brilliant show thank you all.
As a big prog rock fan it was great to see the inclusion of Bands like Can, Tangerine Dream, etc but it's also time for you to catch up with the prog metal coming from one of the greatest bands of the past 20 years..The Band...TOOL...The Album..."FEAR INOCULUM" and also bands like Dream Theatre. Us "old" guys, who were listening to CAN ( Tago Mago..what an album!!!!) in Australia, back in the early 70's, are still looking out for "prog" today and TOOL are at the top of that tree in 2025.
One Band always without a mention, The Enid. Am I the only one who likes them?
Nope, there's me too!
@@DrOz-007 and here too. Saw them 5 times on the Something wicked tour, loved them beyond almost all other prog bands. Classical music on electronic instruments, the very definition of prog. Fucking magnificent.
Yeah, love them!
and me love that touch me album especially cortège somber drums then the synths mellotron flute come it affects me every time i listen to it as if it uplifts me affects me mentally makes me feel good
The Enid unique and wonderfully great
All of Andy's future ranking videos need to be watched in reverse so that you can spoil the number one before he does. To be fair, it was obvious. Somehow I managed to remain in Andy's unique space-time continuum for the full duration of the video with no ill effects.
Well, I made it through this long winded epic and quite enjoyable, but I did have to take my medications towards the end. Laugh out loud excellent presentation. The only thing that might’ve made it better is if you had Orson Wells doing the narration for yes.
Thank for including FOCUS!
The falling camera 2x must have been Devine intervention signalling that Roundabout should be nr.1 . It's a nobrainer, innit?! 🙃😉
Yes - but how can you discuss Focus without even mentioning it's beating heart - Jan Akkerman !!!
Scott shakes his head back and forth like some sort of really enthusiastic ersatz Indian. It's maddening.
How can you afford such high end graphics in your presentations? Truly progressive!
Is it true that Tony Banks had the platform built for keyboards so he could keep an eye on Hackett on the other side of the stage? 🤔
Sounds unlikely but knowing Banks I'd say quite possibly.
I dont know if youve ever given Argentine prog a chance, but i highly HIGHLY recommend Seru Giran (La Grasa de las Capitales) and Invisible (Duranzo Sangrando or El jardin de los presentes). They are phenomenal bands, legendary within their own country, and should be in the same conversation as any other international prog superstars of the 70s.
In Andy's chat, Seru Giran, and in particular La grasa de las capitales, has come up several times. Aznar es un monstruo en el bajo!
Totally epic!.....sort of like a really good Prog album.
Lego mentioned? I'm in!
Focus are/were absolutely mind blowing good, nothing like them, or close to their originality,creativty or whatever, van leer is a genuine one off
I must be a monkey as I never tire of these perennial greatest lists.😂
We wuz monkeys. 🤣
Focus was spectacular love earlier this year and their latest album is their best since Hamburger Concerto.
I went to see No Direction Home in the theater, which is a film about the early career of Bob Dylan.
An underlying question in the story (though none of the characters uttered this exact quote) was “What is folk music?”
And then right near the end of the film, the underlying question might have been “What is rock & roll?”
So I guess the underlying question of this video might be “What is prog?”
On this channel, I’ve heard a couple of unique music terms I’ve never heard before; one is Trust-Fund rock, and the other is Punk-Prog.
Maybe you could do a list of odd music terms at some point here.
By the Number of People on Stage I‘d say the Stan Kenton Big Band followed by the 1988 Band of Frank Zappa.
Gentle Giant are the greatest prog band for me. After that: King Crimson, Yes, Genesis, Van der Graaf Generator, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Hawkwind, Rush, Jethro Tull and Pink Floyd (yes I believe those last four are prog!) in any order you want in the top ten.
"Duke" powerhouse drumming!
Italian prog/fusion bands??? NOVA!!!!!! of course - brilliant!
Totally agree...are they prog?? 😂 I would put them in the jazzrock category myself... Vimana is one of the best fusion albums of all time. It is absolute perfection to me, produced by Robin Lumlet, recorded beautifully at Trident, with guests Percy Jones, Narada, Phil Collins and the late great Zakir Hussain!!!
1. Yes
2. King Crimson
3. Genesis
4. Pink Floyd
5. Jethro Tull
6. Van Der Graaf Generator
7. ELP
8. Can
9. Gong
10. Tangerine Dream
11. Gentle Giant
12. Soft Machine
13. Faust
14. Cardiacs
15. Porcupine Tree
16. Frank Zappa
17. Mahavishnu Orchestra
18. Led Zeppelin
19. Camel
20. Hawkwind
21. Henry Cow
22. Free
23. Caravan
24. Magma
25. Focus
26. Rush
27. Amon Düül II
28. Collosseum
29. PFM
30. Kansas
Thanks useful.
For me.....Genesis, Gentle Giant, King Crimson, Pink Floyd, echolyn...I like Yes
Lovely Story from Steve Palmer ❤❤❤
I Love your videos Andy, and I use your explanation of politics to explain how I feel about left/right issues to other people because you verbalize exactly how I feel.
Anyways.. I haven’t ever seen you mention this band. It’s probably an elephant in the room. I just got back from their new years show at Madison Square Garden, they have played MSG over 50 times. I have personally seen them 200 times since 1997. When people ask me how I would define them, I would absolutely use the term “Jazz Rock” they have been selling out big venues in the US since 96, they picked up a lot of fans from the Grateful Dead but they most certainly are much more. They are almost undefinable genre wise.. in America they are the number 1 “Jam Band”.. and every time you talk about prog, I wonder .. why hasn’t he mentioned this band. They are an enigma in the current music scene, as they don’t have commercially successful #1 hits, they are a real traditional 4 piece band, and they have been and are still currently a top Grossing touring band. IE they make all their money TOURING.. they do it by playing amazing shows
And the Band is Phish
th-cam.com/video/6mpwRZHYgkI/w-d-xo.htmlsi=SAEz4_Zh3iQ4aFG6
th-cam.com/video/t-8xOyAEV4A/w-d-xo.htmlsi=RxpMmWmfgobbSrwi
Can you honestly tell me that Kansas is better than this American Prog band.. No effing way you can.. no way no how ..in fact I got em easily in the top 5 if not top 3 prog bands ever..
Hey, what about Northern Ireland's finest Psychedelic Prog band? None other than the legendary Fruup.
Always wondered if these critics were around back in the day if they were critical of Brahms and Beethoven and the like
If you take into account every aspect you can, Yes is a very obvious choice (but that doesn't mean it not right). Even during the period of Magnification, The Ladder and a couple other releases, each album has at least a couple of excellent tracks. I am totally with you about Yes being the best of all time, and I totally agree that Awaken is the epic of all epics ever recorded (ELPs Karn Evil 9 is a close second). Guys spit out "Close To The Edge" automatically like they just drank the kool-aid and I'm tired of it. Yes, it's great and I love it, but...
At 6 minutes, I'm assuming there isn't any music in this video?
18:56 "Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a band where there's no drug addicts, no crazies, no madmen?" 😄 - Jon Hiseman
I will champion Genesis, and I would probably be the one who sends a video and says, "Yes,yes, my favorite period, of course, is the early 90s, "We Can't Dance" period, with the walk, and..." That was ((roughly)) about the time I fell into Genesis (actually a decade earlier) and then I slowly picked up the rest of the albums. My favorite wavers between "Nursery Cryme," "Selling England..." or "The Lamb". If Genesis was docked because of the hits, so be it. I fell into the band during the 1980s.
Colosseum will never be forgotten!
GENTLE GIANT! After them...there is everyone else.
Yes.Yes,yes,yes.
Mannheim Steamroller better be on this list.
Ha!
You are a star
All positions can change, but not the top.......1-King Crimson- ....thanks for the vid Andy...(But where is Eloy?)
I used to have the free album they gave away with the Monty Python Matching Tie and Handkerchief set. I seem to recall it had some good songs on it.
And the Goons have some great songs! Without them we'd never have had a Yin Tong Song, for instance. And they made some great improvements to Unchained Melody.
th-cam.com/video/XqqNsyHajb0/w-d-xo.html
Just based on that, you could do a few videos on the Goon Show contribution to Contemporary Endogamous Event Music and all the composters who compost this.
Focus without Jan Akkerman is not focused. They should be called “Slightly Blurry”.
Akkerman, so true
Kansas, though formed in Kansas, was based out of Atlanta, GA, at least for a while. As far as I'm concerned they are better than at least the next 10 bands on this list. But to each his own....
Such a great, underrated band. A top five band for me.
Agree with Yes being the pinnacle of prog.... Dün should have been on the list though.
bonkers genius. there's no wonder nobody with any sense is watching telly anymore. i was moved and excited to see, amongst the predictables, that Henry Cow, Can, Soft Machine were featured. Phd Rock, yes please.Van der Graaf should be No.1 though, proper visionaries. Evidence? Godbluff, Pawnhearts, Still Life, amongst many others.
@@babaluma77 i love Godbluff but still struggle with Pawnhearts.
i can understand that - Pawn hearts a biggish production number, godbluff a more stripped back sound, a question of taste i guess. me, i love em both. i think the main reason people struggle with VDGG , at least with skeptics i speak to, is P.Hamill's voice, which is definitely an acquired taste. incidentally, maybe that's why they were so big it Italy - our Italian chums tend to love those big dramatic lead voices don't they.
It was Phil Collins & Steve Hackett who brought balance to the Force. When one was gone, the darkness of 80s Genesis took over.
Arthur Brown
with his band Kingdom Come. Their debut album Galactic Zoo Dossier is epic!
@tomtrana3449 and he's still doing it at 82. Now that's Prog.
Did Velvet Underground make it to the list? 😂
To be honest if Free, the Beatles, Henry Cow, Can, Faust and Pink Floyd are on the list (no shade to any of those), they absolutely should have been. In these broad terms the Velvet Underground fit this - combination of Bob Dylan extended songwriting, garage rock, the modern classical minimalism of LaMonte Young&Tony Conrad and the free jazz of Ornette Coleman and a big inspiration for a lot of these European bands like Can and Plastic People. The Murder Mystery in particular is fairly and squarely a prog rock masterpiece.
Wow !!!
Did Nektar make the list?
How are Tangerine Dream prog?
Many bands, except perhaps 10 that are at the center of the genre, are right in the limits. Just as counter-example, I don't think that any of the members of the bands considered as classic prog like the term (case in point, Fripp). At any rate, Progarchives is a good source to see how different people consider different bands as prog. Tangerine Dream are likely "prog electronica". I guess my question back to you is "why not?". Andy has a good video on the criteria to classify a band as prog or not. I think TD meets several, but not all, of those criteria. Also, the first albums (pre Virgin) could be considered "experimental prog, "avant garde prog" or straight "krautrock", who many people argue is a sub-genre of prog. In sum, "it's complicated".
If it wasn´t for Robert Fripp King Crimson would be a great band.😄
Profound
Nice to see Yes in the spot the King Crimson usually gets. But, no prog list is complete without the mention of Greenslade even tho they only produced 4 albums. But 2 of those, the 1st two, are master works in the vein of Genesis and Camel. Like Yes their music can take you on a fantastical journey -- you won't find any better atmospheric mellotron passages anywhere else, except maybe on some early TD.. And their music is as tight, concise and polished as the top five on this list. There is a lot of turgid, meandering, plodding prog listed here which really baffles me on how Greenslade are so overlooked -- and also bands like Eloy and Grobschnitt who are more prog than Kansas.
Andy McCulloch, great drummer. I love the mellotron bits too. But there something I don't like about Greenslade.... not sure how if i can express it.... perhaps it's a bit "bland"? Not sure this is the correct term, it's too strong, but there's something there.
@@jdmresearch thanks for input. If you feel that way about them then you would have multiply that by a factor of ten for bands like Colosseum (Dave Greenslade's previous band) and Caravan with their over drawn sudo-jazz/folk instrumentals. With a lot of the bands that appear on the list, if you take a random track from each of them it would be hard to distinguish them apart -- while Greenslade like the top five, whether you liked it or hated it, have a very distinct sound. The tunes were tight, they had distinct melodies and their instrumentals had wonderful atmosphere.
@@roygaiot8105 Agreed about Colosseum, less so about Caravan (it was part of the whimsical aspect of the Canterbury scene), but I get what you're saying that other bands in the list are far from being 'dark'.
No moody blues ? Or did miss it by skipping sections ?
Not only did your patrons vote for Free, but they voted for Free AHEAD OF RUSH and PFM!!! You've got to start asking yourself some questions, my friend.
Free as Prog band? Actually, I can see (hear) that. I'm a full-on Bad Company fan, and find Free more "challenging" - and Prog, you could say, implies something which challenges the senses. If you're used to the slightly heavier Bad Co vibe, Free can seem a little slow and ponderous, unless you go into their albums with fewer expectations of pre-Company policies. And, although early Mott the Hoople had some Prog tendencies, and Boz Burrell was actually in King Crimson, neither Mick Ralphs nor Boz has shown much tendency to pursue that direction.
Great points!
@@jdmresearch: Thank you very much!
Jon Anderson represented!!!
VDGG-1976 released two classics! Still Life and World Record! Tied with King Crimson as the best band of all time!!!!!!!!
I think Prog came from experimentation, psychosis, psyhcodelia, hippy movement non conformists and folks with alternative lifestyles.
The bands we love now had roots in this. Pink Floyd, Hendrix, Hawkwind, the Nice, Cream, Blind Fairh,maybe the Beatles...
Some bands were reeled in till we got normal, accepable bands like pink Floyd, Moody Blues, King Crimson, Jethro Tull the we go Rush ELP, Genesis Yes etc.
They forgot acid mothers tempil! 🤣
Not a single Japanese band!
@@justicelovingskunk9910 Taj Mahal Travellers get my vote. Though they were more avant-garde / experimental.
Best Prog bands 1. King Crimson 2. Van der Graaf Generator 3. Gong 4. Genesis 5. Yes
They may be one of Andy's favourites and yours, but I would contend that Gong are a psychedelic rock band rather than prog. I notice in the comments that a lot of people seem to like disqualifying bands for spurious reasons, so I'll join in.
I get that! But they're my second favorite live band after King Crimson. And great Sax and flute makes it feel proggish...Or is it Proggy?
@@jimmycampbell78 If we're going to try to put correct labels (a chimera, really).... Pink Floyd 67 was British psychedelic rock, as well as Tomorrow and Perhaps Soft Machine 1.... ... Jefferson Ariplaine was American psychedelic rock.... Gong was clearly different. I'd say an early example of space rock. But I agree they definitely can be fit into the broader umbrella of prog rock.
I think Frank Zappa would have to be in one of my top and Dream Theater would also have to be in my top 10.
In fairness, Free, whilst not being prog, were a jolly good pop combo.
Which public?
My patrons...this video came out last summer for a limited time. I;m giving it another airing
Paying public.🤣 The chosen " few " .
No...only about 1/3 pay
@@AndyEdwardsDrummer ♥
@@AndyEdwardsDrummer you can tell by the haircut 😅 ...
King Crimson wasn’t the first prog band, nor the biggest, but no other band defines progressive rock better than the League of Fripp’s Musician. Just look, the word ‘progressive’ can be interpreted as …. progressive, going further, expanding the boundaries, trying new tricks …. and no other hand has done that more than King Crimson.
If Hackett & Collins were the yin & yang of genesis then Banks was the taijitu 😊