billy
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Post by billy on Jul 23, 2020 5:20:02 GMT
Great article from Prog magazine. Includes quotes from Steve Howe and Mike Portnoy. And a nice anecdote about Roger and Genesis. I never really thought Queen were Prog due to the lack of keyboards (excluding piano) - I’ve always thought of Prog rock bands more in the vein of Yes or Emerson Lake and Palmer. But the writer makes a pretty good case. One of the things I loved about Queen was their eclecticism, which by some definitions makes them a Prog rock band. (My musical ignorance knows no bounds...)
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Post by Ryan Newton on Jul 23, 2020 6:42:01 GMT
"Progressive Rock" can be such a vague term that I think you could define many bands as progressive that you wouldn't really think of first. Pink Floyd's prog was vastly different from Yes' prog, which was vastly different from Rush's prog, etc. Queen was no different in this respect (for their select works that people could actually deem as progressive rock). I've never thought keyboards were a total necessity; A good example would be Rush's 2112.
I think their was more to Queen's "progressiveness" than just eclecticism. Theory-wise they had a lot going on too. Key changes, changing time signature (or, simply using time signatures outside of 4/4), blending genres not just on albums but within songs, using obscure modes, lyrics breaking the boundaries of what was typical from 70s rock, and so on.
No 70s bands were doing what Queen were doing on songs like The Millionaire Waltz, Good Company, Bring Back That Leroy Brown, The Fairy Feller's Master Stroke, etc. For their first five albums, they were definitely within the realm of Prog.
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nickip
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Post by nickip on Jul 23, 2020 6:42:19 GMT
Nice to read a different style of article. Thanks for highlighting it.
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Dimitris
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Post by Dimitris on Jul 23, 2020 7:47:37 GMT
A good friend of mine who is in progressive rock, when he heard Bring back leory brown live, told me that this song is progressive. Since then, he went deep in Queen, he told me that Queen I is very pioneer especially in guitar work, Queen II has many progressive elements, Sheer hear attack first side is very progressive, Jazz is very pioneer experiment, but the bad production makes the album to lose its magic.
Machines, one vision, Flash Gordon album all have progressive elements.
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Plengel
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Post by Plengel on Jul 23, 2020 12:18:37 GMT
... Jazz is very pioneer experiment, but the bad production makes the album to lose its magic... In that light of day, can Bicycle Race be considered as their most progressive track from the late 70's? |
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emrabt
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Post by emrabt on Jul 23, 2020 17:23:12 GMT
Categories are pretty vague anyway, but I think early on Queen were probably close enough to prog / glam rock to be described as such, They had a toe in both those pools even if they didn't step in fully.
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Post by The Real Wizard on Jul 23, 2020 18:31:27 GMT
I never really thought Queen were Prog due to the lack of keyboards (excluding piano) - I’ve always thought of Prog rock bands more in the vein of Yes or Emerson Lake and Palmer.
"Prog" covers such a vast landscape - it basically means defying the conventions of what's deemed commercially successful at the time. In that sense, Abacab by Genesis is far more progressive than any number of bands who write 20 minute songs with long keyboard solos. That hasn't been progressive since 1974.
One of my all time favourite prog albums is by a Quebec band called Harmonium. Les Cinq Saisons is one of the most beautiful things ever put down to tape. The concept is one track per season, and then the long fifth track is a mythical fifth season. There are few keyboards and no drums, but plenty of woodwinds. It's simultaneously musical and whimsical. One of the tracks even has a jazzy ragtime feel.
In their 2015 prog issue, Rolling Stone magazine declared it the best progressive folk album of all time. It is otherworldly.
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Post by The Real Wizard on Jul 23, 2020 18:33:41 GMT
... Jazz is very pioneer experiment, but the bad production makes the album to lose its magic... In that light of day, can Bicycle Race be considered as their most progressive track from the late 70's? Absolutely. Despite being bubble gum pop on the surface, it's one of the most progressive and most complicated pieces they ever did. Nothing is conventional about it.
This track is pretty well where their progressive tendencies end. They were pretty straight laced after that until Princes Of The Universe.
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Post by The Real Wizard on Jul 23, 2020 18:42:43 GMT
Love the article, btw. Steve Howe and Mike Portnoy are two of my favourite living musicians, and it's nice to see them giving Queen some love.
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Plengel
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Post by Plengel on Jul 23, 2020 21:06:07 GMT
In that light of day, can Bicycle Race be considered as their most progressive track from the late 70's? Absolutely. Despite being bubble gum pop on the surface, it's one of the most progressive and most complicated pieces they ever did. Nothing is conventional about it.
This track is pretty well where their progressive tendencies end. They were pretty straight laced after that until Princes Of The Universe.
Yeah, I thought so too. The number of tempo changes in that song alone, 9 or 10 in just 3 minutes? I think the instrumental that was released on the bonus EP of the 2011 Jazz release unveils some of the complexity of that song, but there is so much more to it. |
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billy
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Post by billy on Jul 24, 2020 4:47:50 GMT
"Prog" covers such a vast landscape - it basically means defying the conventions of what's deemed commercially successful at the time. In that sense, Abacab by Genesis is far more progressive than any number of bands who write 20 minute songs with long keyboard solos. That hasn't been progressive since 1974. When I was discovering Queen I was also developing a liking for Rush, Pink Floyd, Genesis and Peter Gabriel, among others. Part of my love for Queen was the diversity of their songs and sounds. Same goes for some of the other bands I liked. It never occurred to me that this diversity was “Prog” - I guess I was using an antiquated definition of the term even back then. Especially with Queen I always expected the unexpected - it seemed normal to me for them to be different. By the way the song you posted by Harmonium is beautiful. I’m looking forward to listening to the entire album when I have some time to give it my undivided attention. Thanks! |
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Dimitris
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Post by Dimitris on Jul 24, 2020 7:45:10 GMT
... Jazz is very pioneer experiment, but the bad production makes the album to lose its magic... In that light of day, can Bicycle Race be considered as their most progressive track from the late 70's? Maybe yes, I would like to add Mustapha which has middle east tunes and More of that Jazz very interesting guitar and atmosphere. Also Bicycle Race in the middle has the same chords with The Fairy Feller's Master Stroke. |
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Post by The Real Wizard on Jul 25, 2020 20:18:05 GMT
Also Bicycle Race in the middle has the same chords with The Fairy Feller's Master Stroke. Whoa. Pretty well the same tempo too.
You just blew my mind.
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Post by jimmydean on Aug 6, 2020 2:27:33 GMT
Also Bicycle Race in the middle has the same chords with The Fairy Feller's Master Stroke. Whoa. Pretty well the same tempo too.
You just blew my mind.
Any more Easter eggs for us? I can't believe i didn't notice this before. Same with "yeah" track from MIH coming from Don't Try Suicide that was pointed out a couple of months ago. I wonder if it was intentional - in the case of Fairy feller vs bicycle. |
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Canis
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Post by Canis on Aug 6, 2020 9:38:58 GMT
Any more Easter eggs for us? I can't believe i didn't notice this before. Same with "yeah" track from MIH coming from Don't Try Suicide that was pointed out a couple of months ago. Or is it from Action This Day?  |
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emrabt
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Post by emrabt on Aug 6, 2020 9:58:26 GMT
Any more Easter eggs for us? I can't believe i didn't notice this before. Same with "yeah" track from MIH coming from Don't Try Suicide that was pointed out a couple of months ago. Or is it from Action This Day? Or When this old tired body wants to sing (Late Night Jam)?  |
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Post by peacelovingguy on Aug 13, 2020 11:06:56 GMT
I love these topics about labels.
I think labels are symbolic of the cluster of artists you and your peers listen to. With a band like Queen that have picked up waves of new fans over 50 years, it depends on the cultural filter by which you experience them.
If you heard Bohemian Rhapsody the first time because it was the new track from the fourth album by your fave band, your perception is different than if you know Bohemian Rhapsody from Wayne’s World, etc.
I group Queen with Bowie and Radiohead. British art rock. I just don’t think those three are prog. even though their music is innovative and only dubiously commercial.
But I also group Queen with Led Zeppelin and Guns N Roses. Hard Rock.
It’s how you process these sets in your head, based on your cultural experience.
Starless by King Crimson has very grunge sounding guitars, but King Crimson are prog and Nirvana sure as hell are not prog.
And then again, if you grew up in the 80s and watched the videos for Sledgehammer, Let’s Dance and Radio Ga Ga, you’re going to think it’s splitting hairs if there’s anything other than pop rock coming out of these artists.
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