Prog Epics
Another playlist, but no long writeup. I just wanted to put together a list of long progressive rock songs. Usually, when I make up a list, it takes me much longer to write about it than it does to listen too. Not this time. If you listen to this list in its entirety start to finish, well that’s nearly 8 hours.
The list is, unusually, basically broken into two parts. It is arranged entirely chronologically, and there is a big gap, which we will talk about when we get there.
For most of the songs released prior to 1975, I probably first heard them in college. Radio just didn’t play this music. But there were exceptions. WNAP certainly played “Tubular Bells” in its entirety many times, and I heard both “Ashes Are Burning” and “Gates of Delirium” on different King Biscuit Flower Hour shows. Starcastle and Kansas are included to have at least some non-English contributions, although Kansas were more arena rock than prog, and Starcastle were hopelessly derivative. But still. And here’s the list. All of these are at least 10 minutes long; none are longer than 24 minutes. That is in large part due to the physical limitation of vinyl albums. The most you could possibly put on one side of an album was about 26 minutes. Of course, when the cd format took over, well...
The OG’s of prog epics:
King Crimson - The Court of the Crimson King / October 1969 / 10:02
Pink Floyd - Echoes / October 1971 / 23:32
Van der Graaf Generator - A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers / October 1971 / 23:12
Jethro Tull - Thick as a Brick / March 1972 / 22:40
Yes - Close to the Edge / September 1972 / 18:41
Genesis - Supper’s Ready / October 1972 / 23:05
Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells / May 1973 / 26:01
Renaissance - Ashes Are Burning / October 1973 / 11:21
King Crimson - Starless / October 1974 / 12:24
Yes - Gates of Delirium / November 1974 / 21:49
Kansas - Song for America / February 1975 / 10:03
Jethro Tull - Baker St. Muse / September 1975 / 16:39
Pink Floyd - Shine on You Crazy Diamond (Pts 1-5) / September 1975 / 13:31
Steve Hackett - Shadow of the Hierophant / October 1975 / 11:43
Starcastle - Lady of the Lake / February 1976 / 10:26
Pink Floyd - Dogs / January 1977 / 17:05
Supertramp - Fool’s Overture / April 1977 / 10:52
Rush - Xanadu / September 1977 / 11:04
Tangerine Dream - Coldwater Canyon / October 1977 / 18:08
Coincidentally, in October 1977, the same month Tangerine Dream’s live album “Encore” came out, the listening public was introduced to the Sex Pistols with their debut “Never Mind the Bollocks”. Is that meaningful? It might be. Genesis didn’t hit the ten minute mark again until they were a pop band who occasionally stretched out with “Domino” on “Invisible Touch”. Pink Floyd never did record another epic. King Crimson, who were notorious for lineup changes and long gaps between albums didn’t even release an album between 1974’s “Red” and 1981’s “Discipline”, which is honestly kind of new wavey. Only Yes really stuck to their guns, even though they stumbled a bit with lineup changes and loss of direction. 1980’s “Drama” has “Machine Messiah” on it, which clocks in safely over ten minutes, but isn’t that great. Of course, by the 90’s, there was a full on prog revival going on, and Yes was still there. On “Keys to Ascension 2”, we are treated to the dazzling eighteen minute “Mind Drive”. But at this point, let’s let the new generation of proggers have their say.
The new kids:
Porcupine Tree - Voyage 34 (Phase One) / November 1993 / 12:54
Änglagård - Höstsejd / November 1994 / 14:03
Dream Theater - A Change of Seasons / September 1995 / 23:08
Flower Kings - Stardust We Are / April 1997 / 25:03
echolyn - mei / June 2002 / 49:33
Frost* - Milliontown / July 2006 / 26:35
Some prognerds may complain that I did not include this song or that one. If you want to listen to Caravan’s “Nine Feet Underground”, knock yourself out. Think ELP’s “Tarkus” is the epicest of epics? I won’t try to dissuade you. Totally shocked that “2112” is not represented? I don’t know what to tell you. Even as a Rush fan, it has always left me cold. And don’t even mention Nektar’s “Remember the Future”. My feelings about that particular one are revealed by the fact that I skipped their set at NEARfest 2002. As for some of Spock’s Beard’s delightful tracks, Neal Morse simply refuses to allow his music on Spotify.