Emerson, Lake, and Palmer & Yes

Now, reader, I know what you're thinking.

"What is this, Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man? Making an article on two of the most famous groups in the history of rock music? This is so...so...unlike you!"

Well, cool it for a second, drama queens. This is an article on a prog rock website. A prog...ROCK website. Not mentioning this supergroup (a title that really does their technical abilities and unmistakable ostentation no justice) somewhere along the lines of this in-itself pretentious, over-glorifying website would be criminal, and not mentioning Yes would be downright inhumane! So calm down for a second, do the atypical 'kicking back' and 'relaxing' that most blog readers do, and please, enjoy this for what it is.

Wait, I'm the one who's being over-dramatic? Hey, it's not my fault that I expect all of you yet-unseasoned listeners to want to learn about less famous bands than ELP, like Gnidrolog or Colosseum. But I won't worry myself about your fictional fretting; we'll eventually get to them. It is but a matter of time. In July, we'll get to the really good stuff. Trust me.

Genre: Progressive rock

Grade: B

Alrighty, then. Emerson. Lake. And Palmer. They're a tough beast to tackle. Their music is always incredibly over-done and flamboyant, but that's their trademark. They certainly aren't the bane of all prog rock. (I mean, have you ever listened to Dream Theater?) However, they're definitely over-representative of the genre's supposed musical excesses. And, for all their over-representation and over-ambition, they managed to make some pretty decent music.

Emerson's almost incessant keyboard mashing is unmistakable, Greg Lake's powerful, infinity diverse voice fits perfectly with the music, and Carl Palmer is...well, he's Carl Palmer, and that's not changing any time soon.

The over-grandioseness that critics accuse ELP (and, unfortunately, the entire prog genre) of are generally based around Emerson's keyboard-work. I'm sure that goes without saying, but you never know who could be reading this.

His basic idea was to re-create classical music with his pianos and Moog synthesizers and Hammond organs and VC3-5s and Nazi knives and horrible hairdos, and he did a pretty...passable job with it. Sometimes the overlong solos are too ambitious for their own good, but hey, this was the early '70s, and it was the essential time for experimentation and showing off.

Greg Lake's fortes were acoustic ballads, which often ended up being practices in intellectuality and philosophy that Peter Gabriel and Peter Hammill handled much more professionally. However, the lyrics were never really a central focus in the group's sound, as you'll notice upon immediate observation. Keith would usually add a keyboard solo to the equation, generally at the end, and it made most of Greg's tracks even better (and that's really saying something, because he was the most conventional, and, really, the best songwriter of the group).

Palmer was a good drummer, for what it's worth, but his solos often ended being...boring, unnecessary showcases of his abilities. "Toccata" on Brain Salad Surgery is pretty tight, but that's only because of the electric drum keyboard-ish noises.

Boy, I'm being pretty harsh. Let's get to the good stuff, then.

The only album in their original four-release output that isn't worth buying, in my thoroughly correct opinion, is Trilogy. There are a few good tracks, but "Abaddon's Bolero" is the same...freaking...thing played for 9 minutes. Sure, it's a bolero, I understand that, but it's 8...minutes...long. I'm not one who usually dislikes lengthier tracks, but come on!

The build-up in "The Endless Enigma" is also overlong. The song itself doesn't really begin until the third minute. It's effective on the first listen, but afterwards it just tends to...drag on for a few minutes.

Back to the topic of ELP itself.

Their other three albums are definitely worth buying. The only throwaway track on their eponymous debut is the Palmer-solo "Tank", and Tarkus is 'the originator' when it comes to prog suites. Of course, their greatest work, Brain Salad Surgery, is one of the genuinely essential prog rock albums, mainly because of the 30-minute masterwork "Karn Evil 9", which is still, in my opinion, the greatest track in the entire prog canon.

All-in-all, ELP is something of a 'hit-and-miss' group that exhibited overindulgence very ubiquitously; if they hadn't existed, maybe prog rock wouldn't be so hated....

The definitive quote:

"Every day a little sadder, a little madder, someone get me a ladder!"

Essential recordings: Brain Salad Surgery (1973)

Other recommended recordings: Emerson Lake and Palmer (1970), Tarkus (1971)

Stay away from these: Works Volume II (1977), Love Beach (1978), Black Moon (1992), In the Hot Seat (1994)

Objective rating system:

Diversity - 8/10

Something about a lot their music just screams 'gimmick'; however, a lot of it is also very diverse and unique. It's hard to classify these guys with these, because, as similar as all of their music sounds, they have very diverse influences.

Listenability - 7.8/10

Points were taken off for the excessive, never-ending keyboard and drum solos, but Lake's ballads are very enjoyable.

Originality - 6.5/10

Oh, come on. They may have been innovative, but they weren't particularly original. They basically took what the Nice did and gave it finesse.

Quality - 9.5/10

I'll give them this much: they know how to write a good rock song.

And they know how to cover a good classical piece....

Points deducted ever so minimally for Trilogy.

Importance - 10/10

Let's face it: Emerson was, is, and forever shall be the most innovative and original keyboardist in the history of rock music.

Overall: 8.4/10

Thus, a B on the scale.

Genre:

Progressive rock

Grade: A

Let's ask Robert Christgau to name the first band that comes to mind when we say prog rock.

Well, I'm sure after he goes on a tirade about how pretentious and overblown it is, he'll say something insulting about Yes. Well, I've said it one and I've said it a million times: I really do NOT like Robert Christgau. But that's beside the point.

There really was a point to that statement; Yes, next to their more heavily-criticized contemporaries, Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, is frequently considered the quintessential prog rock band. Sure, when they reached their climax, many other aspiring rock outfits tried to mimic their style (which was a much more demanding task than imitating ELP), but they remained one of rock's most unique and distinctive outfits for most of the 1970s. This doesn't necessarily mean that they weren't one of prog's more prototypical bands, but they certainly shouldn't have been used as a tool to mock and criticize the entire classification. That's entirely unfair.

And I won't make any exceptions for myself; Yes was the first prog band I really got into, and I absolutely adored them, right from the beginning. Sure, the length of "Roundabout" was a lot to take in initially, but it's something that you really grow to love. It's inevitable.

Their music is generally very complicated and even hard to follow, at times, although none of it is unlistenable, and very little of it is overlong. Yes knows their musical boundaries, much more-so than ELP (notice how these guys come up over and over and over again?). As it is with most of the highly-regarded prog rock bands, you really have to be in the mindset to be able to tolerate some of their more meandering excursions, like "The Gates of Delirium". However, the result is always rewarding.

Yes began life as your typical British psychedelia band with talent and promise (but don't they all?), but, through a few line-up changes and an adjustment of style and mindset, became the classic prog act that we know and love today.

Fortunately, they didn't crash and burn after they hit their creative peak in the early '70s; afterwards, although their albums never quite embraced the same level of power or innovation as the classics, they maintained their distinguishing sound quite steadily.

Until the dreaded '80s, that is. The entire decade took a massive creative toll on their sound, as it did with every classic prog bands'. Although 90125 and Big Generator weren't masterpieces, they must be accepted for what they are as pop albums. Although they tried to re-capture the sound of their classic albums in the '90s, they never succeeded.

The definitive quote:

"Call it morning driving through the sun and in and out the valley."

Essential recordings: Fragile (1971), Close to the Edge (1972)

Other recommended recordings: The Yes Album (1970), Tales from Topographic Oceans (1973), Relayer (1974), Going for the One (1977), Drama (1980)

Stay away from these: Big Generator (1987), Union (1991), Talk (1994), Open Your Eyes (1997)

Objective rating system:

Diversity - 9.0/10

Although a lot of their best material seems to follow a particular style, the stylistic differences between, well, every single one of their albums is astonishing.

Listenability - 7.5/10

The song lengths can be unbearable, at times, and the solos get out of hand here and there, but the music is, overall, pretty well-structured and listenable.

Originality - 9.5/10

They weren't the original prog band, but they were definitely the genre's forefront, and they had one of the most distinct sounds ever to be heard in rock music.

Quality - 10/10

No way I'd deduct points from a band as classic as Yes because of a few minor slip-ups in the '80s. It happened to everyone, even King Crimson.

Importance - 10/10

Would prog rock be prog rock without Yes?

Overall: 9.2/10

Thus, an A on the scale.

Van der Graaf Generator

Genre: Progressive Rock

Grade: A

Yeah, yeah, I know, nonexistent reader that I desperately wished existed and were reading this article; Van der Graaf Generator isn't 'forgotten' by any stretch of the imagination. Of course, they were never really highly regarded, critically or commercially, outside of the art rock community until recent years, but that's beside the point...basically.

Of course, as any professional 'critic' like Robert Christgau would tell you, the music, lyrics, essence, and everything else about Van der Graaf Generator 'emanates an air of pretension and pomp that you can only find in the most self-indulgent of prog bands'. It may have been completely pointless to bring that topic up, but I'm really getting sick of those self-proclaimed 'musical geniuses' and 'Deans of Popular Music' *ahem* Robert Christgau *ahem*. They make my blood boil.

Anyhoo, VdGG's music is tough to take in all at once. The metaphysical, often introspective lyrics are probably the most well-recognized components of their music, Hammill's voice is, basically, the vocal equivalent of Jimi Hendrix's guitar, and the group integrates jazz, avant-garde, and even classical styles into their music. Like I said, a lot to take in all at once.

From my very basic description, they may come off to you, the inexperienced, hungry listener, as a typical prog rock band. Very pretentious and grandiloquent, with lyrics that often cover topics that the performers don't fully understand. However, we're not talking about ELP, here. Hammill knows his stuff. If he hasn't read and stolen material from hundreds of books on philosophy, then he defines the word 'genius'.

Really. Look 'genius' up in the dictionary, and if there isn't an image of Peter Hammill to accompany it, get a new dictionary.

On the topic of philosophy, it's a human thought that we have brains.

Our brains do everything for us, or...so we think.

Muse over that one for a while.

Anyway, VdGG's music is similar to King Crimson's in the aspect that it's particularly bleak, and through that, is realistic; unlike bands like Yes (which I still adore), their lyrics and their styles are generally very human and emotional. It isn't 'detached', as some critics would force you to believe. This is intellectually stimulating music; it's something you have to sit down and mull over, something you have to really think about, and then draw individual conclusions. It almost feels, at times, that their objective as a band was to epitomize Hammill's lyrics; the intention of many of the more quintessential prog bands was to write lyrics that epitomized the music.

This 'lyrics over music' thing rarely works for artier bands like VdGG, but they pull can pull if off. Not sure I can say the same for Marillion....

Unfortunately, as is the tragic situation with so many bands, Van der Graaf inevitably...got worse. They didn't necessarily become a hilarious, pathetic joke like the Moody Blues, but they definitely squandered their reputation with albums like the Quiet Zone/The Pleasure Dome and World Record.

If you want to hear the cognitive Generator, listen to their first few records. Still Life and earlier is where the good stuff is.

There are some gems afterwards, as always, but nothing like the classics. That idea holds true in a lot of aspects, huh?

The definitive quote:

"Angels live inside me; I can feel them smile. Their presence strokes and soothes the tempest in my mind."

Essential recordings: The Least We Can Do is Wave to Each-Other (1970), H to He Who Am the Only One (1970), Pawn Hearts (1971)

Other recommended recordings: Godbluff (1975), Still Life (1976), Present (2005), Trisector (2008)

Stay away from these: World Record (1976), The Quiet Zone/The Pleasure Dome (1977)

Objective rating system:

Diversity - 7.6/10

They basically maintained one musical ideology throughout their entire run, but it was a very unique and distinctive ideology.

Listenability - 7.8/10

Their more structurally sound moments are very enjoyable and bittersweet; however, casual rock listeners may be off-put by the extended song lengths and less...conventional instrumental sections.

Originality - 9.1/10

Few prog bands are as original and distinctive as the Generator.

Quality - 10/10

Boy, this rating's going to disappoint me, showing that VdGG's in my top 10 favorite groups of all time. Of course, that's a personal predilection and it's biased, but still. I don't know many prog listeners that don't like this band.

Importance - 9.5/10

Speaking about the progressive rock world, that is. I'm sure very few pop bands would name Hammill as an influence, but I strongly doubt that Dream Theater would exist if it weren't for these guys.

And for being one of my all-time favorites, they get an extra half point. Unfair, yes, but hey, this is Earth, buddy. Get with the program, already.

Overall: 9.3/10

Thus, an A on the scale.

The Beatles: the most sorely underrated band in the prog rock community.

The Beatles, as popular as they were (and, unfortunately, are) are one of the most sorely underrated bands in the prog rock community, if not the most underrated.

Maybe observing the snobs' reactions to the Fab Four on ProgArchives isn't thorough investigation.

Who are you kidding? There are almost 20 regular visitors there! I mean, it has to epitomize the rapidly descending number of prog freaks in the world. Damn MS, killing all of our...prog...people.

Anyway, back on topic. It seems that the general consensus is that the Beatles are the most overrated band on the face of the planet.

I don't particularly like that word 'overrated', myself. In fact, I think the word 'overrated' is quite 'overrated'. It's an effortless way of making yourself sound more knowledgeable and sophisticated than you really are (I'm talking to YOU, Robert Christgau, you self-absorbed bastard).

Either way, it seems that the masses hate the Beatles more than the critics, but that goes without saying. What critics DON'T love the Beatles? See, it answers itself.

I can see where some of those inflated proggers are coming from, though. I mean, what with the thousands of posers that claim to love the Beatles that go home and listen to the current top 40.

Now, what really burns me up about the prog snobs is that they dismiss anything even remotely commercial or structured, but that's beside the point. This isn't a rant about why I hate the ProgArchives community as much as I do. This is a rant about the Beatles, and how...underrated...they are.

Hm. This topic seems pretty pointless.

Well, I might as well divulge my Beatalical experiences over the past few months.

When I discovered art rock, jazz-fusion, and electronic music way, way back in October, my interest in the Beatles was waning. However, it's rebuilt itself. This is actually because I listened to all the prog and art rock that I did.

See, I myself am not a fan of a lot of the Beatles' earlier material (although I do like John's introspective lyrics on Beatles for Sale...classic), so I started off with Revolver and Sgt. Pepper. I prefer the latter (boy, I hate saying that). It seemed much more...baroque. Artsier.

Oh, God...I'm turning into a ProgArchives moderator.

Please, stop me. Stop me NOW.

Boy...that whole progression made no logical sense whatsoever.

Harmonium

Genre: Folk-Rock

Grade: C

Harmonium is one of those bands that fell into the atypical 'three album group' cycle.

Let's review this cycle, shall we?

Album #1 - Good. Not amazing, but good. Worth buying, but nothing to brag about.

Album #2 - A classic. 'Essential' is insufficient when describing how mind-blowing this album is. Not a single flaw! And, uh...and so on.

Album #3 - Harmonium? I thought this was Billy Joel!

...And then they break up. Basic post-dispersel drama ensues (presumably).

That Serge Fiori guy had a brief and uneventful solo career after the group broke up, sort of like Phil Collins. Sort of.

Surprisingly enough, Harmonium was pretty popular in their native Quebec. Of course, they never found any commercial success in America or any other important countries in the world, but they did find some minimal critical favor years and years after people out of Canada even heard any of their material.

Now, on to the music.

Harmonium's style was pretty unique (that is, at least, until L'heptade was released). They were sort of like a quirky combination of Yes and Cat Stevens.

However, it's hard to generalize with these guys, because their three albums are all very different. Maybe similar in essence, but certainly not structure or...some other pretentious form of categorization that critics always use to impress people. I've been doing a pretty good job of that, haven't I?

Anyway, back on task.

Harmonium's sophomore album, Si on Avait Besoin D'une Cinquieme Saison is the best of the three, and one of the best albums in the entire prog catalog.

Harmonium isn't bad, but it's not a crucial album in any way. L'heptade, as celebrated as it is, still sounds like one huge Billy Joel pastiche to me.

And, of course, the quote:

"Amene la folie, perd la raison. Mais j'ai le gout de m'rattraper."

I...really have no idea what that means, besides maybe two or three words.

Essential recordings: Si on Avait Besoin d'une Cinquieme Saison (1975)

Other recommend recordings: Harmonium (1974)

Stay away from these: L'heptade (1976)

Diversity - 8/10

Because of their lack of...well, albums, it's hard to judge exactly how diverse they could've potentially been. However, the three they did release are all very different entities.

Listenability - 9/10

Most of it is very pleasant and accessible; the only thing that the majority of listeners would find off-putting is the song length. I, myself, love the extended length. Only more room for mandolin solos and French lyrics which I can't understand.

Originality - 7.5/10

I wouldn't dare to call them 'unoriginal', because that's not the situation at all; they did what a lot of prog bands did. They took elements from their influences and contemporaries and combined them all into one distinct sound.

Quality - 6.9/10

Si on Avait is still one of the best albums in prog (and it's a pretty massive genre), but L'heptade drags the score down a point. Yipes.

Importance - 7/10

Harmonium was actually one of the more influential bands to come out of Quebec. Of course, 90% of their audience was Quebecois, but hey, someone's gotta listen to it. Right?

Rating: 7.68/10

Thus, a C on the scale.

Weidorje

Genre: Zeuhl

Grade: F

Weidorje was the heir presumptive to the Zeuhl throne.

However, their career ended up being even shorter and less successful, both critically and popularly, than that of God-of-the-Universe Christian Vander's.

Magma, at the very least, spawned a sizable cult following and gained critical favor.

Weidorje, though, released one really good album, then split up permanently. Is this the fate of all initially promising Zeuhl bands (besides the big M)? Is the genre so incredibly difficult to fully understand and conquer that only one band could possibly find any remote success within its confines?

The simple answer, as time has proven, is no. But it certainly seems to be a recurring theme.

Anyway, on to the music.

Their material is much more rock-centric and, at the outset, more immediately accessible than many other Zeuhl bands'. The polyrhythm between the guitars and keyboards is prominent, and that unexplainable mesmerizing quality that sort of draws the audience in is still there. It just isn't done as effectively.

In their short run, they did make a small mark in French audiences, but it was over as soon as it began.

Once again, not a bad group of musicians by any means. Their tragic flaw, though, is their lack of longevity...and material.

Quintessential line:

Something in French. I don't know.

Essential releases: None

Other recommended releases: Weidorje (1978)

Stay away from these: None

Ratings:

Diversity - 1/10

Not one of rock's most prolific bands, and their sound was almost entirely taken from the big M.

Listenability - 7.4/10

Sort of like Magma, but more accessible and even listenable at times. They had that hypnotic quality that Magma perfected, but the music tends to drone on more than the big M's.

Originality - 1.2/10

They took Magma's music and added more guitars to it, essentially.

Quality - 7.5/10

Their debut release is a fine album, but it could've been better; maybe that goes without saying, maybe it's just a universal term to describe anything that has flaws, which is everything. But it definitely could've been better, with what it was. Good, not amazing.

Importance - 3/10

Would Zeuhl have suffered without their existence? No.

Overall: 4.02 out of 10.

Thus, an F on the scale.

Gong

Genre: Space Rock

Grade: B

Gong is pretty well known in prog rock circles, so it might seem kind of redundant to give them all the praise that I'm going to give them, here; but hey, the blog is called 'the best and forgotten', and Gong's among the best.

The band's leader and most well-known member, Daevid Allen, was a Soft Machine alumni before going on to create Gong. Due to a visa complication, he was denied entry to the United Kingdom and was dispelled into France. There, he met Gilli Smyth, with whom he created the first incarnation of the group. With a vocalist and a flautist on hand, Gong was finally a working unit by 1968.

That is, until the student revolution of '68, which forced them to flee to Majorca. There, unbelievably enough, they found their saxophonist, Didier Malherbe.

The rest is history. Well, maybe it isn't 'set-in-stone' history, but their development is so absurdly complicated that it would be pointless to drone on and on and on about their musical evolution.

Alright, now onto the music.

Gong's music is a very quirky, unique amalgamation of rock music, jazz music, traditional English music, and just about every other conceivable type of music you can think of. Their material defines the word 'eclectic'. A lot of prog bands of the '70s, I've noticed, seemed to find one style and stick with; Gong, however, experimented with anything and everything. Although their quirkiness is immediately evident upon listening, none of it sounds truly 'similar' upon closer examination.

The best way I can describe it is Syd Barrett on acid, on acid. Without acid.

It's something you have to experience for yourself.

Their whimsicality is one of their more pronounced features, so if you're not into the Canterbury, Robert Wyatt-ish stuff, this probably isn't the band for you.

If you like the earlier Soft Machine, these guys should be right up your alley, wherever your alley is.

There's really so much to cover with Gong, that it can't be accomplished in this single post. Look them up on the inta'net. I mean, there was Pierre Moerlan's Gong, which was a completely different entity, and...well, like I said. Inta'net.

The quote that sums up their entire career:

"Stranger and stranger, that's why you do it."

Essential recordings: Camembert Electrique (1971), Angel's Egg (1973), Gazeuse! (1976) (With Pierre Moerlan...a very different incarnation of the group).

Other recommended recordings: Flying Teapot (1973), You (1974), Shamal (1975)

Stay away from these: Magick Brother (1970)

Ratings:

Diversity - 9.4/10

Gong is not only one of the most diverse bands in prog, but one of the most diverse bands in rock. From the cool jazz-fusion of Pierre Moerlan to the quirky, eccentric space rock of Daevid Allen, there's almost nothing that this group hasn't experimented with.

Listenability - 7.3/10

Listening to Gilli Symth's 'space whispering' and drawn-out 'ooooo's becomes incessant, at times, but the excellent instrumentation, songwriting, and interesting lyrics keep it well-balanced.

Originality - 9.2/10

Maybe the Soft Machine and Caravan preceded them slightly, and maybe they drew a lot of influence from Syd Barrett's Pink Floyd, but their sound is almost completely unlike anything I've ever heard.

Quality - 8.6/10

Not every release is consistently good with them, but their best is among the best in prog history.

Importance - 7/10

Being a space rock band is tough work. You have to create unique music while dealing with the burden that you're the only group that will ever sound the way you do....

Overall: 8.3 out of 10.

Thus, an B on the scale.

The Residents

Genre: Experimental

Grade: A

The Residents are, according to allmusic, 'an enigma of Sphinx-like proportions'.

It may sound like a massive over-exaggeration, but they're actually pretty spot-on, here. I mean, besides being among the most illustrious and surprisingly innovative bands in rock music, they're pretty widely abstruse (not to mention that their heads are eyeballs...or they might as well be).

Despite releasing over 60 albums since 1974, the Residents have successfully avoided success and, in doing it, avoided divulging any personal information about themselves to the world.

Hm.

Now, onto the music.

No one likes the Residents immediately. It's just...humanly inconceivable. Totally impossible.

When I first experienced "Constantinople" (and trust me, it wasn't just a listen or a viewing; it was an experience), I thought I was either going to fall out of my seat laughing...or fall out of my seat crying. Both are applicable.

The eyeball people, the morbidly obese naked man, and all of the other inexplicable and unsettling aspects of this band were too much to take in at once. I, basically, hated them.

However, I was fascinated. My Residential experiences slowly became more and more enjoyable.

And they're currently one of my favorite groups.

Their unexplainable combination of dissonance, synthesizers, and visual arts is something everyone should 'experience' at one point in their life.

Once more, don't judge these guys on the first listen. It only becomes more and more brilliant as you go.

And, of course, the all-encompassing line that sums up their entire career:

"I did not mean to hurt her when I fell asleep last night. I was just exhausted from the act of being polite!"

Essential recordings: The Third Reich n' Roll (1976), Eskimo (1979), God in Three Persons (1988)

Other recommended recordings: Not Available (1978), Duck Stab/Buster & Glen (1978), Commercial Album (1980), Wormwood: Curious Stories from the Bible (1998), Demons Dance Alone (2002), River of Crime (2006), Tweedles! (2006)

Stay away from these: Freak Show (1990), Gingerbread Man (1994)

Diversity - 10/10

Few bands are as diverse, musically and visually, as the Residents. The synthesizer-driven new wave of the Commercial Album and the ambient soundscapes of Eskimo are about as different as day and night. No two Residents albums sound the same.

Listenability - 6.4/10

This is where the group suffers. Although their music becomes increasingly infectious as you listen more and more, it's almost unlistenable in the beginning.

Originality - 10/10

Again, very few bands can even compare to the Residents regarding originality. They wear eyeball costumes, refuse to identify themselves, and have written hundreds upon hundreds of songs, very few of which sound similar whatsoever.

Quality - 9.5/10

Their diversity and individuality makes for a guaranteed high rating. The number of albums they've released that I wouldn't recommend is a very, very small number. Like, four, or something.

Importance - 10/10

I can count the amount of alternative bands that weren't influenced in some way by the Residents on one hand.

Overall: 9.1/10

Thus, an A on the scale.