More Prog
50 More Progressive Rock Masterpieces

by Adam Budofsky

So, you say the “50 Progressive Rock Masterpieces” featured in the current issue of MD still isn’t enough to satisfy your inner Collins, Bruford, or Peart? How about we make it an even hundred, then. Like the first fifty classics of percussive complexity, this list represents some of the most brazen boundary-pushing that musical man has ever undertaken. Enjoy!

PROTO-PROG

CREAM DISRAELI GEARS (1967)
Cream’s combination of technical virtuosity and psychedelic excess sowed the seeds of many future progressive journeys. GINGER BAKER supports Eric Clapton’s searing guitar and Jack Bruce’s mystical vocals with earthy imagination and thoughtful thunder.


DEEP PURPLE SHADES OF (1968)
Deep Purple’s heavy, complex rock helped spawn ’70s metal and progressive rock. Like Jimi Hendrix’s Mitch Mitchell, lefty IAN PAICE came out of a big-band jazz drumming tradition, but applied his skills in a slamming, unconventional manner.

ALSO CHECK OUT:
The Moody Blues Days Of Future Past (1967, GRAEME EDGE)
The Nice The Thoughts Of Emerist Davjack (1967, BRIAN DAVISON)
Traffic Mr. Fantasy (1967, JIM CAPALDI)
Spirit Spirit (1968, ED CASSIDY)
Family Music In A Doll’s House (1968, ROB TOWNSEND)

CLASSIC PROG

MAGMA 1001° CENTEGRADES (1971)
Led by charismatic drummer CHRISTIAN VANDER, the French group Magma came off as a pagan horde–meets–jazz band. Grunted lyrics celebrating the utopian Kobaia and dissonant arrangements eventually drove away all but a circle of faithful fans. The killer album is 1001° Centegrades, in which droning chants meet romantic melodies set against Vander’s Elvin-influenced drumming and ancient K wash.

STRAWBS HERO AND HEROINE (1974)
Reflecting progressive rock’s all-inclusivity, Strawbs started out as a hillbilly/Dylan–inspired acoustic trio. Eventually, though, they morphed into a full-scale electric rock band with ten-plus-minute multi-part slabs of odd-metered intensity. But the band always retained their rustic, heart-felt vibe, and drummer ROD COOMBES was more about unobtrusive support than look-at-me chops. Listen carefully to this album, though, which many consider their masterwork. There’s some deep thinking going on here, especially on the magical title track and Rod’s composition “Sad Young Man.”

STOMU YAMASHTA’S GO LIVE FROM PARIS (1976)
This double album from Japanese percussionist Stomu Yamashta’s semi-supergroup (Steve Winwood, Al Di Meola, Klaus Schulze) featured Santana drummer MICHAEL SHRIEVE on four sides of regal space-rock that often sounds reminiscent of Traffic’s Low Spark/Shootout period. A heady but easily digestible lost classic.

ALSO CHECK OUT:
CAPTAIN BEEFHEART TROUT MASK REPLICA (1969, JOHN FRENCH)
VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR H TO HE, WHO AM THE ONLY ONE (1970, GUY EVANS)
ATOMIC ROOSTER DEATH WALKS BEHIND YOU (1970, PAUL HAMMOND)
AMON DUUL II YETI (1970, DANNY SECUNDUS FICHELSCHER)
BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST (1970, MEL PRITCHARD)
CARAVAN IF I COULD DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN, I’D DO IT ALL OVER YOU (1970, RICHARD COUGHLIN)
ASH RA TEMPLE ASH RA TEMPLE (1971, KLAUS SHULTZE)
FOCUS MOVING WAVES (1971, PIERRE VAN DER LINDEN)
CURVED AIR PHANTASMAGORIA (1972, FLORIA PILKINGTON MIKSA)
PFM PER UN AMICO (1972, FRANZ DICIOCCIO)
NEU! NEU! (1972, KLAUS DINGER)
GREENSLADE GREENSLADE (1972, ANDREW MCCULLOCH)
HENRY COW LEG END (1973, CHRIS CUTLER)
ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA ELDORADO (1974, BEV BEVAN)
HATFIELD AND THE NORTH HATFIELD AND THE NORTH (1974, PIP PYLE)
NEKTAR REMEMBER THE FUTURE (1974, RON HOWDEN)
RENAISSANCE TURN OF THE CARDS (1974, TERENCE SULLIVAN)
TODD RUNDGREN’S UTOPIA ANOTHER LIVE (1975, JOHN WILCOX)
BE BOP DELUXE SUNBURST FINISH (1976, SIMON FOX)
CAMEL BREATHLESS (1978, ANDY WARD)

NEO PROG

PETER GABRIEL SO (1986, MANU KATCHÉ)
To aid in his attempt to move beyond the tribal sounds of his earlier albums and into the world of sophisticated arena rock, Peter Gabriel employed the talents of French drummer Manu Katché. Manu quickly lassoed the attention of a generation of drum fans with his nimble hi-hats, prodding splash cymbals, and creative, rolling beats. So, featuring the breakout hits “Sledgehammer,” “Big Time,” “Red Rain,” and “In Your Eyes,” made the singer and drummer international stars.

KING CRIMSON THRAK (1995, BILL BRUFORD/PAT MASTELOTTO)
Robert Fripp’s King Crimson have stayed relevant long after most of their prog peers began to seem hopelessly anachronistic. In what could be roughly termed the band’s fourth incarnation, Fripp upped the rhythmic intensity by creating a “double trio” format with the addition of stick player Trey Gunn and drummer Pat Mastelotto. Pat gets points for even hanging with the master Bruford, let alone creating his own integral niche in the mix. Thrak is big, bold, experimental, scary, and an endless well of fascinating rhythmic ideas.

ALSO CHECK OUT:
UNIVERS ZERO CEUX DU DEHORS (1981, DANIEL DENIS)
ECHOLYN SUFFOCATING THE BLOOM (1992, PAUL RAMSEY)
MIKE KENEALLY BAND GUITAR THERAPY LIVE (2006, JOE TRAVERS)
PLANET X QUANTUM (2007, VIRGIL DONATI)

PROGRESSIVE METAL

VOIVOD NOTHINGFACE (1989, MICHEL LANGEVIN a.k.a. AWAY)
Canadian band Voivod cracked the charts with this beloved prog-metal long-player, which was boosted by a killer cover of Pink Floyd’s “Astronomy Domine.” Drummer Michel Langevin’s full-throttle but highly accurate hand and foot work caught the ear of many drummers, including the multi-monikered drummer in our next group….

MUDVAYNE THE END OF ALL THINGS TO COME (2002, MATT MCDONOUGH, a.k.a. SPÄG, a.k.a. SPÜG)
Roaring out of Peoria, Illinois, Mudvayne initially caught attention for their ghoulish stage makeup. What has put each of their three major studio albums over the half-million sales mark, however, is their music, which features relentless riffage, dense lyrical allusions, and the athletic drumming of Matt McDonough. A surprising, searching musician, McDonough rarely takes the easy route to rhythmic support, and it’s always a challenge picking apart his playing, especially his slap-in-the-face bass drum work.

ALSO CHECK OUT:
MERCYFUL FATE DON’T BREAK THE OATH (1984, KIM RUZZ)
KING’S X GRETCHEN GOES TO NEBRASKA (1989, JERRY GASKILL)
FEAR FACTORY DEMANUFACTURE (1995, RAYMOND HERRERA)
RACER X GETTING HEAVIER (2002, SCOTT TRAVIS)
OPETH GHOST REVERIES (2005, MARTIN LOPEZ)
UPSILON ACRUX GALAPAGOS MOMENTUM (2007, JESSE APPELHANS)

PROGRESSIVE ALTERNATIVE

SHUDDER TO THINK PONY EXPRESS RECORD (1994, ADAM WADE)
Shudder is one of the most bafflingly brilliant bands in rock history. Singer Craig Wedren once told me his near-operatic vocal approach was influenced by Journey’s Steve Perry. Meanwhile, the band’s rhythmic and melodic style seems more out of European art music. And this, from a group signed to the famous DIY-punk label Dischord. What still amazes about Pony Express Record isn’t merely the ambitious compositions, but the fact that the players are so in synch on such unique material. Drummer Adam Wade  (ex-Jawbox) is monstrous throughout.

CHAVEZ RIDE THE FADER (1996, JAMES LO)
A lot of math rock is about as much fun to listen to as taking a mandatory algebra class in summer school. But there’s none of that brain-drain here. Certainly a big part of the Chavez sound is a constant tinkering with expectations, especially of the rhythmic variety. But there’s a joy to the huge, glistening guitar sound that is positively engulfing. And drummer James Lo is an absolute natural at supporting the odd times and unexpected accent shifts. The band was re-ignited last year after many years out of the limelight. Hopefully new material is forthcoming. In the mean time, track down this, their second full-length; it’s a killer.

SLINT SPIDERLAND (1991, BRITT WALFORD)
BARK PSYCHOSIS HEX (1994, MARK SIMNETT)
MUSE ABSOLUTION (2003, DOMINIC HOWARD)
MICE PARADE MICE PARADE (2007, ADAM PIERCE, DOUG SCHARIN)

Special thanks to T. Bruce Wittet for Magma-fication.

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