Progressive Rock--My subjective take

In the late sixties to the mid seventies, it was vogue for all music to reach out, blur the lines, and fuse with other forms. Jazz leaned toward rock to form fusion. Funk was essentially progressive soul. Music in general seemed to be progressing toward a meta-genre and it seemed that perhaps the artificial distinctions between people and cultures would vanish as well. When it came to music, people were more open-minded back then, and had longer attention spans. Commerciality existed, but it was not the tyrannical force that it became later on.

Essentially, what became known as progressive rock began as a branch of rock music that aspired to incorporate elements of jazz and symphonic/chamber(aka classical) flavorings. Thus, in many cases, it featured songs in the form of long suites, with meters outside of the common 4/4, and complexities not typical of rock.

There were various "schools" of progressive rock, many that did not recognize each other, but became grafted together because of the eclectic tastes of listeners, and because of being more complex and/or experimental than the mainstream.

There was what we now call the "symphonic" branch: Yes, ELP, early Genesis, Gentle Giant, Gryphon, Happy the Man, very early King Crimson, the Moody Blues, early Jethro Tull, Van Der Graff Generator, Camel, PFM, Banco, ect…

There was a conglomeration of groups that originated from the Canterbury region of England that had a more jazzy sound: Soft Machine, Egg, Gilgamesh, National Health, Hatfield and the North, Caravan, ect…

And then there was a more experimental school, one that disliked the more assessable and popular "symphonic" groups. They incorporated such elements as avant-garde and 20th century chamber music. Henry Cow, Univers Zero and four others joined in a festival called Rock in Opposition. Eventually, RIO became common nomenclature referring to avant rock groups with similar leanings.

The lines though are blurred. Camel is from the Canterbury region and shares some of the same Canterbury roster, but leaned "symphonic". Henry Cow started as a Canterbury group, but branched into more and more experimental music, until it became the core of the international RIO movement. In many cases, it's impossible and futile to pinpoint where jazz-fusion ends and Progressive rock begins. In that time of open mindedness, it was not unheard of to like different groups such as Yes and Magma. Even though there were vast differences, both were distinct from more typical rock music, and thus the tastes of fans adopted both.

However, a terrible train wreck occurred on the road to meta-music: Punk, totalitarian commercialism, and racism. Punk was the anti-Prog, a regressive music where not knowing how to play became celebrated. Record companies began the downward spiral into the cookie-cutter abyss. For the most part, rap, like punk, was regressive, devolving from its party music origins, devoid of technique and musicality, focusing solely on a spoken word that too often glorified violence, greed, crime, guns, pride, and self-imposed segregation rather than the dream of uniting with one's fellowman based on common humanity.

Eventually, punk progressed into new wave, leaving its caveman trappings for the synthesized flavorings found in electronica. By this time, Progressive rock had essentially crystallized as a sound, and what remained of it had been driven underground. Some groups looked back to more symphonic times, to the golden age of Yes and Genesis, while lacking their technical virtuosity. Thus began a blend of new wave with progressive seasonings, groups such as Marillion and IQ, who began "neo-prog", the Second Wave of Progressive Rock.

In many ways, neo-prog was not truly Progressive Rock. It did not reach to the same heights or depths or textures or complexities, it did not fuse jazz or symphonic works. Neo-prog represented true Prog about as much as a bag of Doritos represents Mexican food--it was mainstream rock with progressive flavoring. However, that doesn't necessarily mean it wasn't good music. In fact, albums such as Script for a Jester's Tear and Misplaced Childhood were quite stellar. Many progressive rock fans adopted neo-prog into the genre and the tent and definition became larger.

In the nineties, while the mainstream was flirting with Grunge/Alternative(which was essentially a regressive revival of Punk), true Progressive rock experienced resurgence, a Third Wave. Groups such Anglagard, echolyn, and Spock's Beard brought Prog into the present. They went beyond mere neo-prog, but approached the technical complexities of Prog's Golden Age. At the same time, many RIO-like groups such as 5uu's, Thinking Plague, Tipographica achieved something similar for the avant wing as well. The internet, progfests, albums reissues and a plethora of smaller labels contributed to this music boom.

Will there be a Fourth Wave? Will more mainstream groups like the Mars Volta and Radiohead embrace Prog, making it acceptable once again? Will post-rock groups like Tortoise keep arising and reinvent the wheel, reverse engineering prog-like sounds? The common wisdom is that these things go in cycles. Sometimes music fatigue weigh on both fans and groups. There are commercial pressures and unforeseen developments. It's hard to say what the future will bring. But the one thing we know for now: The music is out there.