1) I served after-school detention in middle school and high school for scrawling Pete Frame-esque family trees of Genesis, Roxy Music, etc. on tables and chairs in numerous classrooms. My later efforts included full credentials for Phil Manzanera and Tony Levin.
2) I used to intentionally dress like Tony Banks (I have pictures!).
3) Roger fucking Dean.
4) I had hundreds of pencils engraved with the title of my (then) favorite King Crimson record.
I'm only including UK bands from 1968 to 1974 here, so Rush is clearly not eligible. And don't come at me with the Krautrock thing-- I didn't know anyone into Neu! or Faust way back, and neither did you. Let's stick with bands that actually sold some records, eh?
In all seriousness, the '68-'74 timeframe fits all bands below like a glove except one. In all fairness, nothing fits that band like a glove except the lead singer's trousers anyway.
Genesis
I almost got beat up a few times for liking these guys, and I'm damn proud of it. I also once tried in vain to convince a bunch of stoners that the cover of Trespass was spookier than any Sabbath cover. I didn't bother putting the record on.
It's easy to forget how fucking weird these guys were before Phil Collins (and Peter Gabriel!) absolutely exploded over the airwaves. I mean, how many people out there actually think of Phil as a drummer and PG as a bunch of bananas?! Art rock extraordinaire.
Classic: The Lamb Dies Down on Broadway (1974)
Close: Nursery Cryme (1971)
Collection: Genesis Archives, Vol. 1: 1967-1975 (1998)
Crap: We Can't Dance (1991)
Yes
The biggest and blowiest of the bunch. Their catalog ranges from jaw-droppingly powerful to mind-bogglingly awful. Jon Anderson would certainly lose in a battle royale between all lead singers named here, unless he was permitted to use his druidic spellbook.
Close: The Yes Album (1971)
Collection: Classic Yes (1981)
Crap: Tormato (1978)
King Crimson
The dark horses of the crew-- easily the least commercial and most consistently obtuse. Is their lack of "success" due to vocal musical chairs? Tyrannical band dictatorship? Time signatures that read like Mersenne primes?
Like Genesis and Yes, Crimso radically redefined themselves in anticipation of the 80's, but mistakenly chose Adrian Belew as a cash cow over Trevor Rabin and the Phenix Horns. However, indie rockers would eventually queue up in droves to buy anything that sounded like John Wetton's bass guitar.
Classic: In the Court of the Crimson King (1969) [tough call!]
Close: Larks' Tongues in Aspic (1973)
Close: Larks' Tongues in Aspic (1973)
Collection: A Young Person's Guide to King Crimson (1976) [out of print]
Crap: any CD's not remastered
Jethro Tull
These guys have almost nothing in common with the others here. They never recorded for Atlantic Records and didn't have Bill Bruford's phone number. Most of the UK proggers were Beatle-heads, while these blokes were jamming on blues riffs and opening for Sabbath. If we had a Monsters of Prog Rock party, Tull would be drinking beer by themselves in the corner while Ian Anderson hopped around making dick jokes.
Classic: Aqualung (1971)
Close: Stand Up (1969)
Collection: Living in the Past (1972)
Crap: The Broadsword and the Beast (1982)
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
My least favorite of the fab five, but the most likely to be heard at a major sporting event (although I swear I heard "Thela Hun Ginjeet" in the Bronx bleachers on Robitussin once). Fared worst in the 80's as well-- I'll take Crest of a Knave over "Touch and Go" any day of the week.
Classic: Brain Salad Surgery (1973)
Close: Trilogy (1972)
Collection: The Best of Emerson, Lake & Palmer (1980)
Crap: Love Beach (1978)
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2 comments:
Nice job, Mazzy. I'm still trying to figure who the band is that the '68 to '74 timeframe doesn't fit like a glove. You must mean King Crimson. I'm thinking Adrian Belew wearing tight trousers over Phil Collins, although Jon Anderson would seem the most likely candidate. I'm a little surprised you would completely discount Genesis post-1974, though.
All had major changes/breakups/pauses around '74 except Tull. One could argue that they've never changed at all.
I love PC-era Genesis as much as anyone. It took'em a few years, but they really distanced themselves from their roots by the time they got to Abacab. Not always in a bad way, either.
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