Mining for obscure prog rock...some surprising finds!
Posted by: Ron Toolsie on 27 November 2012
In the last month or so, I have diverted my musical attentions pretty much to the prog rock genre (and BTW the progarchives.com site is an invaluable resource). I have relatively little of this music in my collection, and then it tends to be the best known (King Crimson, Yes, Wishbone Ash, Rick Wakeman, Renaissance etc). So I decided to dig a little-well actually WAY deeper.
I am still a neophyte so I will not make too many comparisons, but rather share what I consider extremely good but obscure music. One thing I have found, is that it takes sheer *talent* to play prog rock, so it is very difficult to critique it in terms of technique....its main failings as far as I can tell are the vocals which occasionally tend to be oversung and bombastic.
Until I have listened a bit more to the 50 plus artists I have added to my collection I will for now just have to give a few very honorable mentions.
Yezda Urfa.... The best find so far. A band from Illinois (US) that have an uncanny resemblance to Yes in terms of composition, bass playing and very Andersonesque vocals. But I find them rather more melodic than any Yes I have in my collection, and the nonsensical song titles parody the over-serious attitude that many of their contemporaries were guilty of. Dare I say the playing is of an equal or higher virtuosity than that of Yes? There are only two albums...Boris from 1975 and Sacred Baboon from 1976.
The New Trolls- Italian prog rock at its best. The 'Ut' and 'Searching for a Land' albums seem particularly good, and both were released in 1972.
Days- a Danish band from 1972. Only one release as far as I can tell, which is self titled.
The Masters Apprentices- an Aussie band. I have so far only heard their albums Choice Cuts (1972) and a Toast to Panama Red (1972). Expertly crafted and played music. I do wish the albums were mastered better though.
Gryphon-Between 1973 and 1975 they released four albums that are very deeply rooted in olde Englishe Folke and are largely acoustic. Although any of these is excellent, the best is probably their third -Red Queen to Gryphon Three. If you love the folkie side of Mike Oldfield, then this one should impress, and in places sounds very similar to Ommadawn.
Iceberg- some Spanish prog rockers. The 1975 Tutankhamon has the fluid melodies of some of the best Camel.
Other artists I have recently cast an ear to, but have not listened enough to from a definitive opinion but are very promising....Khan, Gnidrolog (In Search of Harry's Toenail!?), Eden Rose, Anglagard, Jan Dukes de Gray, The Lens, Eloy, the Scottish band Hate with the Hate Kills album from 1970
And a passing mention to a much better known Prog Rock band-Gentle Giant. Two of their better albums (Octopus and Three Friends) were remastered last year and the sonic results are simply marvelous, as is the music. There is a life, clarity and presence that was entirely stripped from the previous releases.
This you tube clip sounds much cleaner and better than my copy ... 
You could try Discogs (please click)
An unlikely source of Prog music discovery is available from Steve Davis, the former World Snooker Champion - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Davis
Steve has a column called Interesting Alternative in the Prog magazine. In Septembers edition he cites three beautifully recorded CD's that could float your aural boat.
1. Polysoft - Tribute to Soft Machine: Live at Le Triton 2002
2. Helmet of Gnats - High Street
3. Ahvak - Ahvak
Broadcasting from Brentwood, Essex in the UK Steve has a Monday night show called The Interesting Alternative Show. You can listen 'live' or investigate his playlists which should be, er, interesting...
http://www.phoenixfm.com/categ...ng-alternative-show/
Yours in Prog
Denis
Hi Ron,
I'd also recommend listening to The Dividing Line or download their podcast programs.
In the past I have listened to the Shawn Bishop show - Behind The Lines http://www.thedividingline.com/schedule.html
Denis
Ron,
A few prog albums I can recommend from my vinyl vaults;
And finally a sampler from the sixties from the prog label Deram Nova
ATB
Steve
Prog Archives categorise DAYS BETWEEN STATIONS as...
Eclectic Prog • United States
Reviews - http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=19209
Sample Tracks...
Days Between Stations - Requiem for the living http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpqgmA_p-3I
Days Between Stations - Either/or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvmsMxZmhqo
Days Between Stations - Radio Song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzuJJktdQ4I
Here's one of my fave prog albums
(Traditional style Sea Shanties it ain't!!!!)
I don't know how obscure, but they only made 2 albums that I know of (shown here in reverse order of their release), and are excellent:
After investigating an interesting recommendation from Steve Davis, I have just ordered this...
Simon Steensland - Fat Again http://production.altrock.it/prod2.asp?lang=ita_&id=113&id2=114
Most of the album can be heard here - http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Simon+Steensland+&oq=Simon+Steensland+&gs_l=youtube-reduced.12...1947878.1947878.0.1949393.1.1.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0...0.0...1ac.2.
Prog Archives Reviews - http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=26629
Steve describes an earlier release,The Zombie Hunter, as a mix of Zappa, Zeuhl and RIO, but still sounds like no other music you've ever heard before. That's probably true, because I can't find any samples or availability to buy. This recommendation came from Steve's PROG article...
EASY SQUEEZY - The rough guide to accordian prog 
Steve J,
Two more good calls with Magna Carta (light, acoustic folk rock) and the (very) Cream-esque psychadelic Whalefeathers. But Edgar Broughton.....really?? Hystrionic Wolfman Jack vocalizations set on top of experimental hard rock. This is one you will either love or hate. I don't love it 
. People who 'get' Troutmask Replica would really go for this one.
Arfur (may I call you just Arfur)...Sea Shanties is a great find. Lots of flashy lead guitar runs with just the right amount of complexity and atonality.
Guy- As much as I love 'Made in Japan' I could never really warm up to Deep Purples studio albums. BTW, if you haven't already heard it, the Audio Fidelity remastering of Machine Head gives the band a whole new harmonic complexity and dynamic contrast. But it is out of print (like the DCC remastering of Made in Japan which is also excellent)
Paper Plane (is that a Quo reference?)- I have Magma's Kobaia album already. Its sort of experimental jazz with dreamy undertones. I like this one.
Denis A- I will be looking into Simon Steensland
Keep those obscure recommendations coming.
Whilst potting around with Steve's playlists I found this interesting band...
Unit Wail - Pangea Proxima
Sample Track - Sargasso Sea http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbjOKDGzXsg
I like this quote, below, from an interesting blog called...
The Best Bands You've Probably Never Heard Of Revisiting some overlooked progressive rock gems
http://progressivegems.wordpress.com/
"The album closes out with a heavy funeral march that creates mental imagery of Godzilla walking off into the sunset, sad that this has come to an end. At least for now. You can always hit the play button again. And again."
The Blog is a handy reference I think.
