Lurker’s Guide To: Progressive Rock

Antiquated connotations surround the term, yet the words themselves suggest an inexorable march towards attaining some sort of artistic recognition for a style of music regularly associated with troublesome teenagers. Through pomp, pretence and prodigious talent, the pioneers of this maligned strain of rock achieved incredible heights of creativity.

But why should this noble quest end with the 1970s? Rock, in the broadest sense possible, has always been a fertile breeding ground for new, experimental sounds. Especially now, bands are continually lauded for striving to push boundaries and despite ‘progressive rock’ long being abandoned as a credible title for a genre, the mindset is still alive and well.

Now, we are no experts outside of our hermetical tastes, but here is an attempt to explore some of the acts that I enjoy, both old and new, that can’t really be shoehorned any other way, along with a look at their finest moments. This is the LURKER guide after all, so expect the unexpected! And expect more weird and wonderful guides in the future.

Can – Tago Mago

Forerunners of the somewhat derogatory ‘krautrock’ movement, Can’s finest moments were defined by the inclusion of Japanese vocalist Damo Suzuki. He made his first appearance with the band on 1971’s Tago Mago – an album now cemented in experimental rock history. Throughout his incredible performance, Suzuki doesn’t stick to one distinguishable language, although snippets of English do funnel through his strange incantations. Oddly enough, the band picked him up off the street on the way to a recording session.

Continue reading: LURKER’s guide to: Progressive Rock | LURKER | LURKER.

Tags: Can, isis, Kayo Doth, Lurker, Magma, Opeth, Progressive Rock, Univers Zero, Yes

This entry was posted on Monday, July 18th, 2011 at 1:45 pm and is filed under 2011, Playlists, Roadburn Recommended . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.