First Prog

[Rick and Roll]

Originally Posted by OverHillandDale

Perchance we may have stumbled upon a recurring motif here. Do you think us proggers have a propensity for the dramatic?

Not me.

Then again, I don't like fantasy or know computers either.

[carlos77]

Pink Floyd and Alan Parsons...I heard too much radio in my youth...so those were the bands I liked the most of the progressive rock...(by that time I didn't know prog exists)...Genesis not because I discovered the pop Genesis...so it didn't count...

[MrMagoo]

Originally Posted by Rick and Roll

Not me.

Then again, I don't like fantasy or know computers either.

Gasp, gack, gulp, golly Mr Wizard, say it ain't so! Proggers aren't all D&D + computer geeks?

[roger]

Originally Posted by MrMagoo

Gasp, gack, gulp, golly Mr Wizard, say it ain't so! Proggers aren't all D&D + computer geeks?

my World of Warcraft main character's name is Gaack.

Originally Posted by MrMagoo

Gasp, gack, gulp, golly Mr Wizard, say it ain't so! Proggers aren't all D&D + computer geeks?

I thought nearly all proggers were D+D.....most of those that I've met have been Drunk and Disorderly at the end of the evening.

[Himbo]

ok, not counting the beatles' trippier songs (like when "day tripper" turned my head sideways - i still remember the exact moment it came leaping out of the old radio in the garage), i believe it was the first elp album when i was about 12 or 13. it's been a great ride ever since!

[Lellu]

My journey with progressive rock began last winter in school when we had to give a talk on some music genre. Somehow I ended to be pair with a dude who wanted badly to give a talk about progressive rock. I hardly had any idea what prog actually is so this dude borrowed me some of his prog albums including:

Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention: One Size Fits All
Jethro Tull: Thick As A Brick
King Crimson: Red
U.K.: U.K.
and Yes: Fragile

And so begun the revolution of my musical world...

PS. After those events I have given that dude a prefix "proge". (Prog in Finnish)

[OverHillandDale(Admin)]

Originally Posted by OverHillandDale

I blame George Gershiwn and other eartly 1900 classical composers that fused Jazz and classical music. the only logical next step was blending it with rock. So in the mid 60's I was diggin' Hendrix and Janis, Cream, Doors, like everyone else and also started hearing Chicago, BST, Moody Blues and perhaps what became the most influential group in my life, Yes. Zappa was introduced to me about '68. Genesis came shortly after, as well as Tull and King Crimson.

Being a theatre enthusiast, I remember the early Rock Musicals having a big influence too, J.C. Superstar, Godspell, Hair.

It occured to me that I left off a huge influence out of the early groups, The Beatles - White Album, and Santana's first album and Abraxas. They were one of the earliest. Then came Led Zepplin, Pink Floyd, Nectar and PFM.

[rigel1]

All the same year - 1975...
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
Gentle Giant
Tod Ruddgren's Utopia
ELP - (In Quadrophonic Sound)
Jean Luc Ponty
Chick Corea's Return to Forever

[finance5]

My first Prog album was Court of the Crimson King, then Fragile. But they were just part of the overall landscape to me. Selling England By The Pound was my turning point.

[dinosaur]

When I was small, my mother played classical, incl Grieg, Bach, etc. on the 'HI-FI'. My father played Hank Williams and Chet Atkins. When I first had money to buy records, I bought the Beatles brand new one: Abbey Road. Then came all the rest...Genesis, Moody Blues, Crimson, Tull, Oldfield... but most especially Yes' Relayer.

[Rick and Roll]

Originally Posted by dinosaur

When I was small, my mother played classical, incl Grieg, Bach, etc. on the 'HI-FI'. My father played Hank Williams and Chet Atkins. When I first had money to buy records, I bought the Beatles brand new one: Abbey Road. Then came all the rest...Genesis, Moody Blues, Crimson, Tull, Oldfield... but most especially Yes' Relayer.

And then King's X.

[Ken]

Thanks all for responding to this thread, what an ear opener. I've been motivated to look even further back at what may have drawn me to this rythem, canto, feeling, etc and am goining to share some of the home grown tunes (and some closer to the border) that stared it off for me. In-town home grown, a late 60's, semi funk band called Mandela and the tune "Loveites" stilled played on my second favourite radio station Q107 on a weekend Sunday program called Psycadelic Sunday. Other ones that are not so popular, but still hold an impact, are from just east of me and some south and of the border 1st Roy Buchanan and The Messiaih Will Come Again , Paul Butterfield Blues Band and One More Heartache and Harmonium 100000 Raisons. Home grown or close by, at least for me, are the starting point whats your first? If you have a link please include it. Many thanks, keep on truckin'. PS what about your first concert?

[fsummers]

I got into prog for the first time in 1969, with Moody Blues, Yes and Pink Floyd. I then graduated to harder stuff with King Crimson and Genisis and was totally addicted. About that time, I heard my first Weather Report and I obtained a double addiction. My life took me away from prog and jazz in the 80's and then I fell for Rush and Dream Theater and my addiction was back.

[Toccata]

Hi Ken ! My first Prog LP was Selling England By the Pound, many Years Ago aprox. 1973, this was my debut Prog. LP!!
Before This LP I was Listening only Heavy Metal: Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, etc.
In the beginning my debut Prog. LP chocked me, because was another style but after I began to loved it, and at same time Fotrot, Nursery Crime, and other groups too.
Bye!

[Ken]

Genesis has always been my #1, friends have called me a 'Genesis Freak" but this was what hooked me and gave an identity to what I liked or to quote "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" lol. Pink Floyd, Caravan, Harmonium all favs but now I know about Porcupine Tree, Clarion and many others thanks to Aural Moon and all Moonies. My first prog concert was Pink Floyd touring Dark Side in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada at Ivor Whynn Stadium, wow, what a party.

For me it started with Queen's Prophet Song. From there it went to ELP, Tull, Rush, T2's Boomland...for some reason I could not stomach Yes or Genesis...in the case of the latter I just did not dig deep enough, the former I just found too bombastic, the stuff I heard anyway. And - except for ELP - I was into the guitars, and I found Howe too squealy and messy, not meaty enough. I had (still have) one foot in serious hard rock.

Then, in 1981 - by the time it was all over for them - Van der Graaf Generator blasted onto my scene. They went totally against the guitar-based stuff I liked so much. Saxophones? WTF? but it just WORKED.

Now I've branched out a bit more with the prog - I still enjoy the rock, a little progressive metal, jazz and fusion, et al - but keyboard wizardry is not a big thing for me. Not because I avoid it, it just generally leaves me cold. The keyboard/synthesizer washes on a lot of the mid-period Rush albums are a bit annoying at times.

Aerosol

[gr8sho92]

Originally Posted by Ken

I never knew prog exisited until Aural Moon, to me it was just the best music I ever heard. The first time for me was back in the 70's Pink Floyd. When was your's and who?

It seems that AM triggers historical retrospective from time to time. I too am guilty of this.

To answer your question directly, my friend at the time (1974) had just bought Isola di Niente by PFM. I liked it enough to go out and buy my own album which turned out to be Live in USA on Battisti's Numero Uno label (see avatar). You may also know this as PFM Cook from Greg Lake's Manticore label.

About the statement I bolded above, are you saying you didn't know that Pink Floyd is considered Progressive Rock or you were not aware that a genre called progressive rock exists?

[Toccata]

Hi brother!!
There was here in Rio at 1974 aprox. a Telecast named Sabado Som meaning Saturday Sound, was there which I saw the first images of a Genesis apresentation with I know what I like.
In the beggining the telecast was black and white , some years after the color system was implanted, but never more occured a program like that.
Now the things are easier, we can found many songs of this big bands of this years , colored, in the You Tube.

[teermin8r]

I can't really remember the first prog band I owned. I was into Top 40 when I was a young lad 'cause that's all there was in Oklahoma. My favorite bands when I was 13-14 was The Who, Queen, Yes, Pink Floyd, Triumvirat, Rolling Stones, BTO, and of course my fave was Elton John. So I would have to guess Yes was my intro to prog, but I didn't really know what prog was I guess at the time. But my first Yes LP was Fragile. My first 8 - tracks were Kiss and PF Dark Side of the Moon and when Cds came out my first cds were Branford Marsalis and PF's DSotM.