Progressive Rock:

Breaking through boundaries to a new soundscape

Progressive rock is a genre of rock music that developed

in Britain and the USA during the 1960’s as an attempt to
present rock music as a serious artistic pursuit and to give
it credibility and musical sophistication. Extensive,
dynamic and non-repetitive compositions, complex
themes, a dissociation or break from the popular
verse/chorus song structure, the interconnectedness of
the musical, lyrical and the visual aspect of performance-
these are the broad characteristics of many diverse acts
that came to be defined as ‘progressive’. Progressive rock
introduced new instruments to the traditional ensemble of
vocals, guitar, bass and drums and changed the way the
‘conventional’ instruments were used. As part of a larger
trend to expand the base of influences of rock music, the
saxophone, flute, and violin were incorporated along with
contemporary inventions like the Moog synthesizer and
the Mellotron which are now closely associated with this
genre. Electronic or manual sound effects are also
important aspects of progressive compositions, as they
define the underlying ​concept ​that many progressive
albums have in common. In fact, as Pink Floyd’s seminal
releases such as ​Wish You Were Here, The Dark Side of
the Moon and The Wall ​show, the conception of a ‘song’
itself morphed into that of a musical suite.
Songs became media through which bands built upon a
concept​ that ran through the entire album. The concepts
are narrative and based around a continuous storyline, or
are more general and overarching themes that influence
the lyrics and artwork. The themes for such concepts are
vast and atypical of the ‘standard’ rock and pop themes of
love, singing and dancing, various emotions etc; they deal
with the metaphysical, can be deeply personal and
reflective, are sometimes social and political commentary
(​Animals b​ y Pink Floyd), can be surreal/absurd (Genesis),
or fantastical, based on literature and other subjects. As
an example, take SYLVAN’s 2006 release ​Posthumous
Silence ​whose subject matter is a father reading the
desperation in the diary of his daughter after her death, or
THE ALAN PARSONS PROJECT’s ​Tales of Mystery and
Imagination ​ released 30 years earlier in 1976 which was
based on the Edgar Allan Poe’s fiction.

With lengths usually in excess of 10 minutes, the

musicians have plenty of experimental scope in the
instrumental interludes to improvise and add much more
‘color’ to their sound than what is possible in a restrictive
format of ‘mainstream’ songs. Along with this, some
progressive bands engaged in flamboyant theatrics and
and visuals during performances, an example of which is
Pink Floyd erecting a literal ‘wall’ between the band and
the audience while on tour for their album ​The Wall​ in
1979 or flying inflated pigs over their audience’s heads
and ​Yes k​ eyboardist Rick Wakeman’s performance in the
Wembley Stadium for his concept album ​The Myths and
Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round
Table, which featured not only a choir and an orchestra
with his band but also ice skaters! ​Bands also put focus on
the art and packaging of their albums, seen in The
Beatles’ ​Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band ​and in the
designs of the acclaimed English design group ​Hipgnosis
which was active until 1983 and took up design projects
for ​AC/DC, Scorpions, Yes, Pink Floyd,​ ​10cc​ among
others. The group achieved prominence for their iconic
design on the cover of ​The Dark Side of the Moon​, an
album that dealt with greed and avarice, the passage of
time and life, madness and the lack of choice in society.

Progressive rock has been a polarizing genre that divides

listener’s opinions between being novel and pioneering for
some and overly flashy, shallow and pretentious for its
critics. The progressive ethos is to bend and break out of
typecasts and to present music as a vehicle of ideas.
Songs tend to evolve and differentiate, use uncommon
time-signatures and rhythms and as mentioned earlier, try
to differentiate their lyrics vis-à-vis others. Along the way,
through the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and in our times also, newer
subgenres such as jazz-fusion, raga-rock (based on
Indian music), Canterbury scene, space-rock, electronic
prog, and many more. In conclusion, here are Rolling
Stone’s picks for the 50 best progressive-rock albums of
all time:
rollingstone.com/music/lists/50-greatest-prog-rock-albums-
of-all-time-20150617/rush-2112-1976-20150616