In the early 1970s, the building blocks that ‘proto prog’ groups had provided in the 1960s fell into place. This resulted in progressive rock becoming an identifiable style within rock music in general. Below, I will summarise its characteristics. In doing so, I recall some songs by Pink Floyd, which you could listen to in Part 2 of this series. I also refer to songs by Genesis, a group that will take centre stage in the next instalment. Most of the songs come from four bands, each of which made its own contribution to the development of prog rock: King Crimson, Yes, Soft Machine and Caravan.
Four innovative bands
King Crimson
Formed in 1968 by Robert Fripp, the band disbanded in 2021, after a few periods of inactivity. More than Pink Floyd, King Crimson has an experimental, sometimes avant-garde character and the music has a high degree of complexity. The members of the band play a variety of instruments, leading to a broad palette of sounds. You can hear Starless here. This complex instrumental song showcases Robert Fripp’s unique guitar playing (Starless and Bible Black, 1974)
Yes
Yes was founded in 1968 by Jon Anderson and still exists to this day, after dozens of line-up changes. Like King Crimson, the band is known for its complex compositions, virtuosity, spiritual lyrics and unusual time signatures. At the same time, the band’s songs are more accessible. The band has announced it will release a new album in 2025. To get acquainted with the group, I will show you here a live performance of ‘Round about’ (Fragile, 1971) The song opens with acoustic guitar playing by Steve Howe, followed by dynamic and complex bass lines, harmonies and a catchy chorus.
Soft machine
This is an English band from the Canterbury area, formed in 1966. Initially with a strong psychedelic orientation, the group later developed towards prog rock with a jazzy accent. You can listen to ‘The tale of Taliesin’ (Love makes sweet music, 1969)here.
Caravan
Formed in 1968 by David and Richard Sinclair. The band still exists after several interruptions, although its predicted success never quite has materialised. Its style is more melodic and accessible and less influenced by jazz than Soft Machine’s. The group combines complex structures with a warm, playful atmosphere and is known for its dreamy and sometimes humorous approach. Here you are listening to ‘Golf girl’ (In the land of grey and pink, 1971).
Characteristics of the heyday of prog rock (late 60s, early 70s)
1. Long numbers
Prog rock broke with the standard three-minute pop structure and embraced long songs with individual parts, like classical music. This applies to most of the songs you can listen to below. I particularly mention Pink Floyd’s suite ‘Dark side of the moon’ (1973), which filled the entire album of the same name.
2. Experimentation , improvisation and innovation
Many songs arose from improvisations during performances and jam sessions in the studio, trying out different instruments and technical aids. Listen and watch Pink Floyd‘s song ‘Interstellar Overdrive’ (The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, 1967). You can at most hear that the song was born out of improvisations during live performances by its lack of structure at the end before the band picks up the theme again. Moreover, widely different long versions of the song circulate among themselves, including the soundtrack of the film London ’66 – ’67. Anyway, you hear the band’s psychedelic roots.
The ability to improvise makes it attractive for musicians to play in a prog rock band. This is especially true of the most experimental band King Crimson. ‘Larks’ Tongues in Aspic Part I’ (Larks’ Tongues in Aspic, 1973) is an avant-garde song with great rhythmic complexity and strong dynamics, partly due to the combination of strings with heavy guitar playing.
Another example is Soft Machine’s ‘Facelift‘ (Third, 1970). The organ parts of this 18-minute song were improvised. The song ‘For Richard‘ (If I Could Do It All Over Again, I’d Do It All Over You, 1970) by Carava is one of this band’s most iconic songs. It lasts 18 minutes and begins with a subdued introduction that develops into an intense climax.
3. Dynamics and complex structures
Almost all the songs by all the bands I review here, consist of contrasting parts that differ in tempo, rhythm and measure. They often start out simple and then build up to a layered and complex whole. You can listen to Caravan’s 22-minute suite ‘Nine Feet Underground’ (In the Land of Grey and Pink, 1971). It consists of several jazzy improvisations that seamlessly blend together, even though they are recorded separately. This live version was recorded in Paris, 2003.
The song ‘Heart of the sunrise by Yes (Fragile, 1971) starts with an explosive bass part by Chris Squire and alternates between intense and subdued moments. Alternating time signatures and virtuoso instrumentation also add to the dynamics. This song is one of the classic examples of prog rock. Finally, you can take another listen to Pink Floyd’s ‘Brain Damage/Eclipse‘ (The Dark Side of the Moon, 1973). This is the last part of the suite that, as mentioned, covers the entire album.
4. Unusual time signatures
Prog rock experiments with time signatures such as 7/8, 5/4 and other non-standard patterns, giving the melodies a special character. The King Crimson song you can listen to and watch below, ’21st century schizoid men’ (In the court of King Crimson, 1969) is taken from the group’s debut album. This album later turns out to be their most successful and influential album. In the song, 4/4 and 6/4 bars alternate. The last part (the ‘outro’) has no beat at all. The song combines an unusual beat with cryptic lyrics and an epic arrangement with symphonic grandeur. This 2016 recording enhances this effect as the group now performs with three (!) drummers.
I also mention Pink Floyd’s song ‘Money’ (The Dark Side of the Moon, 1973). It is written in 7/4 time.
5. Instrumental virtuosity
In prog rock, technical prowess of the musicians played an important role. This was linked to the presence of extended instrumental passages, often with solos by all members of the band. This applies to all the bands you can listen to here. Still, a couple of examples. The first comes from Yes‘ Homeworld’ (The Ladder, 1997).
After the group had increasingly turned to a polished pop style in previous years, ‘Homeworld’ is a successful balance between accessibility and the band’s 1970s prog rock roots. King Crimson also revives ’70s ements in one of its later songs, ‘FraKtured’ (The constrKuction of light, 2000). Furthermore, this recording (Berlin, 2000) shows even more matured virtuosity. ‘Winter Wine‘ (In the Land of Grey and Pink, 1971) by Caravan combines dreamy melodies with a nostalgic atmosphere and imaginative lyrics. It shows the introspective and lyrical side of the group.
6. Concept albums and thematic cohesion
Many prog rock songs tell a story with a philosophical, mythical or sci-fi background. In some cases, this background extends over an entire album. Pink Floyd has carried this feature furthest in both album art, music videos and films. Here you are listening to an excerpt from the filmed version of ‘Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)’ (The Wall, 1979). Both the album and the film revolved around alienation and the impact of a repressive upbringing.
Another example is ‘The dark side of the moon’, also by Pink Floyd. Theme of this album is time, mortality, and the human condition. You can hear ‘Time’ (The Dark Side of the Moon, 1973) here.
7. Orchestral character with influences from classical music and jazz
Prog rock integrates among others classical compositional techniques (such as fugues and symphonic structures) and jazzy improvisation. You can watch and listen to ‘Firth of fifth’ (Selling England by the pound’, 1974) by Genesis. The piano intro, with its complex beat and Steve Hackett’s guitar solo are heavily influenced by classical music. The awkward piano intro was usually omitted in live concerts.
Yes’s song Close to the Edge (Close to the Edge, 1972) lasts almost 19 minutes and has an epic character with symphonic grandeur. The album is considered as the high point of Yes’s career. Moon in June (Third, 1970) by Soft Machine marks the transition from psychedelic rock to jazzy prog rock with long instrumental passages with surreal lyrics. The fully instrumental song ‘Slightly all the time’ (Third, 1970), also by Soft Machine, features extended and virtuoso saxophone and organ parts and moves smoothly between jazz, rock and avant-garde. Caravan’s song ‘If I could do It all over again, I’d do It all over you’ (If I could do It all over again, I’d do it all over you, 1970) combines a catchy melody with complex jazzy parts.
8. Use of synthesizers and other electronic instruments
All bands increasingly used electronic keyboard instruments such as mellotron and mini Moog from the early 1970s to create orchestral, sometimes bombastic sounds. The song below, ‘Out-bloody-rageous’ (Third, 1970) by Soft machine starts with electronics, followed by more traditional jazz-rock instrumentation.
In Genesis‘ ‘Watcher of the Skies’ (Foxtrot, 1973), you can hear the ominous sounds a mellotron can produce The mellotron intro is one of prog rock’s most iconic ‘samples’. King Crimson’s orchestral number ‘Epitaph‘ (In the Court of the Crimson King, 1969) has a classically epic and melancholic atmosphere thanks to the mellotron.
9. Philosophical and esoteric texts
Many lyrics are poetic and profound, focusing on abstract concepts such as the universe, the human condition and spirituality. Caravan’s song ‘In the Land of Grey and Pink’ (In the Land of Grey and Pink, 1971) is light-hearted, dreamy and playful, with surreal and humorous lyrics and has a relaxed, almost pastoral atmosphere. This is another classic within prog-rock.
Pink Floyd’s ‘Comfortably Numb’ (The Wall, 1979) is also an introspective song about isolation and losing touch with reality.
10. Dynamics and atmosphere
Prog rock plays with dynamics by contracting between quiet, introspective moments and bombastic outbursts. Spatial effects are often used, which can have a hallucinatory effect. Genesis‘ next song ‘The Musical Box’ (Nursery Crime, 1971) combines an imaginative storyline with musical dynamics and theatrical vocals.
Echoes (Meddle, 1971) by Pink Floyd is a 23-minute song that combines complex structures with atmospheric sounds and experimental instrumentation. What you can see is a live performance in Gdansk (2006). The song ‘And You and I’ (Close to the Edge, 1972) by Yes has a poetic, almost spiritual atmosphere, partly due to the combination of mellotron and acoustic guitar.
11. Visual effects and multimedia
Needless to say, Pink Floyd in particular could afford fascinating visual effects in its final years, performing to audiences of tens of thousands, as here in “Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V)” (Wish You Were Here, 1975), performed in London (2004).
But Genesis also attached great importance to stage decoration and lighting. During the tour to promote the album ‘The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway’ (1974), three giant screens were used on which eight projectors projected 1450 images. Furthermore, there was a laser show.
Prog rock had a great influence on the development of other forms of rock, including metal, in the 1970s. In Part 6 dealing with ‘neo-progressive rock’, I will show how the genre has renewed itself in the late 1970s and early 1980s, including the further use of electronics and improving the songs’ accessibility.
The next episode focuses on Genesis, one of the leading and most inspiring rock bands during the last years of the 20stecentury.
[1] This post is based on an analysis of articles in Wikipedia (Eng.) and recordings on YouTube. ChatGPT was used as an aid in structuring the information.
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