There was a time in my early 20s when I listened to a lot of prog-rock like ELP, King Crimson, Genesis (w/Peter Gabriel), etc. I still like the aforementioned bands (with the exception of ELP), though haven't listened much to them in years, until recently. I found the genre got tiring after a while because it all seemed to follow the same pretentious, overblown and bombastic formula which seemed a bit cheesy at times and like the 70s musical equivalent to Dungeons and Dragons. Well, I have been discovering and rediscovering some prog music lately. One band I listened to years back, but never quite gave much attention to, is the band Van Der Graaf Generator; a band which hailed from the UK and were quite unique in their absence of a guitarist. Their sound was based primarily around the keyboard/synth/piano, saxophone, bass and drums. While their music did include some of the more undesirable aspects of prog-rock and its cheesy excesses, I really like their dark, heavy sound, coupled with a virtuosic, jazzy sensibility. While Peter Hammill's vocals are a bit over-theatrical and grating on the nerves at times, I think these guys were one the better bands of their genre, yet get relatively little attention these days. I recently gave a listen to the band's 1975 album, Godbluff, which is said by many to be their best album, and features the epic track seen below. Give it a listen and tell me what you think. It's best listened to loud on a good set of speakers or headphones. Some of the instrumental breaks on this track are just awesome. The song gets especially good around the five minute mark. That is when the song takes off. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81Y_xrARM0I"]Van Der Graaf Generator - The Sleepwalkers - YouTube
It sounds like Prog.Not necessarily a bad thing,but prog nonetheless.A pleasant listening experience,but just a little bit pretentious for my tastes.At times it reminds me of 80's synth-pop.I admire the musicianship,but find it lacks any over-arching melody and harmony.It's intellectual,as opposed to "feel",in my opinion.
I don't disagree at all, though I find most synth pop to be far less intellectual and pretentious. It's more... well... pop. I would say synth pop has more "feel" than a lot of genres. Case in point: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uByUX0GrtdA"]OMD Maid of Orleans - YouTube
I am not a complete guitar head,and love a bit of synth-based music,I just prefer music that transcends its genre.I agree synth based music can be very emotional and "feely".Also I prefer the kind of pretentiousness and intellectualism of post 70's non-guitar based music,maybe with the exception of Roxy Music,as opposed to pure generic prog.There is a kind of high-mindedness which I like,and a kind I don't like at all.
You did say 'generally'... It sounds like two different tracks in the earlier post... Not my scene, man...
