Does Prog lack emotion?

[Lynch]

That might be one of the best explanations I've read

 

[bbif]

I think that prog rock, like metal, generates emotion rather than expresses it. What I mean is, a folk singer sits down with their guitar, or a blues band belts out a tune, and they're telling you exactly how they feel. That can cause a very personal sense of empathy. With a prog rock song on the other hand you may not be empathizing with the singer, but you can feel the song none the less. I have no idea what the hell Yes was thinking when they were recording Close to the Edge, but I sure as hell get a lot of feelings when I listen to that song. To me it's no more or less emotional, it's just a different approach.

An excellent summary.

I'd also add this:

ELP - Toccata - yes, I could rate that as unemotional

ELP - The Great gates of Kiev - still move me after all these years

Typecasting is a hateful thing



(was that typecasting? )

 

[recgord27]

There's definitely emotion in prog. I just think some people have a problem interpreting it.
Some of my favourite prog bands are considered rubbish by 95/100 people. Conversely, I think 95% of popular music is junk. It just depends on how your mind works, I suppose.

 

[Vehicle]

I'm not educated enough to have any kind of opinion on this genre. I have a little Rush, Kansas, and Yes. That's about the extent of it.

Is Queen considered prog? I have a lot of Queen, and it's busting at the seams with emotion.

 

[metalife]

How can anyone say prog has no emotion? Just listen to Pink Floyd's The Wall and listen to some of the heartbreaking singing and guitar solos.

 

[Dr.Eam Infidel]

The press has never been very friendly towards what we call progressive rock or fusion. My advice to people has always been to form your own opinions. There are so called reviewers and critics out there who write reviews about film and music with out the benefit of ever having seen the film or heard the music. Sometimes they are motivated by political reasons that have nothing to do with the artist's work. There is the case of Oliver Stone who made JFK. Before the film ever went into production there were a number of attempts that tried to convince him not to make the film. Amazingly the film started to get reviews before it was ever released. Every single film he has made since then gets a review before its ever released, every single one of them is bad..

There was an incident with Emerson Lake and Palmer and a fellow in the British music press when they first formed their band. They were late for the interview and managed to piss the guy off before the interview ever started. What they didn't know at the time was that the guy was friends with some major players in the music press and industry and pissing him off the way they did pretty much condemned anyone who smelled of progressive rock that lasts to this very day..

And finally its a tired old argument that's been made against some of the world's greatest musicians by people who don't know very much about music when they say things like lack's emotion. There is an over whelming number of people in the music press, as well as musicians themselves who are guilty of everything I just said...

 

[oscar gamble]

Fair play, that's preference. I will concede that Prog can involve quite a bit of showing off, but last I checked that's sometimes part of what we want from our favourite musicians.

If not, we'd all be wearing overalls, farting and politely listening to Phil Collins.

Yeah or dancing to Chuck Berry.

I guess it depends on how you define "showing off" but there's a huge world of music out there that doesn't require it that is quite good, Phil Collins not withstanding.

 

[Hurdy Gurdy Man]

Phil Collins has been so over rated it's pathetic..............

 

[oscar gamble]

Phil Collins has been so over rated it's pathetic..............

Who exactly is overrating him? I thought everyone knew that he's a putz.

 

[Hurdy Gurdy Man]

He's been over rated by the general pop music buying public and therefore in my opinion didn't come anywhere deserving the Billboard chart success he has had.So saccharine and pedestrian.............