Prog Archives Top 100

94. Kansas - Leftoverture (1976)


I have to confess I've never been a big Kansas fan. When I was in college, I had a buddy named Jim who LOVED them. Every time he had one beer too many, Jimmy would hold up the can, look at me and triumphantly declaim "Carry on, wayward son!" Maybe that experience poisoned me, but I just don't see them in the same league as Genesis, more like Boston with a higher level of pretension.

What do all y'all think? This one is on our playlist. Kansas defenders, unite and put me in my place! :p
 
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Ojai Sam said:
94. Kansas - Leftoverture (1976)


I have to confess I've never been a big Kansas fan. When I was in college, I had a buddy named Jim who LOVED them. Every time he had one beer too many, Jimmy would hold up the can, look at me and triumphantly declaim "Carry on, wayward son!" Maybe that experience poisoned me, but I just don't see them in the same league as Genesis, more like Boston with a higher level of pretension.

What do all y'all think? This one is on our playlist. Kansas defenders, unite and put me in my place! :p
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I own this on vinyl. :oops:
 
93. Tool - Lateralus (2003)


Pops can doubtless do a much better job evaluating this one. I'll just say it was the gateway drug for my appreciation of prog metal when it appeared in this series on the old site. Heavy sounds, yes. But lots of variety in texture and tone.

Not on Spotify, so YouTube will have to do.
 
Ojai Sam said:
98. Santana - Abraxis (1970)
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97. Santana - Caravanserai (1972)
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One of the dividends of this series is that it forces us to consider the eternal question "what is prog?" If we accept the expertise of the huge fan base voting for the Top 100, we find ourselves listening to music that I, at least, never placed in that genre.

These two Santana albums are a case in point. Abraxas was the second of the three albums that defined the group's early sound. Classic salsa rock from the Woodstock era but is their psychedelic cover of Tito Puente's "Oye Come Va" really prog?

However, Caravanserai, the group's fourth album, is a camel of a different color. Carlos Santana installed a whole new band and took that band in a correspondingly new direction. Gone were the pop singles with catchy hooks, replaced by long, intricate instrumental passages. I never paid much attention to this album until I spun it for the first time in a long while to write this post. Viewed in the context of this series and juxtaposed with Abraxas, I enjoyed Caravanserai a lot more. It's less accessible for sure, but it definitely has the prog ethos. Play it yourself and see what you think.

Both albums are on our Spotify playlist.
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Just like at the old site, this listening adventure gets lost in the shuffle of just so much music. Calling Abraxas prog made my eyebrow raise slightly...after thinking about it, though, I can see it. Prog is short for progressive, and this album is definitely that...great, classic album.

Caravanserai...paraphrasing Sam, Abraxas this ain't. I'll give this one of my highest ratings: I will pick this one up on vinyl.
 
lpfreak1170 said:
Just like at the old site, this listening adventure gets lost in the shuffle of just so much music.
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A nice problem to have. :D

92. Pain Of Salvation - Remedy Lane (2002)


After three or four spins I've come to really like this one. Lots of melody and complex harmony, even an acoustic interlude give some balance to the crashing guitars and intense vocals. The sonic variety reminds me a bit of Houses of the Holy. A good place to start if you don't know prog metal.

It's on our Spotify playlist.
 
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91. Miles Davis - Bitches Brew (1970)


Here's another album, like Caravanserai, that I enjoyed a lot more than ever before in the context of prog. Looks like I need to ditch my preconceptions and just surrender myself to unfamiliar music. :surrender:
 
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Ojai Sam said:
91. Miles Davis - Bitches Brew (1970)


Here's another album, like Caravanserai, that I enjoyed a lot more than ever before in the context of prog. Looks like I need to ditch my preconceptions and just surrender myself to unfamiliar music. :surrender:
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:Matt:
 
Ojai Sam said:
91. Miles Davis - Bitches Brew (1970)


Here's another album, like Caravanserai, that I enjoyed a lot more than ever before in the context of prog. Looks like I need to ditch my preconceptions and just surrender myself to unfamiliar music. :surrender:
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I never understood why so many people hate that album. Sure, it's different. But it is interesting as hell for that.
 
90. Le Orme - Felona e Sirona (1973)


I learned about Le Orme from Le Gnome long ago in another land far away. This album is a masterpiece that illustrates perfectly the factors that make Italian prog so irresistible: musicianship, melody, romance and most of all, drama. It's not on Spotify so I linked to the YouTube video.
 
Ojai Sam said:
96. Phideaux - Doomsday Afternoon (2007)
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New Yorker Xavier Phideaux makes records that echo the melodic prog of the 70's. This one sounds great, reminding me mostly of late period Moody Blues. However, what sounded portentious 40 years ago seems a bit pretentious now ("the Doctrine of Eternal Ice"?) Obviously some folks really love this one, though; it gets 4.5 stars on Amazon. It's also on our Spotify playlist for you to consider.
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I remember liking this one at the old site...let's see about now.
 
lpfreak1170 said:
I remember liking this one at the old site...let's see about now.
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I'll try to make this easy for you....
Taking into consideration the distinction between that old site and this one, there is no logical way you could still like this album. :duel:
 
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