The Beatles - The Greatest Progressive Rock Band Of All Time?

[PurpleCrayonWriter]

On the eve of one of the most anticipated events in music - the release of the remastered Beatles catalog - I harken back to all of the interviews I conducted with prog- and neo-prog rock stars such as: Steve Howe (Yes), Steve Hackett (Genesis), Ian McDonald (King Crimson/Foreigner), Mike Giles (King Crimson), Bill Bruford (King Crimson, Yes, Genesis), Clive Nolan (Pendragon, and a whole bunch of other bands), Mike Pinder (Moody Blues), Nick Barrett (Pendragon), Stuart Nicholson (Galahad), Martin Orford (IQ), Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater), etc.

I thought if any of anyone would know where prog rock came from, it would be the musicians credited with starting it or reviving it and keeping it going.

The vast majority of musicians gave the same answer: The Beatles.

Shocked, I pressed them for clarification. A few of them (such as Ian McDonald or Mike Giles) traced it back to one album, even one song on that album: The Beatles' Revolver album and the song "Tomorrow Never Knows." Then, Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band blew the doors wide open for prog rock to follow.

Over the years since those interviews, I spent a great deal more time with the Beatles, and discovered they were right. The term "progressive" applied to the Beatles perhaps more than to any band that followed. They were, I came to realize, the first true progressive-rock band.

What do you think? Agree? Disagree?

Bill

 

[J-Man]

I totally agree, they opened the doors for bands like YES, KING CRIMSON, MOODY BLUES, HAWKWIND, and the like, but with that said you also have to look at three others, The MOODY BLUES really opened it up with their album "On the Threshold of a Dream", and then from the US the band LOVE with "Forever Changes", and from Houston Texas FEVER TREE, you really need to give them a listen, they are circa 1968, and are really over the top Progressive.

 

[Cheiron]

I disagree. Frank Zappa was first to put out a progressive rock album (what could be backwards looked at as progressive songs were put out prior to this by several bands, but nobody had really done an album that could be referred to as 'progressive rock' until Zappa's first album). But Beatles definitely had a lasting influence, including influencing another major influence in the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds album.

 

[AeonicSlumber]

First /= Greatest. Two completely different questions.

 

[Ascension]

Because a band/artist has progressive tendencies...it does not make them a progressive band/artist. Elton John has one of the best progressive songs ever in his repertoire...Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding...but does that make him progressive? Enough so to be lumped in with known progressive bands? No. He had a progressive bowel movement and was done.

 

[Purveyor Of Evil]

I'll go with YES.

 

[AngraRULES]

Because a band/artist has progressive tendencies...it does not make them a progressive band/artist. Elton John has one of the best progressive songs ever in his repertoire...Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding...but does that make him progressive? Enough so to be lumped in with known progressive bands? No. He had a progressive bowel movement and was done.

What he said!!!

 

[edgeofthorns]

Guys, I'm sorry, but I've never been able to get into or appreciate The Beatles whatsoever. I just flat out can't get into them at all. For that reason, I can't honestly answer your question without being biased.

~Brian~

 

[Cheiron]

Guys, I'm sorry, but I've never been able to get into or appreciate The Beatles whatsoever. I just flat out can't get into them at all. For that reason, I can't honestly answer your question without being biased.

~Brian~

Huh?

What's 4+ 3?

Answerer: Well I've never liked the number 7, so I can't give you your answer without being biased

You don't have to be biased. I think there are facts here.

What does Sgt. Peppers... and Freak Out have in common? Both were concept albums. Freak Out was the first (as far as I'm aware) rock concept album. The concept isn't as clear though, to most, as Sgt. Peppers. Freak Out also has other elements that allow me to call it prog rock.

I just read wikipedia's entry for Progressive Rock, and its pretty good. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_rock

 

[Comic Book Dude]

I guess it all depends on what your definition of "progressive" is. No band before the Beatles (or maybe even since, in fact), had progressed so far beyond the boundaries of the commercial pop/rock genre the way they did. I don't think a band could pull it off nowadays. Imagine a group kinda like the Backstreet Boys, turning around a few years later and becoming Freak Kitchen.....that's sorta what the Beatles did. What other band had ever changed so drastically, yet retained massive popularity and influence? And because of it, they pretty much changed popular music forever....you could say that was quite a progression.
The Beatles may not have been a pure "prog" band, but they pushed popular music in such vastly different directions more than just about any other musical artist. In my opinion, that's quite progressive.

 

[nomisofsiman]

Here's the thing. The Beatles pretty much laid the groundwork for everything having to do with rock. End of story. In their wake, legions of bands came up with various styles that were somehow influenced by them, whether they want to admit it or not. Now were they progressive as a band? NO! Sgt. Peppers and Yellow Submarine were close but they still were just plain rock if you had to classify them.

One artist and one band I believe are the ones mostly responsible for prog rock as we know it. Frank Zappa's first album and beyond invented progressive music as we know it by incorporating all sorts of sounds and weird time signatures -- something the Beatles did NOT do. The other band is Pink Floyd. While they are usually described as psychedelic, I don't think any band past or present has been able to create the soundscapes and progression as the Floyd did in their music and they are one of the most experimental bands in rock history, which at the end of the day, being experimental is essentially the same thing as being progressive.

 

[Magius]

Huh?

What's 4+ 3?

Answerer: Well I've never liked the number 7, so I can't give you your answer without being biased

You don't have to be biased. I think there are facts here.

I disagree with your reasoning. Historical significance and critical claim aside rating something as "The Greatest" is a personal opinion. It's hard to rate something as "The Greatest" if you can't even stand to listen to it.

First /= Greatest. Two completely different questions.

True. I'd give credit to The Beatles for being one of the first Progressive rock bands based on their later works. However, the distinction of "Greatest" would go to the band that perfected Prog Rock, and I'd award it to Pink Floyd.

 

[Comic Book Dude]

The weird thing I find between the Beatles and Pink Floyd, is that the Beatles became more progressive as they went on, and Pink Floyd a bit less. On the other hand, if the Beatles had lasted longer, that could have changed completely.
BTW- The Beatles didn't incorporate weird sounds and time signatures in their music? "Tomorrow Never Knows"? "I Am The Walrus"? The White Album? The Beatles used plenty of freaky stuff in their druggy/experimental music. Again, were they a pure prog band? No.....but they sure as hell blew apart the boundaries of what was considered popular music, and were trailblazers for all who followed.

 

[Virtual Scott]

The Beatles - The Greatest Progressive Rock Band Of All Time?

No... and that's merely because I don't consider the Beatles progressive rock. But they are, regardless, one of the greatest rock bands ever.

;-)

 

[PurpleCrayonWriter]

No... and that's merely because I don't consider the Beatles progressive rock. But they are, regardless, one of the greatest rock bands ever.

;-)

I can respect that.

And that's the way I felt about them (if I felt anything at all) until I interviewed people who are known as the creators of progressive rock and asked the question, "Who, in your opinion, was the first progressive rock band?"

I was thinking they'd say Yes or Genesis or Moody Blues or King Crimson. After all, I was interviewing people in those bands. They ought to know who the first was.

When they told me "the Beatles" I was shocked.

Their answer flipped my definition of progressive rock on its ear.

Bill

 

[AeonicSlumber]

True. I'd give credit to The Beatles for being one of the first Progressive rock bands based on their later works. However, the distinction of "Greatest" would go to the band that perfected Prog Rock, and I'd award it to Pink Floyd.

Yeh, agreed 100%

 

[Cheiron]

I disagree with your reasoning. Historical significance and critical claim aside rating something as "The Greatest" is a personal opinion. It's hard to rate something as "The Greatest" if you can't even stand to listen to it.

Not greatest.

"They were, I came to realize, the first true progressive-rock band."

That's what we are discussing, I thought. "First" should be able to be discussed using facts.

 

[Magius]

Not greatest.

"They were, I came to realize, the first true progressive-rock band."

That's what we are discussing, I thought. "First" should be able to be discussed using facts.

Refer to the title of this thread.

 

[edgeofthorns]

I disagree with your reasoning. Historical significance and critical claim aside rating something as "The Greatest" is a personal opinion. It's hard to rate something as "The Greatest" if you can't even stand to listen to it.

Exactly

~Brian~

 

[edgeofthorns]

Huh?

What's 4+ 3?

Answerer: Well I've never liked the number 7, so I can't give you your answer without being biased

You don't have to be biased. I think there are facts here.

What does Sgt. Peppers... and Freak Out have in common? Both were concept albums. Freak Out was the first (as far as I'm aware) rock concept album. The concept isn't as clear though, to most, as Sgt. Peppers. Freak Out also has other elements that allow me to call it prog rock.

I just read wikipedia's entry for Progressive Rock, and its pretty good. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_rock

4 + 3 = 7 is fact Cherion. The Beatles being the greatest progressive band isn't...it's a matter of opinion. You're a fanboy, so be it. If you think they're the greatest, then good for you. Quite frankly, I think their music sounds like dated, hippie crap.

~Brian~