We’ve all heard that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but what about albums? In the 1970s and early 1980s, I had pretty good luck picking a record that I would like by the information I could glean from its jacket. It was possible because, at that time, my focus was almost exclusively on progressive rock (or prog, as it is now known). For those unfamiliar with the genre, prog is characterized by longer tracks, instrumental virtuosity, and compositions incorporating elements of classical music (varying dynamics, unusual time signatures, recurring themes, and more). Groups such as Yes, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, King Crimson, Gentle Giant, and Genesis (with Peter Gabriel) are the best-known standard-bearers of the style.
There were a number of parameters that I used to ensure a reasonable rate of success in taking a chance on an unknown artist (there will be a test at the end):
Cover Design
Does the front of the jacket feature a picture of the group, or is there interesting artwork or photography? Prog artists tended to favor the latter, reflecting an emphasis on their craft rather than putting their faces (and egos) front and center. Roger Dean’s cover paintings for the group Yes are classic examples.
Group photo – NO
Artwork – YES
Fireballet (above) is definitely prog, with an adaptation of the Mussorgsky piece as the title track. Burning Rome (below) is absolutely not prog, although it’s a pretty good rock album.
Song (and Album) Titles
Do the tracks have descriptive names such as “Starship Trooper” or “Stumpy Meets the Firecracker in the Stencil Forest”? (The latter is an actual title from the largely instrumental eponymous first album by Happy the Man; the group name itself comes from an early Genesis song.) Or are the titles more personal/confessional, along the lines of “Ooh, Baby, I Love You So Much?”
Descriptive – YES
Personal – NO
Fireballet (above) is prog. Burning Rome (below) is not prog.
Song Lengths
Prog tends toward longer compositions with extended instrumental sections. Are some of the tracks longer than four or five minutes? Or are they all “radio-friendly” shorter songs? Side-long efforts are almost certainly indicative of a prog bent.
Long – YES
Short – NO
Four songs – only one is under 10 minutes long. Vocals are quirky, but the playing and composition are top-notch prog.
All songs clock in at less than five minutes. Little Heroes was an under-appreciated new wave band.
Instrumentation
It’s a rare prog album that doesn’t utilize keyboards (especially synthesizers). Seeing a Mellotron (or its precursor, the Chamberlin) among the instruments was pretty much a guarantee of prog tendencies. Are there other unusual choices such as flute, violin, or tuned percussion? (Banjos need not apply.) Gentle Giant might have been the most eclectic when it comes to instrumentation, incorporating violin, trumpet, recorders, saxophones, and tuned percussion, along with guitar, keyboards, bass, and drums.
Keyboards/synthesizers and more – YES
Just guitar/bass/drums – NO
Producer/Engineer/Recording Studio
Certain producers, engineers, and studios were utilized by prog groups more than others, especially in England. Producer/engineer Ken Scott and Trident studios were responsible for more than a few great prog albums such as Supertramp’s Crime of the Century and Happy the Man’s Crafty Hands. (He also worked on David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane). Engineer Dennis MacKay was another Trident alum who worked on a number of prog classics, such as Brand X’s Unorthodox Behaviour and Gong’s Gazeuse! (released in the USA as Expresso). The former album features awesome drumming by Phil Collins, and the latter has another great drummer in Pierre Moerlin, along with guitarist Allan Holdsworth. Both albums are prog/jazz fusion works of very high quality.
One album that checks four out of five boxes is the debut LP by Ethos, an American prog band. Artwork, song titles, song length, and instrumentation all fit the parameters I was using. They even had two keyboard players, with one playing a Mellotron and the other using a Chamberlin.
Definitely prog!
Nice cover artwork, song titles and lengths, and instrumentation all come together for an undeniably prog album.
As an example of an album that doesn’t check a single box, I present to you Iggy and the Stooges Raw Power. Definitely not prog! (no other comment necessary)
Here’s the test:
You decide – prog or not prog?
You decide – prog or not prog?
These days, it’s a lot harder to separate the prog from the non-prog – there’s a lot of interesting artwork being used for albums in the latter category. It was fun while it lasted…
Note: the header image album, Rockpommel's Land by Grobschnitt, is not a Roger Dean cover!
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