When I was 15 in 1976, although they later denied it, I didn’t know anyone who didn’t like what was broadly called progressive rock. No one. Boys anyway. Whether pastoral like Genesis or more hard, radical stuff like King Crimson or classical like ELP or Renaissance. There was something for everyone even if they didn’t want to dig as deep as I did.
A year or less later, as punk became fashionable, they all denied it and prog became the dirtiest of dirty words for many years. While Marillion, Pallas and Solstice kept the flame alive for new prog, it was still widely disparaged.
Now, it’s become respectable again and though some sad old punks maintain their year zero attitude, box sets of the classics are being released. I have a deep and abiding love of any and all prog and I know that, now the fashion obsessed have been consigned to history, I’m not alone. I’m frequently astonished by the ambition of much of the music.
Even bands that never really broke through like Druid or Fruupp produced ambitious music that still sounds fresh and unique. And at the point it crossed into heavy rock with bands like Uriah Heep and Wishbone Ash, it brought a fantastic, often unexpected edge to the music.
The big bands are still as popular as ever, Jon Anderson is still going at 82 as are most of the popular protagonists because the music many recorded in the 70s has proved to have a timeless appeal which perhaps is not surprising because, music aside, the actual record and artwork and packaging was often so thoughtful and classy’ this was art both materially and aurally. It has never been bettered. Formats have changed first to CD’s then to streaming but the records remain an artistic peak. No wonder we held them so tightly, never thinking for a moment they’d ever be superceded
