Members nat whilk II Posted September 9, 2008 Members Share Posted September 9, 2008 I queued up Brubeck's old Time Out album today (of course you know that one - the one with Take Five)... and it struck me as very similar in many ways, with it's odd time-sig experiments, and Brubeck's fairly classical-style straight-ahead rhythmic style, as very prog-like especially in the first cut, Blue Rondo a la Turk. And that reminded that that, 'way back in those late 60s early 70s days, that a lot of the garageband drummers I knew worshipped that album and worked at getting the style down. Can't help but wonder if that album wasn't an influence in the early prog days... nat whilk ii Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ed A. Posted September 10, 2008 Members Share Posted September 10, 2008 Emerson did his famous variation of that called "Rondo" with the Nice back in the '60s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nat whilk II Posted September 10, 2008 Author Members Share Posted September 10, 2008 Emerson did his famous variation of that called "Rondo" with the Nice back in the '60s. As Johnny would say, "I did not know that!" nat whilk ii Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted September 10, 2008 Moderators Share Posted September 10, 2008 It's a great point. I remember my buddies and I all trying to stumble through some of those Brubeck tunes. Having fun counting and trying to not sound too mechanical. Or rather, reveling in the fact that it did sound mechanical most likely. If we had that fascination with it in the mid 70's, it stands to reason that a lot of more mature and capable rock musicians did as well a few years earlier... and some would take it to its logical evolution. Yes, Crimson, etc. Interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members spokenward Posted September 10, 2008 Members Share Posted September 10, 2008 "Switched-On Bach" was another one of those intersections. People either moved toward or away from that common point. Did they use a common Hymnal in the English public schools? The ecclesiastical instrumentation of a lot of prog makes me wonder about that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted September 10, 2008 Moderators Share Posted September 10, 2008 "Switched-On Bach" was another one of those intersections. People either moved toward or away from that common point. Did they use a common Hymnal in the English public schools? The ecclesiastical instrumentation of a lot of prog makes me wonder about that. Yeah, you're right. That Walter Carlos was everywhere. And to your 2nd point, remember ELP's version of Jersusalem? And did those feet in ancient time, Walk upon England's mountains green? And was the holy lamb of God On England's pleasant pastures seen? Me, being the ignorant yank, never knew that was an English traditional song until my Brit wife started singing it one day and I said, "ELP?" And she said, "Say what?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members spokenward Posted September 10, 2008 Members Share Posted September 10, 2008 English-centric composers like Handel and Holst seemed to have a big influence in the same way. Folk themes that go large. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members brewgoodbeer Posted September 12, 2008 Members Share Posted September 12, 2008 I think that a lot of early prog grew out of musicians trying to take things they were familiar with, that were not contemporary enough for them, into the new realm in which they were experimenting. ELP is a great example of this. Brubeck, folk songs, Copeland, Mussorgsky all were influences on them. You can hear Bach and Beethoven in their music as well. I do agree with original post. The Time Out Lp was a big stretch and a lot of musicians, especially drummers, were into the experimentation and freeness to experiment with rhythm. It was like it gave us all license to experiment with Time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 3red Posted September 12, 2008 Members Share Posted September 12, 2008 thats sog not prog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted September 13, 2008 Members Share Posted September 13, 2008 I made a point of going to see Dave Brubeck not long after Take Five hit, around '64 or '65. All my other contemporaries were going ga ga over the Beatles et al... not me. One of my favorite early prog bands was Brian Auger's Oblivion Express. His earlier Trinity (w/ Julie Driscoll) also interested me when I was first getting back into rock after a long hiatus through my early teen years. (Rock -- that's so teenybopper!) Speaking of prog precursors... I loved the Zombies and had a soft spot for keyboardist Rod Argent's subsequent band, Argent. Obviously, I liked my prog more on the jazzy/funky side rather than the neo-classical side. And I despised fairie/hobbit/dragon lyrics. So, while I was initially intrigued by some of ELP -- I lost interest quickly. King Crimson was a little more interesting to me. But really, it was bands like Gentle Giant and Can that really got me in that era. And Family. Damn, I loved Family. I still love family. It's a bit of mixed bag, a lot of fine players came and went (Wetton, "Charlie" Whitney, Jobson, Rich Grech, I think Eddie Jobson played on some tracks) but I loved the mix of harsh, bluesy lead vocals and rich, complex vocal harmonies ... weird band. I appreciated that. (Whoa! Writing that para, I suddenly realized I hadn't checked my new subscription streaming service [Rhapsody] for Family but I just did and they seem to have pretty much all of their stuff, I think. I am so jazzed! Er... progged? ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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