Classic Rock And Prog Almanac

This week Tim did a monologue about the sixth studio album by Gentle Giant, The Power And The Glory. Topics covered include: whether the band had read Graham Greene, George Orwell or Thomas Hobbes; the extent to which the lyrics are reflected in the music and vice versa; the unique style and sound of Gentle Giant; and whether the album should be considered political or anti-political. Also, should the ending of the album actually h...

This week, Tim and Shaun had a chat about the tenth studio album by Yes, Drama. Topics covered included: the relative success of this rock-new wave mash-up; what the nature of the Yes-Horn/Downes collaboration was; whether the cover of the album was based on the songs; and whether this line-up should have made another album. Also, would the album have been better if Chris Squire had sung it? What were J...

This week Tim did a monologue on the first album by Planxty. Topics covered include: whether Planxty are really the greatest Irish band of all time, whether prog fans would like this album, the mythological nature of the group’s songs, the carefully programmed nature of the album, and the connection between Planxty and the band Kneecap. Also, how did the band Elbow get their name? How do you make an Eng...

This week, Tim and Peter did an album-off, between Tommy and Quadrophenia by The Who. Topics covered include: whether both albums deserve to be doubles, in what sense Quadrophenia is a response to Tommy, how important Kit Lambert’s influence was, how each album deals with the question of sexual identity, and whether Underture is too long or not. Also, what would Freud have thought of the band? Which is ...

This week Peter did a monologue about the second album by The Incredible String Band, The 5000 Spirits Or The Layers Of The Onion. Topics covered include: the String Band’s unusual harmonic sense, the Eastern influence on their music, their importance to the 60s music scene in the U.K., why the band weren’t better known and the uniqueness of the Edinburgh folk scene. Also, who was the best sitar player in the 60s? Why don’t the ban...

This week Tim did a monologue on Five Bridges by The Nice. Topics covered include: whether Five Bridges is the first stage in the development of the progressive rock "paradigm"; where the album stands in the band’s catalogue; how The Nice compares to ELP; and whether the dialectic between band and orchestra is successful. Also, why don’t bands get Arts Council grants any more? What does the band have to...

This week Tim discussed the classic sixth album by Thin Lizzy, Jailbreak. Topics covered are: whether Lizzy is the greatest Irish group of all time, whether they are Iron Maiden avant la lettre, what the essential ingredients of their sound are, and the role that the Irish literary and poetic tradition play in the mix. Also, how many references to brothers are there on the album, and who exactly are the...

This week Shaun and Tim discussed the third album by Peter Gabriel: 3 (Melt). Themes covered include: whether this is a psychological or a political album (or both), whether it’s a concept album about apartheid, the status of the album within Gabriel’s discography, the psychological resonances of the cover and the influence of world music on the album. Also, are some of the lyrics based on Freud’s analy...

This week Tim discussed side one of Mike Rutherford’s first solo album, Smallcreep’s Day. Topics covered include: the playing on the album, the programmatic implications of the Smallcreep’s Day Suite, the differences between Smallcreep’s Day and Supper’s Ready by Genesis, and the decisive use of suspended chords on the album. Also, why is the cover better than the source material? Is Rutherford a romant...

This week, Peter and Tim discussed the fourth album by Simon and Garfunkel, Bookends. Topics considered include: whether the album was an attack on hippy ideals and culture, whether it was a New York broadside against California, what connects Simon and Garfunkel and The Kinks, the nature of Paul Simon’s writing process and whether the album would be considered “meta” today. Also: what does “America” me...

This week Shaun and Tim discussed the ninth studio album by Genesis, And Then There Were Three. Themes discussed include: whether this was Genesis’ least experimental album, what Steve Hackett’s absence meant to the band, whether the unexpected is a necessary but insufficient condition for artistic creation and whether the album should have been called “Selling America By The Pound”. Also, was there any...

This week, Tim discussed Frank Zappa’s 1979 album Sheik Yerbouti. Issues discussed are the artistic status of the rock double album, the role of humour in music, what to make of the accusation of racism, whether Frank Zappa had read Freud, the musical eclecticism one finds on the album and the role of aleatory music in Zappa’s oeuvre. Also: how are the musique concrète pieces like a Japanese restaurant?...

This week Tim and Shaun ranked the first eight (or is it seven?!) Yes solo debut albums. Issues which emerge are: what the thinking was in putting these albums together; who has the best musicianship on their album; how the sound of these albums relates to the Yes sound; and how the onstage dynamic might affect the group dynamic as a whole. Also, what would King Crimson have sounded like with Phil Colli...

This week, Peter and Tim ranked the 15 Pink Floyd studio albums. Topics covered included: Hipgnosis cover art, the transition from psychedelia to prog, or art rock, whether we can separate our views of Pink Floyd from their cultural significance and the relative merits of the different members of the band. Also: who has the best joke about Momentary Lapse of Reason? Is anyone prepared to watch an entire Barbet Schroeder film? How d...

This week Tim did a monologue on the first album by Godley and Creme, Consequences. The discussion includes: the extensive artistic talents of the duo, the nature of the split with 10cc, what Deceptive Bends would have been like if Godley and Creme had stayed, and the environmental theme. Also, was the album a hello or a goodbye? Should it really have been a triple? Can it be described as the weirdest a...

This week, Shaun and Tim did a ranking of the first six solo albums by the key members of Genesis. Topics included: the difference between band writing and solo writing, the difference between instrumental writing and songwriting, the punk-prog dialectic, the prevalence of journeying themes in the albums, and sexual difference when it comes to choosing your favourite Genesis member. Also, where is the M...