"Classic Rock Presents Prog" readers' all time best prog albums

I have heard one great album by Popol Vuh, but that was another Popol Vuh. :)

really weak family isn't on this list. they pack side-long suites into two-three minute songs, with vocals peter gabriel and the comus dude totally stole

What about "Mood for a Day", Bill?

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they pack side-long suites into two-three minute songs

Impossible :)

Their debut was great, the followup was good too. But I see them more as late 60s psych pop than prog.

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who voted for dream theater?

!!!!

Hurrah! VDGG didn't need my vote. Relayer did.

Genesis: The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway 1

haha what?

I am astonished how many people voted btw.

Guys I freaking made my old roomie action figures of John and Rael (w/removable wang) & one of the snake-women.

Yeah, that's a bit surprising but maybe everyone thought as I did? Did you give it the one vote?

It is possibly my favourite album for long road trips.

no heldon, no rare bird, no cred

pawn hearts isn't even the best vdgg album, let alone best of this bunch. I think it's the reactionary hip choice though. but I honestly think it's very overrated.

I downloaded Still Life. I like it but I don't think it contains anything as revelatory as "Plague of Lighthouse-Keepers". Which VdGG records emphasize the avant-garde side of the band?

the least we can do is wave to each other was always my fave van der graaf, but i haven't heard all their albums.

Sundar you really ought to stop listening to my recommendations ;-)

Pawn Hearts is EASILY the next-best thing to Still Life IMO. On some days it's better. When I'm particularly in the mood for mind-warping clusterfucked adventures into avant-garde mayhem. Most days the supreme and deceptively wild songwriting of Still Life wins the day for me. They're both fantastic fucking albums.

Pawn Hearts is the most avant-garde thing they did but there are a couple of moments, would you believe, on Quiet Zone/Pleasure Dome which sound utterly not-of-this-earth...it's definitely the most underrated VDGG album

Many people will tell you Godbluff is the one. I've heard it a few times and while Scorched Earth is an amazing track, the other 3 haven't really clicked with me yet. Arrow for instance has all the overwrought emotional drama of Still Life without the poise, the majestic control-and-release.

Hmmm.. Who voted for Spock's Beard? :)

I don't know but I'm trying to decide which is a worse band name - Spock's Beard or Ultimate Spinach.

Wow. Go VDGG!!! I can't remember what I voted but every VDGG album is great.

my fave "prog" album by opeth is still damnation. i've tried to get geir to listen to it more than once over the years, but i don't know if he has. it is NOT a metal album. there is NO metal on it. (i know that scares him)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IzLDT73bkk

really love 'weakness' from that album

i love this one even though all it really is is just a third-hand approximation of 70's prog or crimson king-era/moodys stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZixJQDgZrqA

it's just so pretty!

There's a killer double-disc of Opeth's best stuff to be made...the rest is pretty but totally unnecessary

no moody blues on that list is pretty sad. days of future passed invented all this stuff, for pete's sake.

and The Nice should be up there too. basically, Moodys + The Nice + Soft Machine = 99% of what came after

and gentle giant. jeez. and there should be a poll covering dave q threads pondering prog epistemology. for instance
Super Furry Animals vs. Gentle Giant

I downloaded Still Life. I like it but I don't think it contains anything as revelatory as "Plague of Lighthouse-Keepers". Which VdGG records emphasize the avant-garde side of the band?

Which brings me to the Hammill solo albums, which you really shouldn't overlook if you have any interest in VdGG. The early to mid 70s solo albums were recorded with the other VdGG members as musicians, and for all practical purposes are no different from VdGG albums. The key solo albums from this period are Chameleon in the Shadow of the Night, The Silent Corner and the Empty Stage, and In Camera. If you like the avant-garde side of VdGG, you can't really go wrong with any of these. I would put In Camera as being the most experimental (check out 'Gog' and 'Magog' in particular), but Silent Corner just edges it in terms of rounded songwriting. The following year, of course, Hammill struck out in a completely new direction with Nadir's Big Chance, but that's another story...

Many people will tell you Godbluff is the one. I've heard it a few times and while Scorched Earth is an amazing track, the other 3 haven't really clicked with me yet. Arrow for instance has all the overwrought emotional drama of Still Life without the poise, the majestic control-and-release.

louis shut up. Arrow is awesome. as is the whole album. Dont trust someone who says Hood is black metal!

Still Life Schmill Life

What did you vote for,tom?

Didn't vote

my fave "prog" album by opeth is still damnation. i've tried to get geir to listen to it more than once over the years, but i don't know if he has. it is NOT a metal album. there is NO metal on it. (i know that scares him)

I've listened some to Opeth, and they're OK as long as the singer isn't growling. But I miss the synths and the mellotrons that belong in prog, and I find that they end up sounding like a bad copy of Porcupine Tree.

it's mostly just conventional 80s metal songs stitched together by a loose "narrative" and a lot of heavy political jive talk....just doesn't really feel prog to me even though queensryche always got billed as prog metal, they don't do any exploratory type instrumental sections, no real feel of any kind of questing type soloing thing (or conversely any real mind garden type psych sonic landscapes either)...i dunno...listen to it and tell me if you think different but to me being a really pretentious metal concept album does not prog make

Agree regarding Queensryche, and also more recent Rush. But prog metal does exist in the case of Dream Theater, who are basically a 70s influenced symphonic rock band, only with large portions of metal added. Probably the hardest rocking band that I really like.

there are synths and mellotrons on damnation, geir! just listen to those two youtube clips i posted and i swear i'll leave you alone. no growling either! be not afraid!

You know what? I just listened to Pawn Hearts. And yeah, of course it deserved to win. Absolutely astonishing music.

Well, the one that won the original poll was the one that deserved to win, and at least "Selling England" did get quite some votes here too, which was nice to see. BEST ALBUM EVER !!!!

Hey - I DO really dig SEBTP! Firth Of Forth, TBOEF and The Cinema Show especially. Dudes knew a tune, and a narrative.

The songs posted above surely sound nice enough. Still not their typical style though.

i like still life and godbluff more than pawn hearts

and nadir and black box and over more than pawn hearts most days too

Favourite Van Der Graaf Generator Album?

I'll check out some of those other VdGG/Hamill albums. My 1st exposure to them was Nadir's Big Chance, actually, which really put me off them until I heard Pawn Hearts. (This was maybe 10 years ago! I feel old!)

I still think Close to the Edge deserves to win any prog poll but I would.

Opeth guy reminds me of Greg Lake on "In My Time of Need."

I like Selling England by the Pound but I don't see why it would be the best Genesis album. There's no one track that's as great as "Supper's Ready" and as an album, it's not as consistent as either The Lamb or Nursery Cryme. I usually skip from "Firth On Fifth" to "The Cinema Show". "Dancing With the Moonlight Knight" is great though.

its not the best genesis.

It is the typical fan favourite (even though the same people have "Supper's Ready" as the fave track), while non fans tend to go for "The Lamb" or "Nursery Cryme". I guess it's just the most typical Genesis album stylistically.