From xxx@xxx.com Thu May 02 00:37:03 2002
This started out as a prog "sampler", maybe to introduce someone to
progressive rock,   Then I started choosing "the" definitive song from each
group.  But a few previous posters used some of my choices. so this just
became a collection of songs that I associate with a specific time or place
or person.  These are some of my favorites, hope you enjoy them.

01) Greenslade - Spyglass Guest - 1974
Joie De Vivre - Heard Greenslade for the first time in 1975 when the Time
and Tide album was release.  I was copying it to tape (8-track!) for my
older brother and immediately lost my mind on the song Catalan.  I was about
11 years old at the time and have been a Greenslade fan ever since.   Joie
De Vivre is still one of my favorites and the name of the album became the
name of my first progressive cover band.  I used the name again (kinda) for
my video company: Spyglass Productions, Inc.  Every time someone asked me
about the name I'd say: "Well there's this obscure English band that you
never heard of and .."

02) Brian Eno - Another Green World - 1975
St. Elmo's Fire - Always like the visuals of being in the desert and seeing
St Elmo's Fire.

03) Gentle Giant - Octopus - 1972
The Boys In The Band - I have a lot of GG favorites so this could have been
one of many.  I used this song from time to time to introduce a non-Gentle
Giant fan to the band.  It was just mainstream enough to get most people
hooked.  "Easy listening" Gentle Giant. Hahahahahah

04) Kansas - Leftoverture - 1976
Magnum Opus - How these boys made such great progressive music still amazes
me. Half of them were wearing overalls!. then again didn't Rich Williams
always wear a tux on stage. anyway, the early albums from these guys gave
the best of the English prog bands a serious run for their money.  Magnum
Opus is a classic.

05) King Crimson - Larks' Tongues in Aspic - 1973
Book of Saturday - Crimson is another band with way too many songs to choose
from.  But, I choose this one (probably no one else's Crimson choice)
because I just really love the melody and it reminds me of an old
girlfriend.  One side note: Larks' Tongues in Aspic Pt. 1 is really great to
play at around 3 AM in the morning through a 2000 watt PA system.  The trick
is in aiming the speakers to bounce the sounds so the neighbors can't tell
which way it's coming from.  Second choice: Pink Floyd's Several Species of
Small Furry Animals Gathered Together In A Cave and Grooving On A Pict,
closely followed by my third choice: Genesis' The Waiting Room.  Really,
very entertaining.

06) Yes - Close To The Edge - 1972
And You And I - A great song from an amazing album.  Listening to CTTE still
brings back vivid memories of listening to this album on a boom box in the
local park . 30 years ago..?  still sounds great!

07) Genesis - Foxtrot - 1972
Can-Utility And The Coast Liners - Always thought this song rocks.  On a
good stereo the base notes can give you goose bumps.  My Desert Island Prog
could have easily been all of Foxtrot and Nursery Cryme, back to back.. But
that would have been too easy.

08) Jethro Tull - Aqualung - 1971
Cheep Day Return - Just a very cool (and very short) song.  Reminds me of an
old girlfriend (different girl than Book of Saturday). Sorry about the 128
kbps.  I couldn't find my Aqualung CD so this isn't my rip.

09) Rick Wakeman - The Six Wives Of Henry The VIII - 1973
Catherine Howard - Maybe Wakeman's best solo. but can you really call it a
solo with half of Yes playing on it?  Other tracks from this album probably
show off  Wakeman's virtuoso talent, but this is the most melodic.

10) UK - Danger Money - 1979
Rendezvous 6:02 - To me, this was one of those "super bands", put together
with members of other bands, (what Asia SHOULD have been, sorry if you're an
Asia fan but you gotta admit.), anyway, This is probably their least
"progressive" song, but I think it's one of their best.  Side note: Even
though I knew all of the members of UK, I never heard any news of the band
forming.  I went to Tull's A concert and these guys opened, again, I had
never heard of UK.  I was in the nose bleed section of Madison Square Garden
(NYC), and when these guys started playing I nearly ripped the binoculars
off the guy next to me to try to see who the *$(#% was on the stage!  Went
from record store to record store till I finally found the album a few days
later (if we only had the internet in 1979..)

11) Emerson Lake & Palmer - 1971
Lucky Man - This might be the most played out ELP song, But. I heard Lucky
Man in '71 or '72 (at the age of 8 or 9 years old) and that classic
synthesizer solo and immediately became addicted to prog music (this stuff
is worse than crack).  This one song steered my musical taste straight down
the road of progressive rock (well,. this one song and my older brothers
rather extensive prog rock album collection)

12) Rush - Hemispheres - 1978
La Villa Strangiato - Man, these guys were fun to play.  Rush were musician'
s musicians.  Everybody in the audience of a Rush concert was playing air
instruments.  La Villa is just one example of Rush in their prime.

13) Pink Floyd - Animals - 1977
Pig On The Wing (Part Two) - Again, like UK, Tull and Crimson, not one of
the obvious choices, but I think it wraps up things nicely.

So. if you're still reading, hope you enjoy the mix.  Wilbo, sign me up for
round two.  I promise no song will be older than 1990!.. wait Marillion was
early eighties, right. OK no song older than 1980!

d-lawson