Ten Greatest PROG ROCK bands of all time | Ranked | Part 1 

Gentle Giant came late for me as well. Like you, I wish I had picked up on them in the 70's. I'm delighted with them now.

I had the pleasure of seeing Gentle Giant five times in the Rochester/Buffalo NY area. Truly amazing. Opening for Ritchie Blackmore, they weren't allowed to play an encore. The crowd almost booed Ritchie off the stage and half walked out. Gentle Giant was a hard act to follow.

Thank you for mentioning Hatfield and the North in your introduction! My first exposure to GG was a promo copy of Octopus at the student paper. No one else was interested in it, so I decided to check it out. I was so glad I did; it took about 2 years for my fellow critics on the paper to realize how great they were! I am not a savant; I just loved how different they were! I respectfully disagree about Soft Machine though; influenced by Zappa, but much more important than just that influence. They were responsible for an entire sub genre of music and, in my opinion, did everything King Crimson did in 40 years in a period of about ten years. The drummers in Soft Machine were all geniuses in different ways.

Totally agree Andy on GG! Been a fan since 3 friends, look forward to your Giant special 🤘🏻👍🏻

IQ are one of my favorite bands, regardless of genre. It is so cool you were able to play and record with them, Frequency is a great album.

Said it many times, but hearing Alucard on John Peel’s radio show in 1970 - instantly hooked, saw them live in Oxford in 1975 and still listen to them today ❤

Zappa mentioned Gary Green (Gentle Giant) in a 70’s interview as being a top current guitarist. I think they shared the bill at a U.K. gig. Mike Keneally is a big Gentle Giant fan too. I think there are some vids of him playing their material.

Gentle giant is/was the greatest most legendary genius criminally underated band ever.

Great video Andy! I feel like I’m back in your classroom. Also great work on no marillion

Great stuff, Andy. I also came to Gentle Giant quite late, and was similarly blown away by them. They deffo deserve a full video. Zappa was a big influence on Henry Cow, particularly the first two albums (Fred Frith has stated as much). It’s subtle, but discernible. I wish there was more appreciation for their superb music. It still sounds amazingly fresh. Looking forward to part 2. Cheers.

Good stuff Andy, I saw Gentle Giant at Birmingham town hall sometime in the early 70s. AMAZING musicianship 👍🏻👍🏻

My gosh your Gentle Giant story is almost the same as mine. I did read about them during my peek of progressive rock discovery (mid 80s). However, despite the funny name and weird cover, I did buy Three Friends back then. I just couldn't understand it. Then in the 90s/00s I gave them another listen and was completely blown away. Counterpoint. Composition. And a groove that is uncommon in prog. They deserved way more success.

VERY INTERESTING AND WELL DONE! Not being a ‘proggy fan’ per se, I have some favs that fit this genre. Gentle Giant is one. It’s a group I too learned about late. Ithink it was via John McLaughlin mailing list. Then Frank. Damn I miss that guy. For more than just his great expansive music. I will be anticipating part 2. You gave a little clue to one group that may be on the next go round. I hope it’s who I think it is. I’ll leave it there. I see your subscriptions continue to increase. Congratulations. Well deserved Andy! 👍

Given what you're saying about Marillion, you should really check out some of their later albums. Brave, Afraid Of Sunlight, Radiation, Marbles, F.E.A.R. and the last one An Hour Before It's Dark. No Genesis pastiches anymore, by far, but very much their own thing, and very original in the way they deal with melody, arrangement and especially lyrics.

Marillion... This was a key band for my prog evolution. Fugazi changed me. I know many love Script For.. but the drums were basic. When Ian Mosley joined the band that was monumental. I was listening to all the great old prog bands back then, but Marillion was the new prog band for us young fans . A new generation hungry for complex material with listenable hooks and important lyrics. I can`t tell you how much I love Marillion. Fantastic band to this day. Good on you Andy for including my fellow countrymen Rush. No Canadian music fan can deny the influence on our lives ,and others around the world they touched. Including you. ( PS ,I like the new haircut. You look more pro )

Gong's genre is Alien-Goddess Incantation Ego Death Boundary Dissolution Humor Rock. Or something...

Really enjoyed listening to this! You even convinced me that Marillion should probably be included, the other ones I really agree. My number 1 would be Genesis btw, let's see where you land in part 2. Oh and I consider Hounds Of Love to be a top 10 prog album of all time.

Nice to see Marillion here. I didn't really give them a good listen until the late 1990's, and the first album I bought was the double-CD version of _"Afraid of Sunlight"._ And frankly, my initial reaction was that it was a mess. But there were a few things going on in the background of some songs which I was trying to pin down, so I kept playing it. Finally the primary theme of the album clicked in my brain, and I ended up loving it. Later I got the double-CD version of _"Marbles",_ and that's one of my favorite albums out of my entire collection. But I would say they seem to be a bit hit-and-miss with me. They have several other albums that I'd rate in the top 5% of my collection, but they also have some albums which I'd put much farther down the list. Dream Theater is another band that's hit-or-miss for me. I'd say that _"Black Clouds & Silver Linings"_ is probably my favorite of their albums. I have the 3-CD version, and have played all three CD's several dozens of times. And they have other albums I like a lot. And then they have some albums where I appreciate the ability and work which went into the album, but I never have any urge to listen to.

to feed the algo the first and greatest prog rock song of all time. The Nice/America

Just wanted to say I watched your video on the 5 records that blew your mind. And I’m loving them, many thanks for the recommendations. The red twist and tuned arrow album is amazing, as a guitarist this album is truly mind expanding. Are you a fan of Fred Frith and Henry Cow?

I've tried to dip my toe into the Marillion waters a couple of times and it never did a thing for me. This applies to "neo-prog" in general, with the exceptions of two albums: Fear Of A Blank Planet and Bridge Across Forever.

Honestly I saw more parallels between Chick Corea and Dream Theatre. I see a jazz rock influence there far more than I do prog rock. Maybe I'm wrong? And though I revere Frank Zappa, I think when you take into account his sardonic humor and huge compositional skills he doesn't readily fit into the prog rock genre as I would classify it. I think he's totally unique. I also missed Gentle Giant and liked them later by the way. Also agree with you about Hatfield and the North. But seriously mate, you putting the late great Frank Zappa so low down on any list is an insult. In my humble opinion he sits at the very top of a list of one. Nobody compares in the rock field, certainly not in musical intellect, although there are clearly some great bands.

I only got round to Gentle Giant a few years ago as well - blew me away. I think they would've been too much for me back in the 70s. When Marillion arrived I had the same reaction: why is the singer trying to be Peter Gabriel? I'm surprised you didn't include Radiohead, who are genuinely progressive.

Thank you Mr. Edwards for another fun and insightful episode. Hoping you can do a deep dive review of my fav prog band, Van der graaf Generator one day. Hope to see you on Sea of Tranquility soon. Best regards, Sal Randazzo.

Regarding your arguments about what constitutes prog and how there are many bands that aren't thought of as prog but actually are prog. They're pretty persuasive and explain a connection among a number of bands that I love but have never seen the true underlying connection and it looks like it's prog - just to name a few: Siouxsie and the Banshees, Mr Bungle, Secret Chiefs, and even the Cocteau Twins and Bauhaus to some degree.

Great video, do you think Tool could perhaps be as influential as Dream Theater even though they have way less albums?

My list would be: 1. J. A. Seazer 2. Magma 3. Gong 4. Geinoh Yamashirogumi 5. Pesniary 6. Van der Graaf Generator 7. Eloy 8. Univers Zero 9. Koenji Hyakkei 10. Eskaton

3 bands you mentioned would not be on my list. I already have too many HATERS, so I'll keep my mouth shut. 😉 I enjoy your channel and what you bring to @seaoftranquility!

Yeah, I missed Gentle Giant the first time around too. I did see them open for Yes in ’76, but they must not have made much of an impression. I bought the “Civilian” album when it came out (I think because I liked the song “I am a camera”). Anyway, not a bad album but certainly not the best place to start. Some time later I got “Free Hand” and loved it. Worked my way back through the catalog from there. Definitely some of the best prog ever.

1 Genesis 2-3 ELP and Gentle Giant on a par 4 King Crimson 5 Van Der Graaf Generator 6 Yes 7 PFM 8-9 Caravan and Aphrodite's Child on a par 10 Ekseption

I think the best prog after Moving Pictures was Operation Mindcrime by Queensryche. Without question Fates Warning is alot more interesting than Dream Theater ever was, did you know some of their records were produced by Terry Brown? My nephew likes Tool alot.

Cardiacs I heard you say? Excellent choice. 😎

Do a video on Zeppelin’s proggiest songs.

can anyone tell me why this list is interesting anyway ?

I've never heard Gentle Giant? probably to late in the day to be impressed by them now.

jesus, 11th grade algebra didn't seem so boring now

RUSH.......

Totally agree with you about Marillion, early albums are Genesis rip off, however, no longer. I hated them with Fish, loved Genesis but I've grown to love the H Marillion. Big Pink Floyd influences I'll admit but I love Floyd. I note you do not, so a theme in your tastes there. That's OK, we can't all be the same, in fact, thank goodness we're not or there would be no progressive music. Yes, prog rock is now a style, sadly. I've always considered Gentle Giant a poor man's King Crimson, I've got their albums but don't play them much, I always go with Crimson. Love Dream Theater, nothing more to say really. Although they were influenced by Rush, I find them excellent and quite experimental, while Rush bored me. Frank Zappa, however, complete genius. Yes Kate Bush and Led Zeppelin are both progressive in the truest sense of the word. Plus, Hatfield and the North would be in my list, along with Gong and Soft Machine, oh and Henry Cow. 👍

I've never really thought of Rush and Dream Theatre as Prog bands - well not progressive anyway. I could be biased because I find them boring. Sorry!

R u completely unfamiliar w/Dixie dregs?

Don't care for Marillion, either. I bought "Script for a Jester's Tear" and my impression was same as yours: knock-off Genesis. Same with "Dream Theatre". Great musicians but the sound is just seems like copying the greats of the 1970's and not truly progressing.

As ever a good try close but no cigar keep going though C+ for effort It takes time talking about prog might not be how you shine 🙏🙏

Sorry, but I think it was a mistake to include bands you don't musically care about. Even though I oftentimes don't share the same taste as you I rely on you knowing what you are talking about. A top 8 would have been better. This was a puzzling decision, especially since you previously have made other videos where you stress what you find great, when I see the word great, I expect to know what you are talking about.

OXBOW. .. ha ha look at them and feel the steel....First 3 albums are heavy. Psycho vocals with an odd time nut job band to back the vocalizer....not punk...it was a covert prog band....

Zappa prog?? No, No... Zappa is Zappa and nothing else.