Jethro Tull Remixes and Expands Final Album With Martin Barre
· Ultimate Classic RockJethro Tull has remixed and expanded a 2003 Yuletide album which served as their last with stalwart guitarist Martin Barre. The Jethro Tull Christmas Album: Fresh Snow at Christmas is set to arrive on Dec. 6.
The multi-format return of Jethro Tull's 21st studio album includes a limited-edition deluxe 4CD/Blu-ray box with all-new artwork and additional live material. This set features the original album mixes (disc one), 2024 remixes of the LP by Bruce Soord of the Pineapple Thief (disc two), Christmas Live at St. Bride’s 2008, also newly remixed by Soord (disc three), the previously unreleased Ian Anderson Band Live at St. Bride's 2006 (disc four), and Dolby Atmos, 5.1 Surround Sound and high-resolution stereo mixes on a Blu-ray disc.
The Jethro Tull Christmas Album will also be released on vinyl for the first time, with a gatefold 180g 2LP set also featuring the 2024 remixes. See a complete track listing below. Pre-orders are already underway.
READ MORE: Ranking Every Jethro Tull Album
Highlights include Jethro Tull interpretations of age-old songs like "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen," "Greensleeves" and "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" as well as holiday-inspired originals like 1968's "A Christmas Song," the B-side to the group's first U.K. charting single "Love Story."
"Some of the tracks are not necessarily Christmas songs," frontman Ian Anderson said in a news release. "They're more seasonal so that gives a broader window – and then there are a couple of them that I quite often play in the middle of summer and say, 'It'll soon be Christmas – it's in the diary. So let's kick it off now.' And that's part of what I've done over the years since October of 1968 when I went in to record 'A Christmas Song.' So, yes – it goes back a long way."
Also included are reworkings of "Ring Out Solstice Bells" from 1977's Songs from the Wood, "Weathercock" from 1978's Heavy Horses and "Another Christmas Song" from 1989's Rock Island. Barre composed the closing instrumental, "A Winter Snowscape." The live recordings feature updates of Tull favorites "Thick as a Brick" and "Aqualung," too.
"Part of the joy of redoing those things," Anderson added, "is that you can ... not necessarily recreate, but you can keep all the essential elements of the song and maybe declutter it a little bit and give it a fresh look, but essentially still staying faithful to the original arrangements."
Jethro Tull's lineup was completed by keyboard and accordion player Andrew Giddings, bassist Jonathan Noyce and drummers Doane Perry and James Duncan.
'The Jethro Tull Christmas Album: Fresh Snow at Christmas' Track Listing
Original Mixes/Remixes
"Birthday Card at Christmas"
"Holly Herald"
"A Christmas Song"
"Another Christmas Song"
"God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman"
"Jack Frost and the Hooded Crow"
"Last Man at the Party"
"Weathercock"
"Pavane"
"First Snow on Brooklyn"
"Greensleeved"
"Fire at Midnight"
"We Five Kings"
"Ring Out Solstice Bells"
"Bouree"
"A Winter Snowscape"
Christmas Live at St. Brides 2008
"Weathercock"
"Introduction: Rev. George Pitcher / Choir: What Cheer"
"A Christmas Song"
"Living in These Hard Times"
"Choir: Silent Night"
"Reading: Ian Anderson, Marmion"
"Jack in the Green"
"Another Christmas Song"
"Reading: Gavin Esler, God’s Grandeur"
"Choir: Oh, Come All Ye Faithful"
"A Winter Snowscape"
"Fires at Midnight"
"We Five Kings"
"Choir: Gaudete"
"God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman / Thick as a Brick"
Ian Anderson Band Live at St. Brides 2006
"Living In The Past"
"Griminelli’s Lament"
"A Christmas Song"
"Mozart"
"Pastime With Good Company"
"Holly Herald"
"Pavane"
"We Five Kings"
"Aqualung"
50. Hatfield and the North - 'Hatfield and the North' (1974)
It's the textbook definition of the Canterbury Scene, a playful strain of prog that flowered around that British town in the '70s. All the hallmarks are here: brisk jazz-rock rhythms, gently cascading melodies, organ leads, a childlike — or perhaps childish — sense of humor (sample song titles: "Going Up to People and Tinkling," "Lobster in Cleavage Probe," two tunes with nods to "Poo"). The fusion-y moments are uniformly charming, but the centerpiece here is Dave Stewart's atmospheric "Son of 'There's No Place Like Homerton,'" featuring the vocal talents of backing singers "The Northettes."
49. The Most Serene Republic - 'Population' (2007)
From day one, the Most Serene Republic were saddled with comparisons to their famous label mates Broken Social Scene, another Canadian indie-rock act with intricate production and jigsaw puzzle arrangements. But they escaped from that band's enormous shadow on their second LP, which amplified the magic and angst of their winding songs. There are plenty of nerdy time signatures, orchestral flourishes and jazzy interludes ("A Mix of Sun and Cloud"). But the best songs, like "The Men Who Live Upstairs" and "Sherry and Her Butterfly Net," prioritize hooks and chaos alike.
48. Heldon - 'Stand By' (1979)
Richard Pinhas is one of prog's unsung innovators, developing his own brand of electronic-rock lunacy in the mid- to late '70s. Stand By, his final LP under the name Heldon, remains his piece de resistance: full of creepy synth sequences, scat-like chants, warped jazz-fusion grooves and bursts of dissonant, distorted guitar. Pinhas later carried on as a solo artist, ending Heldon at a creative high point. "It was a vision," he said of that career shift. "It was stupid, but it was a vision. Split at the top, not waiting to go down.”
47. Anyone's Daughter - 'Adonis' (1979)
Many fans pinpoint Anyone's Daughter as an early example of "neo-prog," a movement that recontextualized the genre for the neon era. Adonis, the German quartet's debut LP, technically arrived as the '70s wrapped, and that transitional vibe defines its brighter, lighter take on the symphonic sound. "Anyone's Daughter," with its airy vocal harmonies and Steve Hackett-like guitar solos, sounds like Nursery Cryme gently reclining in a bed of roses. Ultimately, though, the context isn't that important: The lengthy title track is one of the dreamiest, most beautiful pieces in prog history.
46. Gnidrolog - 'Lady Lake' (1972)
An abrasive and challenging listen, Gnidrolog's second album nods to classic Van der Graaf Generator and King Crimson circa Lizard — but it still sounds like nothing else before or since. Lady Lake is heavy on the woodwinds (frighteningly so on the title track, where saxes and oboes are layered into a hilarious din), and Colin Goldring mostly sings in a stabbing quiver that might grate on the wrong ears. But once you acquire the taste, you just may savor their dark brew of jazz, folk and symph-prog.
45. Porcupine Tree - 'Deadwing' (2005)
Porcupine Tree evolved from Steven Wilson's spacey solo project into a legit band with an alt-rock and metal spin on prog. They hit a sweet spot in the '00s, particularly on Deadwing, a song cycle envisioned as the soundtrack to an as-yet-unfinished supernatural film. ("A London director starts to experience strange events and is forced to confront his troubled past," Wilson tweeted, detailing a planned revival of the project.) Story aside, the music is plenty engrossing: the guttural guitar crunch of "Shallow," the echoing vocals and ringing riffs of "Arriving Somewhere but Not Here," the ghostly mellotron of the 10-minute title track.
44. Gentle Giant - 'Free Hand' (1975)
Ah, what a wildly different time! Gentle Giant's seventh LP didn't light the world on fire commercially, but it did land at No. 48 — their highest Billboard placement ever. It's not like the British quintet sold out: "Mobile," after all, is a carnivalesque swirl of organ and wah-wahed violin, while "On Reflection" is best known for its dizzying a cappella counterpoint. But the band did emphasize tighter structures and more melodic choruses on the funky "Free Hand" and "Just the Same." Gentle Giant pulled off a magic trick on this album, wringing out maximum fun from ideas that could have easily been pretentious.
43. Ambrosia - 'Ambrosia' (1975)
Famed engineer Alan Parsons — fresh off recording The Dark on the Side of the Moon — was apparently so impressed with "Drink of Water," the closing track from Ambrosia's debut LP, that he used it as a model for his own band. "[He] held the phone up to his manager, Eric Woolfson, and said, 'This is what I want [Alan Parsons Project] to sound like,'" bassist Joe Puerta told MusicUCanSee. It's easy to see the inspiration: That gospel-gone-prog tune, with its stacked choral vocals and slippery arrangement, does share some DNA with the producer's future band. Ambrosia is one of the most satisfying examples of prog-pop — a thrill ride full of Yes-like virtuosity and soft-rock hooks. On later LPs, that ratio shifted almost entirely to the latter category. But here, to reference the opening centerpiece "Nice, Nice, Very Nice," those impulses were "partners in this cosmic dance."
42. Coheed and Cambria - 'In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3' (2003)
Coheed and Cambria graduated from a proggy emo band to a emo-y prog band on their second record, In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3. But that description fails to summarize their unique stylistic hodgepodge: There are strands of post-hardcore, vintage metal and power-pop on this knotty concept album, the second installment of Claudio Sanchez's Amory Wars series. If that sounds like overkill, Coheed make it feel seamless throughout, whether on intricate epics (the eight-minute title cut) or bite-sized sing-alongs ("A Favor House Atlantic").
41. Area - 'Arbeit macht frei' (1973)
Demetrio Stratos is one of rock's great unsung frontmen: a dynamic presence with more power and attack than most metal vocalists, a virtuoso with a flair for avant-garde and multi-cultural techniques. Linking up with a versatile band capable of both jazz-rock muscle flexing and absurdist noise, he helped create a landmark with the first Area LP, one of Italy's definitive prog achievements. It's wild how they make such intimidating concepts feel so smooth: "Luglio, Agosto, Settembre (nero)" flows from a mournful organ into octave-leaping yelps and a violin-spiked, Middle Eastern-tinged groove that's equally fun to hum and count along with.
40. U.K. - 'Danger Money' (1979)
Most supergroups implode for one reason or another — lack of chemistry, too-many-cooks syndrome, impossibly high expectations. U.K.'s original lineup lasted only one album: Allan Holdsworth (guitar) and Bill Bruford (drums) craved the freedom and experimentation of jazz-fusion, while Eddie Jobson (keyboards, violin) and John Wetton (bass, vocals) aimed for a more structured flavor of prog. The latter camp won that argument, recruiting drummer Terry Bozzio (a Frank Zappa alumni) and recording their studio swan song, Danger Money, as a trio. Every song rules: Prog is never more fun than on the galloping "Caesar's Palace Blues," powered by one of Wetton's most soulful vocals.
39. Jethro Tull - 'Songs From the Wood' (1977)
The first of a fan-described "folk-rock trilogy," Jethro Tull's 10th LP was partly influenced by songwriter Ian Anderson embracing country life. "Certainly Songs From the Wood will have been to some degree inspired by my moving into a more rural environment," he wrote in the 2017 box-set liner notes, "and having some leisure time to walk amongst the woods and valleys of Buckinghamshire." Anderson revamped their music, integrating key sounds from mandolin, Martin Barre's lute and Dee Palmer's portative pipe organ. But Songs From the Wood is still prog — standouts like "Cup of Wonder" and "Hunting Girl" are fueled by the complex rhythms of bassist John Glascock and drummer Barrie Barlow.
38. Renaissance - 'Scheherazade and Other Stories' (1975)
"Symphonic prog" typically refers to spirit and size rather than instrumentation. But Renaissance were one of the few rock bands to successfully utilize legit orchestral arrangements without sliding into schmaltz. Their peak of grandiosity came on their sixth LP, including the 24-minute title track, which seamlessly integrates strings and woodwinds into classical-rock motifs led by John Tout's sparkly piano. The first side is tighter and more song-centric, prioritizing the theatrical vocal stylings of Annie Haslam on "Trip to the Fair" and "The Vultures Fly High."
37. Khan - 'Space Shanty' (1972)
One year before joining his astral-traveling brethren in Gong, guitarist Steve Hillage released this semi-lost classic, his first and only LP as bandleader of Khan. Rounded out by the whirling Hammond organ of Dave Stewart (formerly of Egg, future Canterbury mainstay in Hatfield and the North and National Health), Space Shanty is uniformly tasteful, even at its most intense — like on the restless psych shifting of "5 Stargazers."
36. Caravan - 'For Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night' (1973)
Caravan are the Canterbury Kevin Bacon — virtually everyone in the scene has a connection to the hallowed British band at some point. Lineup shuffling is part of the fun! For their fifth album — which followed the jazzy deviation of 1972's Waterloo Lily — singer and guitarist Pye Hastings reassembled the lineup for an intriguing blend of new and old, recruiting singer and bassist John G. Perry, violist Geoff Richardson and returning keyboard ace David Sinclair. The latter's signature organ carries the strutting opener "Memory Lain, Hugh / Headless," and Richardson's viola adds an eerie dimension to the restlessly shifting "C'thlu Thlu." "I think I was hitting a peak at that point," Pye recalled in the 2001 reissue liner notes. As were the rest of them.
35. Camel - 'The Snow Goose' (1975)
Camel's original quartet lineup recorded four straight classic LPs, refining a spacey and melodic style that nods to vintage Pink Floyd but mostly stays in its own lane. Their third, The Snow Goose, is the band's only full instrumental work — wisely discarding any single aspirations, emphasizing the smooth interplay between guitarist and flautist Andrew Latimer, keyboardist Peter Bardens, bassist Doug Ferguson and drummer Andy Ward. (Ironically, it's also a concept album of sorts, originally planned as an adaptation of Paul Gallico's 1940 novella before they dropped the words.) The band shows its full dynamic range, cruising through the classical-gone-Canterbury "Rhayader" and the spacey jazz-rock textures of "Rhayader Goes to Town."
34. Il Balletto di Bronzo - 'Ys' (1971)
This Italian quartet's brutally heavy second LP has earned an almost-mythic reputation among prog-heads, becoming a sort of litmus test for the hardcore. "If you think 'Supper's Ready' is wild, check this out," some snarky fan might say, seconds before dropping the needle on "Introduzione," a 15-minute carnival ride through hell. That track outlines the whole album: dissonant choir, chromatic chanting, mournful Hammond organ, acidic guitar, punishing drums, Gianni Leone's blaring lead vocals.
33. Carmen - 'Fandangos in Space' (1973)
From the Canterbury Scene to Zeuhl, the subgenre has been subdivided into hundreds of variants. But there's a reason very few people tried out flamenco prog — what band was audacious and inventive enough to pull off that wild combo? Carmen, for one. Led by singer and guitarist David Allen (and working with David Bowie producer Tony Visconti), the band fused zapateado footwork, Spanish passages and castanets into their swirl of spacey mellotrons, glammy vocal theatrics and pounding low-end. (Bassist John Glascock, who later joined Jethro Tull before his death in 1979, could be the album's MVP.) Fandangos in Space is still a prog obscurity, though it's earned a few famous fans. "It's amazing," Opeth frontman Mikael Akerfeldt told Metal Hammer in 2012. "Everyone I've played it to has been blown away by it."
32. Pulsar - 'Halloween' (1977)
We begin with the unsteady coo of a young choirboy. It's the most precious opening imaginable, but there's nothing cheesy about Pulsar's dynamic range. Later on during Halloween, the French band's third record, heavy guitars encircle a jazzy rhythm section and menacing mellotrons cut through webs of flute and cello. The word "cinematic" gets thrown around too often in album reviews — but how else to describe this epic two-part piece? It's a masterpiece of light and shade, flower and dagger, childlike smile and villainous laugh.
31. Magma - 'Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh' (1973)
It's fitting that Christian Vander, Magma's founder and consistent bandleader, would reject the "prog" label. After all, the singer and drummer basically invented his own musical language: Zeuhl, a style defined by shrieking choirs, trance-y rhythms and aggressive free-jazz chaos. "I always learned a lot more from jazz music than from any other kind of music, and especially more than — what’s it called? — prog rock," he told Musoscribe in 2017. "And I think that Magma is not a prog rock group at all!" Oops. Sorry, Christian! (Side note: Vander also created his own lyrical language, Kobaïan, to occupy the universe of his catalog.) Most Magma albums scratch the same wild itch, but their third, Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh, drops the jaw most consistently.
30. Emerson, Lake & Palmer - 'Brain Salad Surgery' (1973)
To the wrong listener — or even the right listener in the wrong mood — Keith Emerson's arsenal of atonal Hammond screeches and sweeping synths can spark a migraine quicker than a construction site. The key with ELP was always balancing the hysteria with, you know, songs — and they were up to the challenge on their bloated but beguiling fourth album. Greg Lake's requisite acoustic ballad, "Still … You Turn Me On," brings schmaltzy crooning and wildly heavy wah-wah; Emerson's honky-tonk oddity "Benny the Bouncer" offers dark comic relief; and the half-hour epic "Karn Evil 9" finds time for a ripping rock chorus ("Come inside, the show's about to start / Guaranteed to blow your head apart") amid the whiplash virtuosity.
29. Van der Graaf Generator - 'Godbluff' (1975)
Peter Hammill is a household name for prog junkies — and an inspiration on everyone from David Bowie to Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon. But as a singer, he's the definition of an acquired taste, bouncing violently from a quiet coo to a feral, unmelodic snarl. "Not everything I've done has been touched with absolute fairy dust," he told NPR. "It's not easy listening, and it's not meant to be. I'm not Neil Diamond." To say the least — and Godbluff, his fifth record with Van der Graaf Generator, is his peak of uneasy listening. As usual, there are moments of divine beauty, mostly from woodwind player David Jackson, organist and bassist Hugh Banton and drummer Guy Evans. (Check the flute-dotted opening of "The Undercover Man.") But the album, like everything VdGG, can't help but be defined by Hammill's theatrical delivery. It's challenging stuff — but worth the effort.
28. Grobschnitt - 'Solar Music: Live' (1978)
Germany's Grobschnitt were too silly and symphonic to fit neatly within the "krautrock" world. Many of their early albums earned comparisons to giants like Genesis — understandable, given their penchant for kooky voices and tasteful solos. But they went full space-rock on their 1978 opus, Solar Music: Live, by stretching out the the 33-minute title epic to an even more robust 53 minutes. It's an essential stoner trip — fans of classic Pink Floyd should appreciate the psych hypnosis of "Solar Music II" and "Golden Mist." It could be the pinnacle of '70s prog concert LPs.
27. King Crimson - 'Discipline' (1981)
"Sure, this is King Crimson," Robert Fripp told Creem in 1981. "But if I'd followed King Crimson, I would expect not to get what I expected to get." That fall, following a seven-year break, they released Discipline, a new-wave-gone-prog revamp from the band's new lineup (Fripp and returning drummer Bill Bruford, joined by a pair of skilled American journeymen: singer and guitarist Adrian Belew and bassist Tony Levin). A lot of critics brush aside '80s Crimson, but few albums were more essential to prog's lasting relevance: With their Frippertronic soundscapes, quirky humor and interlocking guitars, no band before — or since — has sounded anything like them. "I think I was probably the best band in the world at the time!" Belew enthused in the record's 2011 reissue liner notes. "It was just the perfect lineup, and perfect combination of things: heavy, light, fun and dark."
26. The Mars Volta - 'Frances the Mute' (2005)
"Some people get flustered," Omar Rodriguez-Lopez told Rolling Stone in 2005, musing on his band's unclassifiable sound. "And I say, 'Well, we're definitely electric music, so you could call it rock.' … I don't consider ourselves that. Our band is not for me to describe." The Mars Volta's second LP could be their toughest to pigeonhole, stretching the prog-punk-salsa-ambient-jazz chaos of 2003's De-Loused in the Comatorium to a deeper level of intensity and indulgence. Casual fans may best remember this head trip for "The Widow," a creepy and compact power ballad built on Cedric Bixler-Zavala's glass-shattering cries. But more outlandish treasures are buried in the bookending epics, "Cygnus ... Vismund Cygnus" and "Cassandra Gemini."
25. Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention - 'One Size Fits All' (1975)
By the mid-'70s, Frank Zappa's band — now including keyboardist George Duke, drummer Chester Thompson, percussionist Ruth Underwood and singer and woodwind player Napoleon Murphy Brock — was skilled and versatile enough to tackle any crazy composition he threw its way. But they could also groove like none of his previous lineups. All those stars align on the swaggering "Florentine Pogen" and opener "Inca Roads," a parody of UFO obsession with one of Zappa's top-tier wah-wah solos.
24. Le Orme - 'Felona e Sorona' (1973)
Italy's Le Orme enjoyed one of the longest hot streaks of the '70s. And for a brief moment, they even flirted with international fame — recruiting Van Der Graaf Generator's Peter Hammill to write English lyrics for a new edition of their fourth LP. As usual in these situations, the original is superior: It's a crime to strip away the romance and drama from Aldo Tagliapietra's expressive words. (English speakers can just use their imagination on the concept narrative, focusing on a pair of planets.) The musicianship is elite: On "Sospesi nell'incredibile," drummer Michi Dei Rossi swings and pounds in equal measure; and Tony Pagliuca's battery of synths and organs illuminate the dramatic "L'equilibrio." But Tagliapietra is the nucleus, his tasteful vocal melodies making the trio's flights of fancy accessible to prog novices.
23. Ange - 'Au-delà du délire' (1974)
The Decamps brothers, Christian (vocals, keyboards) and Francis (keyboards), became figureheads of the French prog movement, refining their Genesis-gone-musical-theater style across six knockout '70s LPs. They perfected that approach on Au-dela du delire, with Christian building from whisper to untamed roar over reverb-drenched organ (not mellotron!) and tightly arranged rhythms. They could get dark (the majestic "Godevin le Vilain"), but they were just as adept the wispy symph-folk sing-alongs ("Ballade pour une Orgie"). Though they never earned a Genesis level of international fame, the two bands shared the Sunday bill at the 1973 Reading Festival. And Ange, under Christian's leadership, remain active decades later.
22. Gong - 'You' (1974)
Gong's "Radio Gnome Invisible" trilogy is lovably looney, with frontman Daevid Allen constructing a cosmic hippie universe populated by pothead pixies and flying teapots. On the final installment, You, the band matches that mood with a weed-baked smile, soundtracking warped pop tunes and space-rock jams with flurries of tuned percussion, woodwinds and guitar solo vortexes of Steve Hillage. "'Radio Gnome' is a secret frequency by which people of like mind can tune in instantly to each others ideas," Allen told It's Psychedelic Baby in 2012. Same goes for Gong itself.
21. Banco del Mutuo Soccorso - 'Io Sono Nato Libero' (1973)
Banco del Mutuo Soccorso gave it the college try at cracking the U.S. market: signing with ELP's Manticore label, shortening their name to the more American-friendly Banco, even rerecording an album in English — none of which, sadly, changed their stateside fortunes. Regardless, they were the most distinctive prog act in their home country, framing Romantic dual keyboards (courtesy of brothers Vittorio and Gianni Nocenzi) around the operatic belting of Francesco Di Giacomo. Io Sono Nato Libero (which translates to I Was Born Free) is the most imaginative of their first three classic albums — few bands could so seamlessly meld classical guitar balladry ("Non Mi Rompete") and symphonic-scale bombast ("Canto Nomade per un Prigioniero Politico").
20. Yes - 'The Yes Album' (1971)
It's redundant to call any Yes LP "transitional" since they essentially never left that state, shedding and adding members with hilarious frequency. But their third, The Yes Album, marked their most obvious moment of change: their final project with keyboardist Tony Kaye, their first with guitarist Steve Howe. As a result, the record lives on its own planet: Kaye's traditional setup (piano, Hammond, an occasional slice of Moog) kept them mostly tethered to their early sound, but Howe's unclassifiable theatrics — borrowing from country, classical, blues and psychedelia — pointed toward a more Fragile-like future. It'll always feel more tentative than that follow-up (issued later that same year), but the songs here are uniformly brilliant, including "I've Seen All Good People," a folk-rock beam of light, and the cosmic "Starship Trooper."
19. Rush - 'Hemispheres' (1978)
Rush earned a minor hit with 1977's "Closer to the Heart," a rare radio-friendly single from their early days. But instead of building on that momentum, the power trio pulled a very Rush-like move: recording their proggiest album to date, including the 18-minute "Book II" of their heady "Cygnus X-1" epic. That song became the apex of their vintage prog style, and the second side of Hemispheres pointed the way forward: The more traditionally song-like "Circumstances" and "The Trees" are all relatively compact, proving Rush could make just as much noise in a fraction of the time. They even ended the LP with one of rock's great instrumentals: "La Villa Strangiato (An Exercise in Self-Indulgence)," which juggles nylon-string guitar reveries and big-band jazz interludes. "We were not really practical thinkers," Rush's Geddy Lee told Rolling Stone. But that's why we love them!
18. Tool - 'Lateralus' (2001)
The various strains of Tool's music all intensified on their third LP: a heavier, more psychedelic and way proggier follow-up to their 1996 classic, Aenima. Fans love to nerd out about the title track's rhythmic and syllabic ties to the Fibonacci sequence — and rightfully so. But that esoteric side knowledge isn't a prerequisite here: "Lateralus," "The Patient," "The Grudge," "Parabola" and "Schism" are all essential, with Maynard James Keenan weaving philosophical themes into dynamic riffs and grooves. "I know the pieces fit!" Keenan belts, accurately, on the latter track.
17. King Crimson - 'Red' (1974)
Red marked the end of an era for King Crimson: They broke up shorty ahead of its release and didn't record for seven more years, with Robert Fripp reimagining the band's sound yet again — this time for the new wave era. On their seventh LP, Crimson leaned into their heavy side, built around the core trio of Fripp, singer and bassist John Wetton and drummer Bill Bruford. The title track and "One More Red Nightmare" are both frightening in their intensity, as Fripp taps into a raw, grungy guitar sound. (Bruford's trashy cymbal anchoring the funky groove on "Nightmare" was literally rescued from the trash.) There's more here than aggression: Red ends with the mournful ballad "Starless," highlighted by Fripp's mellotron and the angelic guest saxophones of former members Mel Collins and Ian McDonald. Fittingly, though, even that song slow-builds into cacophony.
16. Gentle Giant - 'Octopus' (1972)
"That's one thing we tried to do: heavy and soft, gentle and giant, together in a seamless way," frontman Derek Shulman told UCR, recalling Octopus centerpiece "The Advent of Panurge." "The thing we really enjoyed was surprise: We didn't want to have people sit in their hands and know what's coming next. … We wanted to keep people on their feet." The British band's fourth LP fulfilled that goal: It's funkier and more user-friendly than most of prog's classic wave, but it's also weirder than 90 percent of charting '70s LPs. Who else could pull off the layered madrigal vocals of "Knots"?
15. King Crimson - 'Larks' Tongues in Aspic' (1973)
Robert Fripp is a master of reinvention, having restructured King Crimson numerous times over the decades — often guided by intuition over commercial logic. For the band's fifth observation, he built the lineup from the ground up, recruiting singer and bassist John Wetton, violinist and keyboardist David Cross, drummer Bill Bruford (who'd recently exited Yes following Close to the Edge) and experimental percussionist Jamie Muir. Together they whipped up an unholy racket, particularly on the first of two titular tracks, where percussive clatter and metallic riffs swim in a partly improvised stew. But Larks' Tongues is also home to some of Crimson's most reflective music, like the ballad "Exiles," carried on the wind of Cross' gorgeous violin theme and Wetton's high-register belting.
14. Genesis - 'The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway' (1974)
"In a way, [the story] is like a Pilgrim's Progress but on the streets of New York," Peter Gabriel recalled on The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway reissue DVD. "It's a spiritual journey into the soul." Moments earlier, courtesy of keyboardist Tony Banks: "The story is the weakest thing about the album. I don't think the very story is really very gripping. … It reads a bit like a Kurt Vonnegut novel or something without perhaps quite as good imagery." That split characterizes the overall split for Lamb's surreal concept. The music, spread over a 94-minute double LP, is equally dense — full of wandering interludes and jams. But songs like "Back in N.Y.C.", "The Colony of Slippermen" and "In the Cage," edgier and more aggressive than anything else in the Genesis catalog, were a thrilling farewell to the Gabriel era.
13. Mike Oldfield - 'Tubular Bells' (1973)
Mike Oldfield recorded this album-length opus at age 19 — adding a layer of prodigious charm to an already astounding compositional feat. His debut LP is best known for the glacial opening section, now forever linked with horror classic The Exorcist. But Tubular Bells opens up past its initial creepiness into a world of moods, with Oldfield layering up the arrangements through a cavalcade of keyboards, guitars, various percussion instruments and, of course, the titular chimes.
12. Harmonium - 'Si on avait besoin d'une cinquième saison' (1975)
On Harmonium's self-titled debut LP, the French-Canadian band revel in autumnal 12-string strum and jazz-folk breeziness. But their cinematic sequel aims beyond the coffeehouse into the cosmic country side, with woodwinds and keyboards enriching a concept album based on the four real (and one fictional) seasons. Few prog songs are more dramatic than "Histoires sans paroles," which builds fingerpicking, flute and Mellotron into a 17-minute symphony as fanciful as the album cover.
11. Pink Floyd - 'Wish You Were Here' (1975)
Pink Floyd's playing is more direct and psychedelic than most prog bands' — to the point where geeks debate their genre credentials. (If prog had a central headquarters, the security guard might not let the band inside.) But pretty much everyone agrees that Wish You Were Here is the band's true prog moment, allowing Richard Wright to explore his cache of keyboards (Hammond, ARP string ensemble, Minimoog and the like) on the 26-minute "Shine On You Crazy Diamond." Despite the pyrotechnics, Wish You Were Here might also be the band's most emotionally direct work, whether rooted in overwhelming sadness (the folky Syd Barrett tribute of the title track) or righteous anger (the moody music industry critiques of "Have a Cigar" and "Welcome to the Machine").
10. Premiata Forneria Marconi - 'Per Un Amico' (1972)
It's the ultimate Italian prog album, as essential to the canon as anything King Crimson or Genesis ever recorded. Per Un Amico has all the trappings of its vintage: 12-strings, Hammonds, Minimoogs, mellotrons, tubular bells, harpsichords, flutes, violins — it's a symphonic feast from start to finish. Luckily, the core songwriting is equally strong: Few musical transitions are more exciting than the sudden shift from serenity to dissonance on opener "Appena un po," and the title track pairs ultra-heavy and surprisingly funky riffs with a dreamy vocal melody that Jon Anderson probably would've loved to sink his teeth into.
9. The Mars Volta - 'De-Loused in the Comatorium' (2003)
Omar Rodríguez-Lopez and Cedric Bixler-Zavala always seemed like the wild cards in post-hardcore outfit At the Drive In — the former with his mind-melting guitar experiments, the latter with his surrealistic lyrical splatter. But no one could have predicted the proggy frenzy of De-Loused in the Comatorium, their first full-length under the Mars Volta banner. While the duo's snarling punk side remained intact, the overall palette was — and remains — nearly indefinable, adding notes of Led Zeppelin bombast, Frank Zappa freakiness, salsa, ambience and folk serenity.
8. Yes - 'Fragile' (1971)
Yes were one year away from their loftiest peak, Close to the Edge — a perfectly cohesive masterwork with zero wasted notes. In contrast, their fourth album is purposefully messy, bouncing from dynamic full-band pieces to lighter-weight solo showcases. (Most have held up just fine, including Jon Anderson's "We Have Heaven," which previewed the folkier one-man-band direction he'd explore in his solo career. Rick Wakeman's keyboard track "Cans and Brahms" still feels more obligatory than inspired.) But all four of the classic tracks are prog perfection, neatly divided between two semi-commercial songs ("Long Distance Runaround," the eternal "Roundabout") and two breathtaking workouts ("South Side of the Sky," "Heart of the Sunrise").
7. Genesis - 'Foxtrot' (1972)
Genesis followed up 1971's Nursery Cryme with their first masterpiece, a more imaginative sequel that fully showcased their two new recruits, guitarist Steve Hackett and drummer Phil Collins. "I was still going to see Yes every Wednesday at the Marquee and sill trying to bring a little of that musicianship into the band — the tricky arrangements they used to have," Collins said in an interview for the album's reissue DVD. "[I'd say], 'It's a shame we can't do stuff like that.'" They did plenty of stuff like that, like on the 23-minute "Supper's Ready," full of creepy religious imagery, neck-breaking sonic twists and future fan in-jokes ("A flower?"). But we listen in reverence to every Foxtrot track, including Hackett's elegant classical guitar instrumental "Horizons" and the mellotron-shaded "Watcher of the Skies."
6. Rush - 'Moving Pictures' (1981)
A relevant cliche: "Progressive rock" is only "progressive" if it progresses. A relevant reality: Your average "prog rock" fan is easily bored with the static of the verse-chorus format and three-minute tunes. With Moving Pictures, Rush pulled off a tricky dynamic: evolving with the times while staying true to their roots. Take "Vital Signs," which sounds like the Police jamming with Tangerine Dream — sequenced synths bubbling under reggae-rock grooves, with a dollop of new wave gloss the cherry on top. But even the most rigid Rush fans could delight in the instrumental fireworks of "YYZ" or "Tom Sawyer." Sure, they made flashier albums. But they never made a better one.
5. Jethro Tull - 'Thick as a Brick' (1972)
Jethro Tull's fifth LP is widely remembered for its intentionally ludicrous lyrics, drawing on the surreal epic poem of a fictional young boy, Gerald Bostock (officially credited on the elaborate sleeve). Bandleader Ian Anderson recalled in 1997 that his concept-album spoof, released at the height of prog mania, was deliberately "complex, confusing and, above all, tongue-in-cheek" — similar to the frenzied humor of giants like Monty Python. The music also had its moments of comic absurdity: endless rave-ups and masturbatory solos clearly winking at the audience. But the title composition — split into two sprawling epics — is also sturdier and more exciting than almost anything in the prog canon, from its flute-adorned opening theme to the triumphant Hammond organ crunch deep into Side Two.
4. Pink Floyd - 'The Dark Side of the Moon' (1973)
Pink Floyd reached peak prog with Wish You Were Here, but their most fully realized song cycle came two years earlier. What more can you say about The Dark Side of the Moon? There's a reason it remains one of the highest-selling albums ever — a light show-worthy spectacle whose out-there sound effects (the chiming clocks of "Time"), soulful vocal wailing (Clare Torry's lead turn on "The Great Gig in the Sky"), synth ambience ("On the Run") and warped blues-rock riffs ("Money") have somehow never become dated. It's a clear product of its era, but it's also eternal.
3. Genesis - 'Selling England by the Pound' (1973)
"I don't think there are any other albums like it from any other band," Steve Hackett once claimed of the fifth Genesis LP. "I think a band would be hard-pushed to say, 'Let's make an album like this.'" He also told Rolling Stone, "'[If] I had to look at a favorite album, I’d say it was Selling England by the Pound." There's a clear link between those two sentiments: This is the strangest, messiest music the band ever made — and also the most perfect. "Dancing With the Moonlit Knight" floats airy Scottish melodies into mellotron whispers and jazz-fusion pummel. "More Fool Me" is a breezy folk ballad. "Firth of Fifth" opens with classical piano and climaxes with the one of the most glorious guitar solos ever recorded. "The Battle of Epping Forest" begins with a military march and veers into organ-driven bombast filled with Peter Gabriel's eccentric gang-war play-by-play. Beautiful and twisted: classic Genesis.
2. King Crimson - 'In the Court of the Crimson King' (1969)
It's impossible to pinpoint the "first prog album" — mostly because "prog" is such a slippery term. Some look back to psych-era classics like Sgt. Pepper's and Days of Future Passed. For others, the movement crystalized with King Crimson's debut LP, an innovative hybrid of hard rock, folk, big-band jazz and symphonic sounds. Singer and bassist Greg Lake, who'd soon leave to form the supergroup ELP, is our tour guide through these aural twists and turns — slipping into a creepy low voice on the frantic "21st Century Schizoid Man," navigating the soft contours of "Moonchild" with a delicate croon. But every member is a crucial leg: Robert Fripp's guitar riffs range from pastoral to feverish; drummer Michael Giles keeps time in a uniquely ornamental style; Peter Sinfield's poetic images give the album a warped fairy tale atmosphere; and Ian McDonald is the not-so-secret MVP, layering up every tune with woodwinds and keys (including the mighty mellotron of the title track). Prog had precursors, but this album marked a bold line in the sand.
1. Yes - 'Close to the Edge' (1972)
"To this day it seems to have the perfect form," Bill Bruford wrote of Close to the Edge in his 2009 autobiography. "And form is everything." The physical structure of Yes' fifth album is indeed a marvel, with the 18-minute title track occupying the entire first side. But any band can slap a bunch of riffs together — every second is "Close to the Edge" is crucial to the experience. Seasons will pass you by during its voyage through dizzying counterpoint and new age ambience. Section I, "The Solid Time of Change," opens with tranquil birdsong before a breakneck shift into Steve Howe's fusion-y guitar tantrums — and that dynamic extreme carries through the song, with every member of the quintet (Howe, singer Jon Anderson, keyboardist Rick Wakeman, bassist Chris Squire, drummer Bill Bruford) adding career-highlight performances. Somehow the second side is equally perfect: Prog has never been more emotionally devastating than the middle section of "And You and I," during the transition from Anderson's cascading waterfall vocal into Wakeman's sky-parting mellotron. Bruford called the LP a "classic of the genre." He's correct, of course. But Close to the Edge also transcends genre.