Urban Hat€monger ?

There was nothing remotely progressive about The Pretty Things.
I find it hilarious that people lump them in with prog bands just because they made an album with one central theme. As if that is somehow unique to prog rock (It isn't, Frank Sinatra did a 'concept album' in 1954)

The Pretty Things were an scuzzy R&B band like the Rolling Stones (Guitarist Dick Turner turned them down to go to art college in 1962), only they hung out with the counter-culture scene in Ladbroke Grove that spawned bands like The Deviants, Hawkwind, The Pink Faries & Motorhead . SF Sorrow is basically them copying the Stones Satanic Majesties album aided by a ton of drugs.

No wonder you didn't like it.

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Trollheart

Yeah I did wonder as I said about including them, but there are a lot of bands I have never heard of that seem to be on the verges of prog rock, and I had to try them in case I was missing out something important, particularly with the Bowie connection. Like you say though, nothing remotely prog about them and as I said in the review, I totally lost interest.

Oh well: on to 1969!

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Unknown Soldier

The problem is you're getting a lot of bands just because they were experimental or even just different on your lists, most of what you've been listening to so far is not really prog at all.

It looks like that you've been getting these recs from Wikipedia's prog releases by year, as their list has just so many albums that might appeal to a fan of prog without actually being prog. By the time you reach the 1970s you should find more relevant stuff.

Will you be covering Krautrock, as most prog lists seem to include it?

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Trollheart

You're absolutely right, though I did say I think at the beginning that I would be taking my main list from the Big W. I did try some books but most are either arranged so haphazardly that there's no way to get a timeline from them or are concentrated on one era or some favourite bands. Why has nobody ever wrote the definitive history of prog rock??

Oh, and before I move on to 1970 soon (which I'm really looking forward to, as it ties in with the bands I began to get into first -- Genesis, Supertramp, ELO etc) if you or anyone else has any recs I've missed out for the late 60s do let me know.

I will of course be covering Krautrock: I believe Organisation are up for 1969. But as each "scene" becomes more fleshed out I'll do separate sections on those. These are just the introductory entries for the nascent years I guess. One we get into the seventies things will be a lot more in-depth.

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The Batlord

Are you trying to say that most books on prog are unfocused and self-indulgent? Isn't that odd, though?

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Trollheart

I obviously need the comic book superhero graphic novel....

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The Batlord

What?

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Trollheart

A lot of really pivotal bands were formed in this year, and as we did for the previous year let's take a rather quick look at who they are, and what sort of an impact, if any, they would have on the scene. Obviously, once we get into their albums I'll talk more about them, and some will certainly deserve their own article, but for now here's the list.

Atomic Rooster (1969 – 1975 (i), 1980 – 1983 (ii))

Nationality: British
Original lineup: Vincent Crane, Carl Palmer, Nick Graham
First relevant album: Atomic Roooster, 1970

Impact: 7
The Trollheart Factor: 1
Linked to: The Crazy Word of Arthur Brown, ELP

Not many bands can say they opened for Deep Purple. Fewer can say that Deep Purple opened for them! But after the breakup of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown and following his recovery from mental illness, founder Vincent Crane got together with later ELP skinsman Carl Palmer and one of the most important prog rock bands of the seventies was formed.

Beggars Opera (1969 – 1976 )

Nationality: British
Original lineup: Ricky Gardiner, Alan Park, Raymond Wilson, Marshall Erskine and Martin Griffiths
First relevant album: Act One, 1970

Impact: 2
The Trollheart Factor: 0
Linked to:

One of the few, perhaps the only progressive rock band to come out of Scotland before the neo-prog revival of the eighties, Beggars Opera lasted for three albums and a total of seven years before they broke up. Founder Ricky Gardiner later worked with David Bowie and Iggy Pop.

Egg (1969 – 1972 (with a brief revival of sorts in 1974))

Nationality: British
Original lineup: Dave Stewart, Mont Campbell and Clive Brooks
First relevant album: Egg, 1970

Impact: 4
The Trollheart Factor: 0
Linked to: Hatfield and the North, National Health

Another prog band who didn't have too great a time of it. With their debut album released and relatively well received, they seem not to have wanted to put out the followup, and their third album only came about after the split of the band in 1972. Egg also peripherally featured folk supremo Steve Hillage, though in a previous incarnation of the band and before they became Egg.

Eloy (1969 – )

Nationality: German
Original lineup: Frank Bornemann, Erich Schriever, Manfred Wieczorke, Wolfgang Stocker and Helmuth Draht
First relevant album: Eloy, 1971

Impact: 4
The Trollheart Factor: 4
Linked to:

One of the few German progressive rock bands not to be linked to the Krautrock movement, Eloy were in fact pioneers in German rock history, being among the first bands in that country not to just play covers but to compose their own material. Their name is taken from the enlightened humans in the HG Wells novel “The Time Machine”. They are still active today (albeit being in hiatus from 1998 to 2009) although their last album, to date at any rate, was that one in 2009.

Focus (1969 – 1978 (i) 2002 - (ii))

Nationality: Dutch
Original lineup: Thijs van Leer, Jan Akkerman, Hans Cleuver, Martijn Dresden
First relevant album: Focus plays Focus/In and out of Focus, 1970

Impact: 6
The Trollheart Factor: 1
Linked to:

There's never quite been a thriving Dutch prog rock scene, but Focus were the ones to blaze a trail for the Netherlands and are probably best known for the hit single “Hocus Pocus”, as well as having guitarist Jan Akkerman in their ranks at one time.

Hawkwind (1969 – )

Nationality: British
Original lineup: Dave Brock, Nik Turner, Huw Lloyd-Langton, Michael Davies
First relevant album: Hawkwind, 1970

Impact: 10
The Trollheart Factor: 8
Linked to: Space Ritual, Motorhead, Pink Fairies, Inner City Unit

Perhaps one of the true progenitors of space rock, and certainly one of the first major bands to cross over into prog rock, Hawkwind are often known for being the springboard for later Motorhead vocalist and founder Lemmy Kilminster, but he did not join until 1971. Hawkwind use science-fiction and fantasy as well as classical literature in their lyrics, make a lot of use of feedback and spoken passages, effects and soundscapes. They are one of the oldest progressive rock bands, having never split up or taken a break, and have been going strong now for a total of forty-six years!

Organisation (1969 – 1970 )

(Already mentioned in the “Before the Storm” feature)

Renaissance (1969 – 1987 (i) 1998 – 2002 (ii) 2002 - (iii) )

Nationality: British
Original lineup: Annie Haslam, Jim McCarty, Keith Relf, John Tout, Michael Dunford, Jon Camp and Terry Sullivan
First relevant album: Renaissance, 1969

Impact: ?
The Trollheart Factor: 1
Linked to:

I must admit, I only know of Renaissance through the hit single “Northern Lights”, and for some reason thought they were Canadian! It seems they've been around from the start though, and are still going, having released a total of thirteen albums, so I had better get reading up on them! They are the first of the bands featured here to actually have released their debut in 1969, so we'll obviously be looking at it.

Supertramp (1969 – )

Nationality: British
Original lineup: Rick Davies, Roger Hodgson, Richard Palmer, Robert Millar
First relevant album: Supertramp, 1970

Impact: 5
The Trollheart Factor: 9
Linked to:

Although many will scoff at the inclusion of Supertramp as a prog rock band, that is how they started out, later metamorphosing into a sort of Genesis pop clone with hit singles like “Breakfast in America”, “Dreamer” and “The logical song”. Despite their later becoming the creative nucleus of the band and penning some of their greatest hits and best known songs, both Davies and Hodgson were initially reluctant to write lyrics for their debut album and left this to Richard Palmer, with the result that their first album is really nothing like what they would become known for. Although technically there were two incarnations of Supertramp, the one with Hodgson and the one that continued on after he left in 1982, the band never officially broke up so in reality they have been going since 1969, and are still going today, after a fashion.

Uriah Heep (1969 – )

Nationality: British
Original lineup: Mick Box, David Byron, Alex Napier, Paul Newton, Ken Hensley
First relevant album: Very 'eavy, very 'umble, 1970

Impact: 8
The Trollheart Factor: 5
Linked to:

Another band who have been going since '69 without a break, Uriah Heep have recorded twenty-four albums, their latest being released last year. Founder Mick Box is the only remaining original member.

So those are the main bands --- there were others of course, but I have chosen not to feature every one of them --- that got together this year although most if not all of them would not have an album released for at least another year. As for the albums we're going to look at for 1969...

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Trollheart

Ummagumma --- Pink Floyd

Double album by a band who would go on to become one of the most important in the genre. Half of it is live, while the rest is made up of solo work from each band member. In case anyone's wondering, I've left out More as it's a film soundtrack and I don't think needs to be visited. If I'm wrong, please let me know.

To our children's children's children --- The Moody Blues

Yes, they had two albums released this year. We'll be taking a look at both.

Renaissance --- Renaissance

One of the only bands formed this year to put out an album that same year, this is the debut album from Renaissance.

Phallus Dei --- Amon Duul II

Often cited as the first real Krautrock album, this was the debut album from Amon Duul II.



When I began this journal I admitted I was taking a leaf out of Unknown Soldier's book, and here is where I will be borrowing from his ideas again. As you can see, the amount of albums released by 1969 far outstrips those released in the previous year, and as we move into the seventies and beyond this will only increase. While not every one of them is important, essential or even relevant to the progressive rock movement, I'm trying to cover all those that are. But there are others that, while they hold no real importance, at least in a historical sense are still worth listening to and talking about. These I'll be looking at in two separate sections, titles yet to be decided but possibly “ProgWorthy”, “On the Fringes” or “We are not Worthy!”, which will feature albums that deserve not to be ignored, but are outside the main thrust of the journal, and something I may call “A bit of fun” or something similar, which will be albums that are, basically, just fun to listen to. Within those criteria, these are the ones from 1969 that I intend to feature.

Liege and Lief --- Fairport Convention

Said to be the first British folk rock album. We'll see.

Brainbox --- Brainbox

An album that came with a serious warning about causing serious psychological damage if listened to? How could we not grasp that nettle?

Catherine Ribeiro + 2 Bis --- Catherine Ribeiro

Must listen to this, if only because its title gives the impression it was recorded with two lesbians!

Dracula's Music Cabinet --- The Vampires of Dartmoore

I've heard so much about this I have to take the opportunity to review it!

It's a beautiful day --- It's a beautiful day

Because why not?

So that's our list for 1969. Obviously, there's a whole lot to get through so this is going to take a lot longer than 1968 did. I'll begin reviewing albums soon, as we move into the realm of what I would term more actual prog albums than just ones that influenced the genre. And Zappa.

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Trollheart

Note: obviously, I'll be writing lengthy articles on the bigger bands in the genre, Genesis being among them, but to be fair I'll wait till about the mid-seventies or later, so that by then we'll have listened to and reviewed most of their at least better known albums.

Album title: From Genesis to Revelation
Artiste: Genesis
Nationality: British
Label: Decca
Year: 1969
Grade: A
Previous Experience of this Artiste: Total; Genesis are/were my favourite band. I have all their albums.
The Trollheart Factor: 10
Landmark value: One of the major driving forces in progressive rock, Genesis became a byword not only for lengthy and deep songs, weird stageshows with odd costumes, but light shows and effects, as Peter Gabriel had always been interested in stagecraft and showmanship. Although their sound evolved through the decades, up to the time of their disbanding - and since - they have remained one the darlings of the prog rock movement and one of the first names one thinks of when speaking of prog rock.
Tracklisting: Where the sour turns to sweet/ In the Beginning/ Fireside song/ The Serpent/ Am I very wrong?/ In the wilderness/ The Conqueror/ In hiding/ One day/ Window/ Limbo/ Silent sun/ A place to call my own
Comments: I only got to hear this album long after I had devoured most of Genesis's discography up to about Abacab, and to say I was disappointed is an understatement. What I didn't understand of course at that time was that the band were still finding their feet, honing their sound, learning to play with one another and more to the point, the movement which would be known as progressive rock was only very embryonic at that stage, so there wasn't a lot for them to emulate or even influence. Even one of Peter Gabriel's later heroes, Peter Hammill of Van der Graaf Generator, had yet to come onto the scene. Add to that the fact that they were all still at school at the time of recording, most of them being only seventeen years old while Anthony Phillips was a mere sixteen, and that both the names Genesis and Revelation were taken and you can see how they wouldn't exactly have been on fire with enthusiasm for their debut album.

A note on the back of the CD cover sighs, in a typically what-can-you-do apologetic English way, “We were Genesis, then we learned there was a band with that name, so we changed our name to Revelation, only to find that name was also taken. Now are the band with no name, but we still wish you to enjoy our music”. That's not an exact quote --- I looked for the CD but can't find it --- but it's close enough. It does, however, allow you to see that this is hardly going to be the kind of band, should it last, that will sing about rockin' all night and dirty women! Far more esoteric and genteel subjects would colour Genesis's lyrics, making them a target for ridicule and leading to accusations of snobbery, some of which may have been justified.

But if there's one word that characterises most of the music here it's gentle. There's little of what would later become Peter Gabriel's trademark snarl (copied mostly from Hammill) or the sarcasm that would drip from titles on their next album, their first progressive one. If this album belongs anywhere, it's with the like of The Byrds and Simon and Garfunkel and Gordon Lightfoot: soft, inoffensive, restrained music with a very poppy tilt. And yet, there are certainly pointers towards the kind of music Genesis would compose in later years, in tracks like “Fireside song”, “In the wilderness” and “One day”.

Pastoral is another word that fits the album, and it's a style that would continue through at least their early albums, although the opener is perhaps a little more in-your-face and uptempo than most of the rest of the album, with a sort of psychedelic/blues feel to it and Gabriel's distinctive vocal shines right away and grabs your attention, even at the tender age of seventeen. Given how Genesis would become known for long, convoluted and epic songs, this album has none over five minutes, with most coming in around the three or four-minute mark. That spacey, psychedelic feel continues through to the next track, “In the beginning”. You know, Wiki tells me that Jonathan King, their manager for this album only and the man who ""discovered" them, had the band record an album based loosely around the Bible, but I don't see it here. Sure, this track, one called “The Serpent”, “In Limbo”, could be seen to refer to the Bible, but it's nowhere near a concept album based around the Holy Book. The themes are varied, mostly concentrating on nature, man's need for conflict, and women.

The first real standout comes in the gentle “Fireside song”, where for the first time you can hear the band come together and really write what could be called a proper song that could have been heard on the radio, though of course it was not released as a single. Soft, comfortable, safe, it's the perfect title for the song, and slides in on a lovely piano line from Tony Banks, taken up by Rutherford on the acoustic guitar as the song gets going. The first time I really sat up and took notice of this album when I initially listened to it. The strings accompaniment really helps too. “The Serpent” has a much bluesier, hard rock vibe to it, not one of my favourites, some good organ work certainly, then “Am I very wrong?” is quite gentle but has a hard piano line to it, sort of reminds me of some of Nick Cave's later work. The next great standout is “In the wilderness”, with a great hook in the chorus and a strong vocal from Gabriel, presaging the kind of presence he would create on later albums.

“The Conqueror” is okay I guess, but it's nothing special. “In hiding” is nice, has a kind of jangly rhythm to it but very rooted in the sixties for sure. Another great song is “One day”, which, while naive to the max is still very endearing with its tale of the man living in the forest and hoping to bring his lover to live there with him. It's driven on a rippling piano line from Tony Banks, and powerful percussion from John Silver. “Window” is a gentle little ballad with a very low-key vocal from Gabriel, while there are horns and a sort of Beach Boys vocal harmony to “In Limbo”, but the song chosen as their only single (which flopped of course) is just very pedestrian and you can see how King was trying to make them into a pop group, something they were at the time very much not suited for. The short closer is very nice, and bookends the album well.

Favourite track(s): Fireside song, One day, In the wilderness, Window, A place to call my own
Least favourite track(s): The Serpent, Silent sun
Overall impression: Were this the first time I was hearing Genesis I would have thought they probably had no real future. There's little on this album that really stands out or marks this band as being destined to lead the progressive rock revolution, but then in fairness a lot of that is down to the almost iron grip Jonathan King exerted over the band, and once they parted company with him they were free to explore their own, more intricate and daring compositions, and a legend was born. But apart from diehard Genesis fans like me, and completists and collectors, you can get by without having to listen to this album at all.
Personal Rating:
Legacy Rating:
Final Rating:

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