Look, as a movement, yes, certainly, progressive rock could only be progressive while there was something to progress to, and like all movements, once this is achieved you can't realistically call what follows that progressive.
So any album after, I would say arbitrary date, 1976, maybe, could be said not to be progressive in that sense.
But as a descriptor for a genre, I go with the seven accepted criteria:
Long tracks, usually 6 - 10 minutes or longer
Esoteric lyrical matter (mythology, fantasy, literature, history etc)
Non-standard musical instruments (cello, harp, violin, flute, harmonica, harpsichord etc)
Song suites
Non-standard song structures (no verse/verse/chorus/verse, generally)
Long instrumental passages, often introduction and/or outro
Predominance of keyboard, maybe acoustic guitar
As long as an album or artist fulfills at least five of these criteria, I consider them prog. You're free not to, but don't be a prog snob about it and try to pigeonhole all prog rock as being before 1972. That's just stupid and very arrogant. What about
Spock's Beard
Rush
Marillion
Big Big Train
Fish on Friday
Gazpacho
Arena
Mostly Autumn
Genesis mid-seventies to early eighties
Touchstone
Red Sand
and a hundred others? You can't discount them and say they're not progressive rock.
They may not be YOUR idea of prog rock, but they still qualify.
And I was born in 1963 as it happens, so there's no need to be snippy. Genesis were my first prog band, then Marillion and Rush, Mostly Autumn, and so on. The world didn't stop in 1972 dude, take my word for it. Don't be caught dead with a prog album after that year if you want, but don't expect everyone else to agree with you. There's a whole lot of superb prog out there if you could take off your blinders and just look for it, but if you don't wish to do that, live in 1972. You're welcome to it. You're missing a whole lot of great music though.
Oh, FYI: I never put myself forward as an expert. I've learned, and continue to learn, a lot while writing my History of Prog journal, but I'm nowhere near an expert. I'm simply a prog head, someone who enjoys listening to prog. So please don't put words or claims into my mouth.
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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018
Last edited by Trollheart; 08-01-2022 at 12:54 PM.
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Best post in this entire thread! Good one, Mindfulness.
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