Which is the Best Pre-1985 Prog Epic?

Guybrush · 02-06-2010, 05:13 PM

Quite a few months ago, Anteater, Comus and me thought we'd make a poll to figure out which is the best prog epic. We discussed what epics should be in there and made an archive for the interested people of MB to download so they could listen to the ones they had not yet heard. However, somewhere along the way we forgot about it and the thread never got made. I just recently discovered the archive, though, so I'm upping it and making the thread!

I just noticed after upping it that my archive is, sadly, an incomplete version - it doesn't have all the tracks in it that it should have. For example, I can see Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells is not in there. Still, the file size is getting rather impressive so I'm not gonna rectify the problem.

The question is simple, which of these songs is your favourite pre-1985 prog epic?

If you wanna vote for something which is not in the list, please, let me know with a post and I'll put it up there. Some of the bands here have several "epics" and in those cases, we chose one. That doesn't mean we can't add them to the poll! I just don't want to spend time adding stuff noone will vote for, so only suggest additions to the poll if you're gonna vote for them!

Guybrush · 02-06-2010, 05:29 PM

For me, it's not really such a tough choice. There's a lot of great tracks in that list, but ..

The first prog epic I fell in love with was ELP's Tarkus which I think is absolutely brilliant despite their waning popularity with the prog crowd. It would probably rank as number 2 on my own personal list. However, it doesn't measure up to the brilliance of Yes' Close to the Edge.

Rock music has never since been as beautiful

jackhammer · 02-06-2010, 05:52 PM

Marillion or Genesis. I love them both. Quite a few tracks on there I cannot stand and where is Echoes eh?

Although I like Prog, there is a shedload I cannot stand too and I'm quite picky when it comes to the genre. Oddly enough I have been working on a Prog comp for music 1990+ regarding epics but instead find myself just listening to it knowing that it won't get many listens (understandable with my tastes!).

Supper's Ready wins.

Seltzer · 02-06-2010, 05:59 PM

There are a couple I haven't heard so I'm downloading the compilation now.

Starless is the obvious choice for me but I'm not sure what I'd choose after that. Lady Fantasy has always been a favourite even if the intro is slightly jarring. Poseidon's Creation is an absolute epic and would probably be my second choice.

Guybrush · 02-06-2010, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jackhammer

Marillion or Genesis. I love them both. Quite a few tracks on there I cannot stand and where is Echoes eh?

Hah, it's possible we left it out because of fear it would ruin the whole competition .. I guess I should add it.

Anteater · 02-06-2010, 09:05 PM

It's not that hard a choice for me really; as great as many of the prog. epics of olden times were, Close to the Edge's title track hits a height few songs, long or otherwise, have ever reached.

Still, if given an alternative, I'd say King Crimson's Lizard or England's Three Piece Suite would do it for me.

Necromancer · 02-06-2010, 09:53 PM

Close to the edge would be my first pick over Rush 2112, only because it was an earlier release than 2112, Pink Floyd would take third.

Antonio · 02-06-2010, 11:07 PM

Thick as a brick!!!

Guybrush · 02-07-2010, 04:33 AM

I love Thick as a Brick. The only downside to it is I feel like the song has a few fillers, parts that are less awesome. It's not that weird considering the length of the thing, but it's not a feature in my absolute favourites.

I should mention that Harmonium's "Histoires Sans Paroles" is bloody gorgeous. Those who got the comp and don't know it yet should check it out.

We had some criteria for what qualifies as a prog epic, but I can't quite remember what they were. Maybe Anteater does. It had of course something to do with the song length, I'm just not sure how long they had to be. Possibly something like 15 minutes or more.

edit :

By the way, I'm sorry about the poor quality of the comp. It's poorly tagged etc etc etc. If people think it would be good, I'll make a new one eventually and put on people's suggestions for additional songs and reup it!

edit again :

Hang on, Starless is only a bit more than 12 minutes and Poseidon's Creation is not even that. Seems our criteria was 10 minutes .. That's not very long for an epic!

SATCHMO · 02-07-2010, 11:50 AM

I'm gonna' go with Cygnus X-1 off of Hemispheres by Rush. Not hugely popular, but still my favorite.

View Poll Results: Which is your favourite 1985-Prog epic? (* = not in compilation)
Camel - Lady Fantasy	2	2.17%
Capability Brown - Circumstances	0	0%
Caravan - Nine Feet Underground	0	0%
Egg - symphony2	0	0%
Eloy - Poseidon's Creation	0	0%
Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Tarkus	1	1.09%
Focus - Anonymus II	0	0%
Genesis - Supper's Ready	12	13.04%
Harmonium - Histoire Sans Paroles	0	0%
Hatfield and the North - Mumps	1	1.09%
Jan Dukes de Grey - Sun Symphonica	0	0%
Jethro Tull - Thick As A Brick	7	7.61%
Kansas - Incomudro - Hymn to the Atman	0	0%
King Crimson - Starless	5	5.43%
Lucifer's Friend - Sorrow	0	0%
Magma - Na Ektila	0	0%
Marillion - Grendel	1	1.09%
Mirthrandir - For Four	0	0%
Nektar - A Tab in the Ocean	0	0%
Pierre Moerlen's Gong - Downwind	0	0%
Renaissance - Song Of Scheherazade	1	1.09%
Rush - 2112	19	20.65%
Samurai - King Riff and Snow Flakes	0	0%
Soft Machine - Out-Bloody-Rageous	1	1.09%
The Nice - Ars Longa Vita Brevis	0	0%
Van Der Graaf Generator - A Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers	2	2.17%
Yes - Close To The Edge	20	21.74%
Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells *	5	5.43%
Pink Floyd - Echoes *	11	11.96%
King Crimson - Lizard *	2	2.17%
Yes - Gates of Delirium *	2	2.17%
Voters: 92. You may not vote on this poll

02-06-2010, 05:13 PM	#1 (permalink)
Guybrush Juicious Maximus III Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Scabb Island Posts: 6,525	Which is the Best Pre-1985 Prog Epic? Quite a few months ago, Anteater, Comus and me thought we'd make a poll to figure out which is the best prog epic. We discussed what epics should be in there and made an archive for the interested people of MB to download so they could listen to the ones they had not yet heard. However, somewhere along the way we forgot about it and the thread never got made. I just recently discovered the archive, though, so I'm upping it and making the thread! I just noticed after upping it that my archive is, sadly, an incomplete version - it doesn't have all the tracks in it that it should have. For example, I can see Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells is not in there. Still, the file size is getting rather impressive so I'm not gonna rectify the problem. The question is simple, which of these songs is your favourite pre-1985 prog epic? If you wanna vote for something which is not in the list, please, let me know with a post and I'll put it up there. Some of the bands here have several "epics" and in those cases, we chose one. That doesn't mean we can't add them to the poll! I just don't want to spend time adding stuff noone will vote for, so only suggest additions to the poll if you're gonna vote for them! __________________ Something Completely Different Last edited by Guybrush; 02-19-2013 at 08:17 AM.

02-06-2010, 05:29 PM	#2 (permalink)
Guybrush Juicious Maximus III Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Scabb Island Posts: 6,525	For me, it's not really such a tough choice. There's a lot of great tracks in that list, but .. The first prog epic I fell in love with was ELP's Tarkus which I think is absolutely brilliant despite their waning popularity with the prog crowd. It would probably rank as number 2 on my own personal list. However, it doesn't measure up to the brilliance of Yes' Close to the Edge. Rock music has never since been as beautiful __________________ Something Completely Different

02-06-2010, 05:52 PM	#3 (permalink)
jackhammer Ba and Be. Join Date: May 2007 Location: This Is England Posts: 17,331	Marillion or Genesis. I love them both. Quite a few tracks on there I cannot stand and where is Echoes eh? Although I like Prog, there is a shedload I cannot stand too and I'm quite picky when it comes to the genre. Oddly enough I have been working on a Prog comp for music 1990+ regarding epics but instead find myself just listening to it knowing that it won't get many listens (understandable with my tastes!). Supper's Ready wins. __________________ It be my music and film collection. “A cynic by experience, a romantic by inclination and now a hero by necessity.”

02-06-2010, 05:59 PM	#4 (permalink)
Seltzer Fish in the percolator! Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Hobbit Land NZ Posts: 2,870	There are a couple I haven't heard so I'm downloading the compilation now. Starless is the obvious choice for me but I'm not sure what I'd choose after that. Lady Fantasy has always been a favourite even if the intro is slightly jarring. Poseidon's Creation is an absolute epic and would probably be my second choice. __________________ In the Court of King Crimson \| Last.fm \| RYM

02-06-2010, 09:53 PM	#7 (permalink)
Necromancer Divination Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 2,655	Close to the edge would be my first pick over Rush 2112, only because it was an earlier release than 2112, Pink Floyd would take third.

02-07-2010, 04:33 AM	#9 (permalink)
Guybrush Juicious Maximus III Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Scabb Island Posts: 6,525	I love Thick as a Brick. The only downside to it is I feel like the song has a few fillers, parts that are less awesome. It's not that weird considering the length of the thing, but it's not a feature in my absolute favourites. I should mention that Harmonium's "Histoires Sans Paroles" is bloody gorgeous. Those who got the comp and don't know it yet should check it out. We had some criteria for what qualifies as a prog epic, but I can't quite remember what they were. Maybe Anteater does. It had of course something to do with the song length, I'm just not sure how long they had to be. Possibly something like 15 minutes or more. edit : By the way, I'm sorry about the poor quality of the comp. It's poorly tagged etc etc etc. If people think it would be good, I'll make a new one eventually and put on people's suggestions for additional songs and reup it! edit again : Hang on, Starless is only a bit more than 12 minutes and Poseidon's Creation is not even that. Seems our criteria was 10 minutes .. That's not very long for an epic! __________________ Something Completely Different

02-07-2010, 11:50 AM	#10 (permalink)
SATCHMO Al Dente Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Texas Posts: 4,708	I'm gonna' go with Cygnus X-1 off of Hemispheres by Rush. Not hugely popular, but still my favorite.