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American prog

I happenned across a Canadian band Lighthouse on a reunion concert at Ontario place in Toronto in the early 80s. They were progish.
 
Mountain (American) and Foreigner (Anglo-American) - both (in my mind) what I arbitrarily think of as Stadium Rock. (By the way, I hate Foreigner even more than I love Alice Cooper. Hatehatehate.)

I think we need a rigorous definition of prog. Anyone? Was one ever arrived at on the "out of the closet" thread? Surely a genre like prog would thrive on stringent guidelines (possibly pages of them, referenced, counter-referenced, and footnoted, and preferably hand-scribed on vellum and bound in leather).
 
prowla said:
Mountain.
Are Foreigner American?
Santana.
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Theyr'e not prog. Mountain were a great band though. Foreigner may have a mix of UK American. The main chap Mick something or other is English. Santana are great but not prog, even with Tom Costers fine keyboard playing. He turned down Elvis to play with Sanatana. The ex Santana keyboard player Greg Rolie prior to Coster formed Journey along with a Santana protege Neil Schon? on guitar.
 
Prog requirements:

1. Gotta have a mellotron

2. Gotta have dry ice

3. Gotta have capes

4. Gotta have Roger Dean album sleeves

5. Gotta have gatefold triple albums

6. Gotta have beards

7. Gotta sing about wizards, dragons and dwarves
 
Off the top of my head:

Cathedral (not the UK lot, Yes/Crimson influenced and in turn they influenced Anglagard and hence a shedload of modern Scandinavian prog)

Glass (very Canterbury - Hopper, Sinclair and Elton Dean featured live with them)

Deadwood Forest

Djam Karet

And if Alice Cooper was prog, then Matt Monro was thrash metal
 
Pete the Feet said:
Theyr'e not prog. Mountain were a great band though. Foreigner may have a mix of UK American. The main chap Mick something or other is English. Santana are great but not prog, even with Tom Costers fine keyboard playing. He turned down Elvis to play with Sanatana. The ex Santana keyboard player Greg Rolie prior to Coster formed Journey along with a Santana protege Neil Schon? on guitar.
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I reckon Abraxas is a prog album.
 
Pavlov's Dog - ah yes, I bought their two albums on re-release during my 70s vinyl spree. Really liked 'Julia' and some other tracks but quite odd (also a prog prerequesite).

Can't add to the list of American prog, I just don't think they really understood it ........

CHE
 
CHE said:
Pavlov's Dog - ah yes, I bought their two albums on re-release during my 70s vinyl spree. Really liked 'Julia' and some other tracks but quite odd (also a prog prerequesite).

Can't add to the list of American prog, I just don't think they really understood it ........

CHE
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A mate of mine's sister was going out with the keyboard player when we were at school in the 70s; Dave Hamilton I think he was called, met him a couple of times a really decent chap. His keyboard hero was Chick Corea, so we bought an album Return to Forever. Never bought one of his though stranley enough as we had never heard of them before we met him.
 
CHE said:
Can't add to the list of American prog, I just don't think they really understood it ........
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From the perspective of a bunch of 'merikan musicians sitting around trying to decide what kind of a band they want to be, you may be right. Which makes it hard for me to explain Kansas (the band, not the big flat thing next to Colorado).

But we sure as heck seem to have appreciated prog well enough... at least, we bought tons of it.
 
Re: Alice Cooper, I love "Hard Hearted Alice" off 'Muscle Of Love" as well as being partial to 'Killer' and (some of) 'Zipper Catches Skin'.... If this is prog then;-
1. My street cred has gone
2. I'm going to drink myself into a stupor

PS I really like "Eighteen" as well.
 
foxwelljsly said:
The original Alice Cooper band made some of my favourite early 70's rock music. I don't think I could allow them to be called prog.

How about The Sun City Girls? Or even The Flaming Lips? What could be more prog than releasing a 4CD LP where all the discs are supposed to be played simultaneously?
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I agree with you about Alice Cooper.

The Flaming Lips though definitely aren't prog. They are far too good for that.

I own quite a few of their albums and have seen them perform a number of times.

Mind you, I didn't think that much of their cover album of Dark Side Of The Moon, which they did with the help of other fine musicians.

Maybe they really wanted to cover a Yes album, but settled on Dark Side because they didn't really feel up to it.

You have to have a Phd. in Pratdom to play prog.

Jack
 
Santana early stuff definitely not prog - dont know about stuff after Caravanseri -

I feel Jefferson Starship get tiresomely close to prog and themed albums at least the first two - I gave up after Bark.

But like the england football team - US prog easlily forgotten
 
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