In a voyage to the borderlands of this podcast's announced subject, this week we listen to three records that might not be your (or anyone's) idea of prog rock, but which all share something elusive with the music that more comfortably flies the Mellotron Flag.  We start with the Incredible String Band's 1968 psych-folk opus "The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter," cross an ocean and a continent to the sunny L.A.-based sound of Ambrosia's 1975 self-titled debut, and wind up in the studio with Kate Bush and her arrival as a sonic auteur, 1982's "The Dreaming." We finish by facing the question t ..read more

The English keyboardist, violinist and composer Eddie Jobson has a career that has touched nearly every corner of prog rock's strangely shaped universe. A prodigy who joined the band Curved Air at the age of 17, he went on to play with Roxy Music and Frank Zappa before becoming part of UK, prog's first "supergroup," in 1977, alongside bassist/vocalist John Wetton, drummer Bill Bruford (both ex-King Crimson) and guitarist Allan Holdsworth. UK burned briefly and brightly, and to lead us through the thrills of their self-titled debut and their follow-up "Danger Money" we're joined by NYC's favori ..read more

If there's a single record that might be said to occupy the heart of prog rock, there's a good case to be made for Genesis's 1972 "Foxtrot," a record that begins with the cinematic, Mellotron-drenched "Watcher of the Skies," comments on rapacious landlords in a mixture of Dickens and dystopian sci-fi with "Get 'Em Out by Friday" and then winds up with "Supper's Ready," clocking in at almost 24 minutes, a journey through mystery, mythology, identity crisis, and the Book of Revelation that will have you humming along in 9/8. This week, Charlie, Henry, and Bill face down the task of explaining ju ..read more

"The Musical Box!" "Harold the Barrel!" "The Return of the Giant Hogweed! "You may be asking "Could these possibly be the titles of enduring classics that no home should be without?" You might already suspect that we'd answer that question in the affirmative, but whether you're already a fan of the 1971 Genesis album Nursery Cryme or just want to increase the amount of joy in your life, in this episode Charlie, Henry, and Bill tell the story of how Phil Collins and Steve Hackett joined Gabriel, Banks, and Rutherford to brew this delightful concoction. (And stay tuned for part 2, in which we fo ..read more

Charlie, Henry, and Bill begin their journey into wild musical excess with a voyage to 1976 London, as the band Genesis records its first album ("A Trick of the Tail") after the departure of its flamboyant lead singer Peter Gabriel and follows it up with the most Englishly-titled album in rock, "Wind and Wuthering."  Discussed: the music of loss, putting your overture at the end of a record, Phil Collins's big moment, maybe having a little too much synth freedom and a hidden jukebox musical.  3/06/23: UPDATED WITH SOUND CLIPS! Discussed in this episode Genesis's "A Trick Of The Tail ..read more

“Have you walked on the stones of years?  When you speak, is it you that hears?” If these lyrical questions are familiar, you’re one of thousands of prog fans who looked at the crudely rendered, mechanical tank-armadillo creature on the cover of Emerson, Lake and Palmer’s TARKUS and said “I want to know more.” Did you ask yourself "What is the 'Endless Enigma', anyway" as you gazed at their fused heads on the cover of their follow-up, TRILOGY? This week, Charlie, Henry, and Bill get an organ transplant (sorry) from prog rock’s keyboard-centric power trio to take you on a trip into a futur ..read more

Is there any purer expression of the prog-rock moment than the one-side-per-track "concept album"?  How about a double concept album?  This week, Charlie, Henry and Bill  say Yes to the excess and set sail across the four sides and 80-plus minutes of Yes's 1973 "Tales from Topographic Oceans." Conceived when vocalist Jon Anderson got his hands on Parahamhansa Yogananda's "Autobiography of a Yogi," gestated in a Georgia hotel room by candelight and born in a London studio decorated as a farm (complete with bales of hay), the result is the record that became an instant symbol of p ..read more

Lace up your fringed boots, grab your favorite woodwind and your ticket for the Renaissance Faire: this week, Charlie, Henry, and Bill dive into the anti-cool heart of prog rock via a pair of mid-70s Jethro Tull masterworks: 1974's "War Child" and 1975's "Minstrel in the Gallery." Turning from the hyper-extended musical excursions of "Thick as a Brick" and "A Passion Play," the band's return to song is also an introduction of spikier melodies and tighter conceptions. Discussed: dressing in doublet and hose, loving (or hating) the movie Time Bandits, a word to the wise about choosing "Bungle in ..read more