The five greatest prog-rock songs of the 20th century
Prog-rock, as elusive as it is cool, is a form of rock music that knows no bounds and has subsequently given us some of the best songs ever recorded.
Great minds see this genre as a limitless exploration of rock. When one of its pioneers, Frank Zappa, attempted to define what it actually was, he struggled to do so. He said, similar to what I have here, that it’s something which falls under the umbrella of rock, but that uses different elements to separate itself from the mainstream.
“I would presume that people would accept this definition,” said Zappa, “Progressive rock is anything that doesn’t sound like regular rock. Regular rock is everything that sounds like itself. All songs which sound the same, everything on MTV, everything on the radio, that’s rock. Progressive rock is stuff that doesn’t sound like that.”
Thanks to the amount of range available to artists when exploring this genre, the songs present within it are only consistent in their quality, not their sound. It’s hard to pick the best out there, but we’ve given it a go, so here are five of the best prog-rock songs from the 20th century.
The greatest prog-rock songs of the 20th century:
Jethro Tull – ‘Aqualung’
Jethro Tull is the epitome of prog-rock bands; when you listen to their discography, you’ll come across a range of different styles and sounds, all of which fall under the umbrella of rock, but that are completely unique in the various cultural and sonic changes that occur throughout. With that in mind, you have to give credit where it’s due and award longevity in the face of such experimental extremes.
Despite it being decades since the song and the album ‘Aqualung’ were released, it remains a go-to for Jethro Tull fans around the world. There are a number of reasons for this: the exemplary guitar lines, the subtle harmony embedded within those spikey vocals, but if you were to ask Ian Anderson, the song has stood the test of time because of its relevancy.
“I believe the sentiments of the song are as obvious now as they were in 1971 because the issue of homeless people hasn’t gone away,” he said, “You still see them everywhere. In the 1950s and ’60s, we called them tramps, but they were harmless. Now, as so many are on the streets due to drug problems or sexual exploitation, it has become, if anything, more worrying. All of which makes ‘Aqualung’ so relevant.”
Cream – ‘Tales of Brave Ulysses’
Speaking of Ian Anderson, when he was asked which bands he believed started prog-rock, he said that while they’re not always specifically labelled as such, the playing styles of the members of Cream certainly reflected what the sound became.
“A more progressive approach, which had been the latter part of ’66, listening to people like Graham Bond, who had at that point in his band Jack Bruce on bass and Ginger Baker on drums. In many ways, Graham Bond was kind of a precursor of that thing that became progressive rock,” he said, “And, of course, Cream in its way, when those two guys left Graham Bond and set out as Cream, that became something that moved Eric Clapton along from just being a blues guitarist.”
There are plenty of Cream songs to choose from when it comes to picking great examples of prog before prog was even really a thing, but one of their greatest comes from their record Disraeli Gears, and is ‘Tales of Brave Ulysses’. This is a song with layers that seem to have a beginning, middle, and end in the same way that fables do. The narrative is a prog precursor, the sound is revolutionary, and it’s truly a musical masterpiece.
Pink Floyd – ‘Comfortably Numb’
There are probably better Pink Floyd songs and albums out there which reflect prog-rock in a much truer sense. Piper at the Gates of Dawn is certainly a more accurate reflection of the genre as a whole; however, there is something about that early Pink Floyd music which sounds a touch too out there. It leans into the limitlessness of prog and psychedelia in a way which isn’t concise, but merely experimental for the sake of it.
When we move on to some of their later material, such as the entirety of The Dark Side of the Moon, we hear what the band can do when they lean into the lack of restrictions in front of them but still operate as a unit. Every single aspect of this song is perfect, nothing more, nothing less.
The atmosphere, the theme, the lyrics, the guitar work, it all comes together in a way which is truly wonderful, as we’re told a story but also given a solid piece of music at the same time.
King Crimson – ’21st Century Schizoid Man’
The beauty of prog-rock is that while the genre is undeniably rock, it can be presented in many different forms. There are truly no limits on the bands who play this kind of music, and yet, managing the balance between complete musical freedom and still making something which is exciting to listen to and comprehensive is incredibly difficult for some, borderline impossible for others, and then you get King Crimson with ‘21st Century Schizoid Man’.
There is an unrelenting energy to this song which grabs your head and shakes it beyond repair. Many music fans’ lives can be effectively divided into pre and post this song, as regular, mundane tracks just don’t quite sound the same once you’ve been exposed to something like this. The band were able to capture this energy by recording the whole song in one take (after a great deal of rehearsing, of course), but it means that what you wind up hearing on the track is a burst of rock excellence.
And who is the track about? Well, that remains up for debate, but before a gig in 1969, band member Robert Fripp dedicated it to “an American political personality whom we all know and love dearly. His name is Spiro Agnew”.
Rush – ‘2112’
Epic in every sense of the word, this perfect piece of prog comes in at 20 minutes long, and not a single second passes that isn’t wholly justified and intrinsic to the record. You don’t just get a song with this piece of music; you get a story, one divided into seven chapters, each of which leads into the next and helps drive a story so layered and complex that no other band would ever even dream of attempting something so bold.
The band captured magic in whatever shape container best holds as much, setting down something both well thought out but also never overdone or too perfect. When discussing the track, Neil Peart explained how that was the case.
“We made three albums in 18 months from the time I joined the band,” he said, “By the time we did ‘2112‘, we had a whole month to write, rehearse and record that album, so it was done under the rawest of circumstances but with such conviction and enthusiasm. We were so angry at that time.”
