What was the best-selling prog-rock album of 1972?
By the time the 1960s came to a close, bands like The Beatles, Cream and Pink Floyd had all set the foundation that prog rock would be built upon.
Prog-rock remains one of the most difficult genres to pin a description to, given that its unpredictability is exactly what appeals to people. It’s essentially mainstream rock music, but with an added element, be that in its construction, atmosphere, blend of genres or storytelling, which means it can’t exist within the mainstream sphere.
The moment rock bands started to get more experimental with their approach to their music, prog rock was just around the corner. Suddenly, people were excited about taking this style of music that had already captured the hearts of the public and bending it into a shape that was completely unrecognisable. If the ‘60s were the years when rock became mainstream, the ‘70s were the decade that the genre was bent out of shape, and for the better.
Ian Anderson, one of the biggest names in prog rock, spoke in an exclusive interview with Far Out about how some bands from the ‘60s helped to shape the genre and make it what it is today. While we might not categorise a lot of these acts as “prog”, the music they made showed people the way when it came to blending genres and being more ambitious with this style of music.
“I suppose one of the precursors before it was really being called prog rock,” he said, “Probably at a time when maybe progressive rock had just being maybe mentioned for the first time in the British music press, it would be the band The Nice, which featured Keith Emerson, who went on to be in Emerson, Lake & Palmer, a true prog rock band years later. But yes, I would go with The Nice and their first major album, which…name escapes me. That was something that got me fired up.”
He tight sporting prog rocking flutist continued, “I could also include Piper at the Gates of Dawn and The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper’s in 1967, released only three months apart from each other. Those two were a signpost saying, ‘Progressive rock this way’. They were intriguing because they were a sign of things to come.”
Because of these bands, the ‘70s were primed to show the world the power of prog rock, and one of the biggest years for the genre came in 1972. This was a period where Genesis, Yes, Jethro Tull and Emerson, Lake and Palmer were all releasing exceptional music, but which of their albums was the most successful?
So, what was the best-selling prog album in 1972?
It’s interesting to use the “best-selling” metric for a genre like prog, as it’s supposed to be any kind of rock music that can’t sit in the mainstream. As such, by their very nature, prog rock albums shouldn’t be best sellers, and they certainly have no place at the top of the charts.
However, this year was such a massive moment for the genre that some of the albums released ended up going to number one.
While there were plenty of great prog bands who climbed to the top of the charts with their releases, the best-selling of all of them was Jetho Tull’s Thick as a Brick. Released in March, the album contains just one continuous piece of music, an experimental move that really highlighted the boundaryless nature of this genre. Despite not being suitable for the radio, people still went out and bought the album en masse once they’d heard about how truly excellent it was.
