New Goldmine Poll's results showing Yes and Jethro Tull neck and neck!

Vote at http://www.goldminemag.com/

Where's my Hawkwind?!?

From what I've heard, you don't come proggier than ELP. Kings of prog!

No Marillion?

Uh-oh, Googa, Yes way out in front at 41%, nearest competition is EL&P at 11%.

I skipped school that day!

ELP was proggier than Yes considering Yes did have a "pop" era around 90125.

ELP has always remained very proggy.

Was Asia lite-prog?

Very lite!

ELP has always remained very proggy.

Well, if you point out Yes with "90125" ELP were anything but prog on the "In The Hot Seat" debacle. "Black Moon" and "Love Beach" have a ton of Pop songs as well, though there is Prog on each. I also love those albums, but "In The Hot Seat" is a disgrace!
All that beign said, ELP get my vote as most proggy from that list.

In my book, it doesn't get proggier than King Crimson.

I agree -- Frippe's King Crimson particularly with Belew, Bruford and Levin were way out on the edge.

There's also a widely held notion that Crimson originated "prog" rock with their debut album. Although I think the origins are much murkier than that. I mean, consider what Traffic and Procol Harum were also doing that same time period?

But the wall of mellotron in "Epitaph" sure seems like the start of some musical trend to me.....

Didn't Procol Harum start before Traffic? "Whiter Shade of Pale" seems to me to be the obvious starting point. The Nice are also among the pioneers.

I think Traffic and Procol were comtemporary arrivals. Traffic’s first single, “Paper Sun,” enters the U.K. charts, where it will peak at #5. October 2, 1967. Steve Howe's work in '67 on Tomorrow's "My White Bicycle" gives him credentials in the transition from "psychedelia" to the post-psychedelic prog. I love Tomorrow's rendition of "Strawberry Fields"...

The Moody Blues also deserve mention as one of the originators of prog. And, these days it doesn't get much more prog than Dream Theater!

Even objectively, I find it very difficult to believe that Emerson Lake and Palmer got no votes whatever. Where'd they take this poll - outside WalMart?

When I think of the term 'supergroup' I think of members who have come together from other very well known bands to form a new (super) group. If that's the case then none of the bands on the poll fit the bill. The closest we've come on this thread is the King Crimson line-up that Jimbo mentioned and Asia.

If the poll had been for the best prog group then Marillion, Fish, Porcupine Tree, Hawkwind, PFM, Gentle Giant and Dream Theater could surely have replaced some of those listed.

That said; my vote would be a toss-up between KC & ELP. As to why ELP recieved no votes - they're definitely an acquired taste (probably for the absence of guitar as a lead instrument) and may come across as too pretentious.

joebase

I definitely would agree! Pinder's pioneering mellotron work alone qualifies them...

The vote tally I captured was very early. ELP later moved way up to second place at 11%, the nearest competition to Yes' 41% lead.

Your point about the lack of a lead guitar in ELP is insightful.

I'm not sure if ELP were perceived as more pretentious than any of the other proggers. Yes was always accused of pretension, as was Tull with "Passion Play". I suspect most proggers are accused of pretension at some point.

But isn't that what prog is all about?

So it would seem.

Another reason ELP may be percieved that way may be Emerson's fondness of Classical music that was prevelant even in his days with The Nice.

I love the guys. I caught them for free in Dallas around the Black Moon tour. Outstanding show. There was hardly anyone there. When they launched into Pirates I was floored!

joebase

In order to fully appreciate prog, you need to "get" classical music, and I can't really get into classical music. The only prog I've got now is Strawbs. I plan on expanding into Can and The Moody Blues, but I don't think I'll ever get into prog in a big way. I did listen to ELP as a teen-ager, but gave up on them.