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Musical Ambition, Cultural Accreditation and the Nasty Side of Progressive RockAuthor(s): Jay Keister and Jeremy L. Smith
Source: Popular Music, Vol. 27, No. 3 (Oct., 2008), pp. 433-455Published by: Cambridge University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40212401Accessed: 22-08-2014 09:19 UTC
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Popular
Music
2008)
Volume
27/3.
Copyright
© 2008
Cambridge University
ress,
pp.
433-455
doi:10.1017/S0261143008102227
rinted
n
the United
Kingdom
Musicalambition,ulturalaccreditationnd the
nasty
ide
of
progressive
ock1
JAY
KEISTER
and
JEREMY
L. SMITH
Department
f
Music,
niversityf
Colorado,oulder,
O,
USA
E-mail:
Abstract
Progressive
ock
f
he
arly
970shasbeen emoniseds
a nadir n
the
istoryf
ock
rimarily
because
f
he mbitions
f
progressive
ock
musicians. ritics
ave
nterpreted
hese mbitions
as
attempts
oelevate ock
music o the evel
fhigh
rt
n
order o
gain
cultural
ccreditation
from
n
unspecified
ultural lite.
This
nterpretation
s
furtherompounded
y
the ommon
notion
hat
rogressive
ock's
ubject
matter
s
dominated ore
y
ndividualistic
uests or
spirituality
han
by
socio-political
ritique,
esulting
n a
stereotypef
progressive
ock s
apolitical, retentious
nd
conventionallypwardly
obile. riticswhohave
propagated
his
stereotype
including
ome
musicologists
havemisunderstoodhe ountercultural
olitics
f
youngmusiciansuringhis ra andhaveoverlookedhehighlyeveloped usical oeticsf
progressive
ock
hatwere
n
facthighly
oliticised.
his
paper
xamines
our f
the
eading
progressive
ock ands
f
he
arly
970s
Emerson,
ake nd
Palmer,
ing
Crimson,
enesis
and
Yes and
reveals he
nasty
ide
of progressive
ock:
scathing
riticism
f rampant
militarism
nd ocial
onformity
hat uns ountero
the
revailing
arrativen which
he
enre
is
dismissed
s an
escapistantasy
ith n elitist
genda.
Introduction
Nice asties
rede
riguer
hese
ays.
Guardian
eekly,August
970)
Progressiveock f he 970s sgenerallyegardedsamovementoundedy group
of
musicians
fthe
Britishounter-culture
nspired y
the
xperimental
nd
psych-
edelic
rock f
the
Beatles,
imi
endrix
nd
Cream,
mong
others.2 t its
height
progressive
ock
ands such
as
Emerson,
ake and
Palmer,
es
and
Genesis om-
manded
he
music
ndustry's
ost
avishly
emunerative
eals as
they
ntroduced
formal
tructures
nd
nstrumentation
fclassical
music,
azz
and worldmusic nto
rock
o
culpt op
record
lbums nto
omplex,
ulti-movementorks n
a
scale
hat
was
unprecedented
n
their
tylistic
radition.herewerealso
less
visible
roups,
such
as
Van der Graaf
Generator,
enry
Cow,
Magma
and
Faust,
who created
aggressive
an-tonal
orks
with
pocalypticyrics
nd
dystopianmagery
o
pave
thewayforxperimentsnextremeockmusic y atter-dayroupsuch s TheMars
Volta3
nd
John
orn's
Naked
City,
who have
drawn
ontroversy
ver
heir
epic-
tions f
ystematic
uman
orture,
xecution
nd
criminal
iolence.
n
various
ways
the
forementioned
rogressive
roups
f the
1970s ook he
ead
in
developing
433
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434
Jay
Keister
nd
Jeremy
.
Smith
musical
anguage
o
express
uch
unsettlingositions.
t s not
urprising
hat
ro-
gressive
metal
ands such s
Tool,
Primus
nd
Opeth,
who
stand
mong
hemost
provocative
f
recent
rtists,
hare
stylisticffinity,
s well s
a
common
abel,
with
progressiveock fthe1970s.But riticsnd students fprogressiveockhavenot
appreciated
his
spect
f he
movement.
nstead,
here
s a
strange
ense f almness
attributedo
this
style
hathas
haunted ts
reception
o this
day.
Through
he
perpetration
f
myth
hat he
musical mbitionsf
progressive
rtists an ounter
to
theaesthetics f
rock,
he
disturbing
ature f ts
dentity
s
'progressive'
as
been ost.
We contend hat his
eculiar
ritical mission elies
fundamental
is-
conception
bout he
motivationsehind hismusic.
Of
ll
popular
tyles
f
music,
rogressive
ock s the
nly
ne characterised
y
its
musical mbition.
he
Oxfordnglish
ictionary
efines he
word mbitiontself
as 'the rdent
esire o rise o
highposition,
r to
attain
ank,
nfluence,
istinction
or
other
referment'
nd
lists nother
onnotation
f
ostentation,
isplay
f
the
outwardokens fposition,sriches,ress, ain-glory,omp' OED 1989,v. ambi-
tion').
The
derisory
one
here
notwithstanding,
heres no
denying
hat he erm
its
well the
flamboyant
ehaviour f
Keith
merson,
ick
Wakeman
nd other
oung
progressive
ock tarswho
were
enjoying
exual
nd
exhibitionistic
riumphs
hat
made hem
he
nvy
f heir
eers.
ut atherhan onsider heir utward
isplays
f
ostentation
n
fashion nd
attitude,
ock
ritics
nd
musicologists
like
have ocated
the
ocio-political
mbitionsf
progressive
ockers
recisely
n
theirmusical
ctivi-
ties,
n
the
appropriation
f
nonpopular
musical orms
. .
European
classical"
music,
azz
and
vant-garde
usic'
Weinstein
002,
.
91
.
Not
only
s
t
ypical
o ee
this s an
expression
f
sociocultural
ovement,
pecifically
n
attempt
o
put
forth
value for heupper-middlelass' ibid., . 92) it s alsocommonlysserted hat he
upper-middle
lass
supposedly
nvolved erewas a musical stablishment
un
by
adults.
n
this cenario
he ambitions f these
progressive
ockerswere
directed
toward
single
goal
to be
'accepted
by
their lders'
Hatch
and Milward
987,
p.
150).4
We
beginby
questioning
he
objective
ehind
his
musical mbition:Was
it
really
irected oward he
pprobation
f dults? o answer hiswe
turn
irsto
the
often-citediner
otes f he lbum
Acquiring
he aste
y
he
rogressive
andGentle
Giant. he
authors sed this
orum o
pompously
tate hatit s our
goal
to
expand
the
rontiersf
ontemporary
opular
music t the
isk
f
being npopular
. .
From
the
utsetwe have
abandoned ll
preconceived
houghts
n
blatant
ommercialism.
Insteadwehopetogiveyousomethingarmore ubstantialndfulfilling.llyou
need o
do is sit
ack,
nd
acquire
he aste'
Gentle
Giant
971
.
Commentators
ave
had a field
ay
with his
tatement.
ere,
from hemouths fthemusicians
hem-
selves,
was an
expression
f all
the elitism nd
pretension
hat
betrayed
ock's
supposed
dolescent
opulism,
r,
n
the
memorable ordswithwhich ester
angs
described
rogressive
ock's lassical
usions,
the nsidious efoulmentf
all that
was
gutter ure
n
rock'
Bangs
002,
.
50).
But
look t the ontextf he tatement
by
Gentle iant
eveals more
omplicated
ituation.heband hose o llustrate
he
same album
with
over rt hat o
thoroughly
eflates heir
igh-toned
ote nside
that t
seems o meet
Bangs
right
here
n
the
gutter
e found o free f
corrupting
elements.
urely
he ame dult
membersf he lite
whowould
ppreciate
he
highart one f he iner oteswouldbe
put
off
y
the over f he ame lbum hat hows
a
tongue
bout
o
acquire
he aste' f
peach
hat
esembles
person's
uttocks
see
Figure).
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Musical
ambition 435
Figure.
cquiring
heTaste
lbum
over,
entle iant.
With his athroomumour, entleGiant pensthedoortothenasty ide of
progressive
ock.
ynasty
we mean
verything
hat
might
e
considered
ad form
n
musical
stablishmentircles: rom
mages
of
tongues alivating
ear
buttocks
o
offensive
n-stage
ntics such s
flag urnings
to
excruciatingly
oud
and disso-
nant
epictions
fwarfarend detailed arrativesf
human astration.
t he ore f
all
this
astiness,
e
believe,
as
something
onfrontational,
opulist
nd
political.
n
the
wake of urban
riots,
olitical
ssassinations
nd
student
massacres
n
college
campuses
n
the ate
1960s,
many
n
the
youth
ulture urned o
the
nasty
ide
of
political
ntercourse.
egardless
f their
ersonal olitical
eliefs,
rogressive
ock
musicians
t
the imewere ssociatedwith his ountercultural
ovement,
ne
that
lashedoutagainst nyformfauthoritypolitical r cultural inwaysthatwere
intended
obe
malevolent,
isruptive
nd foul.5
dmittedly,
t s not
asy
to discuss
these
hings
n
theforum f
scholarlyournal.
However,
we see as
a
paradigm
f
distortionhe
eglect
fGentle iant's
mage
f
uttocks
n
favour f
heir
retentious
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436
Jay
Keister nd
Jeremy
.
Smith
statement
bout art'.Since he ime f
progressive
ock,
hemere
presence
f
any
trappings
f
lassicalmusic r adult'
ntellectualulture as caused
many
o ee t s
an
imperturbable'tyle
fmusic Atton
001,
.
29
.
In
this
aper
we
attempt
o hift
theparadigmnd drawattentionack to the nastier' ide of theprogressiveock
movement.
n
revisiting
ertain
ey
works,
e
hope
o howhow
particular
rand
f
politics
was voiced
through
ven themost
popular
ands ike
ELP,
King
Crimson,
Genesis
nd Yes.
Following
hiswe consider he auses nd
outcomes f he
ritical
derision f the
ingle
most
eplored enre
f
postwar op
music',6
uestioning
he
validity
f his
rope
f ondemnationhat nforms ost
arrativesfrock.
Emerson,
ake
and Palmer:road warriors randed as war
criminals
One
group
rom
he
arly
970swellknown or ts
vain-glory,omp
nd
ostentation
wasEmerson,ake ndPalmerELP .Musical mbition asperhapswhatmadeELP
so iconic
f
progressive
ock
n that
hey,
more
han
ny
other
roup,
rocked he
classics'
n
the iteral
ense.
Certainly
he
repertoire
ackled
y
ELP
was
ambitious
(Mussorgsky,opland,
Ginastera),
ut
he
group's tyle
f
playing
he lassicswith
extremes
f
volume,
istortion,
apid
tempos
nd
amplified
eedbackmade for
collision
f
high
and low culture
hathas created ome confusion
mong
critics
negotiating
he
opulist
estheticsfrock.
Historians
f
progressive
ock ound
he nswer o the ritical
uandary osed
by
ELP's
classical
ppropriations
n
a 1974
ssayby
Lester
angs
n
which e
abels
ELP war criminals'.
he reliance n
Bangs
for n assessment fthis iewhas
been
considerable,
o the
point
where
n
edifice
f orts as beenbuilt
pon phrase,
or
it s treated lmost s a metaphoror hecritical isdainofprogressiveock s a
whole.
But he
osition
angs
akes
n
this rticle
s
actually
mbivalent.
angs
wrote
admirably
f
KeithEmerson
s one who could
churn t out so
relentlessly'
nd
recalled
with obvious
pleasure
the
nasty
ide of Emerson's oncert
ehaviour,
describing
ow
the
keyboardist:
vaulted ff
he
tagewaving
what
ooked ike
theremin
round,
early ecapitating
everal
coeds
nd a
rentacop
o forzak f
upra-
WHIIINE
Reclambering
nstage,
e
capped
venhis
own how
bywiping
is ss
with t:
WZZEEEEEE
Bangs
002,
.
48
r
Despite
his
dmiring
tance,
angs
oes
confronthe ines f lass-based
uthenticity
thatwere rossed
n
ELP's
Classical
usion',
oting
ith
ontempt
ts
mix
f
uppos-
edlyhigh ndlow culturalignals. erhaps, hough, e felt ompelled oadopta
critical
tance
fter
merson efused
o attend is
nterview,
dding
perhaps
o the
critic's
rudging
espect
or his
rrogant,outhful
tar.
n
any
ase,
fter
aiting
he
othermembers
f
theband
during
he nterview or
his rticle
and
facetiously
complimenting
hem
n their
olite
manners),
angs
nared hem
n theirmusical
ambitions:
e
forced hem
o admit
hat
hey oped
their udienceswould seekout
more
music rom
he lassical
epertory
fter
eeing
heir how.
However,
ake and
Palmer onceded
eadily
hat hemain
point
f
heir usion xercise as toentertain
their
udiences,
ot
to
enlighten
hem. o counter
his,
angs
departed
rom
he
precocious
dolescent
mage
he liked
to
portray
n
his
writing
nd
adopted
the
attitude fthe upposed dultthat rogressiveockers ereouttoplease. n this
guise
he ritic
imself
eemedmore
ntent n
protecting
he
purity
f
theClassical
repertory
hanthe
band members.
t was uncharacteristic
f
Bangs
to miss the
opportunity
ere
o
point
ut the
blatant
conoclasm
emonstrated
y
the
group's
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Musical
ambition
437
'insidious
efoulment'fthe lassics.Musicalmatters
side,
Bangs learly
dmired
the ock
andfor
ll
ts
riches, ress,
ain-glory
nd
pomp'
nd
he knewhis
readers
wouldnot
ake
him
eriously
henhe defended ichard
ixon's oncernsbout
he
energyrisis f he ime, hich LPfloutedrossly ith heirruckloadsfvolume-
enhancing,
lectricity-wastingear.
t
was
in
this
ontext f
a
'mock
defence' hat
Bangs
oicedhismemorable
uip against
LP,
abelling
hemwar
criminals'.8
Recent
ommentatorsho have
preferred
o find
n
Bangs's
ssay
condem-
nation
atherhan
grudging
dmirationor
LP
havemissed he
eviewer's ather
accurate
haracterisation
f Emerson's
utlandishlyggressive
tagepersona
nd
ambitious
osition
s
a
musical
ppropriator.
he
origins
f the
ELP
style
re
in
Emerson's
irst ock
and,
The
Nice,
forwhichhe
gained reputation
or lassical
fusions
nd
onstage
ntics. thisAlbert
all
debut
n
1968with he
Nice,
Emerson
violently
hip-lashed
is
band
mates,
epeatedly
tabbed n
American
lag
ndburnt
it on
stage
all the
while
performing
n
oddly
duple-metred
ersion f Leonard
Bernstein'sAmerica', esultingn a lifetimean from he venue.Subsequently,
publicists
or
The Nice
cast thisban from he Albert
Hall
as a
badge
of
honour,
announcing
t
with
pride
n
the inernotes f
a
re-released
D TheBest
f
he
Nice
(1994).
Emerson
ontinued
his raditionf bombastic
howmanship
n
the
1970s,
performing
ith
LP at the
argest
tadia
f he
ime
ndbefore
uge
rowds f
fans,
few of
themmuch
older
thanthe musicians hemselves. s he achieved
uper-
stardom
n
North
merica
ith
LP,
Emerson
ept
is nti-war
essages
efore he
public.
In
1971,
tthe
eight
fAmerica's
ar
n
Southeast
sia,
LP
released he
lbum
Tarkus,
eaturing
he
multi-movementuite
of the ame name.
With
ts
distorted,
rapid-firergannconstantlyhiftingetresnd cover rt f yberneticndmytho-
logical
warrior
reatures,
arkus ecries he
rutality
fmechanised
arfarend the
hypocrisy
hat tands
ehind
t.As was
typical
frock lbums f he
ra,
he
music,
lyrics
nd
album over
rt f
Tarkus ere ntended
obe
experienced
s
a
whole. he
vivid isual
magery
f he
lbum over
epicts
character
ommonlynterpreted
s
Tarkus,
high-tech
armachine
hat
ngages
n
battles
ith ther imilarmachines
until
t
s
defeated
y
Manticore,
mythological
reature
fAsian
rigin.
t
s
hardly
surprising
hat
eople
t the ime
nterpreted
he
Tarkusmachine
nd
the
Manticore
beast
s
metaphors
or heUnited
tates'
igh-tech
ilitary
nd Vietnam'sow-tech
culture.
ertainly
hework
ad
a
sharp
nd
bloody
dge
nd
f
twere
n
analogy
or
Vietnam,
t
was an
apt
one.Not
only
oes
t
tand
s an astute
military
nalysis
f
he
situationn Vietnamt the ime,talso washighly rophetic:heheavily rmoured
Tarkus
s
finally
efeated
y
low-tech
nemy
hat
ets
lose
nough
ofind tsweak
spot
n
the same
manner
hat he
guerrilla
arfare f the
civilian-led iet
Cong
defeated
he
US
military
achine.
urthermore,
hereturn f
the
opening
ection
suggests
hat
Tarkus
might
ave
only
been
momentarily
efeated,
nd
could be
interpreted
s the
ltimate
nvincibility
f he
high-tech
S armada
gainst
techno-
logically
eaker
world
nemy.
Given
he ounter-cultural
ignificance
f
thisVietnam
War
nalogy,
t s sur-
prising
hat
Edward
Macan,
who
argued
so
strenuously
nd
effectively
or he
counter-cultural
oundation
f
progressive
ock,
akes ote f
t,
yet
ushes
hiswork
outof hepoliticalrena:
It s
the ature
f he
oncept
lbum,
owever,
hat
ne
an
nterpretgiven
lbum's
oncept
n
a more
pecific
ense
f
newishes.
or
nstance,
haveheard
t
rgued
hat arkus
epresents
theUnited
tates,
ince
he rmadillo
s an American
nimal;
hat
Manticore,
ith ts
rigins
n
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438
Jay
Keister nd
Jeremy
Smith
Persian nd
perhaps ltimately
ndian
mythology,ymbolizes
outhern
sia;
that he ixth
movement,
Battlefield',
s
actually
bout heVietnam
War;
nd
that he ntire
iece
s therefore
an
antiwar
rotest.
n
one
evel,
rather oubt t.WhileKeith merson as once nvolved
n
flag-burning
ncident
uring
is
days
with he
Nice,
y
the
arly
970s e admittedo
having
lost nterestnprotestolitics.urthermore,inceVietnamrotestongswerenotuncommon
around
1970,
esorting
o a veiledor hidden
protest
ould
have
been
quite
unnecessary.
(Macanl997,p.9O)
Why
s
Macan o
doubtfulf
n
anti-war
nterpretation?
e
apologetically
escribes
Keith
merson,
he
nstage
gitator
ho revelled
n
his anti- merican irade
t the
Royal
Albert
all,
as
someonewho was once
nvolved
n
a
flag-burning
ncident'
(ibid.).
While
Macanrelies
eavily
n
Emerson's tatementso
the
press
n
the
arly
1970s,
we
don't see
any discontinuity
etween he 1960s
gitator
nd the 1970s
musician
who
packaged
his
political
tatements
n
musical
orm,
o matter
hathe
said to
the
ress.
Here,
f
ourse,
e are ll
relying
o ome xtent
n
the
omplexities
involvedwith uthorialntentionality.owever,Macan'ssuggestionhat nti-war
songs
of this
ra were more
explicit
han
usual
at
this ime
imply
miscasts
he
evidence.
Many
anti-war
ongs
of the
period
had universal
messages,
uch as
'Imagine'
y
John
ennon,
Wooden
hips' yCrosby,
tills ndNash
nd War
Pigs'
by
Black abbath
oname
ust
few.
urthermore,
he nti-war
essage
f
Tarkuss
neither
veiled'nor
hidden'.
n
his
subsequent nalysis
f
Tarkus,
acan
dispenses
with
he
dea
that
e,
o
his
redit,
evelops hroughout
isbook:
hat
yrics,
over rt
and
music
re
ll
ntegral
actors
ontributing
o
co-ordinated hole
n
progressive
rock
lbums. nstead
Macan eeks to examine
owthe
iece
s
organized
n
a
purely
musical
asis'
ibid.,
.
91).
This
undersells he
powerful
musical,
yrical
nd visual
poetics fthis lbumpackage hatwas listenedoandstudied or ours n endby
war-conscious
merican
outh
n
the
pre-MTV
ays
ofrock.
In
Tarkus,
he
ubject
f
war
s treated
penly
nd
directly,specially
n
Greg
Lake'smournful
ament,
The
Battlefield',
ith
tsfunereal
rgan y
Emerson. ere
ELP's
rather
nambiguous
isdain fmilitarism
s not
onlyproclaimed
n
thefolk-
inspiredyrics,
ut
s also
embedded
n
the
music.
At
the ndof The
Battlefield',
he
sombre
mood f
he unerals
transformednto
clever atire fmilitarism
n
thenext
section f the
piece,
Aquatarkus'.
his nstrumental
ection eatures
mocking
military
archwith
deliberately
asal
trumpet
ound on
Emerson's
ynthesizer
accompanied
y
militaristicnare rum
eat
played y
Carl
Palmer.
t
s
nteresting
that
his
atirewas
dropped
n
ELP's live
concert
endition
fTarkus
erformed
n
the1974US tour.9ntheir iveversion f Aquatarkus',hehumorousynthesised
trumpet
ound
was
dropped
ndthe
militaristic
nare
rum
was
replaced
y
Palmer's
fuller
ounding roove
on the drum
kit as
the band turned his
ection nto
n
extended
irtuosic
am.
What
was the
eason
or his
hange
n
the
ong?Obviously
LP
happily
ook
advantage
f
any
opportunity
o
show off heir
kills,
ut
perhaps hey
made this
change
hinking
hat
uch a
silly-sounding
usical
oke
would
not work
n
US
Stadium
hows.
However,
he
nti-war
message
f Tarkus
as
emphasised
ather
than
iminished
n
this
iveversion
romhe
US tour s
Greg
ake nsertedhe
horus
of
King
rimson's
nti-war
nthem
Epitaph'
t
the nd
of The
Battlefield',
ust
efore
the
group aunchesnto herevised,rowd-pleasingamof Aquatarkus'. ll thisindicates hat
LP's
quest
was not
imply
o
forwardn
elitist
musical
genda
but
rather
o
pronounce
political
message
o
an
audience hat
hey
urely
ssumed
would
ppreciate
t.
At
the
ame
ime,
hey
made ure o
provide
hat
ame udience
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Musical ambition
439
with heir
money's
orth f
ver-the-top,
ircus-like usical
roductions
hat
laced
entertainment,
ot
high
rt,
tcentre
tage.Although
LP
today,
ike
ting,
ono nd
so
many
thers,
ould
probably
ant obe
regarded
s
artists,
t the
ime
hey
were
playing pto the mage fpopstar ntertainersnstead.
King
Crimson:
napalm
fire,
onic violence and musical karate
If
one
wereto
attack
progressive
ockmusician or
eing verly
ntellectualnd
prone
o
bombastictatements
f
eriousness,
hen necould
perhaps
ookno
further
than
guitarist
obert
ripp
f the eminal
rogressive
ock
group
King
Crimson.
However
much
Fripp's
rudite,
rofessorialmage
has made
him
n
easy target
s
a
negative
rogressive
ock
stereotype,
e continues o
argue against
he anti-
intellectual
tance
n
rock
nd
questions
hether
e
should act
dumb
n
order obe a
rockmusician'Tamm 991, .20).Fripp elieves ock's reatestalue s foundnthe
spontaneous
ommunication
hat an occur etweenmusicians
nd
their udiences
and claimed
hat ock
music ad tremendous
olitical ower:
Music s
a
high-order
anguage
ystem;
.e.,
t s a
meta-language.
he functionf a meta-
language
s to
express
olutions
o
problems osed
n
lower-order
anguage
ystem
.. if
ne
were
nterested
n
political
hange
ne
wouldnot nter
olitical
ife,
newould
go
ntomusic.
(Fripp uoted
n
Tamm
991,
.
128)
Fripp's
ehicle
or
his
politicalmeta-language'
as his band
King
Crimson
whose
debut
oncept
lbum
n
1969,
n the
ourt
f
he rimson
ing,
et he one or
1970s
rogressive
ock
with
screaming
edface
n
the
rontover ndthe ormented
expressionismf theopening ong,21stCenturychizoidMan'. Thesong's yrics
about
napalmed
nnocents
nd barbed
wirewere
matched
y
a hitherto
nprec-
edented
onic
violence
n
rock
music,
itting
tylistically
s well as
chronologically
between
he
xpressionistic
orks
f Penderecki
nd Crumb.
n
addition o
heavy
metal
uitar
nd
pounding
ass this
ong
featured
distorted
axophone
olo
by
an
McDonald,
who forced
imself
nto ontorted
ositions
while
recording
t in
the
studio
n
n effort
omake
t
ound
uitablyngst-ridden
Smith
001,
.
60
.
This irst
incarnation
f
King
Crimson
hat reated
uch
nti-warnthems s 'SchizoidMan'
and
Epitaph'
uickly
issolved
n 1970 fter heir
irst
lbum,
ut
Fripp
maintained
thisconfrontational
tyle
of music
what Genesis
guitarist
teve
Hackett
ptly
described
s 'musical
karate'
Stump
1997,
.
180)
-in
subsequent
ersions f the
grouphe continuedocallKingCrimson.
After
upervising
umerous
ersonnel
hanges,
ripp
ettled n
a
new
ine-up
in 1972 hat
as come
obe viewed
ymany
ans
nd criticss
King
Crimson'senith.
Consisting
f
Fripp,
assist
John
Wetton,
iolinist
avid
Cross,
ercussionist
amie
Muir nd
former
es drummer
ill
Bruford,
his
dynamic
roup
fmusicians as
perhaps
est
ble
torealise
ripp's
dealof
ollective
omposition
nd
mprovisation.
Fulfilling
ripp's
notion f
creating
music
s a
'high
order
anguage ystem',
his
group
produced
ocial
critique
ithout
heuse of
yrics
r a
programme,
he
best
example
of
this
being
the title
rack f the
1972 album
Larks'
Tongues
n
Aspic
(hereafter
TA).
Part
One
and
Part wo of
LTA retwo xtendednstrumentalracks
thatwere ollectivelyomposednd mprovisedy he and nfrontf ive udiences
prior
o he
inal
ecording
f
he
ompleted ieces.
he
final esult f his
vant-garde
jazz-like
pproach
orock
omposition
s
a
musical
attlefield,
ith
uitar,
iolin nd
bass
using
ll manner
f distortion
nd wah-wah
edal
effects,
nd an
enormous
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440
Jay
Keister nd
Jeremy
.
Smith
battery
f
drums nd
percussion
hat
ushes
King
Crimson's iolent
magery
onew
levelswithout
he se of
yrics.
n
the bsence f
ny pecific rogrammatic
arrative,
Gregory
arl
nterprets
his
iece
s an
abstract arrativef
n ndividual
truggling
throughrisis owards ictory, hichhe sees as a trope hat haracterisesing
Crimson's
more
gonised
ecordings
Karl
2002
.10
An
alternative
nterpretation
o
LTA
as
a
narrative f individual
n
crisis'
which
ne
might
urmise
f
t
were
omposed
olely yFripp
thats
more
n
keeping
with
the
band's
collective
pproach
o
musical karate' s a
morefractured
nd
embattled
arrativef
society
n
crisis'. uch n
nterpretation
s
particularlyppro-
priate
o he
ong
artOne ofLTA
hat
s structured
ccording
o he
ynamic
ontrast
of
coustic
nd
electricimbreshat
Macan
1997)
dentifiess central o
progressive
rock,
ut
appears
here s
full-blown
onicviolence
with
walls of
distorted
lectric
guitar,
iolin nd
bass
obliterating
elicate
assages
of coustic
trings
nd
percus-
sion.
The
lyrics
f
humankind's
oom that
illed arlier
King
Crimson lbums f
apocalypticrophecyregone, utthe istenerfLTAmustnegotiate ith n even
more
harrowing
oller oaster
ide f
ension nd
release,
with
lashing
issonance,
contrary
etresnd
noisy
imbreset
gainst
ighly
vocative nd
gentle assages
f
'Eastern-sounding'
trings
nd
percussion.
ing
Crimson
ushedprogressive
ock
ever
utward ith
heir road
ppropriation
f
non-Western usic
n
this 972work.
They
reatedwith
hesenew sounds
frightening
odel f
ociety
hat
uxtaposed
a
traditional,
astoral
ife
with
frighteningly
echanised,
lienated nd mass-
mediated
orce hat
ad
the
power
o
destroy
nything
n
ts
path.
Instead
of
direct
eferenceso wars
then
raging
n
Southeast
Asia,
King
Crimson's
pic
depicts
attle
n
a
more
bstract
ense,
s a clash f
ultures
hrough
dynamicse of nstrumentsndmusical ectionsnwarringpposition.he ultural
crisis f
LTA
begins
with
quiet
pening
ection
eaturing
n
African
amellophone
(mbira)
layedby
Jamie
Muir,
ccompanied
y
David
Cross' violinostinato hat
suggests
n
exotic
den that
s
gradually
vertaken
y
a
massing
f mallbells nd
chimes
verdubbed rom
Muir's
ercussion
rsenal.
his
uiet, et nsettling,pen-
ing
s
followed
y
he low
fade-inf n
nsistent
ulse
f
double-stops
nthe coustic
violin
hat
lowly
uilds
n
volume,
radually
ises
n
pitch
nd s
eventuallyoined y
a
distorted
lectric
uitar
ine.
This
malevolent
ounding
uo ushers
n
a full lectric
ensemble
f
distorted
uitar,
assanddrum
it hat
omes
n
two
uccessive avesof
sonicassault
on
the istener.
eightening
he
sense of violent ssault
during
he
build-up
eading
o the
econd
wave of
attacks,
uir
overdubs everal
quawking
bicycle orns hathriek ystericallynthe ace f his onic ttack,onjuringvivid
image
f
nnocent
laughter.
hroughout
TA
Parts ne and
Two,
s well s
the
ntire
album,
Muir's
arious
coustic ound
devices
scratched
alloons,
ubbed
lass,
eet
sloshing
hrough
mud,
etc.)
provide
many
humanising
lements midst ll
the
electric
imbres,
reating
n
unnerving
ffector he
istener.
Extreme
ontrasts
n
which he
gentle
s
delicately laced
before he
rushing,
mechanised
ssault
of the
powerful
ontinue
hrough
he
restof this
piece.
An
extended
evelopment
ection
ased
on
a
frantic,
scending, uitar
adenza
byFripp
eventually
uilds
up
into a
firestorm
f
rapid-fire
uitar
hord remolandond
crashing ercussion.
t s
finally
elieved
y
a
quiet
nterlude
eaturing
iolin,
uiet
electric
uitar
nd
autoharp. sthe astoralectionndswith soft, sian-sounding
pentatonic
elody,
he isteners
safely
eturned
othe
re-mechanised
aradise
hat
began
he
piece.
At
this
oint
hework
gently
ades o
silence.
Any
ensethat his
might
ead
to
a
peaceful
nding roves
false s
the ilence s
broken
y
the low
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Musical ambition 441
fade-in
f the earlier
ulsating
heme,
which rawlsback
in,
thistimewith
the
double-stop artplayed
on electric
uitar
nd
a new
melody
n theviolin.As
this
insistent
uo of
guitar
nd violin
gradually
scends
n
pitch
nd
builds
n
volume,
human oices reheard or he irstime n the lbum. ut hese oices onefemale
and onemale
seemdisembodied
nd
extremelygitated.
t
ounds s
if
quarrel
r
the
report
f
a crisis s
being
broadcast ver radio or television. s the
tension
continues
o
build,
hese oices hatter
ncomprehensibly
ntil
hemalevoice s heard
to
shout he
word dead ' Several
male
voices re then eard
murmuring
ncompre-
hensibly
n
monotones,
uggesting
ritual
hant
n
the ftermathf
some
kind
of
death
cene.
While t s not
necessary
o
map
any
f hese
mages
o
any pecific
ar,
listeners
f
King
Crimson
n
theVietnam rawere
ertainly
onfronted
y
n
assault
of
ockmusic
hatmatched r xceeded
he
ower
f
high
rt'
works uch s Crumb's
Vietnam-inspired
lack
ngels.
FromGenesis
to castration:
nastyreading
of the
Apocalypse
and
English
society
Genesis,
ne
of
progressive
ock'smost uccessful
ands,
was
founded
t
the llustri-
ous
Charterhouse
chool
n
themid-1960s.
istories f heband
nvariably
ention
thiswhen
hey
ast
he
group
nto
n elite world f
public
chools nd
comfortable
upbringings'
Atton
001,
p.
31).
After
n initial olk-influenced
hase
that asted
until
bout
971,
ounding
embers eter
Gabriel,
ony
Banks nd MikeRutherford
engaged
two
King
Crimson-influenced
ock
musicians,
teve Hackett nd
Phil
Collins,
o
develop
a
noticeably
arder-edged
ound
Thompson
005,
pp.
1-66).
Unabashedlyntellectual,enesis ast llsorts f iteraryndmusical eferencesver
the ourse
f everal
lbums
o create
senseof
overriding
arrative
n
theband's
output.
hisRomantic
roclivity
or
yclicism
s
particularly
vident
n
a
stretchf
music
hat xtended
rom
he ast rack f
heir 972
LP Foxtrota
multi-movement
suite ntitled
Supper's
Ready'
tothe
ast rack f four-sided
lbum,
he amb ies
Down
n
Broadway,
f
1974.Over this
pan
theband drew
together
deas from he
Apocalypse
f
heNew
Testament;
oems
f
William
lake,
.S.
Eliot,
ohn
eats nd
John
unyan
and
others);
vidian
nd Greek
myths
nd
early
Egyptian istory;
Stravinskian,
lassical
nd romantic
usical orms
nd
processes;
roadside allad-
styled
oetry;
rill
Building op
lyrics
nd surreal
magery.
Whathas not been
sufficientlyecognised
s
that his
roup
f ocial
lites sed
their
ntellectual
rowess
to xpressheir irulentondemnationfEnglishnd Americanocietynd mores.11
In
Supper's
Ready',
many
f
the hemes re ntroduced
n
the emi-innocent
guise
of
a surreal
ream: or
xample,
n
a section
Willow
Farm',
linguistic
ex
change
'dad to
dam to
dum to
mum'
prefigures
he
appearance
f the Greek
mythical
igure
iresias
n
the
ong
Cinema
how'on thenext
P,
Selling ngland y
the
ound,
s
perhaps
oes
also the
gruesome
astration
cenenear he loseof
The
Lamb.
ld,
nd
cast
ntomodern imes
ike liot's
iresias,
ho throbbedike
Taxi'
in The
Wasteland
Eliot
1922,
II,
p.
217),
Gabriel's
iresias hares
iswisdomwith n
English
working-class
ouple
bout exual
xperiences
rom othmale
and
female
points
f
view.
The
couple
s cast
promisingly
s Romeo nd
Juliet,
ut
they
re
bleakly rawn ndclearly eed he onsolationiresias rovides.imilarly,ohn,he
author
f
he
Apocalypse
hat s re-told
n
Supper's
Ready',
eturns
s a
supporting
character
n The
amb
longside
he tar
Rael'. Gabriel eems
here ohaverelished
n
the
potential
onfusion
is
audience
might
xperience
n
encountering
hewords
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442
Jay
Keister
nd
Jeremy
.
Smith
'rael'and
real',
specially
s hisownname nded
n
riel'.Thus
n The
amb,
abriel
created
characterhat
sRael
is real')
by
the
nd ofthis wrreal
e-casting
f
John
(one
suspects
Gabriel elished
n
the
oincidence f authorial
ameshere
s
well)
Bunyan'sPilgrim's rogress}2
Genesis
ouched hese
verarchingiterary
hemes
n
music f imilar
ophisti-
cation.For
example,
near the
end of
Supper's Ready'
the
bassist
nd
guitarist
(Rutherford
nd
Hackett)
perform
n
extended nstrumentalstinato
n
E
with
displaced
ccents
uite
imilar o
Stravinsky's
ite
f pringSpicer
000,
.
96).
Over
thisBanks
lays
carefully
rafted
eyboard
olo
that
uilds o
a
climactic
oint
f
harmonicension ith
chord
n
first
nversion,
r 6th hord
a
C
major
hord ver
the
),
to
prepare
he
eturnfGabriel
who
ings
666'.13 fterhis
Pythagoras'
oins
seven
trumpeters
nd
writes he
yrics
n
blood as thenarratorwakensfrom
is
dream
f he
Apocalypse.
he
piece
nds oon fter hiswith
reprise
f he
pening
theme o
help
reate he
otion
hat
he
arrator
nd
hiswife re
fully
wake or real'
when hey ear nangel ing bout he omingf heNewJerusalem'.nthe ontext
of
his lbum
t s
not lear
f
Gabriel
wished o cast
England
s
this
Jerusalem
r to
adopt
he
one f
deep
national oncerno
clear
n
Blake's
oem
by
hat
ame.
Butwe
are
given
warning
hat
he
tory
s not
ver,
s the
yric
heet f his
lbum
nds
with
the
word
(Continued)'.
The next lbum
confirmshat
England
was and
will
be the
subject
s
it
is
unambiguously
ntitled
elling
ngland y
he ound.
his
LP
imitates collection
f
ballads.14
here renews
tems
epicted
n
ong:
nework s
a
musical llustrationf
a
visual
mage
like
many
allads)
nd Gabriel
pens
he
lbum
inging
monophoni-
cally
o mitate
he lder
genre.
hroughout
he
puns
re almost
nbearable,
ut he
point s not ost. Dancingwith heMoonlitKnight',hefirstrack,eginswith
question,
Can
you
tellmewhere
my ountry
ies?'
nd
the nswer o
ll
the
ossible
meanings
f lie' seem
to
point
o theUnited
tates
nd
especially
o tsthen-new
supermarkets
hat
were
preading
o
England
nd
bringing
ith
hem he
mpersonal
relationships
hat
ould
destroy
community.15y
the nd
ofthe lbum he
uper-
market
uns
are
all
too
obvious,
lthough
heUnited tates tself as never
een
explicitly
entioned
y
name.
But
ust
s
they
onnectedhe ndof
Supper'sReady'
with
elling
ngland,
hey
mmediately
nswer
he
uestion osedbySelling ngland
with
heir ext
lbum,
TheLamb ies
Downon
Broadway.eadingEngland
s the
'Lamb',
we now
knowwhere t
ies,
n
New York
City
down on
Broadway'.
There
s a
patronisingly
ffectionateone
throughout
elling ngland,
ut
Genesis oesnot xtendmany omplimentso theBritishhemselves.nthe econd
track,
I
KnowWhat
Like',
or
xample,
he efraineems o
uggest
ather
ointedly
the
losed
mindednessf numbed
ation
with
he
hrase,
I
knowwhat like
nd
likewhat
know'.
n
Lamb,
merica
or,
on one
level,
Babylon),
which his
group
knew ess
ntimately,ets
one f he
ffectionf
elling ngland
nd s treatednstead
from he tart
ith ool
detachment.
f
we
might
orrow Verdian erm ormusical
characternd
describe
elling
ngland's
inta16
s the
allad,
The ambs coloured
y
the
purposely ague
mpressionism
f
Debussy
nd
early
Ravel.
n
any
case,
dis-
tinctly
bsent
re
many
direct
eferenceso American
music,
n un-Genesis-like
omission hat
s made all
the more
prominent
y
the
constant
arrage
f direct
quotationsromop songs ikeRaindrops eepFallingnmyHead' and Runaway'inthe lbum's
yrics
Lieber
nd
Stoller'sOn
Broadway',
s
the ne notable
xcep-
tion).
f
Genesis
ept
ts
musical
istance rom his
ountry,
abriel
was
trenchant
n
his
ocio-political
ritique
n
the
yrics.
n
powerful
uiet
cenewhereinhe
haracter
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Musical
ambition
443
Rael
dies,
Gabrielmakes
viciously
arcastic omment n
US
history
n
a brutal
'Death
American
tyle'parade
of
mages,
s follows:
Groucho,
with
his movies
trailing,
tands
lone
with
is
punch
ine
ailing.
u KluxKlan
erve ot oul
food nd
thebandplays In theMood'/The heerleader aveshercyanidewand,there's
smell
of
peach
blossom
nd bitter
lmond.
Caryl
Chessman
capital unishment
victim]
niffshe
ir nd eads the
arade,
e
knows
n
a
scent,
ou
can
bottle
ll
you
made'.
Later,
he
hero,
lready
ead,
s
iterally
masculated.
Gabrielwas as
mercilesslyxplicative
bouthiswork s he was
gruesome
n
his
details
bout such matters s
death and
-even worse
for
he
male members f
the udience
castration,
singgrotesque
tories
etween
ongs,
horeography
nd
costumes,
oncert
rogrammes,
inernotes
nd
even the
press
tself
o send one
message
fterhe
ther
n
an
ever-changing
oman
clef.
n a
number
f
ways,
Gabriel
went s
far s hecouldwhenhe
got
o he
oint
f astration.iven he
make-up
f he
mainstream
rogressive
ock udience t thetime 'male
adolescents
. .
who
. .
shared imilar ultural ackgrounds,hough heymight ot come from he ame
privilegedackgrounds'
Atton, 001,
.
31
-
the
nforgiving
masculation
cene
n
Lamb hows
a blatant
isregard
or he cock rock' ensibilitiesf
contemporary
audiences.17
abriel
was
willing
t
this ime o
turn
is
nasty olitical
ommentary
inward,
oward
he
ery outh
ulture rom hich e himself ad
emerged.
s a
new
generation
as
entering
he ock
udience,
hose fGabriel's
ge
wereno
onger art
of
singleyouth'
ulture f
hippies. rogressive
ockersuch s
Gabriel ouldnow
direct
heir ttention
oward new
and vicious riticismf heir
ounger
udiences,
as
Ian Anderson f
Jethro
ull did
in
his
similarlyudience-defyinguip
about
his
anti-hero
LittleMilton' f
Thicks
a
Brick hose
sperm
s in
the
gutter
nd
[whose]
love s nthe ink'.
The threat
f
peace
and
love
in
the music of Yes
It s
with he dea of
rt s a
challenge
ather
han comfortabletatus
ymbol
hat
even
groups
ike
Yes,
well known
for ts
Aquarian mage,
oin
this et of
nasty
mainstream
rogressive
ockershat
we havediscussed hus
ar.
Although
uch as
been
aid about
Yes's cohesive
musical
tructures,
tsuse of clecticmusical
ources,
its
peculiar
pproach
o
language,
ts
multi-disciplinarytopian
isions
that
x-
tended
specially
o
album over
rt),
ts
spiritual uests
nd even
obliquely)
ts
politics
nd
ts
ndrogynous
mage,
here eems
till obe some asic onfusionbout
theoverall yntheticmage his and created.18t cannot e denied hatYes was a
band
with
n affirmative
ission,
ut
closer
ook hows
hey
oohad a
provocative
side.
Certainly
ne
might
etect ome stubbornness.
hen riticismsf themove-
ment's
xcesses
were
ecoming
more
ointed,
es
sought
ocreate
onger
nd
onger
spans
f
ohesive
music,
bandoningong-form
ltogether
t times
n
favour f
huge
cyclic
ormsommon
o ate-romantic
usic.
Although
t
s
temptingimply
orecall
the cene
n
KenRussell's
isztomaniaithRickWakeman
rinating
n
a
fireplace,
stronger
asefor
es's
nasty
iderests
with heirrt nd thenature f heirctivisms
an affirmative
thos
n
the
rogressive
tyle.
By
the
timeof
their 973
Tales
rom opographic
ceans,
es had achieved
somethinghatwould eemrather emarkablenrock istoryindeed,nthehistory
of
any
musical
tyle).
Jennifer
ycenga
as
aptly
described his chievements
a
'spiritual
xperience
n
themusic'
nd
categorises
heir
articular
ind f
pirituality
as
panentheistic
eopagan
mmanent
osmology'
Rycenga
002,
.
145).
The
tring
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444
Jay
Keister nd
Jeremy
.
Smith
ofterms
eededto describe he
musical-poetics
fYes's
spirituality
ould seem
o
reduce he
mpact
f
theband's basic achievementnd confirm
nstead he ritical
notion hat he
musicians ad lost ouchwith heir
udience,
hat
t had somehow
wandered ff n an elaboratepiritual uestso personaliseds to losemeaning
altogether
long
with
ny political
ffectiveness.
he
complexity
f thisdefinitive
terminology
otwithstanding,
he sourceof Yes
spirituality
ad a direct
olitical
basis.
As
early
works
y
Yes
confirm,
heband was
fundamentally
nfluenced
y
commonly
eld,
radical
deas of
peace
and
love
that
were
raging
specially
n
the
United tates.
heconfrontational
ature f hese
messages
as
subsequently
aded
from
memory,
ut
at the
time herewere some who
saw the
wearing
f a
peace
medallion
s tantamount
o
an
allegiance
o the communistocieties
who were
engaged
with
he
United tates nd their
llies
n a
cold
war.
Yes
approached
hese
ideas
n
ways
hat eveal
hedefiance hat
riginallyay
behind hem.
Yes's Time
nd Word
f
1969-1970
isplaysmany sychedelicrappings
nd
progressiveins its wo oversofworks yRichieHavens ndStephen tills),ts
orchestral
xcesses nd
ts
apses
nto nthem-likeombast. he lbum lso
provides
insights
nto
Yes's
mage
n
the
arly tages
f he
band's
development.
omeof he
works,
ike
Astral
Traveller',
isplay
he
ink
withTheYesAlbum
works,
uch as
'Starship rooper'
Martin
996,
.
31
.
Others
etray
more adical ide
of he and
and
even n
underlying
ense f
ggression.
These
atter eatures
ppear
learly
n
the
rack
Then',
which
xplores ystem-
atically
he
ways
music an
cause
uspense
n
nearly
inematic
ashion. hemusical
drama
eaches
ts
peak
when
he
penultimate
ord s drawn
ut
to
the
point
where
we are
shocked
y
the
Haydnesque impani
troke hat
unctuates rutally
he
ast
word f he ong.With his onic last he ong nds minously ith hewordThen',
leaving
ntacthe
ortent
nd
threatf n
unknown uture.ike
many
orror
ales,
he
piece
s
a
whole
rojects
sense f us' and them'.
pecifically,
he
ong
romotes
he
idea
of 'New
Day'
of
peace
and
oveand t
hreatens
ith
bliteration
nyone
who
would
tand
pposed
o t.
Thus he
roupmaking
he
hreat
ere,
nterestingly,
s the
peaceful
ne,
n
us'
instead f
'them'. he
oppositional roup
s notdescribed
n
any
detail,
ut
one
feature f the
New
Day
is
surely
hat t would notbe ruled
by
traditional
uthoritarian
igures
nd
their
deas.
Underlying
ll
this,
we
believe,
s
Yes's
confident
essage
bout he
ower
f he
youth
ulture nd the
ignificance
f
their
logans
f ove and
peace.
They
eiteratehe
message,
n
iteral
erms,
n
The
Prophet',
lso
on
Time nd
Word.
ere
peace'
is mentioneds themost
mportant
spiritualharacteristicnd, gain, clearwarnings voicedfor hose n the utside:
'that
omewill
die but
only
hose
who doubt'.
After
ime nd a
Word,
es
developed
further
heir
lready harply
oned
musical
hetorics
they
roduced
ne
impressive
lbum
fter nother.
n
creating
expansive
maginary
orlds f
unprecedented
imensions which ulminated
n
the
four-sided ales
they
ontinued
o
manipulate
heir
isteners
y
shaping
xpecta-
tions
hrough
ethods f
varied
epetition,
usical raits hat
ohn
ovach
1997),
John
.
Palmer
2001)
and
others ave
shown
n
detail
hrough
eticulous usical
analyses.
t
seems
possible
hat
n
the
process hey
ad
ndeed orsakenomeof he
more
bvious
olitical
rappings
the
onfrontational
eace
and
ove of he
sych-
edelic ra,but tseems lsopossible hat hesenotions till uttressedhegroup's
ongoing
ork nd
development.
ertainly
he ater
work,
with
ts
larity
f
purpose
and
polish,
etrays
he raits e
mightxpect
f he rue elievernd
perhaps
ven
he
savvy
o
use codes
thatwould
keep
he
ritics nsure f heir
urposes.
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Musical
ambition 445
In
describing
he
yrics
f I've Seen
All
Good
People'
from heYes
Album,
on
Anderson
as
suggested
hat
heymight
e without
meaning
Macan
1997,
.
70).
Nonetheless,
o us
they
orm
vital
ink
etween es's
progressive
usical-poetics
and ts sychedelicast fTimend Word.nthea' section,YourMove',we findhe
same
hemes f
peace
nd ove
hat
were eatured
n
Then'
nd
The
Prophet',
s
well
as a sense
hattime'
n
particular
illbe
manipulated
othe
point
where t eems o
function
ramatically
s
this and's
way
touse musical
oetics
o
pronounce
callto
action.
ndeed,
n
the
articular
ineAnderson ismisseds chosen
merely
orts
onic
qualities
"Cause
t's
ime,
t's ime
n
time
with
our
ime,
nd
tsnews s
captured/
for he
Queen
touse'
-
we
find
potent xpression
fYes's musical
oetics.
irst,
he
word
time' tself
s
repeated
o the xtent
hat he
urrounding
ords end o ose
their emantic
ole
within he
hrase.
n
this
way
theworddominatesmusical
time'
andbecomes
performative
orce,
ompelling
neto
ct, r,
t
east,
oread heword
'cause'
itself s
a
pun
that
uggests
he
political
cause' as well as thecontracted
conjunction.econdly,ime sagain ssociatedwith rgency.eforetwasan mma-
nent
then',
n
this
nstance,
ith
heword
news',
a favourite ordof the
gospel
preacher,
he ime
s now.The
wordnews tselfs
emphasised
y
ts
hythmic
osition
as the
ast f
string
f ntecedents
all
the thers
mphasising
time')
that nd
on
a
climax
with heword
captured'.
A
politicised
eading
f the
time ssue is furtherolstered
y
an
intriguing
passage
that
provides
linkto
peace,
one
whereAnderson
gain
uses
nonsense
syllables
scat)
for ramatic
urpose.
his
s
howthe
yricsppeared
n the
age
of
reissued
D
(Yes,
1971,
003):
Diddit
iddit
iddit
iddit iddit
iddit iddit idda.
Diddit iddit iddit iddit iddit iddit iddit idda.
Diddit
iddit
iddit iddit
iddit
iddit iddit idda.
Diddit
iddit
iddit
iddit iddit
iddit iddit
idda.
Unstated
n
the
poetic
endition
f his
assage
re two ines
nterpolated
rom
ohn
Lennon's
nthem:
all
we are
aying/is
ive
peace
a chance'
Martin
996,
p.
80-1
.
Musically,
heLennon
uote
s
placed
n
the
ackground
nd s almost rowned ut
in
the
mix
by
the
minous
hordal
equenceTony
Kayeperforms
n
a
particularly
resonant
ipe
organ.
his
mix
ends
o obscure he
Lennon eference
omewhat,
ut
not
o he
oint
f ts
eing
ost.
nstead heres
an overall ffect
hat
uggests
hat
ne
should
hear he
ines s
if t were
ubliminal,
et mportant
oo,
s the
organ
dds
much nthewayof musical eriousnesso otherwisennocuousyricswhichdo,
however,
uggest
he
icking
f
ime,
ndeven
Morse ode.We arefurther
rawn nto
the
hidden heme
when
heLennon
ong
Instant
arma' s mentionedlsewhere
n
the
yrics.
wo
layers
re
very
lear.
Overtly
he
song
s
about
something
ather
innocent:
game
f hess.
ut
ll the odes
nd hidden
meaningsuggest
hat
heres
another
ame
going
n
here oo.
n
this
game,
we are nottold
what
o
do,
but
the
section's
ery
itle ssures
s thatwe
are
xpected
o
play,
omake ur move' oward
the
olitical
auses
ssociated
with
eace
as
proclaimed
y
Lennon
nd
the o-called
psychedelic
eft e came
o
represent.19
The
messages
may
havebeen
lightly
bscured,
utto
some
isteners,
t
east,
Yesof he arly 970s,fter ime, as stillworkingor ne side na divided ociety,
which
was
surely
ohn
ennon's
sychedelic
eft.
thers,
ho
opposed
hat
osition,
presumably
till aw
them
s a force o
fear nd
oppose.
ndeed,
s
it
o resembled
form f
religious
magnetism,
es's more
mbitious
musical
oetics
rather
han
heir
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446
Jay
Keister nd
Jeremy
.
Smith
purely
inguistic
raits)
might
e said to be themost nsidious f
ll the
progressive
voices f he
ra,
t
east rom he
oint
fviewof
n
establishment
hat
pposed
heir
radical
viewpoint.
o
those
engaged,
friend nd
enemy,
es's
spiritual
worlds
'remain[ed s] incurablyarthbound' s Freud'sview of theimaginationtself
(quoted
n
Kumar
990,
.
1
.
If n
hindsight
es's
Tales
macks f he
personal
and
pointless)
piritual
ourney
o
common otheNew
Age,
t s
mportant
oremember
that
hiswas the
roup
who
once
ried,
hrough
ts
mpressiverray
fmusical
kills,
to
yoke
ts
istenersnto
he
very
midst fa social nd
political
attlefield
ver he
politically
oaded ssues
f oveand
a
new
day
of
peace.
A
few till
ememberhe
arly
970s he ld
way.
For
xample,
he
rogressive
rock
nthologist
radley
mith
ptly
escribed his
onfrontationalideofYes
n
his
depiction
f
ll
progressive
usic:
rebellion
equired
ormshat
he lder
enerations
ot
nly
isliked
ut
ouldn't nderstand.
Volume,
bstract
yrics,
eird
tudio
ffects,
ew
nstruments,
nd
engthyams
were
tilized
ina consciousreakwith he
past.
To most
roponents
f henewmusic he raditional
ong
form
the
asily
nderstood
-
to
5-minuteove
song
became
he
nemy, epresentative
f
the
epressive,
gly
gnorantociety
nable o
deal
honestly
ith
ts
roblems.
oth he ontent
(the
yrics)
nd
form
the
music)
had to
change.
Smith
997,
.
12)
As an
aficionado,
mith an
peak
onfidently
bout he ebellious ature f
progres-
sive rock.But
musicologists
ust
truggle
ith
he
widely romoted
arrativesf
rock
music hat end
o
place
his
movementnto hat
ery
dult
ulture mith aw
as
its
nemy.
n
the
ollowing
ectionwe
will
rgue
hat
oday's
riticsnd historians
both
n
the
popularpress
nd
in
academia have
promulgated
n
idea of cultural
accreditation
or
rogressive
usicians hat ad
ittle odo
with
youth
ulture.
nly
whenwe ookbeyondhis otion o hemedia ontrolledy he ands hemselvesn
their
wn
mage-making
nd
musical
utput)
do we find he
nasty
ide that
ruly
characterisedhis
movement. rom
his
perspective
t
seems
appropriate
ow to
suggest
hat
we have
accepted
oo
readily
n
anachronistic
eading
f he ock
ress
and
ts ole t
the ime.t
may
nowhave
he
owers
ttributedo t
by
ritics,
ut
n
the
1970s t
was still
inding
ts wn
voice
n
the
ockworld.
Critical
derision of
progressive
ock and
the
myth
f cultural
accreditation
Althoughnthe uphoria f he ate1960s ockwas celebratedy ome s comingf
age
n
newly
xpanding
medium
hat
incorporatesverything
rom lues o
ndian
classical
aga,
rom
ach o
Stockhausen'
Eisen
1969,
.
xi),
critics
egan
o
develop
aesthetic
aluesfor
ock
uring
he 970s hat
ejected
uch clecticism.
y
he
980s,
critics
ooked ack
on the ate
1960swith
isdain or mbitious
musical
xperiments
that
eemed
o them
retentious
nd
somehow
ommercially
riven:
Behind
engthy
mprovisations
uch
as Cream's
Spoonful'
..
lay
thetheme
f
ndividual
spontaneity,xploration
nd
extension.
hemusical asics
f
pop
now
thoroughly
astered,
rock
was
apparently
eady
or
reater
hings.
ts
authenticity'
as to be discovered
n
the
'natural'
xpression
f n
artistic
utonomy
reed romommercial
estraints
.
The
onfused
but
fruitful
nergies
urrounding
ock
n
the ate
1960swere
ransformednto he
tilled,
ut
highlymarketable,aters fArt'.Chambers983, . Ill)
According
o this
narrative,
henew art'
of
rock,
n
addition to
being highly
market-
able,
offered
nother
romise
to
ambitious
young
musicians:
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Musical ambition 447
Therewas also
the hance hat uch reations ould levate
he tatus f heir
omposers
nd
performers
and
by mplication,op
music
n
general
to level
omparable
ith hat
f he
European
lassical
music f the
past,
nd thus ead to
acceptance
ithin he
circles f the
musical stablishment.
Hatch
nd Millward
987,
.
148)
These uthors
uggest
hatmusical
clecticism
nd
creative
utonomy
erved ock
musicians'
esires or ocio-economicdvancement.
Bernard
endron eferso this
egitimisation
rocess
s cultural
ccreditation'
in
his
study
fthe
relationship
etween
opular
music nd the
vant-garde
2002).
According
o
Gendron,
t theforefrontfthismovement as the
Beatles,
who had
theirworkvalidated
y literary
ritics,
musicologists
nd the
mainstream
ress,
transforming
heirBeatlemania
ows',
n
which
hey
were irst
reateds
a
menace o
Western
ivilisation,20
nto
triumphant
nointment
y
the ultural
stablishment
(ibid.,
p.
161-224).
Gendron's
hesis,
owever,
s built n the
ssumption
hat he
highbrow
ultural stablishment
ad the
power
obestow ome
pparently
oveted
form f ulturalccreditationponyoung ock tars.21his egs he uestionfwho
in
fact
ossessed
hemost
ultural
apital
n
the ate 1960s: he
highbrow
ultural
critics
r the
Beatles hemselves.
Theeconomic
nd
cultural
apital
f he ime
elonged
ot o
highbrow
ritics
and adults
n
ome
kind
f
musical
stablishment',
ut
otheBeatles hemselvesnd
it was theirs
o bestow
upon
others. or
example,
heeffectf
Paul
McCartney's
pronouncements
f
the nfluence
f Stockhausen n the Beatles'music and the
appearance
f
he
omposer's
ace nthe
lbum
over
f
gt
Pepper
as
surely
boost
to Stockhausen's
ultural
apital, iding
he
xpansion
fhis
appeal
nto he
hippie
culture.
tockhausen's
ubsequent
piritualisticippie ersona,
eonard ernstein's
extendedideburnsnd symphonic'lbums f Beatles' ongswere llmarkers f
affinity
etween
he lassical
long-hair'
musicians as
they
were
ometimesalled
by
the
lder
generation
and their
ounger
ock
nd
roll
ounterparts.
est
hey
e
confused
with
straight'
stablishment
ulture,
many
rtists nd writers
n
high
culture
uring
he
ate 1960swent
o
great engths
o
dentify
hemselves
ith
he
hippies
nd
gain
egitimacy
rom he
ulture frock.
heBeatleswere ven
poised
o
consummate
heir ole
s cultural eferees
f he
vant-garde
ith he ormationf
special
abel,
Zapple
Records,
which
had
plans
to release
recordingsy
the
most
cutting
dge
artists
nd thinkers
fthe ime
Inglis
000,
.
12).
As the ntellectual
leaders f
rock,
twas the
Beatles hen
who
nspired
ascent
rogressive
ock
roups
like he
Moody
Blues
ndProcol
Harum
o
orchestrateock
nd
use
concept
lbums s
tools or ulturalriticism,ettinghe tage or heprogressiveockmusicians f he
1970s.On
a
social
evel,
Beatles
fans,
.e.
young
people,
as
many
eem to have
forgotten,
ad
everything
ooffer
othe
p-and-coming
ock tarwhoknew e
or
he
might
ttain
nstant
uccess,
ew
wealth,
nd
supremely
nviable
ohemian
ifestyle
of
virtually
nhindered
exual
gratification
nd
ego
fulfilment.22
Manyyoung
musicians
f
he 970s ound
ock
n
the
ost-Sgt.
epper
ra
to
be
the
uperior
medium
or
irect
xpression
n
music.
hiswas truewhether
hey
were
formally
rained
r self
aught,
r
upper,
middle r
working
lass.23
f
some rock
musicians
amented
he ackof
vibrantulture
f lassicalmusic
as
suggested y
classically
rained ock
musician
ohn
ale's
progressive
ock lbum
itle,
heAcad-
emynPeril the ntidote ascertainlyot obe foundnthe onservatismf lassical
music,
ut nthe
nbridled
nergy
f ock.
n
describing
he
Utopian
reedom'f our
music'
nthe iner
otes o
theNice's
Five
ridges
n
1969,
he
lassically
rained eith
Emerson
made
t
lear
hat e dentified
ot
with he
rchestra,
utwith he ock rio
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448
Jay
Keister nd
Jeremy
.
Smith
'representing
henon-establishment'
ith
'complete
rust
n a
rebellious
pirit'
(Emerson
uoted
n
Covach
997,
.
7).
Similarentimentsere
xpressed
y
nother
leaderof the
progressive
ock
movement,
on
Anderson f
Yes,
who,
ike
Robert
Fripp,lso camefrom working-classackground ith oformalmusical raining:
'We'renot
rying
o
get
nto
lassical
music,
ut
get
what lassicalmusic oes
to
you'
(Anderson
uoted
n
Bowman
002,
.
186
.24
As
with
heBeatles
efore
hem,
ome
progressive
ockbands of
the 1970s
had
highbrows ourting
hem,
uch as the
invitation
xtendedoThe
oftMachine o
perform
t
the
restigious
roms oncert
t
the
Royal
Albert all n
1970. oftMachine
rummer obert
Wyatt
urmised
hat he
Proms
oncert as a failed
ffortomake s
respectable,
ndhad t
ucceeded
think
itcould
havedone lot
more
amage'
Bennett
005,
.
217).
If
ulturalccreditation
as not concern f he
musicians,
t
ertainly
as not
a
concern f
audiences or
progressive
ock.
Progressive
ock
found ts
strongest
following
mong
butwas
not imited o the
hippie
ounterculture
uring
he ate
1960s/early970s hat pposedboth lite ndmainstreamopular ulture.25p-
wardly
mobile tatus
eeking
was
rejected
s
contrary
o thevalue of
personal
nd
spiritual
onesty
fthe
uthentic,
ncompromised
elf
hat
ouldbe
free rom he
constraintsf
materialistic
ociety.
s evident
n
an
ethnography
f the counter-
culture
n
the
arly
970s
y
Paul
Willis
1978),
hippies
id not
worship rogressive
musicians
rom distance
r
think
fthem s
wealthy,
ver-trained usical
nobs,
but
rather
s members
ftheir wn
group.
he
hippies
tudied
y
Willis dentified
progressive
ockmusicians
f he ime s
sharing
he ame ounterculturalalues
nd
interpreting
ife
n
similar
ay
bid.,
p.
163-5
.
In
spite
f
ny
conomic
isparities
between
rdinary
ans nd
their
uddenly ealthy
eroes,
hemusicians'
redibility
withfans s fellowheads' rested ntirelyn musiciansxercisingheir reative
freedomo
speak
out
gainst
ociety. ny ppeals
o
upper-classsquare' ociety
n
the
part
of
progressive
ockerswould
have done littlemore than lienate heir
counterculturalan
ase
ust
s Robert
Wyatt
ad feared
bouthisband's
ppearance
at
theProms
oncert.
In
spite
f or
perhaps
ecause f
their oles s creativeeaders f he ounter-
culture,
rogressive
ockmusicians
avecome o
play
differentole
n
historiesf
rock.
nstead f
being
ememberedor heir
oles
s
anti-establishment
rovocateurs,
now
they
have
been recast s
upwardly
mobilerock
tarsfor he
purposes
f a
narrative
n
which
hey
erve
more
nfamously
s the artists'
ho took ock
eyond
its
boundaries f
cceptability.any
ritics avedescribed 967 s the enith f he
maturationfrock ndthebeginningf decline or hemusic.26ccordingo this
narrative,
kind
f dark
ge'
of ock
xtends rom 968 o bout
976when
unk
ock
emerged
nd
revived he ultural
aluesofrock nd roll hat ad
supposedly
een
lost
uring
his
earth f
uthentic
usic.27 s
progressive
ock as
proven
o
be such
a
useful oil
oconstructn
aestheticsf
rock,
t
s no mere oincidencehat
rogres-
sive
rock's
eign
rom
968-1976s also
the ime
eriod uring
which ock riticism
fully
maturedn
magazines
uch
as
Rolling
tone, reem,
ew
Musical
xpress
nd
Melody
Maker.
Rock
ritics t
the ime f
theBeatles'
gt.Pepper
lbum,
ike
rock
musicians,
drew
heir
alidation
otfrom
ny
ppeals
o
highbrow
ulture,
utfrom
he
ower
of the
youth ounterculture.28hiswas especiallyrue fRollingtonemagazine,which
began
n 1967
s
an
undergroundaper
before
volving
nto he
ndustry
leader f
rock
riticism
y
the
mid-1970s. s a
voice of the
ounterculture,
olling
Stone
etout
to cover
not
nly
ock
music,
ut
lso the
things
nd
attitudes
hat
he
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Musical ambition 449
music mbraces'
Frith
981,
.
169
.
It
was the
music,
owever,
hat
est
epresented
the
deology
f he
youth
ulture nd
provided
he
main
ocus f he
magazine
n
ts
earlyyears.
specially
mportant
n
this
espect
wererecord lbums hat
erved s
social statementsnthis ra ofgreaterreative reedom or ockmusiciansnthe
recording
tudio.
The authoritative
ower
of rock lbums s counterculturalriti-
cisms
fmainstream
ociety
s evident
n
Rolling
tone
magazine's
bsence f
general
coverage
f
political
ffairs
n
favour fmusic
overage
ince ts
founding
n
1967,
until format
hange
n
1973
that ntroduced
eneral olitical
overage
ntothe
magazine
bid.,
.
171
.
Up
until hat
ime,
or
many
n
the
ounterculture,
ock
music
was seen s
the
nlyway
of
making
ense f he ocial urmoilf he
ra,
nd twas
thismusic
hat
alidated heworkof rock ritics s mediators f countercultural
messages.
Emboldened
y
he
ower
f ock s
message
music,
ock ritics asted o time
exerting
heir wn
power
s
an
elite
group
f rbitersf
public
aste
n
the
rapidly
developing ock ndustry. s early s 1967, ritic obert hristgau eganto rail
against
he
rising
ide
of
avant-garde
op' by arguing
hat t was elevated
y
an
ignorant
udience
hat
pplauds
the new" whether
t
s
bogus
or not'
Christgau
quoted
n
Gendron
002,
.
210). Just
t
themoment
henrockmusicians
egan
o
take
p
the
hallenge
y
theBeatles o
expand
ock owards
n
all-inclusive
topian
music,
ome
n
the ock
ress egan
o
attack
ny
furtherclectic
xperimentation
n
rock.
his
move
by
the
press
o
maintain
tylisticurity
n
rock
equired
hat
John
Sheinbaum
as described
s
an
inversion
fmusical
alues',
rejection
f
highbrow
musical
alues
n
favour
f owbrow
musical
alues,
uch s
valuing epetition
ver
musical
evelopment,
timulation
fthe
body
over
timulationfthe
mind,
imple
structuresvercomplicatednes, nd musicofthe ower lass overmusicof the
middle
nd
upper
lass
Sheinbaum
002,
.
24).
Although
heinbaum emonstrates
that
ands
uch s
Yes
employed
musical
aluesfrom
oth ides f he
high-art/low-
art
pectrum,
twas
precisely
he
musical mbitions
o
bridge
he
gap
between
igh
and ow
by
Yes
and other
rogressive
ock
ands hat iolated he
gutter urity'
o
valued
by
rock
ritics.
In
theBeatles's
wake
therock
ress
was a new
phenomenon.
ow it seems o
haveall
the
power
nd
nfluence
hat
Gendron
ttributedo t
n
the 970s.Not
only
are
major
ands uch
s
ELP,
King
Crimson,
enesis
nd
Yes
missing
rom
olling
Stone
magazine's
most ecent
anonic
ist f he 00
greatest
ecord
lbums,
ut
hese
bands
have
yet
to
be
inducted ntothe
Rockand Roll
Hall of
Fame,
which lso
constructstsrock anon xclusivelyn owbrowmusical alues hat ave nformed
the
museumisation'
f rock
n
the
past
two decades.
Progressive
ock eems on-
demned
o
the
margins y
whatBillMartin efers
o as 'blues
orthodoxy'
Martin
1998,
p.
22-3)
n the ame
way
that
vant-garde
nd fusion
azz
have
been
margin-
alised
in
histories
f
azz by
neo-conservative
raditionalists. similar
kind of
marginalisation
ccurs
mong
musicologists
ho
havewrittenbout
he
rogressive
rock
tyle.
rounded
n
n old
musicology
hat
rivileges
n
analyticalrocess
ased
on
high-art
usic,
et
ager
o
embrace ew
deas about
ultural
tudies,
musicolo-
gists
who
tudy rogressive
ock
avebeen
pushed
nto
quandary.
ere
hey
ave
the
pportunity
o
apply
well-honed
ocabulary
ased on
high-art'
usical
uali-
ties hat end o solatemusicfromtscontext,ut t's thewrong ocabularyor
music
hat
was
designed
o
promulgate
political
message.
he
ultimateffects that
a once
vibrant,
asty enre
f
prog'
has nowbeen
cast s
an
imperturbable
orm f
elitism.
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450
Jay
Keister nd
Jeremy
.
Smith
Perhaps
he
most
ernicious
ffectsfthe ultural
ccreditation
yth
n
pro-
gressive
ock's
lace
n
rock
istory
s the
hegemony
hat anbe found
nthe ttitudes
of
some of the
major
figures
f
progressive
ock
themselves,
ho have
eagerly
disassociatedhemselves iththe 1970sstyle heyhelpedto create. n spiteof
increasingublic cceptance
f
nostalgia
n
rock,
rogressive
ock
ioneers
uch
s
Peter
Gabriel nd Robert
ripp
aveworked ard ocreate distance
etween 970s
progressive
ock nd their
resent-day
areers.
ushing
ver
forward,
eterGabriel
has
dismissed is
mpressive
ork
n
early
Genesis s
a kind
fmusical
mmaturity
and
Robert
ripp
ristlest
any
ssociation ith he
rogressivetyle
hat
e
helped
to
create. lmost
s
if n
exchange
or
iding
n
the
lackballing
f
progressive
ock,
Gabriel nd
Fripp
re
highly egarded y
critics
s artists ho continue o
nnovate.
Among
eteransf he 970s
rogressive
ock
nderground,
here ne
might xpect
to
find
desire
forrehabilitationf
the era's musical
egacy,
he same
narrative
appears.
Chris
Cutler,
ho
helped
pioneer
n
avant-gardepproach
o
progressive
rock s drummer ith he roupHenry ow,hasevenwrittennessay nthehistory
ofBritish
progressive)
ock
hat
s
a
textbook
xample
f he
dark
ges
approach
o
rock
istory,
ositioning
isown
group
s oneof he ew eacons f
uthentic
ctivity
during
he1968-1976
ra
Cutler
993,
p.
106-35).
Like
Fripp
nd
Gabriel,
utler
celebrateshe rrival
f
punk
n
the ate 970s s
a
welcome
esponse
o he xcesses
f
the
decade
ibid.,
p.
124-6).
Meanwhile,
or
ormer
rogressive
ockmusicians
ho
havefound
uccess nd
tardom
n
impler,
ainstream
op,
uch
s
Phil
Collins
nd
hisband-mates
n
Genesis,
he
history
f
progressive
ock s
nearly
nvisible,
othing
more han rite
f
passage
nto
he
ig eagues.29
One
of he ew
ttempts
o
change
he
revailing
iewhas come
rom
merson,
Lake ndPalmer,bandwhosemusic ataloguendrecent eunionerformancesre
heavily
nvested
n
nostalgia
f
1970s ock xcess
nd
bombast.
n
the 996 eissue f
their
andmark
rogressive
ock
lbum,
Brain alad
Surgery,
ll threemusicians
describe he
group's
ole
during
he
progressive
ock
ra as
crude,
nti-social
nd
antagonistic,
ecalling
ith
ride
uch mmatureehaviours
destroying
otel ooms
and
throwingp
in
airports
McCulley
996).
Just
s
Emerson
ad
expressed
ack
n
1969,
he
roup
ligns
tself otwith he
allowed raditionf lassical
music,
ut
with
the
dolescent
ndulgence
f ock's
utter.
atherhan
ointing
o he ntold ours
f
practice
nd
preparation
hey
underwent o
perform
inastera
oncertos
nd
Prokofiev's
ymphonic
orks or
uge
udiences f
ontemporaries
n
vast
tadiums,
they mphasise
hat
he
and
was
bloody
ark nd
aggressive
. .
aggressive
o
each
other,ggressiventhemusic, ggressivenperformance'ibid., . 12).Anxious o
show hat
hey
oreshadowed
unk
tarsike
Johnny
otten,
ho
replaced
hem
tthe
forefrontf
rock's
vant-garde,
LP
has
clearly
ome
o
understand
hat ock ritics
arenow
more
owerful
uthenticating
orce
n
popular
music
han
hey
were
n
the
1970s.
With heir
wn
propaganda
fforts,
LP
has
helped
uncover
nasty
ideof
he
progressive
ovementhat as ndeed
een
orely eglected.30
urresearch
uggests
that LP
s not
he
nly
ictim
f his
myopic
reatment.hatwe have ried ooffer
n
its tead
s
a
viewof
Gentle iant's
Aquiring
he aste hat
mphasises
he
ongue
ext
to buttocks
nstead f a
pretentious
tatementf artistic
alues;
a
view of
King
Crimson hat redits heir onicexpressionisms political orce ather han uiet
intellectualism;
viewof
Genesis hat ooks
eyond
he ssumed
world
iews f heir
elite
background
nd
into
he
disturbing
orldviews that
hey romulgated
nd,
finally,
view
that
howsYes not s
a
precursor
o the
gentle
ew
Age,
but social
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Musical ambition
451
force
nacting
palpable
hreat o the nflexible
ociety
f heir
lders.We neednot
reiterateere
he
rovocative
ature
f
ELP
when
hey
were
t
theirmost
opular,
s
they
eem obe
hard twork hemselves
n
campaign
f
ecovering
he
nasty
ideof
progressiveock. ut n their ehalf edosuggestnething,hat erhapsmusicolo-
gists
would do well to
take hem
ust
bit
more
eriously
n
their ecent
uggestion
that
early
0s
ELP
made
Johnny
ottenook ike
fucking
alk
n
the
park'.31
Endnotes
1. Wededicate his rticle
o he
memory
f
Emily
Wasserman
1976-2005),
student
n our
Spring
004
graduate
eminar
n
progressive
rock
t the
University
f
Colorado,
oulder.
2.
The
nearly
imultaneous
ppearance
n
he ate-
1990s f three ooks
on
progressive
ock,
y
Macan
1997),
Martin
1998)
nd
Stump1997),has resultedn a discourse ocused n the
British
nd,
o
lesser
xtent,
uropean,
ontri-
bution
o themovement.
or
he akeof
rgu-
ment,
we have followed
his
trend.
ut
we
hasten
o note
hat,
s some
of the uthors
n
Holm-Hudson
2002)
point
out
(but
others
ignore),
rogressive
usic
ad a
strong
ooting
in
North
merica
t the ame
ime.
3.
In
praise
f
he andThe
Mars
Volta,
Red Hot
Chili
Peppers'guitarist
ohn
rusciante
om-
mented n
the media's
misperception
f
the
connection
etween
rogressive
ock
nd
punk:
'What
hey're
oing
with
ombining
he
nergy
of
punk
rock
nd
progressive
ock
.. I
never
agreed
with hemedia's
perception
hat hose
twokinds f
music
were
pposite
r
omething.
In
L.A.,
t seemed
ike
lot of thebest
punk
musicians ere
lso
nto
rog.
ike,
at
Smear,
for
nstance,
s
a
huge
fan
of
The
MarsVolta
now,
nd t's
ikehe was
always big
Yes
fan'
(Corva2005,p.50).
4. Numerous
uthors
ave criticised
rogressive
rockmusicians
or
heir
pward
mobility.
ro-
gressive
ockers
f
he ate 960s
nd
arly
970s
havebeen
ccused f
making
music
acceptable
for
upper-class
pprobation'
Rockwell
986,
p.
170)
nd
respectable
nough
o
please
Mum
andDad' (DeRogatis 996, .84), consciously
aiming
ttheirbetters",he
eople
nthe uits
and bowlers'
Stokes
986,
.
405),
nd
having
'an ambition
o be taken
eriously
n
classical
or
avant-garde
usical
ircles'
Tucker
986,
p.
480).
5.
Onewell-known
xample
f
bscenity
s
politi-
cal
agitation
rom
his ime
eriod
s
the Fish
Cheer'
y
Country
oe
McDonald
nd he ish
t
the
Woodstock
estival
n
1969.
Along
imilar
lines
were he
obscene,
ntagonising
ongs
of
The
Fugs
nthe ate
960s.
6.
Although
his
isparaging
efinition
f
prog'
comes
from
he
tongue-in-cheek
ock nob's
Dictionary,heauthors'mplicationhatpro-
gressive
ock
may
venbeunfit or ock nob-
bery
s nevertheless
n ndicatorf
progressive
rock's
ow
status
n thediscourse
f rock.
he
full
ntry
s as
follows:
Prog.
Abbreviation
or
progressive
ock,
term sed to describe he
single
most
deploredgenre
of
postwar op
music,
nhabited
y
young
musicians
who,
entranced
y
he
clecticism,
laborate
rrange-
ments,
nd
ostentatious
iligrees
f heBeatles'
Sgt
Pepper
ra,
istortedheirnthusiasmnto
1970smorass f eternal
ong
uiteswithmul-
tiple
ime
ignatures,onderouspace-cadet
r
medievalist
yrics,
idiculous
apes
and head-
pieces especially
here es's
keyboardlayer,
Rick
Wakeman,
as
concerned),
nd
n
overall
wretched
igness
f
sound,
taging,
nd hair.
Butwhile
rog's
most
gregiousulprits
ELP,
Yes,
Jethro
ull,
Rush)
re
easyobjects
f
ridi-
cule,
he
postmodernist
enchant
or
ummag-
ing hrough
very ingle hapter
frock's
ast
has made even thesebands
worthy
f
Snob
investigation
nd adulation'
(Kamp
2005,
pp.
97-8).
7.
What o
Bangs
looked
ike a theremin' as
undoubtedly
merson's
rusty
odular
Moogribbonontroller
nterestingly,oday
he
Moog
company
oes
distribute
heremins).
robably
Bangs'
mistake ouldhavebeen
known o
ny-
one
at the ime
t all familiar ith merson's
equipment.
ut
nearly
onclusive
roof
hat
Bangs
had
made thismistakendentification
was furnished
y
Emerson imself
n
1996,
when e
signed
Mark
Glinsky's
ibbon ontrol-
ler
with he
following
entiments:To
Mark
Don't
Wipe
This n
Your
Arse
Keith merson'.
Glinsky
as a 'local roadie'
for he ame
ELP
1974 tour that
Bangs
had
reviewed;
n his
'Emerson,
ake
and Palmer
Ring'
website e
features
picture
fhimself ith merson old-
ing
the aforementioned
utographed
ibbon
controller
Glinsky,
995-2006).
his ncident
suggests
f
course
hat
merson emembered
wellhis ntics n
that
articular
our.
ut
here
is also the
trong ossibility
uggested
ere
hat
Emerson
may
have
remembered
angs'
voca-
tive
escription
bout he
way
n
which eused
his
equipment
n
stage.
hecontextven
ug-
gests
hat merson
may
have relished
hefact
that
angs
ad
perpetrated
n
naccuracy
n
his
1974 rticle
and
perhaps
merson ow
ustifi-
ably
elishesoo
he act
hat
ecame cross
s a
rather
nasty'
haracter
n
the
article,
espite
subsequent
ssessments
o the
contrary
hat
tend obe voiced
y
his ritics).
8. On
the war criminals'
moniker nd its
use,
see studies uch
as
Spicer
2000,
p.
103n2),
Sheinbaum
2002,
p.
21)
and
Hung
(2003,
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452
Jay
Keister nd
Jeremy
.
Smith
p.
93).
Sheinbaum
later confessed
having
fol-
lowed Macan
in
this
tendency
o
quote Bangs
out of context
Sheinbaum
2004,
p.
956).
9.
This
version can be heard on ELP's live
LP
Welcome ack
My
Friends o the
how
That
Never
Ends . . Ladies nd
Gentlemen,merson,
ake nd
Palmer.
10.
In
his
analysis
of LTA
Parts One
and
Two,
Gregory
arl
refutes he dea that
King
Crimson
were
superficially orrowing
ormal tructures
from
nineteenth-century
omanticmusic
and
instead
achieved
a
similar effect
working
throughpop song
structure
by
transforming
the materials
f rockmusic from
within,
ather
than
by
importing
nassimilatedmaterial
nd
procedures
from
foreign
ealm'
(Karl
2002,
p.
122).
11.
See
Spicer
2000)
for
discussion of the
dispa-
rate musical
influences
n
'Supper's Ready'.
Although
no one
purports
o have discovered
all
of
Genesis's
copious
literaryborrowings,
some of the most
important
re discussed
in
Spicer
(ibid.)
and
(Nicholls
2004,
pp.
129-33).
We
have also
drawn
from
innegan
1994).
12. In
an
interviewwith
Henry
Fielder,
Gabrielde-
scribed
he
tory
s a
type
f
Pilgrim's rogress'
(Finnegan
1994).
13. Gabriel
foreshadows the
appearance
of '666'
with
pervasive
alliteration,viz.,
'six
saintly
shrouded
men';
super-sonic
cientist',
tc.
14.
On theballad
tradition,
ee
Atkinson
2002).
15. Gabriel
presents
his
critique
ubtly
t
first:
n
'Dancing
with
heMoonlit
Knight',
or
xample,the instrumental
epiction
of an
aggressive
dance turns
with
a
film-like ut to
a
scene
where,
with
a hint
of new
anger
in
his
voice,
Gabriel
sings
there's a fat
ld
lady
outside the
saloon;
/laying
out
the credit cards she
plays
Fortune
The
deck is
uneven
right
from the
start/and
ll
of their ands are
playing part'.
16. On
the
concept
of Verdian
tinta,
see Rosen
(1997).
17.
For an
interpretation
f
cock rock'
aesthetics,
see Frith nd
McRobbie
1990,
pp.
383-4).
18.
John
ovach's
classic musical
analysis
of Close
to the
Edge'
(1997)
has now
been
joined by
a
number
of detailed
analytical tudies,many
of
which seek more
fully
to combine musical
analysis
with he
onsideration f other
visual,
social, aesthetic,
tc.)
factors: ee Sheinbaum
(2002),
Macan
(1997),
von der
Horst
2002)
and
Rycenga
(2002).
Yes's
spirituality
nd
their
'Yessonatas' are
discussed
at
length
n
Mosbo
(1994).
Rycenga
and
Martin
also treat Yes's
mystical
and
religious
themes. On Yes's an-
drogynous
image,
see Macan and
von
der
Horst.
Although
t s at
timesdifficulto sort ut
the
relationship
etweenhis
own
political
iews
and
that of
his
subject,
Martin
ptly
describes
Yes as
a
'musical
force' nd
suggests
hat
isten-
ing
with a
'radical
openness'
will
help
further
thevision'
(p.
236).
Martin's Marxist lant s a
welcome
complement
to
musicological
and
spiritualist
eadings
of Yes and if t
s
perhaps
unsuccessful
n
painting
holistic
picture,
his
book offers
many
clues as to
the truenature
of
the Yes
'force',
ncluding
welcome
apprecia-
tion of the formative
nature of
the first
wo
albums.
19.
See Platoff
2005)
for discussion of
Lennon's
politics
and the divisions in the
political
left
at
this
time as reflected
n
the
reception
of
Lennon's music.
20.
An
essay
from 964
by
Paul
Johnson
eveals
the
extent owhich
English
onservatives
much o
the consternation
f the conservative
uthor
courted the Beatles
and
began
to
'worship
at
the shrine of
"pop
culture"
(Johnson
2004,
originally
964).
21.
Ironically,
Gendron's
history
eveals
how rock
actually
bolstered he cultural
lite that
ought
out
the
iberating
timulus f the
youth
ulture
thatthe Beatles had come to
represent.High-
brow' writers
claimed that the music
of the
Beatles was a welcome stimulantfora bored
avant-garde
in
the late 1960s.
Critics as
es-
teemed as Susan
Sontag,
Richard Poirier
and
Joan
Peyser
nvoked the
sensuality
nd beat of
the Beatles music
to
question
the absence
of
pleasure
in an
overly
ntellectualised iscourse
of
high
art
music
(Gendron
2002,
pp.
202-3;
Roka
2004,
pp.
23-4).
Ned Rorem
ompared
the
Beatles o Schumann
nd
proclaimed
herevival
of the
art
ong
to
an
avant-garde
ominated
by
serialism
Gendron
2002,
p.
200;
Stump
1997,
p.
86).
According
o Rorem: the
artful radition
of
great song
has been transferred
rom lite
domains to The Beatles
and their ffshoots
ho
represent
as
any non-specialised
ntellectual
will
tell
you
-
thefinest ommunicable
music
of
our time'
Rorem 2004,p.
103,
originally 968).
22. Frank
Zappa
reminds
us of the more
base
motivations ehind
playing
rock music
in his
'anthropology'
of the rock and roll
band
in
which he
crudely
describes
phallic
displays by
guitar players
n their
uest
for
easy
sex
with
groupies Zappa
1989,
pp.
164-5).
23.
Among
the
many
conservatory-trained
usi-
cians who cast themselves s
rebels,
Daryl Way,
violinist of the
band
Curved
Air and
Royal
College
of Music
graduate,
tated
that lassical
music was a 'dead art
..
as dead
as the Dodo'
(Way quoted
inCarr1971,
p.
17).
Robert
ripp,
a
self-taught uitarist
from a
working-class
family, xpressed
similar criticism
bout the
state
of
Western
art
music,
describing
the
symphony
rchestra s a 'dinosaur'
bound for
extinction
see
Tamm
1991,
p.
26).
24.
Macan's
theory
bout the
ppropriation
fclas-
sical forms
y progressive
rock bands
such as
Yes is that this was
a
response
to
challenges
posed
by psychedelic
music.
Nineteenth-
century
extended forms such
as the
multi-
movement uite
allowed for
engthy
music
that
could
suspend
time
without
relying
n exces-
sive
improvisationMacan 1997,pp. 40-6).25. Sheila
Whiteley rgues
that
participation
n the
counterculturewas not
limited to the
middle
classes
(Whiteley
1992,
pp.
4-5).
Andy
Bennett
demonstrates
Whiteley's ointby
showing
how
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Musical
ambition
453
working-class outh
were involved
n
progres-
sive rock
n
his
study
f
working-class nglish
band that
specialises
in
pub performances
f
Pink
Floyd
covers
Bennett
000,
pp.
172-3).
26. For
examples
of
this,
see Stokes
(1986),Chambers
1983),
Frith
1981,
pp.
212-13)
and
Cutler
1993).
27.
This
dark
ages trope
has also been useful for
descriptions
f earlier
periods
in
rock
history,
such as
the
early
1960s
period
of shallow teen-
age pop
perceived
of as a brief
ull
beforethe
reinvigoration
f
authentic
ock nd roll
by
the
Beatles
see
Ward
1986).
28.
Although
Gendron is
misguided
in
thinking
thatrockmusicians
n
the ate 1960s
depended
on critics for
cultural
accreditation,
he does
acknowledge
that rock critics were
equally
dependent
on rock
music for heir wn
cultural
accreditation
Gendron
2002,
p.
190).
29.
This attitude oward
the
early
days
of
progres-
sive rock s evident
n
the
nterviews f
mostof
themembers fGenesis n
thevideo The
Genesis
Songbook
2001).
30. KeithEmerson
goes
even
further
n
recounting
progressive
ock's
nasty
ide
in
his recent
uto-
biography
Emerson 2004).
31.
In
the notes of this
CD
package,
each
member
individually
oasts of the
aggressiveness
f
the
band,
fromCarl
Palmer's
proud
acknowledge-
ment of the
group's
pomposity
as
a
'saber-
rattling
band'
to Keith
Emerson's and
Greg
Lake's
descriptions
of
pre-punk
behaviour
(McCulleyl996).
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