Steadfast and Inimitable: The Sound & Vision of Pharoah Sanders
Sean MurphyNot a fan of Led Zeppelin, The Clash’s Paul Simonon once opined: “Just looking at their album covers makes me want to throw up.” When it comes to Pharoah Sanders,…
RIP Ian McDonald: MVP of the Best Prog Album Ever
If Ian McDonald had done nothing other than be a crucial (arguably the crucial) member of the band that, in 1969, recorded the album that launched a thousand pretentious, proggy,…
Robert Fripp at 75: The King of the Court
Happy 75th to an artist who has not merely helped shape and define whatever it is, exactly, prog rock has managed to encompass, but as a positive force for music:…
1969–2019: In the Court of the Crimson King at 50
I’ve written a little bit about prog rock; my series “The Amazing Pudding” at PopMattersand rankings of the best prog albums and Top 100 Classic Prog Rock songs (and many, many reviews, etc.) When it comes to the…
King Crimson: A Prog-Rock Case Study
Although it was already suggested that Pink Floyd is the archetypal prog-rock band (HERE), an equally compelling case could be made for King Crimson. By practically any criteria, King Crimson…
The 25 Best Progressive Rock Songs of All Time: Part Five
5. Genesis, "Watcher of the Skies" The mellotron certainly had its time and place. It became overused, a crutch for bands hoping to mimic the sounds made by bands like…
King Crimson: In the Wake of Poseidon (40th Anniversary Series)
Considering that the only constant within King Crimson was change, the quality of their early albums is, in hindsight, even more remarkable. Poised to conquer the world, or at least…