Ray Thomas: Legend of a Mind, RIP
Sean MurphySad news to report the passing of original member Ray Thomas. In tribute, I'm reposting my entry on The Moody Blues (from my PopMatters column The Amazing Pudding), originally published…
Reappraising Jethro Tull’s ‘Minstrel in the Gallery’
Jethro Tull, again? Seriously? Yes, seriously. The reason Tull warrants continued discussion is because unlike just about all other prog rock acts of the mid-‘70s, they were—in their businesslike, seemingly…
Ripe with Rich Attainments: Jethro Tull’s ‘A Passion Play’, Reassessed (Revisited)
For prog-rock aficionados, the hits keep coming, and one man above all deserves our gratitude: Steven Wilson. Whether it’s Yes, King Crimson, or Jethro Tull—all of whom he has worked…
Why Is Prog Rock So Inadequate, Simplistic, Reductive, Portentous and…Perfect? (Revisited)
It’s always crucial, when talking trends—musical or otherwise—to contextualize the times and remember that wardrobe malfunctions, chemical excess and unspeakable atrocities like porn-star mustaches never exist within a vacuum. To…
The Moody Blues: Masters of the Mini Epic
The Moody Blues have not aged particularly well. And that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. To be sure, more than a handful of their songs are as timeless as any…
Ripe with Rich Attainments: Jethro Tull’s ‘A Passion Play’, Reassessed
For prog-rock aficionados, the hits keep coming, and one man above all deserves our gratitude: Steven Wilson. Whether it’s Yes, King Crimson, or Jethro Tull—all of whom he has worked…
Pink Floyd: The Prog Rock Archetype
It isn’t that Pink Floyd made some of the best albums of the ‘70s (they did), or that Pink Floyd moved the art form forward (they did); it’s that Pink…
Why Is Prog Rock So Inadequate, Simplistic, Reductive, Portentous and…Perfect?*
It’s always crucial, when talking trends—musical or otherwise—to contextualize the times and remember that wardrobe malfunctions, chemical excess and unspeakable atrocities like porn-star mustaches never exist within a vacuum. To…