THE 1970s: Prog Rock
The countdown of the decade's 200 Most Essential Songs continues this weekend.

THE 1970s The present countdown every weekend looks back on the songs that were the most influential and fundamental of the Seventies. Each week, there will be a focus on a key genre of that decade. Accompanying each theme, there will be a list of songs to explore. While not an exhaustive list, the songs included offer a greater appreciation of that style.
	PROG ROCK / ART ROCK The release of The Beatles' 'Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band' changed the importance of the album. It was no longer a collection of hit singles and other tracks for padding. An album allowed for longer tracks than the restrictions imposed by radio and the limitations of a vinyl single. Now, concepts could be explored for the duration of an album. Coupled with the emergence of the Moog synthesizer, various musicians helped take music down a new direction. As the 1960s drew to its conclusion, these acts included King Crimson, The Nice, Moody Blues, Procol Harum and The Soft Machine. In the 1970s, Yes, Pink Floyd and Jethro Tull led the charge. Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Tangerine Dream, Queen and Genesis soon followed.  Often, prog rock is grouped with art rock as many acts are shared by the 2 sub-genres. Some however, stuck rigidly to art rock (eg. Roxy Music, Peter Gabriel, Frank Zappa and Brian Eno).  Others continued the classical and symphonic approach to prog rock that had begun in the 1960s. These musicians included Rick Wakeman and Mike Oldfield.  By the time groups such as Styx, Rush, Boston and Kansas had joined the bandwagon, prog rock had become synonymous with grandiose and pretentious rock music. Before the end of the Seventies, punk arrived and burst its bubble.  EXPLORE FURTHER: Tubular Bells  Part II MIKE OLDFIELD Dark Side Of the Moon PINK FLOYD Jane Seymour RICK WAKEMAN Oxygene JEAN MICHEL JARRE I'm Just A Singer  MOODY BLUES Bohemian Rhapsody QUEEN Us And Them PINK FLOYD Phaedra TANGERINE DREAM Virginia Plain ROXY MUSIC Solsbury Hill PETER GABRIEL Limelight RUSH Time PINK FLOYD Carry On Wayward Son KANSAS Steppin' in A Slide Zone MOODY BLUES I Robot ALAN PARSONS PROJECT Aqualung JETHRO TULL Eclipse PINK FLOYD Catherine Of Aragon RICK WAKEMAN Question MOODY BLUES Fanfare For the Common Man EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER