| Neo-prog | |
| Other Names: | Neo-progressive rock |
| Cultural Origins: | Early 1980s in England, UK |
| Other Topics: | New prog Post-progressive |
Neo-progressive rock (commonly abbreviated neo-prog) is a subgenre of progressive rock developed in the UK in the early 1980s. The genre's most popular band, Marillion, achieved mainstream success in the decade. Several bands from the genre have continued to record and tour.[1] [2]
Neo-prog is characterised by deeply emotional content, often delivered via dramatic lyrics and a generous use of imagery and theatricality on-stage. The music is mostly the product of careful composition, relying less heavily on improvised jamming. The subgenre relies very much on clean, melodic and emotional electric guitar solos, combined with keyboards. The main musical influences on the neo-prog genre are bands from the first wave of progressive rock such as early Genesis, Camel, and to a lesser extent Van der Graaf Generator and Pink Floyd. Funk, hard rock and punk rock were also influences on the genre.[3]
In the book, The Progressive Rock Files, author Jerry Lucky dedicates a chapter to neo-progressive rock with the title "A Neo Beginning!", stating this subgenre "surfaced in late 1981, bearing testimony to the lasting values of this musical form" of progressive rock, but distinguishing it from this main genre by saying, "Sure the sound was a bit different ... a little more bite, a little more eighties". Later in the same book, Jerry Lucky suggested this subgenre of progressive rock peaked in the mid-1980s: "As 1984 dawned all of the British neo-progressive rock bands release material." Famous neo-prog albums were Marillion's Fugazi, Pallas' The Sentinel, Pendragon's Fly High Fall Far, Twelfth Night's Art and Illusion, Solstice's Silent Dance, IQ's The Wake, and Quasar's Fire in the Sky.[4]
A predecessor to this genre was The Enid, who fused rock with classical but were more heavily influenced by Ralph Vaughan Williams than by more modern composers. The change of approach can be heard in the shift toward shorter compositions and a keyboard-based sound in the 1980s Rush albums Signals, Grace Under Pressure, Power Windows and Hold Your Fire. Neo-progressive bands emphasised individual solos instead of group improvisation, and they included more world-music elements. Lyrics became more personal and less esoteric. Concept albums were still created, but not as frequently and on a smaller scale. Digital synthesizers took over many of the roles formerly filled by bulkier keyboards such as Mellotrons and organs, and their modern sound tended to minimise the folk influences that had been typical of 1970s progressive rock. Heavy metal bands such as Iron Maiden and Queensrÿche began to explore the mythological themes and extended concepts that had previously been the territory of progressive rock.
Early neo-prog was marked by sophisticated lyrics and often dark themes. While the accessibility of neo-prog to the mainstream is debatable, the form did generally seem more radio-friendly, with shorter and less complex songs than earlier progressive rock. Nonetheless, neo-prog never achieved the heights of popular success that the first wave of progressive rock in the 1970s did, with only one band, Marillion, achieving arena status.[5] Marillion achieved major success across Europe in particular and produced eight top ten UK albums between 1983 and 1994, peaking in popularity with their album Misplaced Childhood in 1985, which topped the UK album chart and produced two top five hit singles in the UK. The album has been called "the cornerstone of the entire 'neo-prog' movement".[6] Following this peak, neo-prog declined in popularity as a genre, although several bands have continued to record and tour, with Marillion and their ex-singer Fish in particular both maintaining a large cult following. They would also spawn a Sci-Fi based trans-Atlantic Neo-Prog side project in Edison's Children in 2011 starring, Marillion's Pete Trewavas[7] and NYC's Major Motion Picture Special FX Technician[8] Eric Blackwood.[9] Their 1st album "In The Last Waking Moments..." marks the only time that all active members of Marillion (and Robin Boult, the lead guitarist of Fish) appeared on the same album that wasn't an official Marillion album.[10] [11] "In The Last Waking Moments...'" Extraterrestrial / Alien Abduction theme[11] garnered tremendous attention including the Top 40 FM Radio Hit "A Million Miles Away (I Wish I Had A Time Machine"[12] [13] [14] marking the first time that Neo-Prog has had an FM hit since the Alan Parsons Project in the early 1990's returning Neo-Prog back to its former glory.[15] Giorgio A. Tsoukalos of Ancient Aliens fame brought more attention to the "alien based" concept album through social media[16] and most importantly the attention of the NASA Apollo 11 Neil Armstrong family including Neil's musical son Rick Armstrong who requested to.[17] become a permanent member of Edison's Children during the Marillion 2013 Weekend tour in Montreal which he was granted and has contributed to Edison's Children's next 4 Supernatural / Extraterrestrial / Apocalyptic based Double-LP's[17] and culminated in the 2019 concert celebration for the Astronaut Scholarship Fund's concert celebration for the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing, starring Neil Armstrong's son Rick Armstrong performing with his band Edison's Children[15] [18] and then joining the Alan Parsons Project later in the evening for a two band encore "mashup".[19] Along with Marillion, Fish and Edison's Children, alternative rock band Radiohead's ambitious work has been credited with inspiring a revival of interest in progressive rock.[20]