Prog has made a comeback in recent years, so once again the music scene sees bands of great musical proficiency offering lengthy instrumental compositions with neo-classical learnings and labyrinthine narratives. Time to indulge yourself.
The first section here is straight questions. The second section deals with the long epic pieces of which prog rock bands were so fond (and still are: there are a couple of contemporary bands in there with the old geezers). In this section, you have to match the track to the artist, and also take a punt on the length of that particular epic. You don’t have to be spot on: we have given you parameters to fall between.
Answers: here
1 What was Genesis’s 1974 double-album rock opera called? What is the name of the character whose journey through life it charts?
2 Warrior on the Edge of Time (1975) was the highest charting album by which prog band, who are still recording and playing today? On whose science fantasy epic novels was the work based?
3 Ray Manzarek and Bobby Krieger reunited in the 21st century to play the songs of which sixties band, of which they were both members? Who replaced the band’s charismatic, long dead singer?
4 Take an element from The Nice, one from King Crimson, and one from Atomic Rooster – what have you got? (Exact details for both points).
5 John Lees and Les Holroyd both still record and tour as different incarnations of which seventies prog rock band? What was the band’s signature tune, off 1971 album Once Again?
6 Which member of Pink Floyd left in 1979 but rejoined for the 1987 album A Momentary Lapse of Reason? Which other key member, the band’s lyricist, left in 1985 but played with the band at Live 8 in 2008?
7 Which two musicians have been the mainstay of the jazz-tinged progressive band Steely Dan, both in the seventies and since they reformed n 1993?
8 Which 1973 Yes album consisted of four sides of vinyl with one track each, the first of which was entitled ‘The Revealing Science of God (Dance of the Dawn)’? Who was their singer, with a distinctive falsetto?
9 Who wrote and produced the rock opera The War of the Worlds? And which dramatic luminary narrated the album version?
10 Demons and Wizards (1972) was the breakthrough album for which London heavy prog band? From which Charles Dickens novel did they get their name?
11 Genesis released . . . And Then There Were Three . . . in 1978: which two members of the original band had left by then?
12 Greek prog rock band Aphrodite’s Child’s third album 666 was an expansive 1972 Biblical epic. Who was the band’s musical guiding light and who provided the falsetto vocals, which he put to good use in a subsequent solo career?
13 The 1981 album My Life in the Bush of Ghosts was a collaboration between David Byrne and which other avant-garde music figure? What was this artist’s previous contribution to David Byrne’s career?
14 Which singer made a good decision in not performing under his birth name, Derek Dick? With which band did he enjoy commercial success in the eighties?
15 Which band were named after an English agriculturalist? What was their 1972 album that consisted of one 40-minute track?
Match the epic pieces of self-indulgence to the bands. And guess how long the track was.
1. ‘Tarkus’, 1971; 2. ‘Supper’s Ready’, 1972; 3. ‘Fugazi’, 1984; 4. ‘The End’, 1967; 5. ‘In-a-Gadda-da-Vida’, 1968; 6. ‘Time Was’, 1972; 7. ‘The Great Nothing’, 2000; 8. ‘The Gates of Delirium’, 1974; 9. ‘Moonchild’, 1969; 10. ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’, 1975; 11. ‘The Fountain of Lamneth’, 1975; 12. ‘Nine Feet Underground’, 1971; 13. ‘Hellbound Train’, 1972; 14. ‘The Truth Will Set You Free’, 2002; 15. ‘Heavy Horses’, 1978
The bands, in alphabetical order: Caravan; The Doors; Emerson, Lake & Palmer; The Flower Kings; Genesis; Iron Butterfly; Jethro Tull; King Crimson; Marillion; Pink Floyd; Rush; Savoy Brown; Spock’s Beard; Wishbone Ash; Yes.