Trollheart

Before we move on to 1970, a few last words about the late sixties. The effect, both of the bands formed and of certain albums released, as well as the overall embryonic first steps of progressive rock can't be overestimated. Although much of the better known and indeed more successful albums, the ones that have stood the test of time and gone on in some cases to become classics, and which broke certain bands commercially, happened in the seventies, it's likely that they would not have had the chance to do this had it not been for the trendsetting (and, perhaps paradoxically, trend-defying) bands who came first. As noted in the original intro, though prog rock later became known for and reviled as overblown, pretentious and up itself – accusations I can not, in most cases, defend – at the time of its birth it was something entirely new. Breaking away from the restrictions of the standard song format, sacrificing chart success in order to produce meaningful albums, utilising instruments and arrangements that had not been popular before, and not worrying about the length of songs were all ideas that were very new, and indeed risky at the time, so there was no guarantee that they would find favour with the music buying public.

And in many cases, they did not. Prog was not by any means successful by itself initially; many of the bands who played prog, or dabbled with it, or skirted along its edges, were of course already known for other, more perhaps standard and accepted forms of music – the Beatles, Chicago, Santana – so did not have as much to lose, theoretically, as did the newer kids on the block – Pink Floyd, Yes, Frank Zappa, Beefheart, Soft Machne, Van der Graaf Generator – who had no following and had to rely on the hope that people would buy into the new music they were creating. But as more and more of these types of bands began to rise up, and as psych and blues and jazz crossed over and mixed, and elements of classical married up to more conventional rock, a strange kind of hybrid was being born, and soon most if not all of these bands would be a part of it. As 1969 gave way to 1970, the following decade would produce some of the most iconic and important albums in the genre.

1969 was also more or less the death knell for the end of the flower power and hippy movement, the Summer of Love would be followed by the Winter of Discontent as the shootings at Kent State loomed large and ugly on the immediate horizon, and overall protests against the Vietnam War escalated and got more militant, leading to crackdowns by the US government against their own people, as the gulf between old and young, traditional and new ideas, establishment and counter culture grew. It wasn't a civil war of course, not on the streets anyway, but within the hearts and minds of the young people who had grown up in this era of war on one side and peace and love on the other, there was certainly a battle raging, and one that would not be easily won. Haight-Ashbury was closed for business, free love now had to be paid for and hippies turned their energies from writing songs about wizards and castles to chanting “Hell no! We won't go!” as those in power watched, simmering with rage as the beloved Stars and Stripes went up in flames, a harsh symbol of and rallying cry for a country opposed to a war they did not believe was their concern, but which their young men were expected to die in.

Musically, the 1970s would see a huge shift in musical direction with the explosion of disco and funk, which would expand on the soul music coming out of Detroit in the sixties and move to take over the charts for most of the decade, while slowly, hard rock would metamorphose into and give birth to heavy metal, while there would also be a minor resurgence in folk and Country music, with the likes of John Denver, Cat Stevens and Gordon Lightfoot all making it into the charts. Against this background, progressive rock would strive and thrive, and for a while it would be seen as the thinking man's music, as fluffy disco and chart hits peppered the top reaches of the charts, and whimsical folk tunes would also make a respectable showing. Prog rock would without question champion and make popular the idea of buying albums, as distinct from the chart-topping record-buying public, who would prefer to shell out on singles and often not care what else the artist had written or played if it was not popular. Prog would introduce the idea of stories in songs, stories in albums, and birth the idea of the concept album as well as pioneering a trend which would see some of the most lavish and detailed cover art adorning their albums, with artists like Roger Dean and Storm Thorgerson rising to the top of their field.

Prog bands would also engineer huge advances in the concept of the stageshow, with lighting, effects, the emerging video technologies and stage art all being used to their utmost, often leading to a band so wreathed in dry ice and surrounded by such massive backdrops that it could be hard to see them onstage. Gigs would become no longer just a way to see the band and hear the music; they would become totally immersive experiences, equivalent in some cases to seeing, or even participating in, a movie only the audience there would ever get to see, and bring the fans closer to the band while simultaneously, if not deliberately, pushing them back and holding them at arm's length. Massive talents would rise in the seventies who would go on to become legends, dominate the music scene for decades, some of whom are still with us.

In 1970 alone, both ELO and ELP would be formed, and this first year of the new decade would also see the rise of Gentle Giant, with already formed bands like Genesis and Yes releasing important albums, and others, formed but without an album, releasing their debuts, such as Supertramp, Egg and Focus. Though it would really take another two or three years before prog rock really found its stride, it was at this point climbing out of the cradle and if not actually walking yet, certainly crawling across the floor like certain characters in a later Genesis song. And to further paraphrase that song, these bands were already beginning to lift their faces to the sky, like the forest fight for sunlight that takes root in every tree, and soon those trees would blossom, grow and yield wonderful fruit.

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