Chapter 14 – Progressive and
Glitter Rock
“What started to happen in music at this time was
more of the well-educated university graduate types
were coming in as musicians and band members.”
Chris Blackwell of Island Records
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Progressive Rock Music
Progressive rock music combines rock music and instruments with influences
from classical music
The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) album:
Aleatory to create circus effects in “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite”
Aleatory with orchestra in “A Day in the Life”
Classical balance in opening song repeated near the end
Addition of classical instruments on rock recordings:
String sections used in pop rock recordings 1959-1964
Phil Spector’s “wall of sound” productions used other orchestral
instruments
Beatles’ use of string quartets in songs “Yesterday” and “Eleanor Rigby”
Full orchestra used by the Moody Blues beginning in 1967
Most Progressive Rock bands were British, although the American Frank
Zappa somewhat fit the style
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Listening Guide:
“Nights in White Satin” by the Moody Blues (1967)
Tempo: 52 beats per minute, 4 beats per bar
Each beat subdivided into 3 sections, making each bar feel like
12 faster beats
Form: A section has a solo singer singing a 4-bar melody two times,
accompanied by the orchestra and rock band
Orchestra louder for a 4-bar B section
More A and B sections follow, then a 12-bar instrumental section
features flute, plucked acoustic guitar, and strings with a rock
backbeat in drums
A and B sections follow the instrumental
Features: The recording begins with a swirl of sound played by strings,
flute, harp, and chimes before the drums enter
Strong backbeat in drums until the orchestral finale
The recording concludes with the recitation of a poem
Lyrics: Love has disoriented the singer. The theme of endless love letters
is used to express a general sense of unrequited love.
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Charts: Pop, #2 for two weeks, British hits, #19
Orchestral Rock
Problems working with a live orchestra:
Music must all be notated in advance because a large
orchestra cannot “jam”
Rehearsals music be organized and scheduled well in
advance
Costs of touring with many musicians and their instruments
(transportation, food, and lodging)
Solution for many progressive bands:
Use a mellotron to imitate the sound of orchestral
instruments
Use just a few orchestral instruments, but not a full
orchestra
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Orchestral Rock Groups
Genesis used mellotron and flute
Procol Harum included organ and added a studio orchestra
with celeste, marimba, recorder, conga drums, tabla, and
tambourine
Jethro Tull included flute and recorded “classical” instrumental
“Bourrée” by J. S. Bach, also used synthesizer and
orchestral instrumental sounds
Electric Light Orchestra had members who played violin, cello,
string bass, several orchestral wind instruments, and
synthesizer
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Progressive Rock Based on Classical Forms
Musicians with classical and rock training used:
Classical multi-movement forms such as the Suite (collection of
dances) as basis of rock/classical compositions:
Yes’s Close to the Edge (1972) and Relayer (1974) albums
Electronic instruments and effects:
King Crimson - Robert Fripp’s work with Brian Eno
Rock instrument, but played rock versions of real classical
compositions:
Emerson, Lake and Palmer’s “Intermezzo” by Sibelius and
Pictures at an Exhibition by Mussorgsky
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Listening Guide
“Roundabout” by Yes (1971)
Tempo: 135 beats per minute, 4 beats per bar most of the time, some
2 beat bars
Form and Features:
The recording begins with a backward taped crescendo dissolving
into guitar harmonics, that sound repeats near the end of the
recording, giving a sense of classical balance to the composition
Section lengths vary greatly
Backbeat in drums
Bass riffs in instrumentals
Keyboard instruments include both synthesizer and organ
Some group vocals are overdubbed
Lyrics: Unclear, but helpful to know that “roundabouts” are traffic
circles in England, where drivers can change their course of
direction if they wish
Charts: Pop, #13
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Progressive Rock Influenced by
Avant-Garde Trends
Some avant-garde practices used by Pink Floyd:
Minimalism (systematic music)
Semi-constant repetition of short melodies
Non-traditional sound makers used as instruments
Old cash register in “Money,” and various sounds of
televisions, wind, or other non-musical sounds
Aleatory
“Echoes” from Pink Floyd’s Meddle (1971) album
Odd meters such as 7-beat bars
“Money” from Dark Side of the Moon (1973) album
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Listening Guide
“Money” by Pink Floyd (1973)
Tempo: 120 beats per minute, 7 beats per bar, except for part of the instrumental and
the ending that have 4 beats per bar
Form: 12-bar blues in a minor key
Features: The recording begins with the sounds of old-fashioned cash registers ringing
and their change drawers opening.
The cash resister sounds fall into a 7-beat pattern that is then picked up by the
bass when it enters
The drums accent the 2nd, 4th, and 6th backbeats, leaving beats 7 and 1 as two
unaccented beats in a row. Most rock backbeats based on 4-beat bars accent
every other beat.
A funk-style tenor saxophone solo is featured in the instrumental section
The bass line follows the 7-beat meter, and changes to fit the 4-beat meter during
the instrumental section
The recording ends with casual conversation that continues into the next album
cut
Lyrics: The lyrics constitute a satirical commentary on money and its effects on
people, both mocking the wealthy and commenting on the underclass
Charts: Pop, #13
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Frank Zappa
Played rhythm & blues rock guitar
Interests in avant-garde art music, and jazz
Stressed importance of individual freedom, similar to the
ideas of the Beat writers
Band of changing membership, the Mothers of Invention,
recorded songs that took stabs at conventional, conformist
attitudes as phony
Outspoken style hated censorship of all kinds
In addition to rock music, Zappa composed movie scores and
music played by avant-garde classical musicians
“Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow” was one of Zappa’s few pop-chart
entries
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Listening Guide
“Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow” (single version), by Frank Zappa (1974)
Tempo: The recording has three sections:
1) 138 beats per minute with 7 beats per bar
2) Double-time section with 2-beats per bar
3) 46 beats per minute, 4 beats per bar
Form: 1) 1-bar bass riff repeats with vocals above it at irregular times
2) Double-time section has repetitions of a 4-bar phrase
3) 30 4-beat bars, then an abrupt interruption after the first two beats of the last
bar
Features: Even beat subdivisions
The sound of wind expresses cold
Backup group vocals respond to lead vocal lines
Double-time section has group vocals in rapid patter style
Descending bass line leads into final section with almost spoken lyrics
1-bar riff in last section
Lyrics: A dream about an Eskimo defending his seal against a fur trader by rubbing
snow with dog urine in it into his eyes and the trader reacts by rubbing “dog doo”
into the dreamer’s eyes. The story is a metaphor for the coercive way in which
members of society treat each other
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Charts: Pop, 86
Progressive Rock with Roots
in Hard Rock
Rush, Canadian power trio, began playing songs by Led
Zeppelin and Cream
Alex Lifeson, guitarist with classical training
Geddy Lee, bass player
Neil Peart, drummer and songwriter
Concept albums such as 2112 (1976) about the battle of
forces in a depersonalized society in the year 2112
Added synthesizer to sound during the mid-eighties
Less active in late nineties and early two-thousands
Continues to record and tour after 2002
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Listening Guide
“New World Man” by Rush (1982)
Tempo: 160 beats per minute, 4 beats per bar
Form: A 16-bar instrumental introduction is followed by seven
sections of unequal lengths and frequent changes of key
Features: Both even and uneven beat subdivisions are used
Drums accent a backbeat
Synthesizer repeats a 1-bar riff pattern
The bass plays other riff patterns at various sections of the
recording
Lyrics: The song ambiguously embraces the frenetic changes
associated with scientific modernity, both celebrating them and
expressing a distrust of the new world
Charts: Pop, #21, British hits, #42
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Glitter Rock
Beat writer Jack Kerouac’s novel On the Road (1957) impressed David
Jones (David Bowie) with expression of alienation and conformist
middle-class society
Jones (Bowie after 1966), played saxophone, other instruments, and
sang in Mod clubs in London
Beat writer Allen Ginsberg’s writings demanding acceptance of
homosexuality inspired a trend of performers wearing androgynous
dress in New York and London, Bowie became part of that
movement
In addition to being an multi-instrumentalist, a singer, and songwriter,
Bowie was an artist and a professional actor
First important image as spaceman Major Tom, inspired by movie
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Bowie was an important glitter artist, but his music and acting does
not always fit that style
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Listening Guide
“Space Oddity” by David Bowie (1968)
Tempo: 69 beats per minute, 4 beats per bar
Form: Complex with four sections of unequal lengths and little
repetition
Features: Recording begins with strummed acoustic guitar, then snare
drum, and military march beat
String and other orchestral instruments used along with strummed
acoustic guitar
Electronics and strings use glissandos as “spacy” sound effects
Frequent key changes are used to add effect of instability
Bowie’s voice is sometimes overdubbed
Lyrics: A poignant image of an astronaut lost on a space walk
separated not only from earth, but his own capsule, facing death
Charts: Pop, #15, British hits, #5 and later #1
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Other Glitter Performers
Elton John
Marc Bolan (T-Rex)
Gary Glitter
Roxy Music
Kiss
Alice Cooper
Boy George
Bon Jovi (early)
Queen
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Listening Guide
“Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen (1975)
Tempo: 72 beats per minute, 4 beats per bar, with some variations in tempo
Form and Features: Lead vocals by Freddie Mercury, but other band members
overdubbed group vocals
Mini-opera begins with a cappella group vocals, then the solo aria
Drums sometimes accent a backbeat, not always
Percussion instruments add to lyrics, example, the word “shivers” is supported by
chimes
Most verses use new melodies to fit the events in the story instead of repeating
music to each section
Fourth verse is faster (144 beats per minute) and uses antiphonal choruses to
express positions for and against the release of the murderer
Heavy bass and distorted guitar add power as the murderer begs for freedom
Ending slower (80 beats per minute) and the final sound of a gong
Lyrics: The recording is a mini-opera, sung from the perspective of a man who has just
committed a murder and confesses it to his mother. One chorus represents a
society that begs for leniency and the other a society that wants to get rid of the
murderer. An epilogue states that nothing really makes an difference anyway.
Charts: Pop, #9 and later #2, British hits, #1
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Discussion Questions
Progressive rock is often called pretentious. It is?
Why does androgyny make some people uncomfortable?
To what degree was glitter an expression of
homosexuality, and to what degree was it merely
rebellion against those who were easily offended by it?
Might glitter music and the surrounding culture have
reflected or promoted the gay rights movement?
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