10 Greatest Prog Rock Albums of All Time

10 Greatest Prog Rock Albums of All Time

For close to a half century, prog has been the breeding ground for rock’s most out-there, outsized and outlandish ideas: Thick-as-a-brick concept albums, an early embrace of synthesizers, overly complicated time signatures, Tolkienesque fantasies, travails from future days and scenes from a memory. In celebration of Rush’s first Rolling Stone cover story, here’s the best of […]

The Persistence of Prog Rock

The Persistence of Prog Rock

In April, 1971, Rolling Stone reviewed the début album by a band with a name better suited to a law firm: Emerson, Lake & Palmer. The reviewer liked what he heard, although he couldn’t quite define it. “I suppose that your local newspaper might call it ‘jazz-influenced classical-rock,’ ” he wrote. In fact, a term was being adopted […]

Pink Floyd Plays in Venice on a Massive Floating Stage in 1989

Pink Floyd Plays in Venice on a Massive Floating Stage in 1989

When Roger Waters left Pink Floyd after 1983’s The Final Cut, the remaining members had good reason to assume the band was truly, as Waters’ proclaimed, “a spent force.” After releasing solo projects in the next few years, David Gilmour, Nick Mason, and Richard Wright soon discovered they would never achieve as individuals what they did […]

Pink Floyd’s album sleeves explained

Pink Floyd’s album sleeves explained

‘The Dark Side Of The Moon’ (1973). The concept of this cover, according the artist Storm Thorgerson, was to try and connect with Pink Floyd’s live shows; “famous for their lighting, ambition and madness… hence the prism, the triangle and the pyramids. It all connects, somehow, somewhere.” ‘Wish You Were Here’ (1975). Designer Storm Thorgerson […]