![]() Thankfully, the Elvis spot that I recorded was among my saved airchecks and can be heard below the commercial I created for Presley’s Roanoke show that never happened. When I recorded the spot, I used two Elvis songs for a musical bed which I felt like our WJLM listeners would recognize: “Moody Blue” which had been a number 1 hit at my station earlier that year and Presley’s 1956 hit “Don’t be Cruel.”įorward to August 16, 1977: I was on vacation in Northern Minnesota visiting relatives, when my grandmother Agnes Burt shared tragic news with me: “Elvis had left the building.” Obviously stunned, I couldn’t believe that Presley had died at the young age of 42.īack in 2017, I had my friend David Hollandsworth digitize some of my old WJLM DJ airchecks from reel-to-reel tape to computer files. ![]() Cooper handed me text for a commercial that he wanted me to create for an upcoming Elvis Presley Roanoke concert, that was scheduled for August 24, 1977. In early June that year, WJLM program director Gary E. Bowie would also easily be described as art rock in his 70's heyday.I was employed as a DJ by country formatted WJLM 93.5 FM Roanoke, Virginia in 1977. Roxy Music, for example, would certainly have fitted in this category, but were they prog? Not in my opinion. Going onto Genesis, early stuff Symphonic without doubt, but the later stuff? A lot of it isn't, as much as I like it.Īrt rock always struck me as an over generalisation back then. Later stuff, yes, but therein lies the difficulty. As long as an artist or a band fit our overall definition of prog, then they are in.Īs another example, In the Court of the Crimson King is regarded as an archetypal early prog album, but is it eclectic? I don't think so, and neither, for example, is Red. That's why I think it is counter productive to concentrate too much on sub genres. Where do we properly place Gabriel, for example? In fact, it is difficult to know where to put him, and I think this also applies to others as well. ![]() Art Rock.ĭean, I agree with you that Oldfield wouldn't fit within symphonic prog, but I wouldn't describe him as art rock either. I don't believe Crossover Prog shouild include artists that crosses-over from any Prog subgenre into any mainstream genre - for example a crossover should not exist from Prog-Folk or Prog Metal or Jazz-Rock/Fussion in the Crossover Prog subgenre - they are already crossovers into Prog - further crossing back into mainstream is just, well, wrong. The crossover (verb) should be limited to the "core" Prog with classic Pop/Mainstream Rock. During my tenure as Xover Team leader I saw many suggestions that left me scratching my head, but they were perfectly valid under the existing name and definition. Personnally I think that "Crossover Prog" is far too ambiguious and open to all maner of interpretations that it was never intended to cover. I would have prefered to see the name retained, and specifically retained for the Crossover subgenre - either as just Art Rock or as Prog/Art Rock Crossover to avoid any confusion. ![]() I have admit that I was saddened to see Art Rock disapear from this site as a nomenclature, since it is a valid and recognised phrase that has close associations with Progressive Rock and a fair degree of "crossover" between them. Oldfield's albums have covered may genres of music, some of them progressive, but none of them Symphonic Prog (IMO). Stylistically Oldfield of Tubular Bells, Hergest Ridge, Ommadawn and Incantations is closer to Electronic Prog in musical composition, structure and (eek!) complexity - except of course it isn't "electronic" Amarok takes us into more Avant-Garde/Eclectic areas Songs of Distant Earth, Voyager, Light+Shade are more New Age/World Music and his latest Music Of The Spheres is Crossover-Classical/NeoClassical of course some of his other albums were just Pop, or Rock or Celtic or Folk. Some of the more "pastoral" New Age music has its origins in symphonic rock music, of which symphonic prog is a sub-set, but most of it can be traced all the way back to Oldfield (and Vangelis). With regard to Oldfield - his music isn't symphonic, even the longer pieces and the multi-part suites do not enter the same realm as Symphonic Prog as we accept it here, in just the same way that new-age music is excluded from Symphonic Prog. Classical Crossover combines traditional classical elements such as operatic vocals, the incorporation of string instruments or full orchestration and applies it to popular music OR the reverse with rhythmic elements, belting or modern techniques used on standard classical repertoire. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |