Classic Rock And Prog Almanac

This week, Tim and Shaun discussed their favourite prog bands of all time, with the exception of the ‘Premier League’. Topics covered include: what prog actually is, whether prog was superseded by jazz-fusion, the role of the Canterbury sound in the history of prog and the role of humour in the prog genre. Also, what would Genesis have sounded like if they’d come from Kent? What happened to Shaun in Whitstable? What does Richard Sinclair sound like in real life? Is Arnold’s Gift Centre in Brentwood still open? And crucially, who will be number one?

This week, in the second of our heavily-trailed phantasy album series, Tim discussed his proposal for a hypothetical follow-up to Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young’s Deja-Vu. Topics covered include: whether there is a stylistic difference between the Stills-Young axis and the Crosby-Nash axis, which member of the band had the best solo album, whether the first CSN album was definitory of the California sound, why they bothered including Neil Young in the group, and where this hypothetical album would have stood in their canon, had it actually existed. Also, what is counterfactual history? How many grooves can you fit on a side of an LP? Why are there generally no girls in bands? Do all protest songs have to have a geographical name in the title? And how is David Crosby’s first album like The Gettysburg Address?

This week, Tim and Shaun discussed the seventh studio album by Steeleye Span, Commoners Crown. Topics discussed include: the connection between folk rock and prog rock, whether we prefer Steeleye Span or Fairport Convention, the American anthropology of British folk music, what the parallels are between Steeleye and The Wombles, and the prospect of various heavy metal bands covering these songs. Also, is there any album in the history of rock that contains more songs about child murder? What’s a homunculus? Did Shaun really pour tea all over his motherboard? Who made Bagpuss? And crucially, what did an elderly couple say to Shaun when he was coming out of the toilets at a Steeleye gig?

In the first of our mooted fantasy albums series, Tim and Peter each set out their alternative track listings for The Beatles, the band’s ninth studio album, colloquially known as The White Album. Issues covered include: the idea of a non-concept concept album, the contrasts between the band members’ different writing styles, where the band had reached in their career by this point, what we think of the final title versus the working title, and the extent to which the album reflected the socio-cultural context in which the band were working. Also, should Revolution 9 be included? What’s the problem with CDs? Was the protagonist of Mother Nature’s Son run over by a milk van? Why does George Harrison hate other humans so much? And did the band tell Ringo the time signature of Happiness Is A Warm Gun, or just wait for him to figure it out by himself?

This week Tim discussed Brian Eno’s fifth album Before And After Science. Topics discussed include: the influence of Erik Satie on Brian Eno, the role of humour on the album, the Talking Heads connection, the extent to which Eno can be considered a minimalist, the hauntological dimension of Eno’s music, and what Eno understands by science. Also, how can one sum up the Carry On films? Why is Eno obsessed with spiders? What constitutes a claim to fame story? Which famous hitchhiker did Tim’s dad pick up on the M1? And most importantly, who’s Kurt?