On 25 Feb 2021, at 21:04, J Franklin Horn <[email protected]> wrote:

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Hello, folks,

You will remember that I recently threatened to unleash my list of top 40-ish Prog songs of all time.?

So brace yourselves.?

It is an ever-changing list; sort of like an ever-evolving COVID-19 variant.?

And here are two qualifications before I unveil the list.

First, a piece like “The Remembering” is placed very high on the list, entirely on the strength of its second half. The first eight minutes are not great, while the last 11 or 12 minutes are mostly fantastic. I did not really know what to do about that, so I am honoring the quality of the second half by placing the overall work very high on this list.?

Second, a piece like “Karn Evil 9” (ELP) may appear to be too low on the list for some of you. If that is your opinion, then I am sympathetic. However, as much as I love Emerson and Palmer, Lake’s guitar and bass work sounds pretty average to me. And, I might make the claim that those instruments are “fraudulently" presented on “Karn Evil 9” since he cannot play them both at once, yet we hear them both at once. That damages both the sophistication and the quality of the music, IMHO. (Yes, I know that Howe overdubs like a son-of-a-Gibson on pretty much every Yes song, but he can still play the primary parts live.)?

Here are my choices in (an ever-changing) order:

(The top four or five are fairly secure - everything else seems to slide around, depending on the day or my mood.)

Close to the Edge

Awaken

Gates

Southside of the Sky

The Revealing Science of God

The Remembering

The Ancient?

Roundabout?

Turn of the Century?

Long Distance Runaround?

Run Through the Light

On the Silent Wings of Freedom

Siberian Khatru?

Starship Trooper?

And You and I

Genesis, Watcher of the Skies

ELP, Karn Evil 9

King Crimson, 21st Century Schizoid Man

Spock’s Beard, Go the Way You Go

Heart of the Sunrise

Spock’s Beard, Harm’s Way

Spock’s Beard, The Doorway?

Our Song

Chris Squire, Safe (Canon Song)

Genesis, One for the Vine

Gong, Wingful of Eyes

Spock’s Beard, June

Hearts?

Genesis, For Absent Friends?

Genesis, Mad Man Moon

Genesis, Anyway

Ritual

Patrick Moraz, Dancing Now

Genesis, In the Rapids / It

Genesis, Supper’s Ready?

Onward

Sound Chaser

Genesis, Return of the Giant Hogweed

Tempus Fugit?

Into the Lens

Homeworld?

Future Times / Rejoice

I also want to say that if we were counting live versions, the live version of “Yours is no Disgrace” would probably be in the top five on my overall list. That thing is a total blast.

The floor is now open for opinions, insults, and semi-lucid conversation.?

Thanks,

J