It Doesn't Have To Take Up a Whole Side-Our Top 20 Mini Epics

Wow, only four minutes into the video and already I have to write a comment. I love Frequency, but my pick is Ryker Skies--what a melody!

I can't listen to goodbye stranger anymore without thinking of Toby from the office 😄 also, congrats on the radio show! Ye'll be brilliant on it 👍

Hello there...or, as Scot Lade would say (well, shout), greetings and salutations! I've just watched the 1 hour 50 minute live stream on Gentle Giant partly because I'm a recent subscriber to Scot's channel but mainly because the subject is my favourite rock group. Thus I discovered your channel, Prisms Of Prog and that splendid Swedish chap, Pontus. I'll subscribe to your channel now because people like you deserve our support. Although I am old enough to have been aware of the original progressive groups of the 1970s, I only discovered them in 2002. Prior to that I only listened to classical music, mainly baroque and 20th century. As an inveterate snob, I assumed 'pop music' was far too shallow and insubstantial for me to waste my valuable time upon. However, our group (UNIT) had Cheung Yiu Munn in it, an 18 year old Hong Kong Chinese lad who was our flute and guitar player from 2002 to 2011. He found my musical snobbery deplorable and insisted I take notice of these ancient groups he loved (primarily Jethro Tull, ELP, Yes, Genesis and Dream Theatre). To cut a long story short, while I found some of that music interesting, even inspiring (especially Tull), I investigated further and managed to discover Colosseum, The Family, Manfred Mann's Earth Band and Gentle Giant by myself. The Family and Gentle Giant are, to date, the only groups for which I have in my collection every studio tracks they ever recorded. There are few tracks from Bandstand that only barely make the grade and most (but not all) of the tracks from the final 3 Giant albums are definitely below par yet still good enough (but only just) for me to retain in my collection. The advantage for me here is that my introduction to this music is devoid of any hint of nostalgia so it was all totally new to me. (As an aside, it's faintly ironic it took a Chinese teenager to introduce me to music from my own culture. I wonder though...how did an 18 year old Chinese lad become acquainted with numerous progressive rock groups from the 1970s?) Anyway, when I heard Octopus and Glass House for the first time (in 2003), I could not believe what I heard. I spent 3 or days listening to those 2 albums in order to try to comprehend all the different, disparate musical strands. Like The Family they utilised all manner of varied instruments but unlike The Family they mastered harmony, counterpoint and rhythmic complexity that forced me to admit not only classical musicians know how to compose and perform music that merited my attention - groovy! The progressive rock influence is apparent on a fair number of our own pieces although we do not possess the astonishing technical proficiency of any of these groups, especially not Gentle Giant, but I don't want this to appear as a thinkly disguised attempt to advertise our own group, so I'll stop here. I hope your channel increases in popularity and introduces more young people (and maybe not so young people) to progressive rock, especially the groups who are not so famous. Rock on!

Great video! Now I can share a list of tunes that don't quite qualify as epics. So here's my list: Goblin-Goblin, Rush-La Villa Strangiato, Frank Zappa-The Ocean is the Ultimate Solution, Al Di Meola-Race With Devil on Spanish Highway, Return to Forever-Duel of the Jester and the Tyrant, Kansas-Magnum Opus, King Crimson-Red, Mike Oldfield-QE2, Holding Pattern-Honor Before Glory, Morse Code-La Marche Des Hommes(The March of Men), Jean-Luc Ponty-Enigmatic Ocean, Genesis-Return of the Giant Hogweed, Shadowfax-The Shape of a Word, Supertramp-Fool's Overture, Happy the Man-Ibby It Is, Split Enz-Stranger Than Fiction, Pink Floyd-Sheep, Camel-Docks/Beached, Yes-Heart of the Sunrise and James Gang-The Bomber. Although the James Gang isn't a prog band, the tune sure is prog. It's a brilliant song that they blend in Vince Guaraldi's Cast Your Fate to the Wind and Ravel's Bolero.

Cheers to you both!

This is a great and fresh idea. Fantastic job. Cheers and all the best.

What a great idea. I’d add; Beautiful As The Moon - Henry Cow What’s New In Baltimore? - FZ (but take your pick obviously) Dirty Boy - Cardiacs (ditto) Inanimate Sensation - Death Grips I’m Mandy, Fly Me - 10cc

Great kansas album point of no return

I've just watched that Desert Island Discs video of Scot...and thus I must say 'thank you' for giving a mention for Horslips, an outfit too often overlooked. I sat there for 1'28" and realised how divergent my tastes are from the panel. The Family (Roger Chapman's mob), Colosseum, IF, Manfred Mann's Earth Band, to name the 4 groups absent from the discussion. Mind you, I've never even heard of about 80% of the groups and artists mentioned. I think I'm largely ignorant of any progressive rock made after the early 1990s. Anyway, since your 'light sabre' episode was mentioned in that Desert Island Discs video, I shall go and watch it now!

I'm sitting hear watching , thinking about "mini" epics and it occurs to me that the king of epics is actually .....Paul McCartney. I know, I know..not prog. But tunes like Band on the Run, Uncle Albert, The Pound is Sinking, House of Wax, Live and Let Die and a few others are definitely mini epics of the first order. Little muti-part masterpieces. Just sayin'... Here's ten more off the top of my head. 01. Friends of Mr Cairo - Jon & Vangelis 02. Feel the Benefit - 10cc 03. Life Auction - Strawbs 04. White Punks on Dope - Tubes 05. Montana - Frank 06. Bogus Man - Roxy Music 07. Station to Station - David Bowie 08. Nocturn - Kate Bush 09. Eleventh Earl of Mar - Genesis 10. Hero & the Madman - Thin Lizzy You peeps picked some excellent tracks. Of course I am a little more biased towards those older  tunes only because they are embedded in my DNA. Tara check out Santana IV...if you love early Santana this album is for you. I kid you not.

Wow...thank you for responding so swiftly, especially given my inability to type comments shorter than 3 long paragraphs. I was never adept at precis in school. Anyway, since you expressed a most unexpected interest in our music, I can send you a dozen of our most 'prog' tracks taken from recent albums either on a disc via old fashioned snail mail or via We Transfer. Which would you prefer? Oh yes - given the topic of this video, our longest track is 18'49" but that's the exception rather than the rule. While I admit Tarkus, Karn Evil 9, Supper's Ready , A Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers, Close To The Edge and Awaken are splendid, it isn't essential to extend your work in this manner...cf Gentle Giant, for example!

That is a brilliant album on Mastodon. I love The Last Baron.

So glad you discovered Kansas! Nice job. Personal favorite....try Masque next 👊

Almost at 1k subs!!! Kudos to you guys 🤘🤘🤘🤘 congratulations!! 😃🎵

Great selection of Albums.

My favourite would be Setanta through to the March on the classic album behind you. Let's have some love for the Horslips.

Heep and Purple, Tara has the best taste😁😁😁, fan from Norway.

Song for America from the second Kansas album is a great choice. Also from that album, Lamplight Symphony and the Devil Game could be mini epics.

Warrior On The Edge Of Time...yes...the only Hawkwind album on which I like every track. Our bass player introduced me to Hawkwind circa 2003 and I'm glad he did. Are they 'progressive rock'? Well, yes...sometimes. Certainly their lyrics fit with the genre, especially those by Robert Calvert.

Every once in a while especialy if day not going as planned i will take a time out and watch Buckethead playing Soothsayer Epic