The Prog Prince

Caravan!   Van der Graaf Generator! Yes! Genesis! To Englishmen of a certain age, just reading some of these old names will take them back to an era when progressive rock haunted the turntable, songs stretched out endlessly (three minutes would barely be enough for a proper guitar solo), and lyrics—well, they took themselves more seriously than be-bop-a-lula ever could: “For from the north overcast ranks advance / Fear of the storm accusing with rage and scorn.” That was Genesis, by the way, from their song “Can-Utility and the Coastliners” (1972), a characteristic ramble from their prog-rock heyday, a time whenPeter Gabriel, notPhil Collins, was the front man. 

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