Alexander's Ragtime Band

In this, the final episode of Alexander's Ragtime Band, Jeremy, Elliot and James continue their Pink Floyd discussion from an earlier episode. Previously, they discussed the much-maligned post-Syd to Pre-Dark Side era. Today, they discuss the even more maligned post-Wall era - the 80s were a harsh decade for prog rock legends, that's for sure.

Thanks for listening to the podcast, everyone, we hope you enjoyed it!

Alexander's Ragtime Band is winding down, so James and Elliot take this chance to rattle off some records and bands that they've always wanted to talk about, but never had the chance to. Elliot is on brand by talking about Jon Anderson, and James stays extremely on brand by talking about Gong non-stop for 20 minutes.

Also, Focus.

Last month, we covered Pink Floyd, who are probably the most successful progressive rock act of all-time.

This month we are discussing two bands who are decidedly not some of the biggest acts the genre had to offer; Mythos and Ekseption. But while you've probably never heard of these European obscurities, both Elliot and James think that both bands have a lot to offer prog fans!

Before Vangelis was known the world over for his scores to films like Blade Runner and Chariots of Fire, he was a member of Aphrodite's Child. The group started out as a rather by-the-numbers psychedelic rock act, but the band went full prog for their final record, a sprawling concept album about the literal end of the world called 666.

Elliot and James are joined once more by Dr. Sparkle of Chrontendo to talk about this incredibly strange record.

Elliot and James are joined today by very special guest Tom Brislin! Having toured with the likes of Meat Loaf, Yes, Camel and Renaissance, Tom is now the keyboardist for the legendary prog rock band Kansas!

Tom shares stories about his times with these bands, life on the road as a working musician, and what it's been like being a newer member of one of the biggest prog rock acts in America.

The original plan here was for Elliot and James to each talk about one album that skirts the line between being prog and not prog, but they both love Supertramp so much that they decided to save the other album for another day.

Breakfast In America is a fantastic record! Supertramp are a great band! These are facts that seem to be lost to the annals of time. Elliot and James discuss the group's strange history, its legendary run in the 70s that culminated with this all-time classic, how it all fell apart after, and if Supertramp are prog rock or not (although it doesn't really matter).

It's safe to say that without keyboards, progressive rock doesn't exist. And while there have been many different types of keyboards, pianos, and synths that have contributed to the prog rock sound, in this episode we cover the three biggest ones: the Hammond organ, the Mellotron, and early Moogs.

Sorry ARP fans, maybe next time.