A BRIEF LOOK INTO THE CD SERVICES DEPARTMENT OF PROGRESSIVE / SYMPHONIC-ROCK MUSIC
The Progressive / Symphonic-Rock Music section in our online store is one of our major departments. Here you'll find a fantastic range of recordings selected from our main home database which is loaded up with in excess of 12,000 titles in the genre available worldwide.
There is simply a huge range of top quality titles to check out - From the late 60's through to the new millennium, there have been a lot of fantastic 'Progressive' and 'Symphonic-Rock' groups and individual artists arriving and departing from the scene.
Of the "big-names" the obvious main contenders are still around in some form or another and a few are still on the road today. Top acts like Genesis, ELP, King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Strawbs & Yes still have a large and loyal fan-base, with bands from "phase 2" of the 'Progressive' movement like: Asia, IQ, Marillion, Pallas & Pendragon all arriving on the scene in the 80's and still operating today. The 90's and the new millennium brought some sensational new bands from all corners of the world, and their talent and innovation has played a vital part in continuing to keep the Progressive Rock genre alive and kicking. Airbag, Flower Kings, Gazpacho, Glass Hammer, Mystery, Porcupine Tree (Steven Wilson), RPWL & Spock's Beard to name but a few, are all in that category, some even out-selling the older major players from the earlier phases of the 'Progressive Rock' movement's revival.
There have also been some amazing comeback albums from both famous and lesser-known groups out of the 70's & 80's, the most notable being from Scottish band: Comedy Of Errors ('Disobey' in 2011) and Pallas, with a string of CD's & DVD's (from the mid-90's to the present day), plus Australia's Sebastian Hardie came back with 'Blueprint' (2012), Gemany's Eloy with 'Visionary' (2009), and not forgetting the sensational mid-90's comeback album: 'Echo' from the 70's UK Vertigo label band Gracious!
Then there's the type of 'Progressive' artist that crosses over into other genres - Gandalf is a perfect example of this. Deemed by some to be 'Symphonic Progressive Rock', yet viewed by others as a creator of highly stylised 'Synthesizer Music', he is in fact an incredible 'Fantasy Music' multi-instrumentalist who has shifted a massive amount of albums at CDS Towers over the last two decades, and recently worked with a real legend of the genre: Steve Hackett, who's music has inspired Gandalf in both his time with Genesis and in his solo years.
Like most of the other CD Services 'Specialist' departments, some of the titles in the Progressive / Symphonic-Rock category have a certain element of "crossover" with other categories in the store, and here there are crossovers with the Canterbury Music, Euro / Kraut-Rock, Jazz-Rock / Fusion, General Rock & Pop, Rock / Heavy Metal, Synthesizer / New Age and Oldies categories.
