A cAuse for debAte
I reckon you are going to get a lot of this, but I thought I needed to point out some omissions, a few glaring ones, from your ‘50 Greatest Keyboard Players’ list [Prog 91].
Firstly, the list did not say prog keyboard players, though by default I suppose it should probably encompass this genre. However, back in the days when I started getting into ‘serious’ music, prog’(or progressive music) was anything that wasn’t mainstream pop.
Okay, here are the missing in my opinion (and in no particular order)…
Steven Porcaro (Toto). His playing takes in rock, jazz and prog, I could also make a case for his co-keyboard player, David Paich.
Ken Hensley (Uriah Heep). Master of the Moog simplifier (listen to Uriah Heep Live).
Steve Winwood (Traffic). Again, his playing touches all styles, but if Traffic weren’t prog…
Garth Hudson (The Band). Okay, I might have to give you this one as The Band weren’t prog per se, but just listen the intro of Chest Fever: a masterful and influential player.
Roger Powell ( Todd Rundgren/Utopia). How much more prog can 20-odd minutes of The Ikon be?
Tony Kaye (Yes) missing in action… why? The Yes Album is one of the greatest prog albums ever.
And last but not least, John Paul Jones (need I say which band?). A bass player by trade but a far better keys man than Geddy Lee (whom I love). The Rain Song, Stairway…, No Quarter, All My Love… need I go on?
You’re probably snowed under with these opinions but I feel the urge to put the record straight on the missing.
Keep up the good work.
Paul Sale Thank you Paul – but we should mention that the list was actually voted for by Prog readers, not the magazine! – Dep Ed.