THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING LYRICAL
A Prog writer examines the role of lyrics in modern prog.
Last autumn, I spent an insightful and enjoyable day with one of the UK’s leading progressive rock bands who were in the studio recording vocals for an album which will be released later this year. While working on a 15-minute track, the lyricist became troubled as the realisation dawned on him that one word — a single word — didn’t work as well sonically as it had on paper. Recording tools were downed while the lyricist agonised, and 30 minutes later found a replacement for the offending noun.
So, how do you like your lyrics? Opaque? Abstract? Explicit? Open to multiple interpretations? All of the above? None of the above? Or are you simply ambivalent? Unsurprisingly, different songwriters take different approaches. For some, lyrics are meticulously crafted and form an integral and often indivisible part of a song. Others, when pressed, will confess that their lyrics are at best subsidiary to the music and at worst a necessary evil.
There are some prog bands who, more recently, have expended just as much effort with their lyrics as with their music, but with different degrees of return on that investment. Take another two UK bands for example: a core feature of Big Big Train’s songs is the storytelling that’s captivated their expanding fan base. Similarly Andy Tillison of The Tangent puts considerable time into his lyrics. Nevertheless, he was irked by the singular lack of response that his lengthy Brexit protest, A Few Steps Down The Wrong Road (from the album The Slow Rust of Forgotten Machinery) generated a couple of years ago.
How much attention do prog audiences really pay to lyrics?
The answer: it depends. Some lyrics simply resonate far more powerfully with listeners than others. Why did Tillison’s Brexit protest get largely overlooked when the lyrics to Marillion’s F.E.A.R. were celebrated? Was it just down to the disproportionate size of the fan bases?
But do carefully considered words really matter? Nonsensical lyrics hardly proved a barrier to great success for Yes in the 1970s. Their anodyne, cliché ridden verbiage in the 1980s was little better of course — as AOR fans will tell you — any album containing a song titled Hold On seldom innovates lyrically. But in both decades, Yes gave fans words to sing along to, whether in the comfort of their own home or in a large concert venue.
Two of my albums of 2018 weren’t exactly notable for their lyrics. Glass Hammer’s Chronomonaut was a silly and/or fun concept, while even their most ardent admirers would struggle to make a persuasive case for the lyrics being key to the acclaim earned for Southern Empire’s Civilisation.
Ultimately, while there are notable exceptions that prove the rule, there’s a strong argument that far greater attention is generally paid by bands and fans alike to music than lyrics. Got an opinion on the matter that you’d like to share? Please email us at: prog@futurenet.com. Opinions expressed in this column aren’t necessarily those of the magazine.