![\"Genesis](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Genesis-1974-Far-Out-Magazine-1140x855.jpg\")
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Credit: Far Out \/ Genesis<\/p>\n
October 26th, 2026 \u00b7 1:00pm GMT <\/p>\n
Prog-rock, championed by bands like Genesis<\/a>, Jethro Tull and Rush, is a genre that continues to elude listeners to this day.\u00a0<\/p>\n The whole point of the genre is that it adds elements to rock in order to have the sound branch out. Bands will use complex concepts, strange sounds and various genres in order to elevate their music to a brand new level. Of course, while this is an experimental genre, it had to start somewhere, right? But where? Well, if you were to listen to Jethro Tull frontman and prog pioneer Ian Anderson, it was The Beatles and Pink Floyd. <\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI could also include Piper at the Gates of Dawn and The Beatles\u2019 Sgt Pepper\u2019s in 1967, released only three months apart from each other,\u201d said Anderson when discussing the evolution of prog, \u201cThose two were a signpost saying, \u2018Progressive rock this way\u2019<\/a>. They were intriguing because they were a sign of things to come.\u201d<\/p>\n There are a lot of musicians who point towards The Beatles\u2019\u00a0Sgt Pepper\u2019s as being one of the first ever prog albums, and you can understand why, what with the incredible atmosphere of that album and the complicated narrative that flows throughout it. However, if we\u2019re being pedantic, surely prog-rock started before that, at the album which then went on to inspire Paul McCartney to write Sgt Pepper\u2019s. Well, if we were going to make that argument, then one of your earliest prog albums would technically be The Beach Boys\u2019 Pet Sounds.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf records had a director within a band, I sort of directed [Sgt Pepper\u2019s Lonely Hearts Club Band] and my influence was basically the Pet Sounds album. John was influenced by it, perhaps not as much as me,\u201d said Paul McCartney. \u201cIt was certainly a record we all played\u2014it was the record of the time, you know? I\u2019ve often played Pet Sounds and cried<\/a>. It\u2019s that kind of an album for me.\u201d<\/p>\n So, could we argue that Pet Sounds was a precursor to prog? Maybe. The members of Genesis would certainly attest to as much, especially when talking about the song \u2018Don\u2019t Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)\u2019. This is certainly an interesting concept for a track, as it draws from Paul Anka\u2019s \u2018Put Your Head On My Shoulder\u2019 but takes the idea to another level. Brian Wilson and Tony Asher write about sitting next to someone you love and asking them not to speak so that you can hear their heartbeat more clearly. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an interesting notion to sit down and try and write a lyric about not talking,\u201d said Asher, \u201cThat came out of one of those conversations where [Brian and I] were talking about dating experiences\u2026 I think at some point we were talking about how wonderful non-verbal communication can be between people.\u201d<\/p>\n Further reading: From The Vault<\/p>\n However, it wasn\u2019t the narrative that turned the heads of members of Genesis. Rather, it all boiled down to the complex (you could say prog-esque) construction of the song. It was a very unconventional way to put a song together, and Tony Banks of Genesis said that he came under great difficulty when trying to effectively deconstruct it. It shouldn\u2019t come as a surprise to people that Banks and the rest of Genesis went on to make such complex arrangements<\/a> when they started writing music, given they were originally inspired by layered numbers like this 1966 Beach Boys classic. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen it came out, there had been nothing quite like it in terms of the sort of harmonies it was using,\u201d he said, \u201cIt doesn\u2019t sound as complicated as all that but it just goes through all these key changes as it goes along. To me, it\u2019s just such a wonderful construction and beautiful piece of music.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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