Late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins was as passionate about prog as he was about each different facet of music. In 2014 he defined what the style meant to him, naming a number of of his prog heroes alongside the way in which.
“I received into prog once I began drumming. I should have been 10 or 11, and the primary band I heard had been Rush. It was the stay album Exit…Stage Left [1981]. I picked up a lot from listening to Neil Peart.
I received the prospect to play with Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson once I was in Toronto not that way back. The man who produces us, Nick Raskulinecz, additionally labored with Rush on their Snakes & Arrows album, and he known as them up and organized all of it.
You may think about how I used to be feeling, however I received by YYZ with them – although they instructed me I used to be enjoying too quick! The nerves I used to be going, although; right here I used to be changing Neil Peart in Rush – nicely, nearly…
It was due to Rush that I received into Genesis. After listening to Neil, I purchased the Seconds Out stay album, which was launched in 1977. It’s simply superb, not solely listening to Phil Collins enjoying the drums, but additionally singing.
He will get a very unhealthy rap from some folks for ‘daring’ to take over after Peter Gabriel give up, however you simply hear the way in which he sounds right here. The great thing about this album is that it’s received songs from A Trick Of The Tail, the primary album Genesis did with out Gabriel, on it.
Collins is an unbelievable drummer. Anybody who needs to be good on the drums ought to verify him out. The person is a grasp. However whereas I regard Phil Collins in Genesis – versus his solo stuff – as a real prog hero, I need to make point out of some others.
The place would prog have been with out the Beatles? The Sgt. Pepper album is probably the primary actually progressive album. That began all of it, so far as I’m involved. And how will you not additionally worship the Queen II report?
One other band price a point out are The Police. I do know they’re thought to be a pop group, however take heed to the extent of musicianship they invoked – how good had been they? This was a band who may do all of it, and made the idea of musicianship so cool.
They’d an affect on so many others. In any case, would Rush have tried one thing like The Spirit Of Radio with its reggae half, had been it not for The Police?
That, I believe, is the fantastic thing about nice progressive music: it might probably take you anyplace. The likes of Rush and Genesis – and in addition Sure and The Who – was that they weren’t ready to be pigeonholed. The music world was their oyster they usually’d be able to tackle any problem.
The beauty of us as prog followers is that we all the time accepted their proper to discover!”