Editing Progressive rock (section)

====Decline and fragmentation====
{{See also|Punk rock|Symphonic pop}}

Political and social trends of the late 1970s shifted away from the early 1970s [[hippie]] attitudes that had led to the genre's development and popularity. The rise in [[punk ideologies|punk cynicism]] made the utopian ideals expressed in progressive rock lyrics unfashionable.{{sfn|Martin|2002|p=78}} Virtuosity was rejected, as the expense of purchasing quality instruments and the time investment of learning to play them were seen as barriers to rock's energy and immediacy.{{sfn|Martin|2002|p=115}} There were also changes in the music industry, as record companies disappeared and merged into large [[media conglomerates]]. Promoting and developing experimental music was not part of the [[marketing strategy]] for these large corporations, who focused their attention on identifying and targeting profitable [[Niche market|market niches]].{{sfn|Martin|2002|pp=108–110}}

[[File:Robert Fripp 2.jpg|thumb|right|upright|King Crimson's [[Robert Fripp]] believed that the prog movement had gone "tragically off course".{{sfn|Hegarty|Halliwell|2011|p=177}} ]]

Four of progressive rock's most successful bands – King Crimson, Yes, ELP and Genesis – went on hiatus or experienced major personnel changes during the mid-1970s.{{sfn|Hegarty|Halliwell|2011|p=177}} Macan notes the September 1974 breakup of King Crimson as particularly significant, noting that Fripp (much later) referred to 1974 as the point when "all English bands in the genre should have ceased to exist".{{sfn|Macan|1997|p=179}} More of the major bands, including Van der Graaf Generator, Gentle Giant and [[U.K. (band)|U.K.]], dissolved between 1978 and 1980.{{sfn|Macan|1997|pp=187–188}} Many bands had by the mid-1970s reached the limit of how far they could experiment in a rock context, and fans had wearied of the extended, epic compositions. The sounds of the [[Hammond organ|Hammond]], [[Minimoog]] and [[Mellotron]] had been thoroughly explored, and their use became clichéd. Those bands who continued to record often simplified their sound, and the genre fragmented from the late 1970s onwards.{{sfn|Macan|1997|pp=181–183}} In [[Robert Fripp]]'s opinion, once "progressive rock" ceased to cover new ground – becoming a set of conventions to be repeated and imitated – the genre's premise had ceased to be "progressive".{{sfn|Macan|1997|p=206}}

The era of record labels investing in their artists, giving them freedom to experiment and limited control over their content and marketing ended with the late 1970s.{{sfn|Moore|2016|p=202}} Corporate [[artists and repertoire]] staff exerted an increasing amount of control over the creative process that had previously belonged to the artists,{{sfn|Martin|1996|p=188}} and established acts were pressured to create music with simpler harmony and song structures and fewer changes in meter. A number of symphonic pop bands, such as [[Supertramp]], [[10cc]], [[the Alan Parsons Project]] and the [[Electric Light Orchestra]], brought the orchestral-style arrangements into a context that emphasised pop singles while allowing for occasional instances of exploration. Jethro Tull, Gentle Giant and Pink Floyd opted for a harder sound in the style of [[arena rock]].{{sfn|Macan|1997|p=187}}

Few new progressive rock bands formed during this era, and those who did found that record labels were not interested in signing them.<ref name="derogatis98">{{cite web |last=DeRogatis |first=Jim |title=Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the Prog-Rock Underground (But Were Afraid to Ask) |date=1998 |access-date=23 June 2013 |url=http://www.jimdero.com/OtherWritings/Other%20Prog.htm |archive-date=6 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006041454/http://www.jimdero.com/OtherWritings/Other%20Prog.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The short-lived supergroup U.K. was a notable exception since its members had established reputations; they produced two albums that were stylistically similar to previous artists and did little to advance the genre.{{sfn|Macan|1997|p=183}} Part of the genre's legacy in this period was its influence on other styles, as several European guitarists brought a progressive rock approach to [[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]] and laid the groundwork for [[progressive metal]]. [[Michael Schenker]], of [[UFO (band)|UFO]]; and [[Uli Jon Roth]], who replaced Schenker in [[Scorpions (band)|Scorpions]], expanded the modal vocabulary available to guitarists.{{sfn|Blackett|2001}}{{explain|date=December 2016}} Roth studied classical music with the intent of using the guitar in the way that classical composers used the violin.{{sfn|Gress|2007}} Finally, the Dutch-born and classically trained [[Alex Van Halen|Alex]] and [[Eddie Van Halen]] formed [[Van Halen]], featuring ground-breaking whammy-bar, tapping and cross-picking guitar performances{{sfn|Gress|1993}} that influenced "[[Shred guitar|shred]]" music in the 1980s.<ref>{{cite news |last=Miers |first=Jeff |title=Rowdy choice; Van Halen's rise to Rock Hall a breakthrough |newspaper=The Buffalo News |place=Buffalo, NY |date=12 January 2007}}</ref>

=====Commercialisation=====
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|quote=By the early 1980s, progressive rock was thought to be all but dead as a style, an idea reinforced by the fact that some of the principal progressive groups had developed a more commercial sound. ... What went out of the music of these now ex-progressive groups ... was any significant evocation of art music.
|source=– John Covach{{sfn|Covach|1997|p=5}}
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}}

Some established artists moved towards music that was simpler and more commercially viable.{{sfn|Hegarty|Halliwell|2011|p=182}}{{verify source|date=June 2016}}{{sfn|Covach|1997|p=5}} Arena rock bands like [[Journey (band)|Journey]], [[Kansas (band)|Kansas]], [[Styx (band)|Styx]], [[GTR (band)|GTR]], [[Electric Light Orchestra|ELO]] and [[Foreigner (band)|Foreigner]] either had begun as progressive rock bands or included members with strong ties to the genre. These groups retained some of the song complexity and orchestral-style arrangements, but they moved away from lyrical mysticism in favour of more conventional themes such as relationships.{{sfn|Hegarty|Halliwell|2011|pp=181–182}} These radio-friendly groups have been called "prog lite".{{sfn|Cateforis|2011|pp=154–159}} Genesis transformed into a successful pop act, the prog supergroup [[Asia (band)|Asia]] (consisting of members of Yes, King Crimson, and ELP) scored a number-one album in 1982,<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2 January 2013 |title=Billboard 200 |url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200/1982-05-15/ |access-date=16 February 2023 |website=[[Billboard charts|Billboard]] |language=en-US}}</ref> and a re-formed Yes released the relatively mainstream ''[[90125 (album)|90125]]'' (1983), which yielded their only US number-one single, "[[Owner of a Lonely Heart]]". One band who remained successful into the 1980s while maintaining a progressive approach was Pink Floyd, who released ''[[The Wall]]'' late in 1979. The album, which brought punk anger into progressive rock,{{sfn|Hegarty|Halliwell|2011|p=174}} was a huge success and was later filmed as ''[[Pink Floyd – The Wall]]''.{{refn|group=nb|Pink Floyd were unable to repeat that combination of commercial and critical success, as their sole follow-up, ''[[The Final Cut (album)|The Final Cut]]'', was several years in coming{{sfn|Macan|1997|p=188}} and was essentially a [[Roger Waters]] solo project<ref name="merc">{{cite news |author=Anonymous |title=The Mag: Play: The Final Cut (EMI) Pink Floyd. (Features) |newspaper=Sunday Mercury |place=Birmingham, England |date=4 April 2004}}</ref> that consisted largely of material that had been rejected for ''The Wall''.<ref name="tsmith">{{cite news |last=Smith |first=Tierney |title=Whatever Happened to Pink Floyd? The Strange Case of Waters and Gilmour |work=Goldmine |publisher=Krause Publications |date=Apr 2011}}</ref> The band later reunited without Waters and restored many of the progressive elements that had been downplayed in the band's late-1970s work.{{sfn|Macan|1997|p=195}} This version of the band was very popular,<ref name="harrington87">{{cite news |last=Harrington |first=Richard |title=Pink Floyd, By Any Name; Minus a Longtime Leader, The Band Stays the Course |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=19 October 1987}}</ref> but critical opinion of their later albums is less favourable.<ref name="graves">{{cite magazine |last=Graves |first=Tom |title=Pink Floyd: The Division Bell |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=16 June 1994 |access-date=4 July 2013 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/the-division-bell-19940616 |archive-date=16 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116065204/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/the-division-bell-19940616 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="wyman">{{cite web |last=Wyman |first=Bill |title=The four phases of Pink Floyd |work=The Chicago Reader |date=14 January 1988 |access-date=4 July 2013 |url=http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/the-four-phases-of-pink-floyd/Content?oid=871627 |archive-date=12 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812173644/http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/the-four-phases-of-pink-floyd/Content?oid=871627 |url-status=live }}</ref>}}