Progressive rock was never about restraint.
At its peak in the late 1960s and 1970s, the genre thrived on audacity – epic song lengths, conceptual ambition, and musicianship that blurred the lines between rock, jazz, and classical traditions. For its champions, prog rock offered something far beyond three-minute singles: journeys through myth, madness, and musical landscapes few dared to imagine. For its detractors, it was indulgent excess. Yet half a century on, these sprawling works remain astonishing, their scale and daring unmatched in popular music.
The longform prog song was the movement’s most potent weapon. These weren’t just tracks but entire suites, often divided into movements, shifting from delicate acoustic passages to apocalyptic climaxes. They told stories of dystopias, wars, fairytales, spiritual quests, and cosmic revelations – all delivered with fearless experimentation. From Mellotron-drenched laments to sci-fi odysseys and psychedelic freakouts, prog’s epics defined the genre’s greatest achievements.
This list celebrates 15 of the most remarkable longform prog songs ever recorded, ranked not just by their technical brilliance but by their ability to transport the listener. Each one is a world unto itself: immersive, demanding, and ultimately rewarding. Strap in – this is prog at its boldest, strangest, and most transcendent.
15. Caravan: 'For Richard' (1970)
This closer from Caravan's second LP is Canterbury Scene jazz-prog at its finest – an extended, free-flowing jam built around shifting moods. It begins with gentle, melodic grooves before gradually building into surging instrumental crescendos, where organ, saxophone, and guitar intertwine in improvisatory brilliance. A live favorite, the piece captures Caravan’s unique balance of whimsical Englishness and virtuosic musicianship. It’s a masterclass in tension and release, embodying the warm, exploratory spirit of early progressive rock.
14. Camel: 'Lady Fantasy' (1974)
Camel’s defining epic, 'Lady Fantasy' showcases the band’s flair for sweeping melodies and emotional depth. Andy Latimer’s lyrical guitar playing guides the listener through multiple movements –gentle passages, surging rock sections, and soaring instrumental interplay. The piece flows like a suite, effortlessly blending pastoral beauty with harder-edged power. Both technically impressive and emotionally resonant, it stands as a Camel signature, cementing their reputation as one of prog’s most melodic and heartfelt bands.
13. Eloy: 'The Apocalypse' (1977)
German symphonic prog at its grandest, Eloy’s 'The Apocalypse' delivers cosmic drama across its multi-part structure. Heavy, spacey, and majestic, it blends soaring synths, powerful guitar lines, and theatrical vocals into a vision of myth and grandeur. With its fusion of psychedelic atmosphere and symphonic sweep, the track encapsulates Eloy’s signature blend of cosmic rock and high-concept ambition. It’s a dark, celestial journey that remains a cornerstone of 1970s European prog.
12. Genesis: 'The Musical Box' (1971)
A macabre Victorian fairytale set to music, 'The Musical Box' established Genesis as theatrical innovators. Starting with delicate 12-string guitars, the piece swells into gothic drama as Peter Gabriel delivers a surreal story of childhood, death, and desire. Tony Banks’ keyboards and Steve Hackett’s guitar provide lush, shifting backdrops, while Phil Collins’ drumming anchors the climax. The final section –Gabriel howling “Why don’t you touch me?” – is one of prog’s most chilling crescendos.
11. Rush: '2112' (1976)
Rush’s breakthrough epic, '2112' is a seven-part sci-fi suite that perfectly fuses hard rock muscle with progressive rock’s grand conceptual scope. Loosely inspired by Ayn Rand’s Anthem, its dystopian tale follows a lone individual who discovers music in a future society where creativity is outlawed. Musically, the piece is exhilarating: Alex Lifeson’s towering riffs drive the action, Neil Peart’s drumming detonates with jaw-dropping precision, and Geddy Lee’s high-register vocals bring urgency and drama. Both ambitious and visceral, '2112' redefined what prog could be – heavy, imaginative, and unapologetically bold.
10. Gentle Giant: 'Knots' (1972)
Few prog tracks are as delightfully bewildering as Gentle Giant’s “Knots”. Built around complex vocal rounds and contrapuntal interplay, it feels like medieval madrigal colliding with avant-garde rock. The lyrics, inspired by psychologist R.D. Laing, add a cerebral, surreal layer to the chaos. Despite its intellectual density, the song bursts with energy, humour, and invention. 'Knots' epitomises Gentle Giant’s daring: uncompromisingly complex yet still thrilling, playful, and unlike anything else in rock.
9. Renaissance: 'Song of Scheherazade' (1975)
Renaissance’s most ambitious and fully realized work, the 24-minute 'Song of Scheherazade' weaves classical grandeur, theatrical storytelling, and symphonic rock into a seamless whole. Annie Haslam’s soaring vocals crown a piece rich with orchestral textures, intricate piano passages, and dynamic shifts that evoke both intimacy and spectacle. Unlike many prog epics, it feels cohesive rather than indulgent, capturing Renaissance at their creative peak. It’s the ultimate statement of their elegance, ambition, and unique symphonic vision.
- Renaissance's Scheherazade made our list of the 15 greatest prog rock albums of all time
8. King Crimson: 'Starless' (1974)
'Starless' begins with haunting melancholy – Mellotron swells, mournful sax, and John Wetton’s plaintive vocals – before gradually mutating into a tense, hypnotic build. Robert Fripp’s guitar leads a relentless crescendo that explodes into one of prog’s most devastating climaxes, with searing riffs slicing through chaos. Dark, tragic, and cathartic, 'Starless' is both a farewell to King Crimson’s sprawlingly experimental first few years, and one of progressive rock’s most emotionally powerful achievements.
7. Yes: 'The Gates of Delirium' (1974)
'The Gates of Delirium' is prog as battlefield. Inspired by Tolstoy’s War and Peace, Yes depict the chaos of war through furious instrumentation, crashing rhythms, and manic intensity. The song’s centrepiece is an extended instrumental passage – complex, violent, and breathtaking in its detail. Yet out of the storm emerges serenity: the 'Soon' section, Jon Anderson’s prayer-like coda, offering transcendence after carnage. It’s a 20-minute journey from destruction to peace, utterly overwhelming in scope.
6. Jethro Tull: 'Thick as a Brick' (1972)
With famous irony, what began as Ian Anderson’s parody of prog excess became one of the genre’s defining works. 'Thick as a Brick' seamlessly blends folk, rock, satire, and extended instrumental flights, its 40 minutes (across two parts) packed with playful melodies, dazzling musicianship, and witty detours. By mocking prog, Tull produced a masterpiece of it – an endlessly inventive labyrinth that manages to be both tongue-in-cheek and genuinely monumental.
5. King Crimson: 'Epitaph' (1969)
A haunting meditation on doom and disillusion, 'Epitaph' captures the apocalyptic spirit of late ’60s prog. Greg Lake’s rich vocals deliver haunting lyrics over Mellotron waves and Michael Giles’ martial drumming. The track’s solemn, orchestral grandeur makes it both intimate and monumental, foretelling the darker, more complex Crimson works to come. 'Epitaph' remains one of prog’s most moving and majestic laments, embodying beauty amid inevitable collapse.
4. Emerson, Lake & Palmer:
'Karn Evil 9' (1973)
'Karn Evil 9' is prog excess at its most exhilarating. Across three movements, Emerson, Lake & Palmer conjure a dystopian circus of virtuosity and spectacle. Keith Emerson’s keyboards dazzle, Carl Palmer’s drumming astounds, and Greg Lake is the irrepressible master of ceremonies. Themes of technology, entertainment, and apocalypse swirl amid jaw-dropping musicianship. Both overblown and brilliant, it’s prog pushed to its theatrical extreme—an audacious, maximalist epic that remains jaw-dropping fifty years on.
3. Pink Floyd: 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond' (1975)
A requiem for Syd Barrett, 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond' opens Wish You Were Here with glacial patience and heartbreaking beauty. David Gilmour’s four-note guitar motif hangs in the air like a ghost, while Richard Wright’s keyboards envelop the track in melancholy glow. Dick Parry’s saxophone adds a bluesy poignancy, deepening the sense of loss. Its grandeur lies in restraint: Pink Floyd build atmosphere through space, silence, and texture rather than bombast. Both personal and universal, it endures as one of rock’s most moving and timeless tributes.
2. Genesis: 'Supper’s Ready' (1972)
The quintessential progressive rock epic, 'Supper’s Ready' stretches across 23 minutes of shifting moods, mythic storytelling, and apocalyptic vision, cementing Genesis as masters of the form. Peter Gabriel guides listeners through a kaleidoscopic journey: pastoral whimsy gives way to grotesque satire, intimate reflection and, ultimately, thunderous, overwhelming climaxes.
Tony Banks’ keyboards provide both lush textures and jagged, dramatic flourishes, while Steve Hackett’s guitar weaves delicate acoustic passages alongside fiery solos. Phil Collins’ drumming alternates between subtle propulsion and explosive power, underpinning the suite’s dynamic shifts. The final section, 'Apocalypse in 9/8', erupts into a breathtaking crescendo before resolving into transcendent peace, leaving the listener both exhausted and exhilarated.
Supper’s Ready is more than a song; it is a microcosm of Genesis’ imagination, audacity, and theatrical brilliance. Few works in rock history so seamlessly fuse narrative, musicianship, and sheer ambition, making it a defining statement of early 1970s progressive rock.
1. Yes: 'Close to the Edge' (1972)
Monumental in both ambition and scope, 'Close to the Edge' stands as Yes’s crowning achievement. Structured like a symphony, the 19-minute epic unfolds in distinct yet seamlessly connected movements, taking listeners from chaotic, almost primordial beginnings into serene pastoral passages, reflective spiritual interludes and, finally, a climactic, triumphant resolution.
Jon Anderson’s mystical, poetic lyrics guide the journey, while Steve Howe’s virtuosic guitar navigates intricate melodies and soaring solos. Chris Squire’s thunderous, melodic bass anchors the piece, and Rick Wakeman’s keyboards add orchestral grandeur, harmonic depth, and dramatic flair. Despite its technical complexity, the composition never feels cold or inaccessible; it balances intellectual daring with emotional uplift, inviting the listener into a transcendent, immersive experience.
'Close to the Edge' is the archetype of progressive rock: epic, visionary, and endlessly inspiring, a touchstone for the genre and a pinnacle of 1970s musical creativity.
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