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Three Prog Alternatives to “Bohemian Rhapsody”
A somewhat challenging Rate-a-Record challenge
Whenever the subject of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” comes up in a discussion here on Medium, I feel like the ugly bridesmaid cursing into my pink champagne about the disappointing opportunity for a romance that I’ve just witnessed at the Hahira Second Baptist Church sanctuary.
It’s not that the Queen megahit (1.7 BILLION YouTube views and counting) is bad (I’m a fan of anyone who pushes the envelope), it’s just that there are other works that for me are both more complex and more unified. The three examples below are from a particular prog subgenre known as “Canterbury” (definition and brief history here). All of these are somewhat longer than BR (a little less than an hour of listening time for this challenge), the first two in particular, so be forewarned. But their structure is also more cohesive and less arbitrary than that of BR (a characteristic of many Canterbury works). If you can stick with them (ideally through several listenings), I think you’ll be rewarded. Whether you’re enthralled or bored, please leave your impressions, as well as a numerical judgment. (Rate a record guidelines here.)
