Top 250: #141 - #160

160. Lydia, by Paradise Lost
(One Second, 1997)
Here is yet another song that we have already discussed in another blog entry. Almost precisely two years ago, there was a short piece about this exceptional track that you can check out right here. The earlier output of Paradise Lost was much more doom laden, so One Second probably came as a small shock to the British group's original fans. Lydia's complicatedness certainly piqued our interest at the time.

159. Reaching Land, by Patrick O'Hearn
(Transitions, 2011)
Patrick O'Hearn, who we originally got to know from Frank Zappa's band in the late seventies, has been making solo albums for some three decades, and they have little to do with Zappa or his style. O'Hearn's albums might best be categorized as new age, but stand out in that genre thanks to their strong compositional approach. The opening track from the 2011 album Transitions is a perfect example.

158. Rikki Don't Lose That Number, by Steely Dan
(Pretzel Logic, 1974)
The American duo Steely Dan has absolutely nothing to do with progressive rock, which is virtually the only reason we grew to appreciate their body of work only less than five years ago. Heard at a young age, Aja (1977) offered nothing to a prog enthusiast. Heard in middle age, it is a different thing altogether. The seminal opener of Pretzel Logic (1974) has played a lot since its inclusion in our collection.

157. Atonement, by Opeth
(Ghost Reveries, 2005)
Ghost Reveries was our first introduction to the Swedish progressive metal group Opeth. On that album, they mostly resided at the metal end of their musical spectrum but have become more of a progressive rock group since. Atonement has some beautiful passages as well as heavier ones. In particular, we enjoy its opening sequence.

156. Mushroom, by Can
(Tago Mago, 1971)
Apparently we haven't always played Can's Mushroom and Oh Yeah (#178) back to back, even though they are placed that way on Tago Mago, arguably the group's first true masterpiece. Therefore, the more controlled Mushroom is 22 places higher up on the list than its zanier counterpart. Damo Suzuki's singing gets aggressive now and then but otherwise, this is a relatively restrained effort, albeit with noticeable underlying tension.

155. Animate, by Rush
(Counterparts, 1993)
Following 1991's Roll the Bones, Rush released Counterparts which to me sounded like a step back into the right direction. Soundscape was still extremely polished, but there is a difference between sounding sterile and sounding accomplished. The opening track Animate is a killer rock song that immediately hooks you and never lets go. Pay particular attention to how Alex Lifeson's guitars sustain the song's momentum all the way to the end.

154. Strutton Ground, by Steve Hackett
(To Watch the Storms, 2003)
Shamefully, we must admit that we forgot about Steve Hackett some time in the mid-eighties, thinking he had run out of ideas and would have little more to offer. To have been so wrong is embarrassing. But it was for this reason that we discovered this gem, as well as the excellent album To Watch the Storms only a few years after it had come out. In addition to this outstanding opening track, don't miss Circus of Becoming, This World or Serpentine Song.

153. The Other Me, by Frost*
(Milliontown, 2006)
It is somehow oddly fitting that we at ProgActive consider The Other Me the weakest track on the masterpiece that is Milliontown, the debut album of British prog rockers Frost*. Since it still almost made it to our top 150, it must mean that the remaining five tracks have also ranked on the list. We haven't checked - in fact, haven't even looked at the list after its first formation on 6 June - but think it's likely.

152. Videotape, by Radiohead
(In Rainbows, 2007)
For some reason, many of the tracks listed here are either opening or closing tracks of their respective albums. Videotape belongs to the latter category: it closes Radiohead's self financed 2007 album In Rainbows. We think it wasn't a particularly successful effort overall, but contains two or three good songs, the best one of which is this one. A restrained, low key track with Thom Yorke and a piano.

151. Polygon Window (Dirty Motel Mix), by Aphex Twin
(1992 - 1993?)
Herein lies a mystery. Polygon Window is the opening track of Surfing on Sine Waves (1992), the debut album of Polygon Window aka Richard D. James, later better known as Aphex Twin. It is a decent electronic music instrumental that wouldn't however have made it to the list. The track that did is a later variation called Dirty Motel Mix, which we are unsure of 1) if it has ever been included on an album, 2) if it was completed in the same year of the next, 3) or even how it ended up in our iTunes collection. A magnificent remix, in any case.

150. Chicago, by Sufjan Stevens
(Illinoise, 2005)
Nothing to do with progressive rock but everything to do with high quality singer-songwriting, Sufjan Stevens' Chicago came to our attention back when we first saw the trailer for the film Little Miss Sunshine. As a piece of melody driven art rock, it is just about perfect. Its discovery resulted in an explosion of other Sufjan Stevens songs to our collection, although it is doubtful there will be others higher up on the list.

149. Parade (For Closure), by Yasushi Yoshida
(Secret Figure, 2006)
The Japanese composer Yasushi Yoshida's stunning debut album Secret Figure still remains his best. ProgActive was extremely lucky to stumble upon it only a couple of years after its release. Yoshida's peaceful music is all instrumental and relies heavily on the use of piano and strings. And since this particular track is not even our number one favorite, it seems very likely that we will run into Yoshida again further up on the list.

148. Latericius Valete, by Pain of Salvation
(Be, 2004)
Latericius Valete is already our second pick from the album Be by Pain of Salvation, so it must really have made an impression on us at some point - since we can't remember the last time we have actually listened to it. At two minutes and 28 seconds, this one is a relatively short, mainly instrumental track that employs acoustic guitar and piano as its lead instruments, except for its more rocking conclusion.

147. Grasshopper, by Man
(Slow Motion, 1974)
On their ninth album, Welsh art / progressive rock group Man created their great masterpiece: Grasshopper, one of the most moving love songs of the era. In addition to the well written melody, this song stands out because of the way its lyrics successfully tell a convincing story that feels like it's something that actually happened. Who knows, maybe it did. Classic track from a great age in music.

146. AAA, by Strapping Young Lad
(City, 1997)
Even though we at ProgActive discovered Strapping Young Lad only about a year ago, AAA has managed to climb this high on the list. This should give us some serious anticipation about the location of the next track on the same album, our all time favorite metal track. The Canadian extreme metal group led by Devin Townsend has disbanded several years ago, but their masterpieces live on and still keep bringing goosebumps to those who appreciate them.

145. Disco Suicide, by Brand X
(Moroccan Roll, 1977)
The jazz rock group - with strong emphasis on jazz - Brand X is of course known because of the involvement of Genesis drummer Phil Collins, who plays also on this particular track. Most of the group's output has been, well, a bit too jazzy for ProgActive's taste. But here is the brilliant exception: an instrumental that manages to fuse progressive rock with jazz in a way that probably satisfies fans of both genres.

144. Lake Constance, by Mike Oldfield
(The Millennium Bell, 1999)
This is the other excellent instrumental track from Mike Oldfield's The Millennium Bell that we hinted at when discussing Broad Sunlit Uplands (#183). When trying to remake his megahit Tubular Bells, Oldfield has usually failed but in this case there were a couple of successes as well. This is thanks to noticeable inspiration while composing the track: not too derivative from the original classic, yet immensely beautiful.

143. God If I Saw Her Now, by Anthony Phillips
(The Geese & the Ghost, 1977)
Another track from an album we have already mentioned, God If I Saw Her Now is a companion piece to Which Way the Wind Blows (#250). And yes, it is once again Phil Collins, drummer of Brand X, who sings on this track. Like we have already mentioned a couple of times, we are suckers for songs that tell believable stories and here is one - it sounds like something the songwriter might actually have experienced in his life.

142. Try Some, Buy Some, by David Bowie
(Reality, 2003)
On what was David Bowie's last album before a decade's hiatus, there were only a couple of tracks that fully satisfied ProgActive, this one being the most interesting one. An art rock song with some symphonic prog influences, Try Some, Buy Some is one of Bowie's absolute best in his most recent output. The most recent output being anything released during the new millennium.

141. Night Sight, by Air
(Pocket Symphony, 2007)
Here is some more shoegazing. The French electronic duo Air we have already mentioned earlier: their track Mike Mills made it to #241 on the list. This track is an atmospheric instrumental from a more recent album. Air enjoys a cult following, but most likely we will not meet them again on our way to the top of the list.