When we started this series on 8 June this year, there were 6,236 tracks in ProgActive's iTunes collection. Back then, we decided that we wanted to find out what the most played tracks in the collection after approximately 98 months of listening were. So we stopped the counter on 6 June at 6 in the morning and have been listing those favourites since. Time has finally come to finalize this series with the best of the best: Top 5.
5. Clean Coloured Wire, by Engineers
(Three Fact Fader, 2009)
The British shoegazers Engineers are the only group that have succeeded in getting not one or two but three entries in our Top 10. In the previous entry, we already discussed Stake to Glory (#8). Now, we have reached the masterful opening track of their pinnacle album Three Fact Fader (2009) and there will still be a third one further ahead. Clean Coloured Wire is already their tenth song in the Top 250, meaning that their grand total is going to stand at eleven. Quite an achievement; they beat even Porcupine Tree. But not an undeserved one, as you can hear below.
For a long time we weren't aware that the song is actually using a sample. The electronic loop that the song begins with and which runs all the way through it has been lifted from a track called Watussi, by the West German group Harmonia; the opening track of their 1974 album Musik von Harmonia. Knowing this did lessen our excitement about the greatness of the track a little but it is nonetheless a magnificent piece of modern, pitch perfect pop music with some art rock thrown in for good measure. That said, there is still one track on this very same album that outshines it.
4. The 1978, by Steven Wilson
("Harmony Korine" single B side, 2009)
We are not entirely sure if the correct year here is 2008 or 2009. Steven Wilson released his first solo album (using his own name, anyway) Insurgentes towards the end of 2008. At some point, there was also a two disc Deluxe Version of the release that contained a few extra tracks on the second disc. The last one of these had no title then, but was named The 78 when it was released as a "B side" to the song Harmony Korine (#61) which was released as a vinyl single in 2009. Embedded below is a fan made video for the song.
As great as Harmony Korine is, The 78 is way better, proving once again that it is not uncommon for B sides to beat their A sides. More a straightforward hard rock song than a progressive effort, it grabs you right at the start with its excellent percussion loop and never lets go. Electric guitars are loud and kind of hard to the ear; lyrics very simple and exceptionally pessimistic - sounding like something that Wilson's bandmate Aviv Geffen might have written.
3. Helped By Science, by Engineers
(Three Fact Fader, 2009)
The third and final Engineers song in our top 10 is their greatest masterpiece. The British group's eleventh track on the entire list is a perfect achievement in mellow pop music that has been on repeat for long enough to reach top three. Not only is it a great composition; what makes it stand out is the way it manages to change key in the middle of a bar and do it without sounding artificial or contrived. We have been mesmerized by this song ever since we heard it for the first time and cannot help but recognize its genius. Just listen to it below and see if you agree.
There is little else we can think of to write about our favorite British shoegazer band. Three Fact Fader is their best album so far. They have followed it with two more releases: In Praise of More (2010) and Always Returning (2014), both of which have been considerably more uneven albums than their near perfect predecessor. Hopefully the group will continue their good work for years to come and perhaps repeat the success of their release from five years ago.
2. Chronos Deliverer, by Glass Hammer
(Chronometree, 2000)
Here is the highest ranking debut on the list. The American progressive rock group Glass Hammer now appears on it for the first time. This happens here, on second place - talk about a one hit wonder! Glass Hammer's 2000 album Chronometree contains this absolutely perfect piece of keyboard driven symphonic prog that we have been playing over and over again. Besides its peerless composition, another great detail about the song is its genial use of female choir that works immensely well. Somehow the group has managed to keep nearly all of their music out of YouTube, so here is a Grooveshark link instead.
Choros Deliverer - Glass Hammer
Glass Hammer have always been great admirers of progressive rock legends Yes. This should be perfectly obvious from Chronos Deliverer already. But even more revealing is the fact that the entire album Chronometree is an intentional homage to that other group's output. And to complete said homage, singer Jon Davison was chosen to actually join Yes a couple of years ago, as their new lead singer. This meant a hiatus for Glass Hammer since Davison isn't allowed to work with other projects during his stay in Yes, however long it may be. We haven't been very excited about the rest of Glass Hammer's output although some of it is pretty good - here is the shining exception that can be qualified as a genuine masterpiece.
1. Milliontown, by Frost*
(Milliontown, 2006)
ProgActive's number one track ever is safely ahead of its competition. No other song comes even close to the number of times it has been played. What's even more impressive is that number in relation to the track's running time. It surprises even us that the song we have played by far the most times in our iTunes collection runs well over 26 minutes. You would think that a shorter track would have a much easier task to climb this high but here is the exception to really challenge that rule, or at least the assumption of its existence.
Milliontown is a magnum opus that consists of several parts, like many of the similar seventies 20-minute prog classics did. It is the single greatest piece of modern progressive rock that we know of, which largely explains why it has become number one on our list already some years ago and has successfully held that position since. It represents all that is best in the genre; an endless flow of invention that has been composed and is played with unmatched virtuoso. In particular, it is John Mitchell's guitars and Andy Edwards's drumming that pack an unparalleled punch.
To close this series, some history data. We have been interested in the most played tracks in our collection before and it seems that initially it was Once by Blackfield, now outside top 10, that held the top spot for a long time during the early years. It wasn't until January 2008 that Bravado by Rush took the first place - only to temporarily lose it back to Once during spring, then reclaim the throne come next fall.
Following this, Bravado was our number one track for nearly two years, until some time in the summer of 2010 Chronos Deliverer (now #2) took the top spot, with Milliontown a close second, and Bravado dropped to third place. Finally, some time in late 2010, Milliontown overtook Chronos Deliverer and has been number one ever since. And, as the very last note: since 8 June this year, Helped By Science has actually overtaken Chronos Deliverer for the second place but still far behind Milliontown.
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