(Credits: Far Out / Will Ireland)
Sun 7 December 2025 13:00, UK
People overcomplicate prog-rock far too much. They believe that in order to make it, you need to have the most complex of creative minds, but the truth is, the first thing that prog lovers and makers want is authenticity.
Take Frank Zappa, for instance. Granted, a lot of the music he made was pretty complex, but that was just him being his authentic self. He wasn’t against music, which went down a more simplistic route, so long as it was something he could buy into and believe in.
A lot of people probably wouldn’t have Zappa down as an AC/DC fan, but they’d be wrong. Even though their music was a lot different to what he did, he still loved listening to the hard rock Aussies and even tried to sign them once.
“I think he saw what everybody saw: they could play, they had a ton of energy, and they were authentic,” said Dweezil, Zappa’s son. “It was blues-based, and it had an attitude. The thing about AC/DC is they’ve carved a massive career out of playing one style that’s changed very, very little. That’s what people love – that consistency. They’re rock-solid and they have a great sound.”
Another prog-rock great had the same opinion when it came to The Kinks. You’d hardly call The Kinks a prog-rock band, but Jethro Tull frontman was a big fan of them. Once again, it all came down to the way that they played, as they put power and authenticity into every single note that they churned out. It’s great to listen to, and something that Anderson was incredibly excited to listen to.
“It’s something with life in it,” he said when someone interviewing him started playing the song ‘Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)’. “It’s like breathing again, I really like this one. It’s not the Kinks is it? Great! Let me listen to a bit more […] The first thing that hits me about it is it’s alive. They’re real people musically. It’s music at last and they’re in control of what they are doing.”
It’s true that The Kinks play with a great deal of vigour. I would argue that the A chord that they play at the start of ‘You Really Got Me’ is one of the most important A chords ever hit in the history of rock. It has tinges of distortion embedded in it and is played with a controlled aggression that sets the foundation for a lot of rock music moving forward.
It’s pretty impressive just how much this song resonated with those who listened and is still used as a benchmark for a good rock song. Ray Davies is a huge part of this iconic sound, and he’s the musician Anderson says is responsible for a great range of music within The Kinks. During an interview with Classic Album Review, Anderson highlighted his mastery over mood and melody, and even compared him to one of the biggest musical titans in the world.
“(…) Lyrically and in terms of setting the mood melodically, he’s been a brilliant contributor to the annals of British pop music history,” he said, “He is right up there with the very best of anybody, including The Beatles.”
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