classical rock

classical rock

eclectic branch of rock music that emerged in the late 1960s and flourished in the early to mid-1970s. The term is sometimes used synonymously with progressive rock, but the latter is best used to describe "intellectual" album-oriented rock by such British bands as Genesis, King Crimson, Pink Floyd, and Yes. The term art rock is best used to describe either classically influenced rock by such British groups as the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), Emerson, Lake and Palmer (ELP), Gentle Giant, the Moody Blues, and Procol Harum or the fusion of progressive rock and English folk music created by such groups as Jethro Tull and the Strawbs. In common, all these bands regularly employ complicated and conceptual approaches to their music. Moreover, there has been a relatively fluid movement of musicians between bands that fall under the most general definition of art rock. Among the musicians who contributed to numerous bands are Bill Bruford (Yes, King Crimson, and U.K.), Steve Howe (Yes and Asia), Greg Lake (King Crimson and ELP), and John Wetton (King Crimson, U.K., and Asia). Some of the experimental rock by such American and British artists as Laurie Anderson, David Bowie, Brian Eno, the Velvet Underground, and Frank Zappa is also often categorized as art rock.

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