When I was first getting into progressive music, I had no problems enjoying most of the better known bands (YES, Genesis, Camel, ELP, etc) on first listen.
But then, Gentle Giant's "Octopus" was recommended to me. I had no idea what to make of it. With all that counterpoint, complex vocal harmonies, dissonance, mixture of Medieval and contemporary classical, etc, it was a real head scratcher.
After a few attempts to get into it, I put it on the shelf for a few months. I kept hearing what geniuses these guys were, so I finally gave it more chances.
Now, most of their catalog are "desert Island" material for me.
Since then, there have been quite a few more bands, mostly on the avant garde side of prog that took a while to grow on me. Henry Cow, Thinking Plague, Magma, are a few examples.
But then, Gentle Giant's "Octopus" was recommended to me. I had no idea what to make of it. With all that counterpoint, complex vocal harmonies, dissonance, mixture of Medieval and contemporary classical, etc, it was a real head scratcher.
After a few attempts to get into it, I put it on the shelf for a few months. I kept hearing what geniuses these guys were, so I finally gave it more chances.
Now, most of their catalog are "desert Island" material for me.
Since then, there have been quite a few more bands, mostly on the avant garde side of prog that took a while to grow on me. Henry Cow, Thinking Plague, Magma, are a few examples.