BBC Concert Orchestra - Prog Rock: A Fanfare For The Common Man (2026)

The BBC Proms season is underway again, and Saturday 18th July's Prom was titled 'Prog Rock: A Fanfare for the Common Man'. Back in the heady days of the late 1960's and early-to-mid 70s, Prog(ressive Rock) was music unconstrained by established forms and conventions of blues, rhythm and blues, or folk music, although it often contained elements of these – and other genres including jazz. Indeed, a number of Prog Rockers had a background in jazz music, and like most musicians in these bands, they could really play. Much of the Prog Rock canon is difficult stuff involving unconventional time signatures, complex structures and harmonies and requires virtuosic playing and singing to pull it off. In a packed Albert Hall, the audience were treated to an aural tour of Prog Rock Land, rather like one of those old LP samplers which gave you tracks from many different bands. On this occasion, the variety of the music was cleverly guaranteed by having enlisted no fewer than seven different arrangers for the twenty songs performed by the always excellent BBC Concert Orchestra. One orchestrator, no matter how skilled, would have given us something more akin to a Prog Rock suite, which would have been less varied and not as interesting. Perhaps inevitably, the concert opened with Emerson, Lake and Palmer's re-working of Aaron Copland's 'Fanfare for the Common Man', arranged by Robert Ames for orchestra and rock band, and he also conducted the whole show. He proved ideal in leading proceedings, as he has a passion for the music and a masterful ability to keep the orchestra on track through tricky changes of tempo, dynamics and time signatures. As a nice touch, Carl Palmer played drums, and has lost none of his impressive ability. Ames then took us through pieces which had been first recorded by Jethro Tull, Genesis, Renaissance, The Moody Blues, Van der Graff Generator, Yes and Mike Oldfield. All were well played and nicely sung by the orchestra and singers Gruff Rhys, Guy Garvey, Jane Weaver, Peter Hammill and The Staves. 

A high point of this first half was Soft Machine’s 'Out-Bloody-Rageous', which lived up to its title with some fiendishly difficult rhythms and a top of the range, largely improvised sopranino sax solo by Andy Findon, while Peter Hamill was another surprise guest, taking lead vocal on his own 'Refugees'. Part two gave us music by Keith Emerson, Genesis, Gentle Giant, The Incredible String Band and Supertramp, and a highlight was a medley of non-UK tracks from Focus, Osibisa and Frank Zappa, all very skilfully orchestrated by Christian Balvig. Fiona Brice's arrangement of three King Crimson songs was equally brilliant and superbly sung by Guy Garvey and Gruff Rhys. As the concert moved towards its conclusion there had to be a taste of Pink Floyd, and there was, with 'The Great Gig In The Sky'. Still poignant and full of longing, the original improvised female vocal part was sung with heart and great skill by Vanessa Haynes. Again arranged by Fiona Brice, the orchestra’s masterful control made for a memorable musical experience for everyone listening. The evening ended appropriately with 'The Great Gates Of Kyiv' from Mussorgsky's 'Pictures At An Exhibition'. The original orchestration of this piano piece was by Ravel, before Keith Emerson arranged it for his rock band, and Robert Ames adapted it further. There’s no doubting the evening’s success, and the programme rightly earned several encores, and brought many in the audience to their feet to deliver rapturous applause. Here is the full concert, with just the announcements removed for a smoother flow, and although I felt that a couple of the tracks didn't work as well as others, it was an innovative idea, and is well worth a listen if you're a prog rock fan. 

Track listing

01 Fanfare For The Common Man - Emerson, Lake & Palmer (Copland arr. Robert Ames)
02 Living In The Past - Jethro Tull (arr. Sam Gale)
03 Out-Bloody-Rageous - Soft Machine (arr. Sam Gale)
04 I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) - Genesis (arr. Sam Gale)
05 Northern Lights - Renaissance (arr. Christian Balvig)
06 Nights In White Satin - The Moody Blues (arr. Fiona Brice)
07 Refugees - Van Der Graaf Generator (arr. Adam Dennis)
08 And You And I - Yes (arr. Peter Riley)
09 Tubular Bells, Part One (excerpts) - Mike Oldfield (arr. Adam Dennis)
10 Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression, Part 2 - Emerson, Lake & Palmer (arr. Robert Ames)
11 Sylvia - Focus (arr. Christian Balvig)
12 Komfo - Osibisa (arr. Christian Balvig)
13 Peaches En Regalia - Frank Zappa (arr. Christian Balvig)
14 21st Century Schizoid Man/I Talk to The Wind/Court Of The Crimson King - King Crimson                                                                                                                              (arr. Fiona Brice)
15 Entangled - Genesis (arr Fiona Brice)
16 On Reflection - Gentle Giant (arr. Sam Gale)
17 Maker Of Islands - The Incredible String Band (arr. Christian Balvig)
18 Great Gig In The Sky - Pink Floyd (arr. Fiona Brice)
19 Crime Of The Century - Supertramp (arr. Christian Balvig)
20 The Great Gates Of Kiev - Emerson, Lake & Palmer - (Mussorgsky arr. Robert Ames)

Performers:
Guy Garvey vocals
Jane Weaver vocals
Gruff Rhys vocals
Carl Palmer drums
Peter Hammill vocals
Vanessa Hayes vocals
The Staves vocals
BBC Concert Orchestra
Robert Ames conductor

Jan Akkerman - Minstrel (1973)

Jan Akkerman was born on 24 December 1946 in Amsterdam, and is best known as being the guitarist with Dutch prog-rockers Focus, which he co-founded with Thijs van Leer. However, that wasn't his first gig, as he'd been playing in other local bands for some time. At age five he took guitar lessons, and his first single was released in 1960, when he was just thirteen years old. At eleven he was in the rock band Johnny And His Cellar Rockers with his friend Pierre van der Linden, and when he left he took Linden with him to join The Hunters. After seeing a performance by classical guitarist Julian Bream, he became interested in medieval music and learned to play the lute. In 1968 he started the band Brainbox with van der Linden, Kaz Lux, and Bert Ruiter, and in the same year he also recorded and released his fist solo album 'Talent For Sale'. In late 1969 he joined the Thijs van Leer Trio, which was the pit band for the Dutch theatrical production of Hair (recorded as an album in 1969), before they changed their name to Focus. Under this name the band explored progressive rock, with an amalgam of classical, jazz, and rock music, and had hits in the seventies with singles such as 'Hocus Pocus' and 'Sylvia'. In 1972 he released his second solo album 'Profile' on the legendary Harvest Records label, and solo and collaborative albums have appeared regularly ever since. 
This album collects together examples of his work with the all bands mentioned above, including a great cover of The Shadows' 'Blue Tango' from Johnny And His Cellar Rockers, some nice originals from The Hunters, and some nascent prog from Brainbox. There's also the two songs that he wrote for his 'Talent For Sale' album, and a couple of tracks from his 70's records 'Profile' and 'Tabernacle', both of which were released as singles in 1972/73. I've omitted anything from Focus as they are already well-known enough to need no introduction, but I have included his own take on their 'House Of The King' as it's a nice interpretation of the song. His latest album 'Close Beauty' has just been released to positive reviews, so if you like what you hear then check it out to see what he's up to now.  

Track listing

01 Exodus (Johnny And His Cellar Rockers 1961)   
02 Blue Tango (Johnny And His Cellar Rockers 1962)    
03 It Ain't Me Babe (The Hunters 1965)    
04 Russian Spy And I (The Hunters 1966)  
05 Janosh (And His Big White Poodle) (The Hunters 1966)    
06 Lost Money (The Hunters 1968) 
07 Strange Things Appear (The Hunters 1968)
08 Blues In G (The Hunters 1968)
09 Revival Of The Cat (Jan Akkerman 1968)
10 Moonbeam (Jan Akkerman 1968) 
11 Down Man (Brainbox 1969)
12 Sea Of Delight (Brainbox 1969)   
13 Summertime (Brainbox 1969)   
14 Minstrel/Farmers Dance (Jan Akkerman 1972) 
15 House Of The King (Jan Akkerman 1973)