Album of the Day

Tales from the Lush Attic, by IQ (1983): Recently departed IQ keyboardist Martin Orford sounded off over at Progressive Ears about his loathing for the term "neo-prog rock." IQ, of course, is usually cited as one of the originators of the subgenre, along with the other British bands breaking at the time, such as Marillion, Twelvth Night, and Pallas. But listening to their debut album today, maybe Martin had a point. One of the allegedly defining features of neo-prog is that it's more streamlined and commercial friendly than the symphonic proggers of the 1970s. I won't argued that IQ's stuff was as complex as those guys, but an album with two side-long epics doesn't exactly strike me as an attempt at radio friendliness.

Not that it matters, in the end. Although a little rough and shaky around the edges, Tales is a solid debut that set the band on the long path it continues on today.