The Most Progressive Song By 5 Non-Prog Rock Bands

Alternative rock/ska punk overseers No Doubt veered into prog rock at least a few times. For instance, there’s the rhythmic changes of “Sunday Morning,” the multilayered heft of “Big Distraction” and the multipart structure of “Ex-Girlfriend.” That said, nothing else comes close to evoking the larger-than-life scope and fantastical songwriting of prog rock than the (closing) title track to their breakthrough third LP: 1995’s Tragic Kingdom.

Kicking off with dramatic horns, riffs and rhythms, it instantly takes No Doubt into the world of symphonic rock. Meanwhile, vocalist Gwen Stefani’s trademark angelic backing chants and irregular hooks add to the complexity, just as her verses (satirizing the cynical commercialism of Disneyworld) lean more into mythical creative writing than grounded autobiography (“The castle floor lies in traps / With coiled wires set back / Decoyed by old cheese”).

The tune only gets proggier from there, with more bizarre instrumentation, bombastic choruses and (most importantly) an infectiously twisted bridge – “Have they lost their heads / Or are they just all blind mice?” — cementing “Tragic Kingdom” as an irrefutable progressive rock powerhouse.

Many people would say that “Stairway to Heaven” or “Kashmir” should take this spot and there are certainly a few others that could be in the running (“Carouselambra,” “No Quarter,” “In the Light” and so on).

For us, though, Led Zeppelin’s proggiest song is clearly “Achilles Last Stand” from 1976’s Presence due to its frantic syncopation, epic breadth and recurring motifs. (Also, frontman Robert Plant once called it “prog rock gone mad,” so there’s that.)

Right away, Jimmy Page’s defiant guitar work and John Bonham’s grand drumming pair exquisitely with requisite prog rock unevenness. Of course, they build upon that dynamic until Page’s solo overlaps with Bonham’s iconic start/stop percussion about four minutes in, and afterward, the foursome keep adding more overdubs, modulations and deviations as they climb the track’s towering mountain and explore Greek folklore.

Led Zeppelin have longer and/or more multifaceted songs, but they never tapped into prog rock forcefulness and heroicness as much as they did on “Achilles Last Stand.”

The Grateful Dead touched upon many forms of rock throughout their 30-year career, such as blues, folk, acid, psychedelic, jam, jazz and country. With 1975’s Blues for Allah, they ventured into progressive rock, and while it has a lot of superb stuff, none of it comes close to matching what the band achieve with the pure bliss of the title track to 1977’s Terrapin Station.

Its signature guitar patterns and energized momentum immediately mesmerize alongside Jerry Garcia’s comforting singing. Those wonderful vibes are accentuated by brighter variations and additions (including radiant strings, keys and vocal harmonies) for the first few minutes. About halfway through, the piece gets more complex and luscious, with extra orchestration revolving around delightfully cinematic counterpoints. Then, slide guitar, horns and new verses pave the way for an irresistibly glorious psych-prog stampede that seamlessly resolves into the terminal where the song started.

With its lovely melodies, vibrant textures and entrancing vibes, every moment of “Terrapin Part 1” is prog rock heaven that could be played a dozen times in a row and never wear out its welcome.

Green Day’s rock opera opus, 2004’s American Idiot, has many narrative — if not also structural — similarities to 1973’s Quadrophenia by The Who. So, it’s no wonder why they also borrowed from The Who’s 1966 multipart track, “A Quick One, While He’s Away,” for two songs from the album (“Jesus of Suburbia” and “Homecoming”). Either of them could be here, but we think “Homecoming” ever so slightly has the proggier edge.

Broken into five moments, the nearly 10-minute suite ignites with unassuming pop-punk hookiness and rebelliousness. However, the transition into the second part (“East 12th St.”) is when things get trickier, especially with the rhythmic shifts and stacked arrangement/vocals during the chorus (“Somebody get me out of here”) and bridge (“So far away / I don’t wanna stay”). The remaining segments continue the feisty changeups and new instrumentation – such as glockenspiel, saxophone and hammer bells – as Green Day fluidly and exhilaratingly shuffle toward reprising the “Nobody Likes You” theme at the end.

Front to back, “Homecoming” is Green Day at the peak of their prog prowess.

Alice Cooper (the band) were always experimental, wide-ranging and challenging, so it was a natural progression for them to try their hands at progressive rock just as the subgenre was starting (on 1971’s Killer). In fact, Cooper (the person) once clarified that third song “Halo of Flies” was (as paraphrased on his website) “an attempt by the band to prove that they could perform King Crimson-like progressive rock suites.”

It begins with Robert Fripp-esque intersecting guitar dissonance and off-kilter percussion; the cosmic disorientation of early Pink Floyd; and even an allusion to The Sound of Music’s “My Favorite Things.” About a third of the way in, the song transforms into a more somber and empty movement before picking up steam again with rugged insubordination. The Floydian influence really takes over during the second half, with leisurely bass lines and trippy guitar riffs mixing Alice Cooper’s characteristic glam rock and proto-punk with vivid psych-prog cascades.

Ultimately, the band mixes concurrent tangents and gripping synchronization as well as most classic prog rock bands, thereby meeting their goals by delivering something highly strange, advanced and ambitious.