The Langdon Auger Show
January 25th 2026 Prog Rock part 2
Featured Artists: Flash And The Pan, David Bowie, Brand X
Started of our second part of our Progressive Rock special and kind of had to do Flash And The Pan to start because it seems like the perfect start to that. Progressive Rock was officially launched as a category by the album The Moody Blues The Days Of Futures Passed. It has been along road for Progressive rock which now there is so many albums/artist considered in that category. In the song Hey St. Peter “Billy” serves as the narratorâs alter ego or a representative character trying to find success in the cutthroat music and entertainment industry. He deals with the desperation of wasted time, lack of money, and trying to stay relevant, and that was the start of progressive rock. Most prog rock songs are usually over 10 minutes long so they did not get a lot of radio play. David Bowies song Station to Station recorded in 1975 in Los Angeles, the album was created during a period where Bowie was consuming massive amounts of cocaine and reportedly barely remembers making it. The lyrics capture a snapshot of a paranoid, drug-induced psychosis, characterized by feelings of “phony emotion.” The Thin White Duke passionately sings about love and European philosophy, yet his expression feels hollow and manufactured, mirroring Bowie’s own detached state. The song is a heavy mix of esoteric references and literary nods. In the famous line, “Here are we, one magical movement / From Kether to Malkuth,” Bowie directly references the Kabbalah. “Kether” represents the unknowable, unconscious divine crown, while “Malkuth” represents the physical world. The song is effectively a plea for Bowie to leave behind the dark, drug-fueled occultism of Los Angeles and “come back to Europe” to rebuild his life. Also was used in a movie named Christiane F, The main character, 13-year-old Christiane, attends a David Bowie concert in West Berlin with her friends. It is a pivotal moment in the movie, as it depicts her first experimentation with heroin in the crowd. “Why Should I Lend You Mine (When You’ve Broken Yours Off Already)” is a jazz-fusion track by the band Brand X, featured on their 1977 album Moroccan Roll. The title is a quintessential example of the bandâs playful, satirical, and non sensical approach to naming instrumental pieces. Composed by drummer Phil Collins, the song functions purely as an inside joke and a creative play on words rather than having a deeper conceptual meaning. The sprawling, 11-minute track is celebrated in progressive jazz circles for its complex funk rhythms and spacey jams.
For this second part of his progressive rock special, Ward introduces long tracks and talks between songs. He explains what he considers prog rock and introduces the artists, then invites listeners to join the site chat. He also comments on performers he admires and the styleâs history.
About this episode
Opening with Flash and the Pan, Ward calls this the second part of his progressive rock special, with songs over 10 minutes. He invites listeners into the chat, introduces David Bowie and âStation to Station,â then talks about Brand X and Phil Collins before announcing Jethro Tullâs Thick as a Brick, Part 2.
Later, Ward shares thoughts on Deep Purple drummer Ian Paice and lists artists and styles he associates with prog rock. He talks about Mike Oldfield, Iron Butterfly, Pink Floyd and Tool. He also mentions the broadcast schedule he was considering at the time: a return in early February, Monday through Wednesday from 5 to 7 p.m. Mountain Standard Time.
Full spoken transcript
Transcribed from the recording and lightly edited for readability. Song lyrics and recorded interludes are omitted. Some audio could not be transcribed; those gaps and unclear words are marked in brackets. Timestamps are approximate. The comments reflect the speakersâ own experiences and views.
Full spoken transcript (click to collapse or expand)
00:00:00
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00:04:08
Great song there from Flash and the Pan, âHey, St. Peter.â How are you all doing tonight? Itâs the Langdon Auger Show. Thanks for tuning in. We are doing a live show here today just because I wanted to get to that second part of our prog rock special that we have. So this oneâs all about prog rock, part two, obviously. These are songs weâve done before, but only during shows like this and events like this. So overall, all songs will be over 10 minutes, so weâre in for a bit of an undertaking, if you will. And, you know, there are all kinds of people considered prog rock, including David Bowie, which weâll hear next. Obviously, the Moody Blues are given credit for being the first ever prog rock album with Days of Future Passed. And also youâve got some Jethro Tull. Youâve got Dire Straits is also considered. Mastodon, believe it or not, is considered prog rock. Gentle Giant, yes. Obviously, Carl Palmer and Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Itâs amazing. The list, when you go on Wikipedia and you look up progressive rock, youâd be surprised who is actually considered progressive rock. Tool is also considered progressive rock, believe it or not.
So once again, we are also live. So if you want to come on our chat room and youâre here in the radio station anyway, just go down below to the live chat, enter your username. Donât forget to save it. Kind of have a little chit-chat with us here. Let us know what you think of this. Itâll also be recorded and put on our website. So letâs get ready to it. We mentioned David Bowie, and now weâre going to play âStation to Station.â
00:05:52
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00:26:48
Well, I would think theyâre more of a jazz fusion kind of band, but they are considered progressive rock. That is, of course, Brand X had a really famous drummer play with them for their first two albums by the name of Phil Collins. He met them. The other members are John Goodsall, Percy Jones, and Robin Lumley, I believe, was the other one.
00:27:10
And he kind of met [unclear].
00:27:11
They all bonded together. He was a session drummer for them. And then they all just kind of went over to Charisma Records, which was Genesisâ label at the time, and started Brand X. Phil Collins was with them for two albums. Unorthodox Behaviour was the first one, while he was still full-time at Genesis. But you can kind of see the Phil Collins definite drumming style there. Theyâre still around. Theyâve had various different incarnations of them.
00:27:40
Unfortunately, Percy Jones and John [unclear] arenât with us anymore.
00:27:45
So, Brand X has checked them out on Facebook. Youâll have the whole story. Before that, of course, we had âStation to Station,â and I just forgot to say the name of that Brand X tune. Itâs âWhy Should I Lend You Mine When Youâve Broken Yours Already?â Weâre going to get back into it. We played Jethro Tull, Thick as a Brick, Part 1, last time. Weâre going to play Part 2 right now.
00:28:09
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01:01:06
Thatâs, of course, Deep Purple, and thatâs from the Made in Japan album, âChild in Time.â That was 12 minutes long, eh? Great tune. And you know what? The drummer Ian Paice, one of my all-time favorite drummers, definitely in the top three, along with potentially John Bonham and Roger Taylor, of course, of Queen, and just such a great drummer. He was the most consistent Deep Purple band member. He was there throughout all the incarnations of Deep Purple and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016, and just such a good drummer.
And before that, of course, we had Part 2, âThick as a Brickâ from Jethro Tull, and that was 20 minutes long. So there we had it, over a 30-minute set. Weâve only played four songs so far this hour. So weâre welcoming in the second hour of the show. Once again, if you donât know what weâre doing here, we are doing progressive rock and all the big, long ones there are, because people say, âWhat is progressive rock?â Well, it includes all kinds of fusions, styles, approaches, genres. It tends to be diverse, and of course eclectic. And of course, itâs associated with long solos, extended pieces, fantastic lyrics, and it is also, you know, a radical rethinking of rock music, could be. It started in the 60s. It was originally known as progressive pop, believe it or not. The Moody Blues are definitely one of them. Soft Machine, The Nice, Pink Floyd, of course. The Beatles, including one of their earliest songs, âStrawberry Fields Forever.â And of course, there is the, what do they call it, the Prog Archives. And there are over 12,971 bands and artists with 84,301 albums. So thereâs also, itâs also got 72,675 members. So if youâre really into prog rock, go to Prog Archives. So thatâs what weâre doing here, is weâre doing some of the long progressive rock songs. And because of the eclecticness of it and all that, and the influence of potential psychedelic rock. I mean, because it did start in the United Kingdom in the 1960s and progressed into what it is now known. But one of those bands has to be in there, because it is about eclectic lyrics and all that kind of stuff. And this one started off originally as âIn the Garden of Eden.â And it became this.
01:03:44
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01:44:01
Back all the way to 1973, of course. Thatâs a Tubular Bells album from Mike Oldfield, and that was Tubular Bells, Part 2. And the story is that he played every instrument on that album: Spanish guitar, acoustic guitar, so many, so including the glockenspiel and tubular bells. Talented, talented man. And before that, of course, we had the song that originally started out as âIn the Garden of Edenâ by Iron Butterfly. And, according to Reverend Lovejoy, that sounds like rock and roll. And, of course, it was âIn-A-Gadda-Da-Vidaâ by Iron Butterfly.
Weâre doing progressive rock in the long songs of it. Weâre just about done. Weâve got about 20 minutes left, but we still have about three songs to play, so weâre gonna get to it. Pink Floyd is also known as one of those progressive rock bands. They just
01:44:56
have so many different eclectic ways of playing things and [timing uncertain at the chunk boundary].
01:45:00
How they do things, especially live. If youâve ever seen them live, you know thatâs true. So weâve got to get some Pink Floyd in here, and this one is âSorrow.â
01:45:10
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02:07:23
Earlier, about some of the drummers that I really admire and respect a lot. Of course, Ian Paice, John Bonham, Roger Taylor, and that guy Danny Carey from Tool is simply amazing, absolutely an amazing drummer. Of course, that is from their fifth studio album, released in 2019. Itâs called Fear Inoculum, and of course we heard âPneuma.â Before that, we had a little Pink Floyd, of course, because they are a progressive kind of rock band. Of course, we heard âSorrow,â and itâs a poignant reflection of a man whoâs chained forever to a world thatâs departed, and that captures the heart of the band, of that song, âSorrow.â
And thatâs it for me. Iâm out of here. I want to thank you all for tuning in. Two hours has gone by, when you consider weâve only played eight songs in those two hours. So weâre gonna end it all off with one more long one and one more great one. I hope you like it. I want to thank you all for tuning in to the Langdon Auger Show. Looks like weâre going to be starting up again at the beginning of February, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesdays, starting at 5 p.m. Mountain Standard Time, running through till 7 p.m. So if you get a chance, come on by and say hi. Anyway, weâre going to end it all off with Jon and Vangelis and âThe Friends of Mr. Cairo.â Happy mental health to you all.
02:08:45
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