"Epic" compositions worth giving a spin

bdp24, I liked the Kinks (more 60's and early 70's than later, but some good things happened later on) and the British prog-rock bands, to a degree.  I liked Yes through Close to the Edge and Genesis up until The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.  DIdn't like them after Gabriel left and Phil took over.  I felt King Crimson was usually interesting and good no matter what the lineup.  For a less indulgent and more rock-based sound try the Yes album, my favorite of theirs.
As far as the thread prescription goes, I think any side of Yes' Topographic Oceans fits better than a side of Tommy.

good thread--reminds me of the period after tommy where every technically-proficient band in england made their "concept albums." looking through some of the above-mentioned, it seems that most were more notable for their ambition than their listenability, the kinks (of course) excluded.
two that i'd toss in:
1. side one of "ogden's nut gone flake" (small faces)--i could never quite grasp what the story's about, but it's funny as hell and periodically rocks like the dickens.
2. richard buckner, the wall--an album length rendering of the poet edgar lee masters' "spoon river" done by my favorite dour folkie. really, really good.stuff.

I'm going to disagree with Bdp re: "The Kinks have two that fit".  They have (at least) three; adding in "Schoolboys in Disgrace".

As to his view that prog rockers "discarded American rock n roll", there's much more than a little truth to that.  Putting aside the technical specifics for a moment, the spirit of early rock n roll was primitivistic and reductionist.  Prog rock went 180 degrees the other way.  OTOH, many "non-prog" bands had already done that years earlier.  Long guitar solos (and any band that employs them) can also be reasonably described as anathema to that early r'n'r spirit.  That covers a lot of ground beyond prog.

While I was a prog fan in the '70s, I'm much less so, now.  My view is less harsh than Bdp's, but I do find that it usually leaves me cold.  Still love a flashy guitar solo, tho.

I like good music. Some of it happens to be prog rock. Also yes it was/is the furthest thing with any rock elements from original rock and roll of Chuck Berry and company pretty much by definition. Most rock music falls in between the two somewhere. So its a continuum of styles ie all shades of grey from rock and roll to prog rock, not black and white.

Neither extreme forms are all that popular these days. Things have head off in many different directions since the term prog rock was originally coined.

Viva la music!