Letters From A Prog Rock Band Trivia Quiz

Answer: Leftoverture

"Leftoverture" became a top five hit on the Billboard 200 charts in USA and "Carry On Wayward Son", when released as a single was a top five hit on the Canadian charts.

Of the other possible answers, "Point Of Know Return" (1977) was also a Kansas album and is best remembered for the track "Dust In The Wind" which was a top five hit in both Canada and USA, while "Amigos" (1976) was from Santana and "Hejira" (1976) was the Joni Mitchell album which brought us tracks such as "Amelia" and "Song For Sharon".

Answer: Pawn Hearts

"Pawn Hearts" not only contained just the one track on the B side, it only had two tracks, "Lemmings" and "Man-Erg" on the A side.
Like its predecessor, "H to He, Who Am The Only One", "Pawn Hearts" didn't trouble the charts in the band's native UK, in fact after 1970s "The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other" charted in the UK Top 100, the band would have to wait until 2016 for their next chart success.

"Teaser And The Firecat" (1971) was a Cat Stevens release, and "The Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys" was a 1971 album from Traffic.

Answer: Octopus

This certainly is an album that has withstood the test of time, with "Rolling Stone" magazine placing it at number 16 on their 2015 compiled list of the 50 Greatest Prog Albums.
Many of the eight tracks on this album were inspired by books, with "Knots" sharing its title with the collection of poetry published by Scottish psychiatrist R.D. Laing in 1970 and "The Advent of Panurge" being based on the 16th century work, "The Life of Gargantua and of Pantagruel" by Francois Rabelais.

"Acquiring The Taste" was a 1971 album from Gentle Giant, while "Demons And Wizards" (1971) was released by Uriah Heep and contained "Easy Livin'", probably their best known song. "Doremi Fasol Latido" (1971) was the first Hawkwind album to feature Lemmy, who would go on to form Motorhead.

Answer: Tales from Topographic Oceans

Not only did "Tales from Topographic Oceans" (1973) reach number one in UK album charts, it was the first UK album to be certified as gold, solely based on pre-orders.
Each track on the album took up a complete side of vinyl, and this over indulgence proved too much for keyboard player, the great Rick Wakeman, who left the band after the tour to support the album. By 1977 he was back in the fold though, and was keyboard player on the band's next UK number one album, "Going For The One" (1977).

"Fragile" is also a Yes album, this one from 1971 and being the first to feature Rick Wakeman who had replaced Tony Kaye on keyboards. "Countdown To Ecstasy" (1973) was the first Steely Dan album to exclusively feature Donald Fagen on vocals and "Goats Head Soup" was the 1973 album from the Rolling Stones that went to number one in album charts around the world.

Answer: Arborescence

"Arborescence" (1994) was the fifth album from Ozric Tentacles and although their music formula hasn't changed much over the years, this was precisely the reason that this album attracted favourable reviews. Peter Thelen of "Expose Online" wrote that "The Ozrics are masters of the hypnotic groove" and although this album is "offering only predictability, or perhaps consistency", it will "take the listener somewhere special if the mind is open and the spirit free".
This was the last Ozric's album to feature Merv Pepler and Joie Hinton who would go on to form the band "Eat Static", before reuniting with the Ozrics in 2008 for the Sunrise Festival in 2007, which was released as a live album the following year.

"Curious Corn" is also an Ozric Tentacles album, released in 1997, while "Bee Thousand"(1994) was an album from Guided By Voices and "American Thighs", also from 1994, was from Veruca Salt.

Credit to expose.org for the Peter Thelen quotes.

Answer: Misplaced Childhood

"Kayleigh" (1985) shot up the UK singles charts and was only kept off the number one spot by a reworking of "You'll Never Walk Alone" by The Crowd, released as a charity single in aid of the victims of the Valley Parade fire, at which 56 people died.
"Misplaced Childhood" (1985) was Marillion's third album and the band's first concept album, with the tracks, "Bitter Suite", "Heart Of Lothian" and "Blind Curve" all consisting of multiple parts.

"Script For A Jester's Tear" was Marillion's first album, released in 1983, while "Rain Dogs" was a 1985 album by Tom Waits, featuring the well known track, "Downtown Train". "The Firstborn Is Dead", also released in 1985, was from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and contained the track "Tupelo" which when released as a single went to number one on the UK indie charts.

Answer: The Wall

Surely one of the best known prog rock albums ever, Pink Floyd's "The Wall" (1979) went to number one in album charts almost everywhere, apart from the band's native UK, where it stalled at number three.
Apart from "Comfortably Numb" and "Run Like Hell", the album also spawned "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" which became the band's first Billboard Hot 100 number one in USA and was also the 1979 Christmas number one in UK.

"The Dark Side Of The Moon" is Pink Floyd's mega selling album from 1973, while "Unknown Pleasures" from 1979 was by Joy Division and was the only album released by the band while vocalist Ian Curtis was alive. "Desolation Angels" was a 1979 Bad Company album that featured the track "Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy".

Answer: In The Court Of The Crimson King

King Crimson's debut album from 1969 featured the Schizoid Man on the album cover, with the Crimson King being featured on the gatefold interior. Apart from the outstanding opening track, this album also features "Moonchild", a 12 minute two part track and the nine minute title track, these two songs together forming the whole of the B side of the album.

"Larks' Tongues in Aspic" (1973) was the first King Crimson album to feature ex Yes member, Bill Bruford and future Asia frontman, John Wetton. "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" was Neil Young's 1969 album that opened with "Cinnamon Girl" and "Trout Mask Replica" (1969) was the Frank Zappa-produced double album from Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band.

Answer: Caress Of Steel

"Caress Of Steel" (1975) marked the full blown entry of Rush into prog rock, after they had dabbled with the genre on their previous album, "Fly By Night" (1975) on tracks such as "By-Tor and the Snow Dog".
As well as the epic 20 minute long "The Fountain of Lamneth", "Caress Of Steel" also contained a three part track entitled "The Necromancer" loosely based on the works of Tolkien.

"Grace Under Pressure" was a 1984 album from Rush which took its title from an Ernest Hemingway quote, while neither "The Hissing Of Summer Lawns" (1975) or "Red Octopus"(1975) were Rush albums, being from Joni Mitchell and Jefferson Starship respectively.

Answer: Lateralus

"Lateralus" (2001) from the band Tool went to number one on the album charts in Australia and Canada as well as on the Billboard 200 in USA. The album gained five star reviews from critics and fans alike and features the amazing track "Schism" which features as many as 47 time signatures changes, and won the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 2002.
Elsewhere, the album also features "Parabola" which astronaut Robert L. Behnken used as his wake up call while aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 2010.