Tolkien and Progressive Rock. Part I. The 1960s and 70s

The type of literature undertaken by the British philologist and writer John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (better known as J. R. R. Tolkien) has always fascinated many of his readers. Notably, Tolkien wrote The Hobbit book and later the trilogy that makes up The Lord of the Rings books, written between 1937 and 1949, published around 1954 and 1955.

There is talk, there is speculation, that tiny beings in the area of Scotland, Ireland and elsewhere could have existed long, long ago. It so happens that many of the readers of this type of fantasy fiction literature tend to be people who are enthusiastic about progressive rock, psychedelia, acid-folk, jazz-rock, electronic music, New Age and so forth. Similarly, this circumstance occurs again among readers that are musicians who play progressive rock, psychedelic music and some other genres mentioned earlier. Consequently, these musicians have recorded pieces related to the blessed literature of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. Below, we’ll list how different artists and groups captured this Tolkien connection in their recordings.

In the following article, we will stick to artists and groups classified as progressive rock. Among the classic and best-known artists and groups in the 1960s/70s, we find these recordings:

Moody Blues (UK)

On their 1967 album Days of Future Passed, they included a song based on Tolkien’s literature, “Tuesday Afternoon,” also known as “Forever Afternoon (Tuesday?)” (08:23)

Bo Hansson (Sweden)

On the 1970 album Sagan om Ringen (Music Inspired by Lord of the Rings) includes the song “The Black Riders & Flight To The Ford” (04:08).

Likewise, Bo Hansson included the song “Elidor” (01:34) in his 1973 album Magician’s Hat.

Argent (U.K.)

The British band Argent enclosed the song “Lothlórien” (07:53) on their 1971 album Ring Of Hands.

Barclay James Harvest (U.K.)

Pioneering band Barclay James Harvest incorporated the song “Galadriel” (03:15) on their 1971 album Once Again.

Jade Warrior (U.K.)

British band Jade Warrior released “Barazinbar” (14:50) in 1971 that appeared on their album Released.

Premiata Forneria Marconi (Italy)

In the magnificent work Storia Di Un Minuto (1972), P.F.M., the rock progresivo italiano masters bequeathed us the majestic piece “La Carroza Di Hans” (06:46).

Improved Sound Limited (Germany)

German Kraut-rock band Improved Sound Limited released Catch A Singing Bird On The Road in 1973. The album includes the song “The Dark Lord” (03:38).

Camel (U.K.)

On 1974’s Mirage (1974) Camel gave us the priceless suite “Nimrodel/The Procession/The White Rider” (09:19).

Mirthrandir (U.S.A.)

Mirthrandir released For You The Old Women in 1976. It features the song: “Light Of The Candle” (04:23).

Jordi Sabatés

In Spain, the Tolkien phenomenon did not go unnoticed and the brilliant musician, sadly now deceased, Jordi Sabatés gave us the recording El Senyor Dels Anells in 1974. Highlights include the songs: “El Senyor Dels Anells” (The Lord of the Rings ) Parts 1 (06:35) and 2 (05:08).

Kandahar (Belgium)

Belgium’s Kandahar album Long Live The Sliced Ham (1974), features “The Hobbit” (03:05)

Rush (Canada)

On Rush’s Fly By Night (1975) they performed the wonderful song “Rivendell” (05:00)

And on the Caress Of Steel (1975) album, Rush featured the song: “The Necromancer” (12:37)

Les Séguin (Canada)

Progressive folk band Les Séguin released Festin d’Amour in 1976. They included the song “Dialogue avec Galadriel” (“Dialogue with Galadriel”) (07:23)

Shadowfax (USA)

The most progressive rock work by American band Shadowfax was Watercourse Way released in 1976, The album enclosed the song “Watercourse Way” (05:14)

John Lees (UK)

John Lees, a member of the group Barclay James Harvest, released a work titled Major Fancy in 1977, which included the song “Long Ships” (05:20)

Madrugada (Italy)

Italian artists and groups are also no strangers to this type of literature. Madrugada features the song “Hobbit” (06:07) in their work Incastro from 1977.

Plamp (Switzerland)

Swiss outfit Plamp rolled out Und Überhaupt in 1978. The album included “Arwen” (10:06).

Grobschnitt (Germany)

Grobschnitt included a song with a very explicit title “Merry-Go-Round” in their 1979 album Merry-Go-Round (06:18)

To be continued…