Sebastian Hardie-Four Moments (1975)

This Australian band pioneered the progressive rock genre in their country and was originally called the Sebastian Hardie Blues Band. Founded in 1967, the band underwent several lineup changes over the years until well into the 1970s, when the classic lineup emerged, consisting of vocalist and guitarist Mario Millo, keyboardist Toivo Pilt, drummer Alex Plavsic, and his brother, bassist Peter Plavsic. In 1975, under the Mercury label, they released their debut album, "Four Moments", by which time they had adopted the definitive name Sebastian Hardie. On this debut album, the band makes no secret of their strong influence from the British band Yes, with a greater emphasis on Mellotron keyboards than those typically used by Rick Wakeman. The vocals are also prominent, featuring deep and powerful tones. The first side of the album focuses on vibrant sounds with funky undertones and expansive instrumental passages in "Glories Shall Be Released" and "Dawn of Our Sun", while "Journey Through Our Dreams" is much more atmospheric, featuring outstanding guitars and frenetic rhythmic shifts. The beautiful instrumental "Rosanna" serves as a prelude to "Opening", which closes the album with excellent interplay between the four band members in a superb mini-suite of progressive rock in the purest style of classic Camel. "Four Moments" was a great success, and the track "Rosanna" won an award for best instrumental single. Their next album, "Windchase", was released in 1976, and both albums are considered by critics to be progressive rock classics, particularly within the Australian symphonic rock scene. Shortly after the release of their second album, the band broke up. Millo and Pilt adopted the name Windchase and released an album. "Symphinity" in 1977, which stayed close to the sound of Sebastian Hardie, but did not find the same success or recognition as that of his parent band.