Stray-Saturday Morning Pictures (1972)

Stray were a legendary British hard rock band from the early 1970s. Formed in the mid-1960s in London by singer and guitarist Steve Gadd, who, along with bassist Gary Giles, drummer Ritchie Cole, and guitarist Del Bromham, earned respect within the London blues rock scene. Thanks to their incendiary live shows, they secured a contract with Transatlantic Records, with whom they released their self-titled debut in 1970, an exuberant, guitar-driven album with progressive influences. On "Suicide", released a year later, they achieved better production, and although it lacked the raw power of their first work, they created a formidable progressive hard rock album brimming with the sounds of the Mellotron and Hammond organ. On "Saturday Morning Pictures" (1972), the album we're discussing here, the band placed much greater emphasis on composition and arrangements, with a more prominent role for synthesizers, resulting in their most progressive and melodic work. Tracks like the ambitious "Move That Wigwam", the shimmering hard rock "Our Song" and "Leave It Out", the melodic "Queen of the Sea", and the complex "How Could I Forget You" brought their first era to a close with a superb album of great British hard rock.

Ultra-Ultra (1975)

Ultra is considered an institution in San Antonio, Texas. Their explosive blend of Southern rock and hard rock propelled them to legendary status in those Texan lands. Formed in the mid-70s, their lineup consisted of guitarists Galen Niles and Larry McGuffin, vocalist Don Evans, drummer Tom Schleuning, and bassist Scott Stephens. For years, this group built a strong reputation as the opening act for many iconic bands performing in San Antonio and throughout Texas. In 1975, they recorded a five-track mini-LP showcasing their powerful hard rock, replete with magnificent twin-guitar riffs with that gritty sound and extended, outstanding solos, backed by a devastating rhythm section and an energetic, powerful voice. Unfortunately, they barely had the opportunity to officially record a full-length album, beyond this promotional mini-album with a limited run and little promotional impact, mainly due to the enormous amount of competition within the southern rock genre at that time. Years later, Monster & Rockadrome Records did them justice by reissuing this mini-LP on CD, plus additional songs the band had recorded for a later album that was never released. The original mini-album featured outstanding tracks, including "Mustants", "Android", "Battery", "Ten Years Since", and "Lamp Black, White Flight", all excellent examples of their extraordinary Texas hard rock.

Mostly Autumn-For All We Shared (1998)

From the ashes of a Pink Floyd cover band, Mostly Autumn emerged in the mid-90s, an eclectic group drawing on a wide range of influences, from Irish folk to melodic rock, hard rock, and progressive rock. Hailing from the British city of York, the band's driving force is guitarist and singer Bryan Josh, who, along with singer and acoustic guitarist Heather Findlay, guitarist Liam Davison, drummer Allan Scott, bassist Stuart Carver, keyboardist Iain Jennings, violinist Bob Faulds, and traditional instrumentalist Kev Gibbons, released their debut album in 1998. This first release showcases a rich fusion of avant-garde elements influenced by Pink Floyd and Jethro Tull, framed by Celtic atmospheres and Heather Findlay's sensual vocals. Replete with melancholic and pastoral songs, creating challenging musical environments with large doses of folk, where violins, flutes, bagpipes and other traditional instruments are the perfect counterpoint to the electrifying guitars and the subtle structures of symphonic rock.

Jethro Tull-The Broadsword and The Beast (1982)

Framing in the most techno era of the band, which included in addition to this "The Broadsword and the Beast", the album "A" and the later "Under Wraps", it would be a work where the wise mix of hard rock with the sounds of very avant-garde synthesizers, a risky but effective gamble by Ian Anderson.
Without being a concept album to use, the theme of the album leads us to Viking mythologies and Tolkien's tales with acoustic guitars and flutes taking a leading role, combining commerciality with the quality of the songs introduced here.
From the vigorous "Beastie" to the epic "Broadsword", passing through superb songs like "Pussy Willow", the intense "Clasp" or the extravagant "Watching Me Watching You" show an album as forceful as it is commercial that, however, was something despised by his most purist fans.

Jefferson Airplane-After Bathing at Baxter's (1967)

The third album of the Jefferson Airplane would mean their most psychedelic work, where they did a great exercise in reflection compared to their enormous and superb "Surrealistic Pillow", without giving the least importance to the fact that it meant a less commercial album.
An album that is full of complex themes and a great diversity of nuances, with melodies that contain a series of diverse and in some cases chaotic sounds.
As proof of this is "The Ballad Of You & Me  Pooneil" which is the perfect demonstration of how surprising this complex but great album is.