Edgar Broughton Band-Wasa Wasa (1969)

The Edgar Broughton Band was one of the most original and, at the same time, underrated British bands of the late 1960s. Formed in the British town of Warwick, south of Coventry, they began as a blues band, starting out playing in small local clubs. After settling in London, they secured a contract with Blackhill Enterprise, who put them in touch with Harvest Records, the progressive rock division of EMI Records. After recording a promising single, they released their first album, "Wasa Wasa", which, released in 1969, would be one of the many records that year that raised the bar for progressive rock to new heights. On this debut album, the band consisted of the Broughton brothers: Edgar on guitar and vocals, Steve on drums, and Arthur Grant on bass and vocals. On "Wasa Wasa", the band showcased a very dark progressive style, as demonstrated in the brooding "Death of an Electric Citizen" and the iconic "American Boy Soldier", one of the most powerful anti-war songs against the Vietnam War ever recorded by a British band. The relentless and depressing tone continues with the desolate "Why Can't Somebody Love Me", "Evil", "Crying", and the tremendously complex and challenging "Dawn Crept Away". The final result of this album is one of the most challenging ever composed in England, while simultaneously being one of the most impressive debuts, brimming with powerful vocals and musically ingenious and memorable. After a continuation of their previous sound, "Sing Brother Sing", with a more climate-focused theme, which includes the politically incorrect "Aphrodite", came their third album, and undoubtedly their magnum opus, "The Meat Album" (1971). In this third installment, the band displays a progressive tour de force from beginning to end, from the initial, pulsating and apocalyptic “Evening Over Rooftops”, followed by a repertoire full of songs ranging from blues rock to country rock or approaches to progressive folk, all of them superimposed by Edgar's rough and powerful voice, with an ironic and penetrating wit throughout all his sharp lyrics.