Pretty Maids-Future World (1987)

"Future World" was the second album by the Danish band Pretty Maids, the work that opened the American market for them and, along with their debut "Red, Hot and Heavy", is considered their two best contributions to hard rock and heavy metal, as well as their most successful albums. Released in 1987, three years after their debut, Pretty Maids steered their style towards an Americanized sound with catchy choruses, powerful and sharp guitars, which, along with the interplay of keyboards, placed them among the best heavy metal albums of the late eighties. Tracks like the superb "Needles in the Dark" and "Loud 'n' Proud" alternate with more melodic songs such as "Eye of the Storm" and "Long Way Go", clear AOR tracks like "Rodeo", and epic heavy ballads like "Yellow Rain". From here the band would release great albums such as the following "Jump The Gun" (1990), where they had the collaboration of Roger Glover in the production, which would be a massive success in Japan or the laborious "Pandemonium" (2010), with which they managed to make a truly enviable album of great heavy metal.

Duncan Mackay-Chimera (1974)

Unjustly and sadly forgotten, Duncan Mackay is a British keyboardist who recorded several high-quality symphonic progressive rock albums and also participated in significant works by Camel and Steve Harley & Cockney Rabel. His origins lie in 1967 when he finished his studies at Shrewsbury School in Shropshire, in the west of England. There he graduated in violin and was soon nominated as the most promising violinist in the UK. However, he soon switched from that instrument to keyboards, with which he also achieved great renown. In 1970, he was invited to join the band of Brazilian jazz pianist Sergio Mendes. In 1974, Mackay secured a contract with Vertigo Records for his first and best work, "Chimera", a debut album that showcased his most notable influences: the sounds of ELP and The Nice, with outstanding Hammond organ playing that permeated his music. Composed of three extensive suites, "Chimera" began with the epic "Morpheus", in which the keyboardist showcases his impressive vocal abilities in a cheerful and rhythmic piece with harsher, more visceral moments, featuring passages that lean towards jazz and even pop. The progressive "12 Tone Nostalgia" is a brilliant composition dominated by muscular Hammond organ sounds, while the mammoth "Song For Witches" is a memorable suite of progressive passages in the purest style of early ELP works, with psychedelic and enigmatic sounds. Three years later, Mackay released his next work, "Score", another formidable exercise in progressive rock, but from then on his subsequent releases were of lesser scope, dedicating his later career to collaborating with groups such as The Alan Parsons Project, Budgie, and Camel, where he contributed his extraordinary keyboard sounds to the legendary album "Nude". "Chimera" is one of the hidden gems of progressive rock that has gone completely unnoticed amidst so many masterpieces from more media-savvy and established contemporary groups and artists.

Pink Floyd-The Division Bell (1994)

“The Division Bell” would be Pink Floyd's last studio album and arguably their best post-Waters era record. It's a work of massive guitars, highly complex, and attempts to emulate the style of their 1970s albums, but without the psychedelic undertones and the oppressive emotional themes of that period, and certainly without their experimental facets. Even so, it's a very atmospheric album, with more instrumentation than usual, where Rick Wright becomes an integral part of the band, his presence taking on the prominence it had in “The Wall”.

This would be the band's fourteenth album and the second without Roger Waters, and here we must pause and provide some background before continuing. After “The Final Cut”, Roger Waters unilaterally ended the Pink Floyd project at a massive press conference. However, the three remaining members disagreed and continued with the project.

Some time later, they returned with the album “A Momentary Lapse of Reason” (1987), a work sarcastically and implicitly directed at Waters. From this point on, Waters broke with EMI and CBS (his record labels for Europe and the United States) and initiated legal action to prevent his former bandmates from using the name and trademark "Pink Floyd". After nearly a year of back-and-forth statements from both sides, Waters relented and released himself from his contractual obligations, while Gilmour and Mason were allowed to continue with the band and its original name. By the time this album was released, significant tensions still existed between Waters, Gilmour, Mason, and Wright, and in a way, this album, among other things, revolves around that theme.

The main theme here focuses on communication, and this is the central focus, emphasizing the importance of communicating with others, and in a kind of subtle nod, specifically to Roger Waters's inability to communicate with the band members. According to David Gilmour, and to put it diplomatically, the album title refers to the bell used in the British Parliament during voting to signal the two parliamentary factions were divided. The album places the names of those two factions on Waters and the remaining members of Pink Floyd.

The concept sadly (and ironically) revolves around "Roger, you must contact us at the right time, and you must do it now," contradicting statements made by the former frontman, who always maintained that the other members refused to reach an amicable agreement. In many ways, the album sounds like a tribute to Waters and the almost biblical, war of words and legal battles he waged.

Musically, the album as a whole was truly magnificent, with a stunning sound and exquisite production, as one would expect from a band of Pink Floyd's stature. Standout tracks include the timeless "Cluster One" with its masterful atmosphere, the jazzy and expansive "Wearing the Inside Out", the bluesy progressive "Coming Back to Life", the rhythmic "Keep Talking", and the enormous and complex "High Hopes".

Sweet-Level Headed (1978)

In 1974, Sweet, one of the leading glam rock bands, underwent its first major shift, changing production teams and deciding to focus on the North American market, which, despite countless successes in Great Britain and Europe, had still eluded them. This change paid off with the hit "Fox On The Run", which reached number 2 in Great Britain and a surprising number 5 in the United States. After a long tour of America, they decided to relocate there and record their most musically ambitious album, "Off The Record". Fueled by their worldwide popularity, the band embarked on numerous tours of Europe, Japan, and even the Far East, achieving unprecedented box office success in the London band's career. Amidst this whirlwind of success, in 1978 they released their sixth album, "Level Headed", where they demonstrated their complete departure from the aggressive sounds of their glam and heavy rock, definitively embracing a melodic and eclectic rock style. Tracks like "Love Is Like Oxygen", with its distinctly pomp rock feel, which conquered charts worldwide, contrasted with others closer to the Californian sound, such as "Silverbird" and "California Nights", the funk rock of "Strong Love", the addictive ballads of "Dream On", and forays into avant-garde rock with the surprising "Air On A Tape Loop". Despite this stylistic diversity, the album received a modest reception on the charts, which precipitated the departure of their vocalist, Brian Connolly, thus ending Sweet's golden era and becoming one of the most cherished memories in rock music.

Al Kooper with Shuggie Otis-Kooper Session (1970)

Two years after the album "Super Session", Al Kooper set out to record another jam session, this time with guitarist Shuggie Otis, the son of the legendary Johnny Otis, who was only 15 years old at the time. For this occasion, bassist Stu Woods, drummer Wells Kelly, and pianist Mark Klingman formed the backing band for Kooper and Shuggie. The gospel and soul duo "The Hilda Harris & Albertine Robinson Singers" also participated. In this new release, Al Kooper expanded his sound, incorporating not only blues but also subtle soul and gospel influences, as in the opening track "Bury My Body". "Shuggie's Shuffle" showcases the instrumental duality of the two musicians, while "12:15 Goonbash Blues" is an extended jam of hypnotic blues rock where Otis demonstrates his enormous talent on the six-string.