After Crying-After Crying 6 (1997)

This is one of those "weird" bands that are too progressive for mainstream rock fans and too strange for progressive rock fans. After Crying makes prog rock so complex and inaccessible to the average listener that it's difficult to find a middle ground in their music, at least without giving their albums many careful listens. One of their main attractions is precisely their refusal to get stuck in a defined style, so they are constantly experimenting with new ideas and reconfiguring their sound. This Hungarian band was formed in the mid-eighties and was still active in 2017. It comprises a group of musicians who use all kinds of instruments, almost all of them members of the Brussels Symphony Orchestra. With such a varied style, it's no wonder that their extensive discography is full of albums of different kinds, some more conservative and others more experimental. However, their main influences are 70s progressive rock, folk, classical music, pop, and almost every other genre. Their first album was released in 1990, and far from being symphonic, it's more of an avant-garde record. The lack of a consistent melody is the defining characteristic of this release. The eclectic use of themes gives it a more avant-garde than symphonic feel. In 1997, they released "After Crying 6", one of their more "accessible" works, featuring elements of jazz, powerful drums, pastoral passages, sinister vocals, and sublime keyboards in the purest Keith Emerson style. Although they still sound eccentric, their music becomes more melodic and even addictive in certain parts of the album. They also have more conventional progressive rock albums like "Struggle For Life" (2000) and "Show" (2003).

Toto-Kingdom Of Desire (1992)

The eighth album by Californian band Toto, titled “Kingdom of Desire”, marked a radical departure from their previous work, shifting their usual melodic rock style towards a more forceful and powerful form of hard rock. On this release, Steve Lukather took over vocal duties, adding his unmistakable guitar style with a more aggressive edge to his riffs. The departure of keyboardist Steve Porcaro left David Paich as the band's sole keyboardist, while the core lineup of bassist Mike Porcaro and drummer Jeff Porcaro remained. Although the album's overall tone is hard rock, as demonstrated by the dense tracks "Gypsy Train", "How Many Times", "Wings of Time", and "Never Again", it also features mid-tempo tracks such as the funk-infused "She Knows The Devil", the pop-rock "Kick Down The Walls", the melodic "The Other Side", and the jazz-rock "Jake to the Bone".

John Denver-An Evening With John Denver (1975)

In 1975, John Denver was at the peak of his career. Since his third album, "Poems, Prayers & Primises" (1971), this legendary singer had been a fixture on the folk and country charts, and all his releases had achieved gold or platinum status. With the success of previous albums ("Rocky Mountain High" and "Farewell Andromeda"), Denver had gained the confidence to believe in his own compositions great acoustic songs born from his days of solitude in the open spaces of the Colorado mountains, where he often lived. On "Back Home Again" (1974), John Denver offered a series of highly inspired, joyful, and lyrically ingenious songs, with arrangements that were instrumentally executed beautifully by his band, skillfully blending folk with touches of country. His backing band at that time consisted of excellent musicians such as drummer Jim Gordon, harmonica player Hal Blaine, pianist Glenn Hardin, and bassist David Jackson, among others. Among the 12 songs on this album, the humorous “Grandman’s Feather Bed”, the moving “Matthew”, and the cheerful “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” stand out. However, it would be the song dedicated to his wife Annie, “Annie’s Songs”, a tearful ballad that would become one of his best compositions. For the second side of the album, Denver gave us another series of great tracks such as the melodic “Cool an’ Green an’ Shady”, the gentle “Sweet Surrender”, and the melancholic “This Old Guitar”. That same year, 1975, saw the release of the double live album "An Evening With John Denver", recorded live at the California Universal Amphitheatre on the night of August 26, 1974. Featuring a full orchestral accompaniment, John Denver was in top form, perfectly blending light pop with folk and subtle country sounds. This would become his biggest commercial success and also one of his masterpieces, a double album that offers an excellent retrospective of the best of his career up to that point, including "Farewell Andromeda (Welcome to My Morning)", "Rocky Mountain Suite", "Take Me Home", and "Take Me Home, Country Roads".

Lynyrd Skynyrd-One More From The Road (1976)

Lynyrd Skynyrd's "One More From The Road" is another of those legendary double live albums in rock history. Recorded entirely at the Fabulous Fox Theatre in Atlanta in July 1976, it faithfully documents the Jacksonville band at the height of their popularity. By the time this album was released, Lynyrd Skynyrd had already put out four superb studio albums and even had three successful singles on the Billboard charts: "Sweet Home Alabama", "Free Bird", and "Saturday Night Special". These tireless troubadours of the road earned a vast legion of loyal fans across the United States, elevating them to the status of an iconic and media-savvy band. With a style that borrowed from the Southern rock of The Allman Brothers, fused with subtle doses of gospel, the swampy sound of Creedence Clearwater Revival, the unabashed blues of the Rolling Stones, and the hard rock of Steppenwolf, Lynyrd Skynyrd managed to create a unique and accessible melodic rock. At that time, they had to contend with giants like Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Gran Funk, Foghat, Aerosmith, and Blue Öyster Cult, among many others, all of whom featured a strong emphasis on guitars. However, thanks to their talent, drive, and determination, Lynyrd Skynyrd emerged victorious. "One More From The Road" is the sonic confirmation of their explosive live performances, their energetic shows, with an overwhelming sound that absorbs sweat and enthusiasm, featuring guitar jams, beautiful piano passages, and captivating choruses that permeate this live recording. From the raw and energetic ode of "Workin' For MCA", the somber feeling of "Tuesday's Gone", the fun Southern groove of "Gimme Three Steps", the greasy rock of "Whisky Rock 'n' Roller", and the scorching covers of Robert Johnson's "Crossroads" and J.J. Cale's "Call Me The Breeze", Lynyrd Skynyrd devour them all with ferocious hunger. To culminate the album, the band vibrantly tackles the classics "Free Bird", "Sweet Home Alabama", and "Saturday Night Special", leaving us with an absolutely incredible and masterful live performance. The album's reception was phenomenal, earning triple platinum certification almost ten years later. A year later, fate struck the band with tragedy; On October 20th, singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, and singer Cassie Gaines died in a tragic plane crash, while the surviving members were seriously injured. Some time later, and despite these horrific losses, the band continued recording albums and performing massive concerts across the United States, a practice that continues practically to this day. “One More From The Road” represents the golden age of this unsurpassed and legendary Southern rock band.

Steely Dan-Aja (1977)

Steely Dan's sixth album, "Aja", was the New York band's most meticulous work to date, both in its recording process and sophistication, and in the elegance of its compositions and the astonishing arrangements created by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. The recording sessions took nearly a year to complete, involving a vast array of musicians, all among the cream of the crop of American music, in various studios located in New York, Burbank, and Los Angeles, throughout much of 1976 and 1977. This impressive lineup included Larry Carlton, Victor Feldman, Tom Scott, Joe Sample, Rick Marotta, Steve Khan, Michael McDonald, Paul Griffin, Steve Gadd, Timothy B. Schmit, and Jim Kelner. Heavily influenced by funk, jazz, and rock, its grooves contain a series of addictive and catchy songs, astonishingly complex yet remarkably accessible. Tracks like "Black Cow", "Aja", "Deacon Blue", "Peg" or "Josie", summarized a refined album, which became the pinnacle of the band, managing to reach the top positions on the charts on both sides of the Atlantic and four platinum records for its sales.

The Electric Prunes-Mass In F Minor (1968)

In the field of experimentation, Electric Prunes played a decisive role in the second half of the 1960s. Their albums, brimming with energetic sonic intensity, were probably one of the precursors to underground and progressive rock, opening new musical avenues for the groups that later made the definitive leap into avant-garde sounds. Formed in Los Angeles in 1965, they left behind an interesting and ambitious collection of great albums worthy of study, such as "The Electric Prunes" (1967), their first album, which served as the basis for their next album, "Underground", their second LP, whose title already hinted at the group's musical direction. On "Underground" (1967), the group's growing psychedelic and experimental vision was evident, though it would ultimately go unnoticed by the general public. In this album, "Underground" (1967), the group's growing psychedelic and experimental vision was evident, though it would go largely unnoticed by the general public. "Mass In F Minor", their third album, was even more experimental, a concept album closer to a rock mass than a conventional rock record, and to make matters even more complex, it was sung in Latin. This unreleased, misunderstood, and unusual work nearly led to the band's breakup. However, in 1968, they released their next album, "Release Of An Oath", which, continuing in the same vein as its predecessor, didn't achieve much commercial success, but curiously, it was immortalized in the famous film "Easy Rider" thanks to the track "Kyrie Eleison", "Just Old Good Rock and Roll" was the epitaph for Electric Prunes, who, despite returning to their original sound, were another complete commercial failure. Years later the band would reunite for some concerts and several compilations and live recordings from their heyday were released, such as the magnificent "Stockholm 67" recorded in 1967 during a European tour, released more than 30 years later, in a historic recording considered one of the best live shows of the psychedelic era.

Dead Can Dance-The Serpent´s Egg (1988)

By the time the Australian band Dead Can Dance released their fourth album, their style had radically evolved from the dark, gothic sound of their early work to a much more ambient sound with ethnic and medieval influences. Formed in Melbourne in the early 1980s, the band consisted primarily of two musicians, Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry, who had already explored the sounds of dark post-punk with a gothic rock sensibility on albums such as their self-titled debut, "Spleen and Ideal" (1985), and its follow-up, "Within the Realm of a Dying Sun" (1987). With "The Serpent's Egg" (1988), the band completely abandoned classic pop and rock instrumentation in favor of elements from other musical cultures, mostly ethnic, but without abandoning synthesizers and keyboards. However, despite the disappearance of wind instruments, the band manages to achieve a colossal dimension with this work full of drama and, to some extent, bitterness with dark resonances, as reflected in tracks like the funereal "Severance", the hypnotic "Chant of the Paladin", or the complex "Ullyses".

Modrý Efekt-Svět Hledačů (1979)

Modrý Efekt is one of the most important bands from the former Czechoslovakia. Formed in 1968 and disbanded in 1990, they reunited in 2004 and remained active until 2016. Originally called Blue Effect, they had to change their name to Modrý Efekt due to pressure from the Czech communist government, which strongly disapproved of English names at the time. Founded around guitarist Radim Hladik, the band also included Lesek Semelka on keyboards and vocals, Oldřich Veselý on keyboards, and drummer Vladimir Cech. In 1979, they released their sixth album, "Svet Hledacu", considered the group's most progressive work alongside its predecessor, "Svitanie" (1977). Their style was a blend of symphonic rock and jazz fusion, emphasizing the work of guitarist Hladik (considered the best Czech guitarist), with intricate rhythm changes, emphasizing synthesizers with ethereal sounds, and guitars. Their style sometimes recalls groups like Yes due to its complex compositions, but without reaching the heights of the British band's excellence.