Sweet Smoke-Just A Poke (1970)

Just as happened with other bands like Nektar or Barclay James Harvest, who had to emigrate from England to Germany to achieve mainstream success, Sweet Smoke moved to Germany to gain widespread recognition. Sweet Smoke was founded in the United States in the late 1960s by a group of young musicians based in New York: Andy Dershin on bass, Jay Dorfman on drums, Marvin Kaminowitz on vocals and guitar, Michael Paris on saxophone and vocals, and Steve Rosenstein on guitar. Their style was one of the loosest and most elaborate in psychedelic rock. Their first album, "Just A Poke", was released by the German subsidiary Columbia in 1970. It contained only two tracks, one on each side of the LP. The tracks were "Baby Night" on side A and "Silly Sally" on side B; however, due to a manufacturing error, they were pressed in that order. Both tracks exceed 16 minutes in length. The first, "Silly Sally", is a kind of psychedelic jam with a medieval-sounding, jazzy opening and a prominent flute, gradually building to an extended jam with guitar riffs and a powerful, frenetic, acid-tinged rhythm section. "Baby Night", on the other hand, is dominated by groove and blues sounds, featuring a great drum solo, various percussion elements, and powerful guitar riffs and wind instruments. Due to their location, where they first gained recognition, this band was categorized within the Krautrock genre; however, they never sounded like that German movement, primarily due to the absence of keyboards, with guitars and wind instruments dominating Sweet Smoke's music. Some time later they would release two more albums "Darkness To Light" (1973) and "Live" (1974), before finally disbanding, eventually returning to the United States in the mid-1970s.

SBB-The Rock (2007)

After beginning their long journey in the early 1970s, the Polish group SBB released their first album in 1975, followed by a long succession of albums (ten in total) well into the 1980s. After that, there was a hiatus of more than 20 years before they returned with a new album in 2002, "Nástroje". By the time of its release, the band had changed drummers; Paul Wertico, formerly of the Pat Metheny Group, replaced Jerzy Piotrowski, while Józef Skrzek and Anthimos Apostolis remained the core members of SBB. Following another recording, "New Century" (2005), the group returned to the studio to record "The Rock", released several years later. This album featured a different drummer, Gabor Nemeth. "The Rock" lives up to its title, showcasing a solid style that ranges from hard rock to prog rock with neo-progressive influences. Tracks like the heavy rock anthems "Skala" and "Zug A Zene Mindenhol" demonstrate that the band has moved beyond its purely progressive past, while the reflective and atmospheric "Płonące myśli", the ethereal "In Heaven and Hell", the sober "My Paradise", and the subtle, Celtic-influenced "Pielgrzym" make up one of the most powerful works from this legendary Polish band.

The 5Th Dimension-The Age Of Aquarius (1969)

The 5th Dimension are considered one of the most formidable vocal groups in history. They achieved around twenty hits on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1966 and 1976, with the distinction that their style was more closely related to the flower power movement than to the Motown sound (all of its members were African American). Their lineup consisted of singers Billy Davis Jr., Florence LaRue, Marilyn McCoo, Lamonte McLemore, and Ron Townson, while the backing band featured guitarists Mike Deasey, Bill Fulton, and Tommy Tedesco, drummer Hal Blaine, bassist Joe Osborn, and keyboardist Pete Jolly, among other prominent session musicians from the Los Angeles area. Their captivating voices, upbeat and relaxed pop, and great compositions written by people like Jimmy Webb, Gene Raskin, and Laura Nyron propelled them to the pinnacle of the quintessential hippie genre of the late sixties, thanks to major hits such as “Go Where You Wanna Go” (1966), “Up-Up and Away” (1967), “Ticket To Ride” (1967), “Stoned Soul Picnic” (1968), “California Soul” (1968), “Weeding Bell Blues” (1969), and “Medley: Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)” (1969). The latter, a cover of the song from the musical Hair, which would catapult them to worldwide stardom, was included on their fourth album, “The Age Of Aquarius”, achieving tremendous success on the world charts and earning them two Grammy Awards. This album also featured an irresistible collection of songs, all of them covers, such as “Blowin’ ”, “Away”, “Workin’ On a Groovy Thing”, “Those Were The Days”, “Sunshine Of Your Love”, “Let It Be Me” or “Wedding Bell Blues”, performed with those fascinating voices, supported by intoxicating instrumentation and bathed in attractive winds, the only hint of soul that brought them closer to their black origins.

Whitesnake-Trouble (1978)

With the first breakup of Deep Purple, the so-called "Purple Saga" emerged, comprised of the bands led by Ritchie Blackmore and Rainbow, the one led by Ian Gillan and his Ian Gillan Band, and the one David Coverdale would form with Whitesnake. All three were tremendously popular in the late seventies, although it was the latter that enjoyed much greater continuity and commercial success. In 1977, David Coverdale released a four-song EP titled "White Snake" under the name David Coverdale Band. This band included, in addition to the vocalist, his former Purple bandmate Roger Glover, guitarist Micky Moody, and drummer Simon Phillips. This EP already featured two of his classic tracks, "Come On" and "Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City", although these were rather rudimentary versions compared to the arrangements that would later be added. “Trouble”, released a year later, is officially considered Whitesnake’s first album. The band was almost entirely reformed with the addition of former Deep Purple member Jon Lord (keyboards), Bernie Marsden (guitar), Neil Murray (bass), and Dave Dowle (drums), in addition to Coverdale (vocals) and Micky Moody (guitar). On this debut, the band showcased the sound that would define them for much of their career: hard blues rock and boogie rock that established them as one of the leading acts in the genre during the late 1970s. Among its tracks, the energetic and seductive “Take Me with You”, the dynamic “Love To Keep You Warm”, and the vintage, Deep Purple-infused “Nighthawk (Vampire Blues)” and “The Time Is Right For Love” stand out, not forgetting the powerful “Don’t Mess With Me” or the exceptional “Belgian Tom’s Hat Trick”.

Bull Angus-Bull Angus (1971)

Bull Angus was a hard rock and psychedelic blues band formed in Poughkeepsie, New York, in the late 1960s. Their lineup consisted of guitarists Larry LaFalce and Dino Paolillo, Geno Charles (drums), Frankie Previte (vocals, flute, and percussion), Ron Piccolo (keyboards), and Lenny Vendetti (bass). In 1971, they signed a contract with Mercury Records and, under the production of Vinniy Testa, recorded their debut album, which went largely unnoticed due to minimal promotion from their record label. A year later, they released "Free For All", which would serve as the epitaph for the brief but interesting career of this little-known American band. With a style akin to Grand Funk Railroad, Groundhogs, and Titanic, and bearing certain similarities to bands like Uriah Heep and Deep Purple, their sound was infused with heavy hard rock, blues, psychedelic music, and progressive influences. All these styles are perfectly represented on their first two albums, as demonstrated by the bluesy "Uncle Duggiés Fun Bus Ride", the southern rock "Miss Casey", the progressive hard rock tracks "A Time Like Ours" and "Pot of God", and the folk rock "Cry". With their second album, the band displayed an even more ambitious approach, as evidenced by tracks like "Loving Till End", which leans towards progressive folk, and the psychedelic "Train Woman Lee". Bull Angus is considered another of those cult bands, who despite the enormous quality of their two devastating and superb albums, passed without fanfare through the often unfair world of rock music and have become one of the most sought after by vinyl collectors and fans of proto-prog and early 70s hard rock.

The Chick Corea Elektric Band-The Chick Corea Elektric Band (1986)

Nearly ten years after Return to Forever's last album, Chick Corea founded a new band, almost identical to its predecessor but with new members, a new (and not so new) style of jazz, and a different approach to a genre in which he was a consummate master. It was the mid-eighties, and the Massachusetts-born pianist formed The Chick Corea Elektric Band with guitarist Scott Henderson, bassist John Patitucci, and drummer Dave Welck, releasing their self-titled album, "The Chick Corea Elektric Band", in 1986. This first album did not yet feature the more classic lineup that would later include Welck and Patitucci, as well as guitarist Frank Gambale and saxophonist Eric Marienthal, in addition to, of course, Chick Corea himself. Unlike the style of Return to Forever, this "electrified" version of the band didn't showcase the avant-garde jazz-rock sounds of RTF, although it did retain, to some extent, the experimentation so characteristic of almost all of Corea's work. On this debut, the Latin jazz track "Rumble" stood out, with Welck and Patitucci delivering superb work on the rhythm section while Corea emulated the style of Joe Zawinul. The jazz fusion "Cool Weasel Boogie", the jazz-rock "King Cockroach", the hypnotic "Side Walk", and the guitar-driven "Go Match?" featuring a Welck in top form, give way to the more solemn "India Town", with its exotic sounds and ambient synthesizer passages.

Styx-Paradise Theatre (1981)

Few bands today could record an album as conceptually well-executed as "Paradise Theatre", a product of the American band Styx, a group voted one of the 10 most popular bands in the world in 1981. Although many critics and fans argued that Styx were beginning to diversify their style towards more commercial levels during those years, it's also true that they still possessed an impressive ability to blend catchy and accessible sounds with complex and daring structures. And while the concept itself hints at a more progressive direction, the entire repertoire here is geared towards melodic rock with a high level of compositional and instrumental skill. The concept, somewhat reminiscent of Broadway, is literally based on the closure and demolition of the legendary Paradise Theatre, located on the west side of Chicago. The music contained here includes some of the most refined melodies composed by the duo of Dennis DeYoung and Tommy Shaw (vocals, keyboards, and vocals and guitar, respectively), who, along with the rest of the band brothers Chuck and John Panozzo (bass and drums) and James Young (guitar) closed their most glorious period with this album. Superb songs like the immortal "The Best Of Times", the powerful rocker "Rockin' The Paradise", the energetic danceable "Too Much Time On My Hands", the controversial "Snowblind", a daring track about cocaine addiction, and the outstanding "Lonely People" and "Nothing Ever Goes as Planned" place this album among the most remarkable releases in soft rock, achieving resounding success on charts worldwide.

Rainbow-Rising (1976)

Rainbow's second album, released almost a year after their debut, "Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow", is unanimously considered a masterpiece of hard rock, as well as a cornerstone upon which prog metal would later be built. 

Overflowing with stunning tracks, they are performed by a dream band comprised of Ritchie Blackmore, Ronnie James Dio, Tony Carey, Cozy Powell, and Jimmy Balin, under the production of Martin Birch. 

From the opening track, "Tarot Woman", with its hypnotic synth-driven introduction that then transforms into a crushing hard rock anthem, to the blistering "A Light in the Black", eight minutes of frenetic rhythms where Carey's keyboards and Powell's drums dispel any doubt about the instrumental prowess of both musicians, the album unfolds in an unparalleled and legendary fashion. 

The rest of the album is equally impressive, featuring the intriguing "Starstruck", the tour de force "Stargazer", and the catchy "Do You Close Your Eyes", all performed in a grandiose and even positively pretentious manner, with Blackmore delivering a stunning performance on guitar and Dio delivering an operatic and sublime vocal performance, confirming his status as one of the five greatest vocalists in the history of heavy metal and hard rock. "Rising" is undoubtedly one of the crown jewels of contemporary music and an essential addition to any serious rock collection.