Dog Soldier-Dog Soldier (1975)

Another of those hundreds of bands with a dark past was Dog Soldier, formed by the legendary drummer Keef Hartley in 1975 along with other talented musicians from the British blues and rock scene. It's certainly not easy to find a group with more collective experience than this band, which, in addition to Hartley, included singer and guitarist Miller Anderson (Jon Lord Blues Band, Savoy Brown, Keef Hartley Band, and Spencer Davis Group), bassist Paul Bliss (The Bliss Band and The David Essex Band), keyboardist Mel Simpson (Gerald Wilson & His Orchestra), and guitarist Derek Griffiths (Argent and Chuck Berry Band). However, despite the undeniable quality of the group, such collective talent resulted in a fleeting feeling that they could have achieved something far more brilliant with more continuity. All five members contributed to the compositions of this single album, which in some ways lent the group considerable musical diversity. Tracks of great blues rock such as the opening "Pillar To Post", the restrained rock songs "Several People" and "You Are My Spark", the tender country ballad "Long and Lonely Night", the catchy "Giving As Good You Get", the excellent and melodic "Thieves and Robbers" or the progressive blues "Looks Like Rain", surprise with their enormous quality, but unfortunately it did not serve to allow this band to continue exploring the talent of all its members with new releases and ended up falling into the immense obscurity of the short-lived groups of the late 60s and early 70s.

Genesis-Invisible Touch (1986)

"Invisible Touch" is Genesis' most commercially successful album, but at the same time, it's the most hated by their purist fans. Released during the peak of drummer and vocalist Phil Collins' career, the band somewhat follows his stylistic and musical path, veering towards pop-rock with the typical addictive clichés, yet still showcasing captivating melodies, as in "In Too Deep" and "Throwing It at All". On the other hand, Collins, Rutherford, and Banks don't completely abandon progressive numbers, as demonstrated by the sophisticated "Tonight Tonight Tonight" and the atmospheric "Domino". On the pop front, there's the title track, along with "Land of Confusion" and "Anything He Does", all featuring irresistible melodies (despite their obvious simplicity and commercial intent) that ended up doing well on radio stations around the world. In short, "Invisible Touch" is, for better or for worse, a good album with a pleasant musical flow that perfectly combines complex songs and pop, demonstrating Genesis's skillful use of the new songwriting styles of the 1980s. Numerous gold and platinum records and sales exceeding 15 million copies worldwide attest to this successful album.

Kravetz-Kravetz (1972)

A twist of fate transformed Frenchman Jean-Jacques Kravetz into one of the pioneers of German rock, or as it's commonly known, "krautrock". Having settled in Hamburg in the late 1960s at just 20 years old, this Parisian multi-instrumentalist forged a strong reputation within the burgeoning psychedelic music scene, becoming one of its leading figures. A few years later, he released his only solo album, a low-key effort with virtually no promotion, alongside legendary drummer Udo Linderberg and musicians Thomas Kretzschmer on guitar, bassist Carl Stepehan, and vocalist Inga Rumpf. On this album, Kravetz masterfully blends heavy, hazy organ sounds and synthesizers with sharp, precise electric guitars. This is demonstrated in the opening track “I’d Like To Be A Child Again” and the ethereal “Ann Toomuch”, while the experimental “Routes” adds a psychedelic and dark note to this work, which culminates in the progressive jazz “Master Of Time”, bringing to a close an album that would define one of the early sounds of krautrock. In the following years, Kravetz would become a full member of three of the greatest German rock bands: Frumpy, Kin Ping Meh, and Atlantis, producing excellent albums with all of them, including some of the classics of German rock and prog rock.

Flower Travellin´Band-Anywhere (1970)

In 1970, the Japanese band Flower Travellin' Band released their first album, "Anywhere", although they had previously released the album "Challenge", a collaboration with Yuya Uchida, in 1969. For this debut, the band opted for a more forceful and raw sound, infused with the prevailing psychedelia of the time and featuring a great deal of improvisation. Their style was heavily influenced by the hard rock of British bands of the era, such as Cream, Deep Purple, and Black Sabbath. The entire album consists of a series of covers, including the Birmingham group's "Black Sabbath", an acoustic version of The Animals' "House of the Rising Sun", Muddy Waters' lysergic "Louisiana Blues", and a visceral version of King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man". As with the cover of the aforementioned "Challenge", the group once again scandalized the puritanical Japanese society by appearing completely naked, this time on top of Harley Davidson motorcycles, something that transgressed the established norms in their country, making this cover an obscenity and a lack of respect for the vast majority of Japanese society, demonstrating with this fact that this radical group brazenly disregarded, without any ethics or shame, the established norms in Japanese culture.

Paul Rodgers-Now (1997)

Paul Rodgers' third solo album, "Now", comes from one of rock's greatest vocalists, who fronted legendary groups like Free and Bad Company and co-wrote the songwriting credits with Jimmy Page for the supergroup The Firm. Released in 1997, it followed Rodgers' tribute albums to Muddy Waters and Jimi Hendrix, "Muddy Waters Blues" and "The Hendrix Set", both released in 1993. After a period of extensive world tours, Rodgers had written enough material and assembled a solid band to record a new album, ironically titled "Now". The band consisted of guitarist Geoff Whitehorn, drummer Jim Copley, and bassist Jaz Lochrie. The first thing that strikes you about Paul Rodgers' third album is his excellent form. Vocally rejuvenated, he showcases his distinctive voice as it was in his golden era. Tracks like the powerful opening "Soul of Love" already demonstrate Eddie Kramer's superb production and the band's perfect cohesion. The rest of the album includes the bluesy "Overloaded", the vintage "Heart of Fire" (a nod to his past with Bad Company), the catchy "Saving Grace", the soulful blues "Love Is All I Need", and the sublime blues "I Lost It All". Together, they form an elegant album, expertly crafted with great feeling for the vocal excellence and superb instrumental performances, confirming the immense talent of one of the greatest voices in rock history.