Jeff Lynne´s ELO-Alone In The Universe (2015)

2015 was the year chosen for Jeff Lynne's return to recording, with the release of "Alone In The Universe", an album that was well-received by nostalgic fans of his original band, Electric Light Orchestra. With this work, Lynne's aim was simply to satisfy the cravings of his millions of fans, while also not seeking to recruit new ones; he merely wanted to release and record a series of songs he had composed in recent years. Lynne's solo career, aside from the aforementioned ELO and his numerous collaborations with other artists, has always been relatively unproductive, and one would have to go back fourteen years to the release of the album "Zoom", a more organic work that, to some extent, returned to his 70s style. This time, despite being credited as Jeff Lynne's ELO, it is actually a personal project, featuring no former members of his previous lineups, with Lynne playing all the instruments himself. Even so, songs like the title track and other cuts such as "When I Was A Boy", "Is It Alright", and "Dirty To The Bone" sound like traditional ELO, mainly due to the keyboard and guitar sounds. Others like "Ain't It A Drag", leave us with a taste of the Travelling Wilburys, another of Lynne's projects, while the rest retain the exquisite instrumental melodies and addictive vocal harmonies so characteristic of the iconic British musician and producer.

Electric Light Orchestra-Zoom (2001)

The Electric Light Orchestra, published in 2001, "Zoom" which was the first album published after "Balance of Power" fifteen years ago, thus re-floating the group after some fruitful years of its leader Jeff Lynne, who had participated in many projects during all that time.
With the collaboration of Richard Tandy, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, Lynne produces, composes, arranges, sings and plays virtually all instruments.
An album that is close to his post-ELO style, highlighting guitars and keyboards, especially in more rock songs like "Alright", "Meting In The Sun", "Easy Money" or "All She Wanted".
But there are also elegant orchestral passages that take us back to the best era of the band like "Ordinary Dream", "Moment In Paradise" or the sober "Strangers On A Quiet Street" or "A Long Time Love".

Electric Light Orchestra-Face The Music (1975)

As Electric Light Orchestra released more albums, their progressive rock style softened into an addictive, radio-friendly art-pop rock. While their first four albums established their timeless, symphonic sound, this fifth release from Jeff Lynne's band presents a collection of tracks focused on music more accessible to a wider audience, almost entirely abandoning their lengthy and complex compositions. The album opens with a kind of continuation of the final track from "Eldorado", the instrumental "Fire On High", an impressive symphonic overture that finds a perfect counterpoint in the simpler yet sublime "Strange Magic", the commercial "Evil Woman", and the captivating "Nightrider". Other compositions, such as the rocking "The Poker", the semi-ballad "One Summer Dream", and the melodic "Waterfall", make up an album considered by many to be fundamental in the British group's career. "Face The Music" marked the definitive step of Electric Light Orchestra towards mainstream and commercial paths, a fact that would be reaffirmed with their subsequent and multi-platinum albums "A New Word Record", "Out Of The Blue", "Discovery", "Time" and "Secret Messages".

Hawkwind-X In Search Of Space (1971)

"Hall of the Mountain Grill" was Hawkwind's fourth album and their first to fuse spacey sounds with the acid rock of their earlier work. Recorded during mid-1974 at Edmonton Sundwood Studios in London, it was produced by the renowned Roy Thomas Baker, a regular engineer for bands such as Free, Queen, Journey, Nazareth, and Foreigner, among many others. For this third release, keyboardist and violinist Simon House replaced Robert Calvert, while the rest of the band consisted of Dave Brock (guitar and keyboards), Nik Turner (saxophone, flute, and vocals), Lemmy Kilmister (bass and vocals), Simon King (drums and percussion), and Del Dettmar (keyboards). The new sound is evident in tracks like "The Psychedelic Warlords (Disappear in Smoke)", "D-Rider", and "Paradox", while the acid-tinged rock vein remains present in tracks like "You'd Better Believe It" and "Lost Johnny". However, the complete absence of Robert Calvert's science fiction and fantasy poetry interludes is noticeable. While these don't necessarily detract from the album's final result, they do lack the philosophical spark of his earlier work. Even so, as mentioned at the beginning, this album marked the beginning of a more ambient and progressive style, resulting in an admirable work of the best space rock of the 1970s.

Weather Report-Mysterious Traveller (1974)

In 1974, Weather Report released their fourth album, "Mysterious Traveller", which featured a couple of lineup changes from their previous work. These included new bassist Alphonso Johnson, replacing Miroslav Vitous, and new drummer Ishmael Wilburn, replacing Eric Gravatt. The rest of the lineup remained the same: Joe Zawinul (keyboards), Wayne Shorter (saxophone), and Don Um Romao (percussion). "Mysterious Traveller" showcases the band's signature jazz-rock sound, led by Zawinul, with funk and ethnic influences permeating much of their jazz and rock repertoire. Musically, they continued to display rich instrumentation, with an adventurous rhythm section, Shorter's melodic saxophone, and Zawinul's brilliant performances on electric piano, synthesizers, and organ. The monumental and energetic "Nubian Sundance" opens with synthesizer sounds and layered crowd noises, all underpinned by powerful percussion and African chants. This standout track is followed by other noteworthy moments such as the intriguing "Scarlet Woman", the spacious "Blackthorn Rose", and the funky "Cucumber Slumber". The rest of the album follows a similar stylistic pattern of jazz, rock, funk, and world music, including the festive "Jungle Book" and the experimental, atmospheric jazz of "Mysterious Traveller".

Gurnemanz-No Rays Of Noise (1977)

Gurnemanz were an incredible German band who, influenced by the progressive folk sounds of their British contemporaries Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span, and The Pentangle, enjoyed a commendable artistic career, releasing three amazing albums in the 1970s, highly praised by connoisseurs of semi-acoustic folk-rock. They formed in the early 1970s in the German city of Bergheim, when Lukas Wolfgang Scheel (guitar, vocals, mandolin, banjo, lute), Manuela Schmitz (vocals, percussion, and flute), Siegfried Bushuven (double bass), and Wolfgang Riedel (guitar, vocals, and harmonica) came together, along with frequent contributions from keyboardist Georg "Köbi" Köberlein and percussionist Bernie Schacht. Their first two purely acoustic works were released by EMI's German subsidiary label, Electrola: "Fair Margaret and Sweet William" (1972) and "Spielmannskinder" (1975). In 1977 came the band's epitaph, "No Rays of Noise". On this third album, Manuela Schmitz's beautiful voice, with its serene vocal line, fits perfectly into the pastoral and acoustic atmospheres with psychedelic undertones, poetic lyrics, and beautifully dreamlike hippie vibes, all underpinned by a rich and varied musicality featuring acoustic instruments such as mandolins, lutes, kazoos, harmonicas, and flutes.

Black Sabbath-Technical Ecstasy (1976)

In 1976, Black Sabbath were embroiled in a series of serious problems: drug and alcohol abuse, mismanagement by their manager, and, to top it all off, the love-hate relationship between some of its members (primarily Ozzy Osbourne and Tony Iommi) due to the musical direction they were supposedly taking. Amidst all this, they recorded one of their most controversial albums, "Technical Ecstasy", which would generate considerable controversy among fans and critics alike. Their seventh studio album was "Technical Ecstasy". By this point, the Birmingham-based group had set the bar quite high, having already produced some of the greatest heavy metal albums in the genre's history. Therefore, while "Technical Ecstasy" was a good album that, in the hands of any other band, would have been a masterpiece, coming from them, it ended up being somewhat mediocre and predictable. In this release, the quartet moves away from dark and gloomy heavy metal to offer a direct and forceful hard rock sound, although there are still moments that hark back to their past. These nods to their golden age are present in the corrosive and galloping "Back Street Kids" and "You Won't Change Me", while the rhythmic "Gypsy", the bluesy "All Moving Parts (Stand Still)", and the streetwise "Rock 'n' Roll Doctor", lack the heavy metal essence of yesteryear. On the other hand, they also have moments of brilliance with the engaging "It's Alright", the orchestrated "She's Gone", and the progressive hard rock track "Dirty Women", the latter undoubtedly the album's high point. Despite the tremendous criticism it received, especially from the British press, the album achieved gold status in the North American and British markets.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer-Love Beach (1978)

If we go back to the late 1970s, many of the great progressive rock bands were moving in a more commercial and accessible direction, as punk, disco, new heavy metal, AOR, and other new styles were in vogue. It was during these years that EL&P released their seventh and ultimately final album before disbanding until many years later when they would reunite. “Love Beach” is probably the weakest work in their entire discography, and although fans and critics fiercely panned it, it's also true that the British trio wasn't doing anything different from what other bands like Yes, Genesis, Jethro Tull, or Gentle Giant had already done. However, looking back, “Love Beach” isn't as mediocre as it was perceived to be in the past, although compared to their previous stellar albums, it's undoubtedly a step backward and in the wrong direction. Looking back, “Love Beach” still contains plenty of solid material, such as the enchanting progressive pop track “All I Want Is You”, where Greg Lake’s immeasurable vocals and Emerson’s magnificent symphonic keyboards shine. Another stellar moment is the dramatic and majestic “For You”, with Lake’s silky voice, Palmer’s intricate drum fills, and Emerson’s agile piano. The subdued grandiosity of “Taste of My Love” takes us back to the band’s early years, and “Canary” is a superb classical and progressive instrumental piece that allows all three members to showcase their considerable instrumental talents. The 20-minute epic “Memories of an Office and a Gentleman” is another progressive rock high point, featuring the sounds that, in the early 70s, led to millions of copies sold worldwide and placed them at the forefront of progressive rock. However, it was the mediocre tracks "The Gambler", an out-of-place blues pop number, and the saccharine "Love Beach" that partly tarnished its otherwise acceptable quality and precipitated the eventual breakup of the magnificent British trio. In conclusion, "Love Beach" isn't really as terrible as it was initially received, since roughly half the songs are quite good. While the inclusion of some generic pop tracks does detract from the final result, the album is still worthwhile for that handful of strong compositions that maintain the classic ELP sound. Perhaps it was the album cover, featuring the band standing on a Bahamian beach with their shirts open, that most alarmed everyone? It certainly wasn't the image we all expected from ELP, and perhaps it was one of the reasons (yet another) for the widespread criticism from their most ardent fans.

Temple-Temple (1976)

Temple was a short-lived band/project led by former Birth Control keyboardist Zeus B. Held, founded in the mid-seventies. The rest of the lineup consisted of Joachim Weiss (bass), Pauline Found (vocals), Otto Bretnacher (drums), Poseidon (vocals), and Heinz Kramer and Rolf Foller (guitars). Officially categorized as krautrock, Temple released their only album on the German label Pyramid in 1976, showcasing one of the most original musical movements within the German style, fusing gothic sounds with hard rock and progressive rock. It is undoubtedly the epic "Crazy Kat/Kingdom of Gabriel" that perfectly encapsulates Temple's dynamic style, with energetic passages interwoven with more subdued atmospheres and psychedelic elements. Other tracks like the opening "Leaves Are Falling/Black Light" showcase that somber gothic side, while the hard rock "Heathen" and the dark "Age Of Ages" make up an attractive album highly appreciated by fans of late German krautrock and the avant-garde European sounds of the mid-seventies.

Bad Company-Burnin´Sky (1977)

The career of the indomitable Bad Company left behind a trail of great classics in the form of generational rock anthems such as "Can't Get Enough", "Ready For Rock", "Rock Steady", "Sweet Lil' Sister", and "Good Lovin' Gone Bad", all of which cemented their status as one of the greatest exponents of hard rock worldwide. In 1977, the band, led by Paul Rodgers and Mick Ralphs, and backed by the formidable rhythm section of Boz Burrell and Simon Kirk, released their fourth album, "Burnin' Sky", showcasing their usual blues-rock sound but with a greater emphasis on the power and vigor of their repertoire. Ralphs's splendid guitar riffs, combined with the powerful bass and drumming of Burrell and Kirke, and adorned by Rodgers's prodigious vocals, result in a magnificent album composed of heavy tracks like "Heartbeat", "Burnin's Sky", "Everything I Need", and "Too Bad", while the bluesy numbers "Morning Sun", "Leaving You", and "Like Water" evoke the earlier Free lineup. Despite not achieving the same level of success as their previous works, "Burnin' Sky" reached number fifteen on the US charts, selling over a million copies worldwide.

Badfinger-Wish You Were Here (1974)

Badfinger's last great album was anything but lucky. Despite containing a dreamy repertoire of power pop-rock, it suffered a series of setbacks that hampered its promotional reach and ultimately led to its complete failure. But to understand this story, we must go back to the end of 1973, when Badfinger left The Beatles' Apple Records to sign with the powerful Warner Bros. label. With Warner Bros., they released the brilliant "Badfinger" (1974), but due to poor planning, it was released almost simultaneously with their last album for Apple Records, "Ass." This significantly diminished its promotional impact, as two different works by the same band were competing for the same label. To mitigate this failure, the band released "Wish You Were Here" nine months later, Badfinger's sixth album chronologically. It showcased the group's astonishing ability to create captivating and irresistible songs with exquisite instrumentation, as demonstrated by tracks like "Dennis", "Just A Chance", "You're So Fine", "Got to Get Out of Here", "Love Time", and "King of the Load". However, at the time of the album's release, Warner Bros. learned that Badfinger's manager, Stan Polley, had misappropriated over a quarter of a million dollars of the band's advances for unclear reasons, ignoring a formal demand for their return. The band's contract was frozen, meaning all promotional activity for the album was halted, condemning it to complete obscurity and commercial failure.