Black Widow-Black Widow (1970)

With their second release, the British progressive heavy metal band Black Widow shed the satanic and gloomy lyrics of their previous album, but at the same time, they also lost the vitality and freshness of their music, delivering a more conventional and predictable work. This second album is composed of a mix of heavy progressive heavy metal pieces with more melodic ones, all driven by a visceral rhythm section, a prominent Hammond organ, and bluesy and funky guitar riffs. The album's opening couldn't be more promising with the hard rock/blues track "Tears and Wine", an interesting song with dynamic interplay between the guitar riffs and the Hammond organ. This is followed by less compelling tracks such as the bittersweet "The Gypsy," the rock and roll "When My Mind Was Young", and the uneven "The Journey", three songs that show a certain lack of inspiration, creativity, and instrumental development. On the other hand, the most outstanding tracks on an album that, despite not creatively surpassing its tremendous debut, is an interesting collection of typical heavy hard rock songs from the early 70s, are the powerful blues rock "Poser", the sinister and moving "Mary Clark", the heavy rock "Wait Until Tomorrow" and the galloping progressive jazz "Legend of Creation".

Rush-Test For Echo (1996)

With the end of their third era and the beginning of their fourth, the Canadian band Rush had become a sophisticated hard rock band with a high level of compositional and instrumental skill. Their hard rock, progressive rock, and techno rock phases were behind them, and with the start of this new era, they attempted to fuse all those styles to forge a distinctly artistic rock sound. In this context, they released the albums "Presto" (1989), "Roll the Bones" (1991), "Counterparts" (1993), and the one we're analyzing here today: "Test For Echo" (1996). In all of these previous albums, the trio managed to create excellent material, though it still kept them far removed from their heyday. In this latest album, the progressive tendencies, or at least a much more complex sound with a distinctly contemporary feel, are even more prominent. The powerful title track showcases the tremendous instrumental dynamism that the Canadian trio is known for, with intricate rhythmic developments and their characteristic explosive force. The complex "Driven", an intelligent composition of perfect musical structures, the psychedelic "Time and Motion", or the somewhat sophisticated hard rock tracks "Half the World", "The Color Of Right", "Totem" or "Dog Years" lead the album down paths already explored by the group, but with an added complexity that had not been seen since the days of the album "Moving Pictures" in 1981.

Santana-3 (1971)

Santana's third album remains as dazzling as its predecessors, and in some aspects surpasses them. However, they move away from jazz-rock to pursue an energetic, accessible rock sound, fused with Latin influences, all underpinned by a clear common denominator: Carlos Santana's brilliant guitar work. This release features a new member, guitarist Neal Schon, completing a lineup that also includes Gregg Rolie (keyboards), Jose "Chepito" Areas (drums, vocals, and percussion), Michael Shrieve (drums), David Brown (bass), Michael Carabello (percussion and vocals), and Carlos Santana (guitar and vocals). Starting with the energetic "Batuka", a kick-off that shows the direction the album will take, passing through explosive pieces like "Jungle Strut", to relaxed passages like "Taboo" and "Everything's Coming Our Way", pure rhythm fantasies like "No One To Depend", attractive instrumentals like "Toussaint L'Overture", radiant songs like "Everybody's Everything" or the irresistible Latin-rock tracks "Guajira" and "Para Los Rumberos".

Herbie Mann-Memphis Underground (1969)

Herbie Mann is one of the most admired jazz musicians, a man who has decisively influenced subsequent generations of artists within the jazz scene and music in general. Born in Brooklyn in the 1930s, he was already an accomplished performer on the flute, saxophone, piano, and clarinet from his early artistic beginnings. During the 1950s and 60s, Mann released countless recordings as a soloist and with various orchestras and bands, showcasing his impressive flute mastery. With a vast discography spanning from 1954 to 2004, when his final album was released shortly after his death, Herbie Mann entered the annals of musical legend with an extraordinary body of work that masterfully combined the new sounds he experimented with in jazz, blending them with African and Latin ethnic music. In 1969, with his album "Memphis Underground", Herbie Mann burst onto the scene in the world of mainstream music with a groundbreaking LP that became a seminal work in 20th-century popular music. On this album, Mann explored soul and rhythm and blues, influenced by Southern jazz. "Memphis Underground" featured collaborations with outstanding jazz musicians such as Larry Coryell, Roy Ayers, Reggie Young, Gene Chrisman, Miroslav Vitouš, Bobby Emmons, and Sonny Sharrock. Considered a masterpiece of jazz, it is also one of the most successful jazz recordings of all time.

Rory Gallagher-Photo-Finish (1978)

For their fifth album, "Calling Card" (1976), Irishman Rory Gallagher relinquished production duties for the first time in his career, entrusting them to former Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover, who decisively influenced the hardening of their style. On this album, the guitars sound more powerful and aggressive, and the keyboard lines take on a much more prominent role in many parts of the album. This hardening would be even more pronounced on the following album, "Photo-Finish", released several years later, in which Rory returned to the power trio format with bassist Gerry McAvoy and drummer Ted McKenna. In this new release, Rory Gallagher presents a repertoire of energetic and raw hard blues rock tracks that became staples of his concerts, such as "Brute Force & Ignorance", "Shadow Play", "The Last Of Independents", and "Shin Kicker", or other equally dazzling tracks like the frenetic "Cruise On Out", the bluesy "Cloak & Dagger", the folky rock "Overnight Bag", or the rhythmic hard blues rock "The Mississippi Sheiks", not forgetting the superb blues "Fuel To The Fire".

Hard Stuff-Bolex Dementia (1973)

Two years after releasing their debut album, Hard Stuff, the band formed by several former members of Atomic Rooster embarked on a new recording, embracing the riskier sounds of experimentation with funk and avant-garde influences. Featuring the same lineup as their previous album, this one included guitarist John Cann, drummer Paul Hammond, bassist and guitarist John Gustafson, and vocalist Henry Shaw. However, due to the drastic shift from the hard rock style of their earlier work, it faced some resistance from their more traditional fans. The album itself is a diverse amalgamation of sounds, ranging from catchy tunes like "Ragman" to energetic rock and roll tracks such as "Roll a Rocket", "Spider's Web", "Sick N' Tired", and "Dazzle Dizzy", and even including outlandish experimental pieces like "Bolex Dementia". Undoubtedly a very good album that deserved far more attention than it received upon its release.

Rick Wakeman-The Myths And Legends Of King Arthur And The Knights Of The Round Table Music (1975)

Two years after his grandiose solo debut (aside from his main band, Yes), Rick Wakeman embarked on another ambitious project, this time centered around King Arthur and the sword Excalibur. Wakeman had already explored the sounds and textures of a symphony orchestra, fusing it with rock in the previous and brilliant "The Six Wives of Henry VIII", so in this new release he attempted to follow a similar path, but giving greater prominence to the sumptuous orchestral arrangements and enveloping choirs, all underpinned by energetic rock and fundamentally adorned with his signature cascades of Mellotron, Moogs, electric keyboards, and other state-of-the-art synthesizers. In addition to the New World Orchestra conducted by David Measham, the English Chamber Choir, directed by Guy Protheroe, is also featured, along with a rock section comprised of Ashley Holt and Gary Pickford Hopkins (vocals), Barney James (drums), Jeffrey Crampton (guitars), Roger Newell (bass), John Hodgson (percussion), and Terry Taplin as the narrator. The stunning orchestration, the narration that tells each part of the story, and the talented instrumentation of all the musicians involved immerse us in a rich soundscape of diverse musical atmospheres that at times reaches a grand grandeur, resulting in an album that is both triumphant and creatively brilliant.