Deep Purple-The Book of Taliesyn (1968)

With their second album, Deep Purple solidified their proto-progressive psychedelic style, with experimental touches. Recorded by the so-called Mark I lineup (Evans, Blackmore, Lord, Paice, and Simper), this release once again features several covers, including Neil Diamond's "Kentucky Woman" and The Beatles' "Exposition/We Can Work It Out", Among the original tracks, the instrumental "Wring That Neck" is undoubtedly the album's highlight, showcasing the talent of both Jon Lord and Ritchie Blackmore on their respective instruments. The psychedelic "Listen, Learn, Road On" and the elaborate "Shield" also feature excellent guitar work. The album closes with the delightful mid-tempo "Anthem", where Evans showcases his best vocal performance with Deep Purple, and with the progressive version of Ike and Tina Turner's "River Deep, Mountain High", which provides the ideal setting for the pyrotechnic excellence of Jon Lord's keyboards.

Vanilla Fudge-Renaissance (1968)

Vanilla Fudge's third album, "Renaissance", released months after their second, "The Beat Goes On", was their first to feature original songs. While it includes several covers, these are more suited to the psychedelic style this American band was exploring. This quartet, comprised of Vince Martelli (vocals, guitar), Mark Stein (organ), Tim Bogert (bass), and Carmine Appice (drums), had already showcased their ingenious style with clever reinterpretations of pop hits like Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready" and The Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby", which appeared on their previous releases. By this point, the band had definitively established itself as a true creative force, displaying a sound that would soon become fundamental to hard rock and progressive rock. The heavy sounds of guitar and organ are present in the opening track of this second album, "The Sky Cried - When I Was a Boy", early sounds of progressive hard rock that Jon Lord and Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple and Ken Hensley and Mick Box of Uriah Heep would soon make their own, and which are represented here in the hypnotic psychedelic tracks "Faceless People", "That's What Makes a Man", "Thoughts", and "Paradise". The album concludes with a cover of Donovan's pop song, "Seasons of the Witch", transformed into a dark demonstration of the creative avant-garde of this pioneering and sensational band.

Roxy Music-Country Life (1974)

"Country Life" was Roxy Music's most energetic and rock-oriented album, taking the experimental sounds of their earlier work a step further. In this new release, the addition of violinist and keyboardist Eddie Jobson brings a new level of originality and eclecticism to the group's music. The album features a repertoire brimming with memorable compositions that elevate their already high-quality musicianship to brilliant art rock heights. Besides Jobson, the rest of the band is at its peak, starting with the charismatic voice of frontman Bryan Ferry, and continuing with the talented Phil Manzanera and Andy McCay on guitar and saxophone respectively, and the driving drummer Paul Thompson, backed by bassist John Gustafson. The album features the compelling rock track "The Thrill of It All", the perfect introduction to Jobson's immeasurable electric violin. The exhilarating rock tracks "All I Wants Is You", "Casanova", and "Prairie Rose" are the album's most energetic and galloping numbers, contrasting sharply with the more subdued and delightful pop-rock numbers "Bitter Sweet", "Out of the Blue", and "Triptych". While not as complex as their earlier work, "Country Life" is a challenging album, enough to be considered one of Roxy Music's best releases. The original album cover featured two famous models of the time: Constanze Karoli (sister of Michael Karoli, guitarist and frontman of the krautrock band Can) and the charismatic Eveline Grunwald. Although the cover image was highly controversial in some countries, leading to its censorship and replacement with a rather lackluster cover.

Bang-Mother/Bow to the King (1972)

Let's move on to another band from the back of the closet, this time it's Bang, an obscure American hard rock group from Philadelphia, who released four albums between 1971 and 1973 under the Capitol Records label. Formed as a trio, this band falls within the proto-metal genre due to its dark and incredibly heavy style. Their lineup consisted of drummer Tony Diorio, guitarist and vocalist Frank Gilcken, and bassist and vocalist Frank Ferrara. With a style that fused the demonic riffs of Black Sabbath and the brutal hard rock of Grand Funk, this power trio showed their best form with their third release, "Mother/Bow to the King", where the heavy sounds and driving rhythms of hard rock tracks like "Humble", "Idealist Realist", and "Keep On", the epic heavy rock of "Bow to the King", and the melodic "Feel the Hurt" stood out. A year later they would release their epitaph "Music", with which they ended their ephemeral but interesting career, leaving behind a discography that is highly sought after today by fans of hard rock and heavy metal from the early 70s.

Space Art-Space Art (1977)

Space Art was a French keyboard duo clearly in tune with the electronic and space music of their compatriot Jean-Michel Jarre. They released a series of highly regarded albums within this European genre. However, at the time, they failed to attract the same mainstream attention as their rivals due to limited promotion and distribution. This did not go unnoticed by Jean-Michel Jarre himself, who eventually recruited them as backing musicians for his tours, such as the one in communist China in the early 1980s, which was immortalized on his monumental double live album, "The Concerts in China" (1982). Space Art consisted of keyboardist Dominique Perrier and electronic and acoustic percussionist Roger Rizzitelli. Their first and best release came in 1977, in which these talented musicians offer a diverse catalog of extremely melodic and catchy sounds centered on powerful synthesizer notes and a driving, energetic drum and percussion section. From dark pieces like "Interlune" to the Berlin-school German sound of "Aquarella", and including grandiose mini-epics like "Naissance de Cassiopée" and "Ode à Clavius", the album is built on brilliant rhythmic and atmospheric patterns, creating a sound that is as captivating as it is effective.