The Firm-Mean Business (1986)

A year after The Firm's self-titled debut, the band led by Jimmy Page and Paul Rodgers continued to build their legend with a second album titled "Mean Business", which would serve as the group's final recording. Following in the footsteps of its predecessor, this album showcases hard rock brimming with Page's signature guitar riffs, Rodgers' powerful vocal range, and the driving rhythm section of Chris Slade and Tony Franklin. The frenetic "Fortune Hunter" opens the album, a track originally intended for the early 80s megaproject XYZ, when Page and Yes bassist Chris Squire conceived of forming a band that was ultimately scrapped. On the opposite end of the spectrum is the bluesy "Cadillac", propelled by Page's guitar work, which becomes one of the album's highlights. Other tracks, such as the epic "Spirit of Love", showcase the band's diversity with a melodic and commercial composition, while the synth-pop-tinged "All the King's Horses" is perhaps the least memorable of all the songs on this album. Without diminishing the merits of the previous tracks, there's the dark and brilliant "Live In Peace", where the nods to his former band Bad Company are more than evident. Finally, we find the best pieces, starting with the jazz-rock "Dreaming", the captivating rock "Tear Down the Walls", and the excellent "Free to Live". While not reaching the magnificence of their debut album, with this second release, the duo Page & Rodgers delivered a well crafted album that grows more brilliant with each listen.

Twenty Sixty Six and Then-Reflections On The Future (1972)

Twenty Sixty Six and Then was an excellent German band within the krautrock genre, who released only one album in 1972, which is considered one of the most highly regarded works of the German scene. Formed in the early seventies in Mannheim, their lineup consisted of Geff Harrison (vocals), Gagey Mrozeck (guitar), Dieter Bauer (bass), Konstantin Bommarius (drums), and Steve Robinson and Veit Marvos (Hammond organ, Mellotron, synthesizers, and vocals). Their style was characterized by heavy Hammond organ and guitar sounds, with a strong inclination towards progressive and symphonic improvisations, all mixed with psychedelic elements. Their only release, "Reflections On The Future", was produced by United Artists and released in 1972. The album opens with a stunning progressive hard rock track, "At My Home", followed by the symphonic "Autumn", a heavy cut brimming with biting guitar sounds and dark keyboard passages. However, the album's high point is the title track, "Reflections On The Future", a piece filled with improvised sonic explorations, steeped in harsh Mellotron sounds, frenetic guitar howls, and majestic instrumentation. After this release, the band recorded material for a second album that was never officially released, but which was later rescued by the independent label Second Battle and released in 1991 under the title "Reflections on The Past".

Group 1850-Paradise Now (1969)

The Netherlands is a fertile ground for brilliant progressive rock bands, as evidenced by Focus, Kayak, Ekseption, Golden Earring, Solution, and Pantheon, just a few examples of the vast array of bands that emerged in the 1970s. However, Group 1850 has the distinction of being, if not the first, certainly one of the seminal bands in their country oriented towards the avant-garde genre. They were already active in 1966, playing concerts in their local area, and their album "Agemo's Trip to Mother Earth" (1968) was the first official, purely conceptual album to come out of the land of tulips. A year after this debut, they released their second album, "Paradise Now", where the band, led by keyboardist Peter Sjardin (the only constant member of the group throughout its career), showcased a rich blend of psychedelic and space rock, a sound that in some ways links them to early Pink Floyd. An album where atmospheric keyboards, dissonant guitars, voices under hallucinogenic effects, and avant-garde and improvised passages with subtle folk and blues moments predominate.

The Bridge-Overdrive Rock/Jazz Party (1972)

The Bridge was a German jazz fusion trio that only released the album we're discussing on this blog today. Led by the excellent keyboardist Kristian Schultze, and supported by drummer Joe Nay and bassist Pawet Jarzębski, they recorded this superb electric piano-driven jazz fusion album with subtle funk rhythms in 1972. This recording features a series of highly consistent and catchy compositions, delivered with exquisite sound worthy of the best jazz productions of the early 1970s. Appealing melodies such as "Ambivalens", "Stupsi", and "Recreation" clearly demonstrate the quality of Schultze's compositions and his talent on the electric piano, something that did not go unnoticed by saxophonist Klaus Doldinger, who the following year recruited him to join his legendary band Passport, with whom he recorded the albums "Looking Thru" (1973), "Cross-Collateral" (1975), and "Infinity Machine" (1976).

Sir Lord Baltimore-Sir Lord Baltimore (1971)

Sir Lord Baltimore was another band from the late sixties that helped popularize the term "heavy metal" due to their style, which featured distorted and abrasive guitar riffs, extremely high volume, and shrill, mournful vocals. Formed in the late 1960s by guitarist Louis Dambra, bassist Gary Justin, and drummer/vocalist John Garner, the trio signed a contract with Mercury Records in 1970 to record several albums. Their first, "Kingdom Come", was released that same year and received both commercial and critical acclaim. A year later, they returned with their self-titled album, "Sir Lord Baltimore", which marked the end of their short-lived adventure due to poor sales despite its undeniable quality. An album that contains everything from epic moments with the heavy rock "Man From Manhattan", to proto-metal pieces like "Where Are We Going" and "Woman Tamer", passing through the hard blues "Chicago Lives" or heavy and dark hard rock like "Caesar LXXI" or "Loe And Belhod".