The Nice-Ars Longa Vita Brevis (1968)

"Ars Longa Vita Brevis" is The Nice's second album, the first recorded as a trio after guitarist David O'List left the band. For many, this is arguably the first truly progressive rock album, with a symphonic style crafted for both a rock band and a symphony orchestra. On this second album, Keith Emerson's keyboards take center stage, dominating the sound and establishing him as the undisputed leader of the group, showcasing his immense talent as a keyboardist and composer. However, the other two musicians are among the finest instrumentalists of the era: Brian Davidson (drums and percussion) and Lee Jackson (bass, guitar, and vocals), both perfectly complementing Emerson's virtuosic keyboard onslaught. This debut album is a tremendous pioneer in the development of what would become the progressive and symphonic trends in the near future. The six movements of the main theme are an excellent interpretation of classical music readapted for this power trio, where there is room for everything from jazzy sounds to pompous inclinations, passing through the pure symphonic musical language and rock.

Aunt Mary-Janus (1973)

Aunt Mary was one of the most interesting bands to emerge from Norway during the 1970s. Their style combined diverse influences ranging from psychedelia to pop-rock, with hints of blues and the most avant-garde sounds of proto-progressive rock. The band consisted of Bjoern Christiansen (guitar and vocals), Per Ivar Fure (flute, harmonica, saxophone, and organ), Jan Leonard Groth (keyboards, guitars, and vocals), Svein Gundersen (bass), and Kjetil Stensvik (drums). After signing with Polydor, they released their debut album in mid-1970, a much more accessible work than their subsequent recordings, featuring less keyboards in favor of wind and string instruments. Several years later came their second album, "Loaded", which leaned towards harder rock territory without completely abandoning progressive sounds. However, it was their third release, "Janus", that would bring them their definitive work, a solid album showcasing the band's considerable talent. The boisterous "Path of Your Dreams" and the lively prog track "For All Eternity", along with the Beatles-esque "All We've Got to Do Is Dream" and "Mr. Kaye", are among the most accessible tracks, while the progressive vein is present in the bluesy improvisational "Stumblin' Stone" and the symphonic progressives "Candles of Heaven" and "What a Lovely Day", thus concluding a remarkable progressive album by this short-lived and intriguing Norwegian band.

Giles, Giles & Fripp-The Cheerful Insanity Of Giles, Giles & Fripp Music (1968)

We are faced with a historic album, not precisely for its musical excellence, but rather because, in the midst of the most splendid era of psychedelia, three of the future members of one of the greatest bands in history, King Crimson, appeared, creating an album very different from what, a year later, would be considered the beginning of progressive rock with the first and anthological recording of Corte de Carmesi (Crimson Court). However, observing from the distance of more than 50 years, something deeper than the simplicity of the included songs can be appreciated here songs oriented towards pastoral psychedelia, with a simple and strange structure and a decidedly absurd and puerile concept. In it, we can find glimpses of the elements that would be fundamental in the future King Crimson, such as the drumming of Michael Giles, and the phenomenal guitar and mellotron of Robert Fripp. These characteristics are present in several tracks, such as "Suite No. 1" and "Erudite Eyes", the former a serene instrumental with a grand intro by Robert Fripp, and the latter an energetic and intriguing experiment in psychedelic jazz. While both don't definitively clarify the path they would soon follow with their next lineup, they do showcase their early period and, as such, can be considered a clear preview of the legendary British band.

Culpeper´s Orchard-Culpeper´s Orchard (1970)

Taking their name from a famous 15th-century English botanist who championed the use of medicinal herbs to combat disease, the Danish band Culpeper's Orchard was formed. Their journey began in the early 1970s, founded by British guitarist and singer Cy Nicklin, along with Nils Henriksen (guitars, keyboards, and vocals), Michael Friis (bass, organ, and flute), and Rodgers Barker (drums). After signing with Polydor Records, they released their self-titled debut album in mid-1970, crafting an intriguing blend of hard rock, folk rock, and avant-garde and psychedelic elements. The album features electric guitars with energetic hard rock riffs fused with American folk rock. This debut album features a range of standout tracks, from the acoustic sounds and rich vocal harmonies of "Hey You People" to powerful compositions like "Mountain Music Part 1 and 2", the bluesy melodies of "Gideon's Trap", and the acid-tinged, psychedelic sounds of "Tea Party For an Orchard". While the band would later release three interesting albums of diverse musical styles, this debut remains a prime example of one of the forgotten gems of European proto-progressive rock.

Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & Trinity-Streetnoise (1969)

Julie Driscoll was a singer heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and jazz, genres that were somewhat niche or highly stylized commercially, and very likely even more difficult for a woman in the sixties, who was sometimes pressured to compromise in order to reach the mainstream charts with songs like "Road to Cairo" or "Take Me to the Water". She was a singer with deep, heartfelt emotions, with a strong vocal tone that sounded more like a Black voice than a white one. With her, pop music gained one of the most fascinating and unique singers in its history. But to speak of Julie Driscoll is to speak of Brian Auger; their careers ran parallel until 1969, the year they separated. Together, however, with the group Trinity, they forged a powerful musical bond. For a time, they were the best group that ever existed in that style. Julie's voice, Auger's masterful organ playing, and the band's magnetism created extremely important works, primarily a double album, now considered an absolute masterpiece: "Streetnoise" (1969), which is undoubtedly the work that best showcases the genius of both artists. On this album, Driscoll reaches unparalleled maturity with lyrics full of humanity, sadness, pain, respect, and gentleness, manifested in magnificent songs like "When I Was a Young Girl" or the masterful "Czechoslovakia". The album contains an amalgamation of styles ranging from jazz to gospel, without abandoning rock, with nods to soul and even experimental progressive sounds. Composed of original tracks and covers of greats like The Doors, Richie Havens, Nina Simone, and Miles Davis, it forms a complex yet surprising and unique record.

Touch-Touch (1969)

Touch were one of the first American progressive and avant-garde rock bands, but they have remained unjustly buried and forgotten under the shadow of so many other, more media-savvy contemporary groups. Founded by former Kingsmen member Don Gallucci, famous for his timeless guitar riff in the 1963 song "Louie Louie", and former members of Don & The Goodtimes, Jeff Hawks (vocals) and Joey Newman (guitar), they wanted to move away from the limitations of typical 1960s pop songs and delve into more daring and avant-garde compositions. As a result of this union, Touch was born. With the addition of bassist Bruce Hauser and drummer John Bordorano, they recorded a self-titled album between late 1967 and early 1968. This, their only released album, would be highly praised by legendary figures such as Jimi Hendrix, Jon Anderson (singer of Yes), and Kansas guitarist Kerry Livgren, all of whom stated that it was one of their main influences early in their careers. Composed of an amalgamation of sounds that ranged from psychedelic rock to rather pretentious progressive rock, with hints of carefree pop but also a touch of self-indulgence, it is a historical sonic document that, although it may sound somewhat primitive today, contains great performances and commendable arrangements concepts that would later be reflected in the releases of many British progressive rock bands and underground sounds.

The Who-Tommy (1969)

We are faced with one of the fundamental works of the 20th century, considered the first rock opera in history, one of the most influential on subsequent generations, and one of the best-selling albums in the history of rock music, with over 25 million copies sold worldwide. An ambitious and epic album, intense, with opulent musical structures, sublime developments, and the immense instrumental and vocal talent of the four members of The Who. However, this impressive work, created almost entirely by Pete Townshend, also generated some controversy regarding its subject matter: a tearful and cruel story about a blind and deaf-mute boy who learns to play pinball. Beyond the controversial concept, musically there are great moments of energetic rock, forays into pop, and a progressive musical feel that pervades the entire double album, mainly due to the long instrumental interludes, which give it that clear progressive rock feel. From the opening "Overture" with its orchestrated grandiosity, the album unfolds through fluid and overflowing music, such as the simple acoustic tracks "It's A Boy" or "Tommy Can You Hear Me", which are the perfect counterpoint to the medieval sounds of "Welcome", the complex arrangements of "Eyesight To The Blind" and "Christmas", the sad "Cousin Kevin", the mournful "1921", or the powerful rock tracks "Pinball Wizard" and "Go To The Mirror".

Aphrodite's Child-666 (1972)

"666" is one of the most spectacular and fantastic works of European art-rock of the 70s, which perfectly combined a controversial concept such as the Bible with the best progressive rock.
This would be the third and last album by the Greek band Aphrodite Child's that consisted of Demis Roussos on bass and lead vocals, Anargyros Koulouris on guitar, Lucas Sideras on drums and Vangelis Papathanassiou on keyboards.
Created as a conceptual and ambitious album with a lot of experimentation (it even contains a strange piece sung by Irene Papas playing a mantra, while moaning sexual gasps), devised by Vangelis is based on the Apocalypse according to Saint John, interpreted according to the culture of the end from the 60s and where psychedelic rock, ethnic sounds or choral songs are accommodated and all this adorned with the most modern technology of the time such as synthesizers and other keyboards.
Musically the psychedelic flavor, the dense electronic passages and the sounds of the guitars make this album one of the top works of progressive rock.

Argent-All Together Now (1972)

By the time the progressive rock band Argent released the album "All Together now" (1972), they already had two other albums ("Argent" and "Ring of hands") behind them, which had made them one of the leading groups of the first half of the year decade of 70's.
In this work, the band leaves behind the lines that it had drawn in the first two albums, deriving its style in more forcefulness, sound and depth in its compositions. However, it is not a work of great progressive purity.
The ego of its two leaders Rod Argent and Russ Ballard are present in this album in an obvious way, while Argent wants prominence for his keyboard as demonstrated in "Hold your head up" which is the hit of this album or in "Pure love" where he performs An introduction of more than 3 minutes only of keyboards, Ballard unleashes the creativity that he carries and that he had not been able to express in all its dimensions until then distilling blues, funky and rock and roll through his fresh guitar style, restless and dynamic that makes the songs acquire commercial overtones, some of them even danceable.

Rare Bird-As Your Mind Flies By (1970)

Along with The Nice, Hawkwind, Genesis or Van Der Graaf Generator, "Rare Bird" was one of the first bands to sign with Charisma Records, the progressive-sounding record label that producer Tony Stratton-Smith had recently founded in 1969.
"Rare Bird" would emerge from the ashes of another band called "Lunch", and its most notable peculiarity was the total absence of string instruments, made up of two keyboard players, bass and drums, thus obtaining a very intense and dark sound in which According to their leader Graham Field, the guitars had no place.
A year after the release of their first album the band would release their album "As You Mind Flies By", their swan song and another progressive masterpiece.
If, with the first album, it reaches commercial levels that exceed the company itself, which had originally published a few thousand copies and which are insufficient when observing the high demand for the album, it sold a whopping more than one million copies, in this "As your mind files by" confirm the group as one of the most important in the progressive rock scene of the time and the stylistic continuity of the group.
Here the group showed even more eclecticism with the medieval "Down on the floor" or the epic "Flight", a marvelous theme that has nothing to envy to the larger suites of more leading groups.

Caravan-In The land Of Grey And Pink (1971)

Caravan are one of the fundamental pieces of the so-called Canterbury Sound, and although their style was somewhat different from the experimentations of other great genres such as Soft Machine, if they became the one that perhaps had the best accessibility to the general public, they had However, they never managed to reap the approval of a massive public.
"In The Land of Gray And Pink" is next to "If I Could Do It All Over Again, I'd Do It All Over You" (1970) and "For Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night" (1973), its three best works this magnificent band.
"In The Land ..." is also his most progressive work, where Pye Hastings' voice moves away from its more pastoral side and Richard Sinclair diversifies his keyboards even more, with a great palette of sounds.
An album where some of the band's best songs stand out, such as the epic "Winter Wine" and "In The Land Of Gray And Pink" or the suite "Nine Feet Underground" which entirely occupied the B side of the album with more than 20 minutes duration.
Later bands like Camel have an unpayable debt to Caravan who decisively influenced their successful careers years later.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience-Electric Ladyland (1968)

Almost towards the end of 1968, Jimi Hendrix's third album was released together with his band Experience, titled "Electric Ladyland" and it was the only success as a single for a Hendrix song, the stunning version of Bob Dylan's song "All Along The Watchtower".
Likewise, the album would reach first place with global sales that far exceeded one million copies sold.
With a cover that caused quite a stir for how suggestive it seemed, (a harem of naked women), the album's design generated, for obvious reasons, forceful criticism, to the point that many stores refused to sell it in their day. Finally, it was changed for a new cover, destined for the American market, the most reticent to what they call "sexually explicit", where instead of featuring the kind and suggestive girls, there was a drawing with a psychedelic air.
Musically this album contains an unexpected but essential twist in Jimi Hendrix's style, with an evolution of his sound, less commercial, due to the complexity of the arrangements, but very rich in nuances, his most experimental and innovative work, with atmospheres and chords more sophisticated, creating almost impossible guitar lines, with jazz chord progressions, fused with funk and the deepest blues.
Here Hendrix shows the maturity necessary to become a great guitarist and also a great composer and musician.
In addition to the aforementioned "All Along The Watchtower", the album contains a cast of great songs that have passed to posterity as perfect guitar exercises, such as the experimental "And The Gods Made Love", the sinister and experimental "Voodoo Chile", or the aggressive "Burning Of the Midnight Lamp".
"Electric Ladyland" became a complete guitar manual for any guitar hero in the later decades.

Rare Earth-Get Ready (1969)

Rare Earth was a strange, different and rare band within the Motown record label, this label recruited black artists who made soul preferably, however Rare Earth were white and made rock.
In 1969, thanks to their guitarist Dennis Coffey, they signed for Motown but under a subsidiary seal.
The legendary soul company did not regret this decision, between 1970 and 1980 Rare Earth would achieve six great successes in the North American charts.
The style of the band was a muscular soul-rock and especially impetuous in the instrumental passages.
Their first album "Get Ready" would reach number twelve on the sales charts, with material composed mostly by the band itself and producer Norman Whitfield.
Although the star song was a volcanic version of the "Get Ready" song of the Temptations, quite different from the original with a duration of 21 minutes where with a devastating introduction, a hypnotic central part and a long instrumental part, it left the listeners breathless with such a musical orgy.

Blind Faith-Blind Faith (1969)

On June 7, 1969, while Cream was still in the news for his disappearance in London's Hyde Park, thousands of young people witnessed the first concert and at the same time the birth of an incredible superband, with part of the greatest myths of the time, Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, Steve Winwood, and Rick Grech, this is Blind Faith.
But a supergroup like Blind Faith couldn't last long, as it would. With a prodigious album, delusional performances and also the incompatible character of four monsters, all of them absolute leaders, previously in their respective groups.
That was too amazing to be true, but it would be for a few months, as Cream faded, while Traffic cracked for the first time from the rift between Winwood and Mason and as Family lost one of their key men Rick Grech, who after Five years left them, Blind Faith takes over without question.
Undoubtedly, while Blind Faith were united, they were numbers 1, the fusion of the four musicians with a fabulous sound kept them at the top with tremendous concerts by the United States and Europe.
But it was evident that there was no acclimatization or stylist fusion, each one tried to make their ideas prevail in the only album they recorded, where three songs are signed by Winwood by just one by Clapton, another by Baker and a foreign version as a complement, perhaps, this was one of the causes of the short duration of the invention, all this confirmed a considerable mix of trends, which would remain in history as what was a giant of the 1960s, the album itself is a A true wonder that earned a place in the history of Rock on its own merits, and not only because of the stars that appeared in the credits, nor only because of its controversial and also historical cover.

Black Birds-Touch Of Music (1971)

Black Birds are one of Germany's longest-running bands. Founded in the mid-1960s, they were still active in 2014. Hailing from Puettlingen, the band was created by guitarist Werner Breining and has seen a continuous succession of members. Their style, brimming with psychedelic sounds, rock, pop, and avant-garde elements, driven by Peter Bely's excellent Hammond organ and heavy guitar riffs, along with Breining's powerful voice, are their hallmarks. In 1971, they released their best work, "Touch of Music", their second album and ultimately their definitive discographic epitaph. At this time, Blackbirds consisted of keyboardist Peter Bely, drummer Charles Sikora, bassist Wolfgang Bode, and the aforementioned Werner Breining, who handled guitars, violin, flutes, and vocals. An album that clearly shows the band's psychedelic orientation with tracks like "Präludium" and "All You Need", while the lysergic rock "Return from the water", the sinister "Give Me Freedom" and the avant-garde "What is Free" and "Come Back", close a meritorious work of inspired germinal psychedelic and progressive rock.

Frank Zappa-Hot Rats (1969)

Frank Zappa's genius is unquestionable, considered one of the most complete artists that have ever existed in rock history, his forays into almost all musical styles give him a level that very few can reach.
"Hot Rats" was his second solo album, with such a fresh and current sound, it was very advanced for his time, where he perfectly blends his experimentation with jazz and progressive rock.
An album that was one of his biggest commercial successes, reaching a ninth place on the UK charts.
Entirely instrumental, it offers an amalgamation of jazz, rock, experimentation and shows a melodic Zappa as he rarely was in his entire career.
In this work Zappa also shows his great technical variety with the guitar, with virtuosic and spectacular solos where the virtues with the six strings are outstanding.

Jade Warrior-Released (1971)

Jade Warrior is one of the quintessential cult bands, and is considered one of the most original musical acts in the history of rock music. They imbued their style with a masterful blend of ethnic sounds, jazz, psychedelia, folk, rock, and avant-garde elements. A previous post recounts the biography of this unique band, so we won't delve too deeply into their history and will instead focus on their second album, released in 1971. This album represented a dramatic shift from their self-titled debut, released that same year. In that first release, the sound was centered on elements of jazz-rock fused with African music, resulting in an experimental and avant-garde album. However, this second work is characterized by powerful and driving tracks, very close to hard rock, such as the opening track, "Three-Horned Dragon Kill", with a sound reminiscent of Led Zeppelin, but retaining the distinctive African percussion so characteristic of Jade Warrior. The playful “Eyes On You”, with its infectious rhythm, gives way to the band's more typical sound with the relaxed and atmospheric “Bride Of Summer” and “Water Curtain Cave”, which lead into the lysergic and powerful “Minnamoto’s Dream”, featuring razor-sharp guitars in the purest Jimi Hendrix style. Meanwhile, the rock and roll “(We Have) Reason To Believe” contrasts with the epic “Barazinbar”, which gradually unfolds amidst tribal percussion and flute sounds, culminating in the bucolic and acoustic “Yellow Eyes”. This album received a lukewarm reception from fans, surprised by this radical change, which is why the band would return to their unmistakable style in subsequent releases, much to the delight of their most loyal and devoted progressive rock followers.

The Moody Blues-Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (1971)

For many this is the masterpiece of The Moody Blues, although weighed down in part by the immense success of their previous "Days of future Passed" and their huge single "Nights In White Satin".
However, this is one of his most versatile, varied and superbly performed works, where the single and rocker "The Story In Your Eyes" would catapult him to the top spot on the UK charts and a staggering second spot on the US Billboard.
Here stands out the mellotron of Mike Pinder, which includes the Moog synthesizers, Hayward's guitar does the rest to make a work of art in which there are sublime and mystical moments such as "My Song" or "Emily's Song", with that bucolic sound very characteristic of this huge and essential progressive rock band.

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.

Czar-Czar (1970)

Such are the vagaries of the music business that incredible talent doesn't always guarantee success or lasting recognition. This was the case for this British band, founded in 1966 as Tuesday's Children, who changed their name to Czar in 1970. In their early days, this English quartet stuck to the parameters of pop rock, with some flirtations with progressive rock, and during the late 1960s they were regulars at various London clubs like the Marquee and toured with The Moody Blues, The Nice, The Troggs, and King Crimson. Their lineup consisted of guitarist and vocalist Mick Ware, keyboardist Bon Hodges, drummer Derrick Gough, and bassist Paul Kendrick. Now as Czar, they entered the recording studio and poured their talent into their self-titled album, released in 1970. This work leaned more towards progressive and avant-garde sounds, with extensive use of the Mellotron, thus diminishing the pop influences of their earlier period. On this first and only album, standout tracks include the audacious, progressive-jazz-tinged "Tread Softly On My Dreams", a clear example of the influence of the early King Crimson. This is followed by the epic symphonic "Cecilia", and the first side of the album closes with the vigorously progressive "Follow Me". Side two features the intense "Dawning Of A New Day" and the brilliant "Beyond The Moon" and "A Day In September", which serve as the culmination of this interesting album by this magnificent and now-forgotten band. As would happen to so many others, Czar failed to achieve the desired success, a fact that precipitated their demise a year later. In 2007, this unique album was reissued with extra material that was intended for the recording of a second album that was never released.