Tonight is the big debut of Exposure. Might roll up tomorrow night myself

#TheSundayStarter for me is from Erfurt (Thuringia/Germany) today.

Motorowl – This House Has No Center
https://album.link/d/530236382

#Music #Rock #PsychedelicRock #ProgessiveRock #AlternativeDoom
#t4sMusic

As progressive rock gelled into an identifiable subgenre in the early 1970s, there was a golden period of two or three years when the biggest bands made albums innovative enough for the diehards and accessible enough to reach a wide audience. I’m reserving a couple of the best for the Top 20 at the end of my survey, but for now here (below or follow the tags) are six satisfying prog blockbusters from 1970 to 1973.

#GreatAlbums1970s, #Vinyl, #Album, #Prog, #ProgessiveRock

Great Albums - 1970s: #JethroTull – #Aqualung (1971). Because they had roots in the blues and Ian Anderson had a folkie’s heart, Tull managed to achieve an ideal balance of progressive concept and accessible boogie. Here, the surreal mythos of “Aqualung” and knotty turns of “My God” and “Wind-Up” give way to the simpler propulsion of “Cross-Eyed Mary” and “Locomotive Breath” – all with enough metallic drive to satisfy dudes in Camaros.
#GreatAlbums1970s, #Vinyl, #Album, #Prog, #ProgessiveRock

Great Albums - 1970s: #Yes – #TheYesAlbum (1971). Adding Steve Howe helped Yes progress from casual astral travelers to full-bore starship troopers. Keeping Tony Kaye (for now) kept them earthbound in the keyboard wing, until next LP when Wakeman stepped in. Like Tull’s Aqualung, this LP manages to do all the prog stuff you like while keeping a solid booster rocket at the back of the spaceship to keep your earthling friends happy.
#GreatAlbums1970s, #Vinyl, #Album, #Prog, #ProgessiveRock

Great Albums - 1970s: #EmersonLakeAndPalmer (1970). Before the armadillo tanks rolled in, ELP followed its Isle of Wight launch gig with this cohesive LP that showcased all of Emerson’s chops without sacrificing basic rock output. “Knife-Edge,” based on Janacek’s Sinfonietta, is as close to heavy metal fanfare as you need. “The Barbarian” sexes up Bela Bartok. And Greg Lake’s two songs, “Take a Pebble” and “Lucky Man,” are quite lovely.
#GreatAlbums1970s, #Vinyl, #Album, #Prog, #ProgessiveRock

Great Albums - 1970s: #Genesis – #SellingEnglandByThePound (1973). Safe now from the dastardly hogweed, the lads let Steve Hackett’s guitar take a more defining role – heard best on “Dancing with the Moonlight Knight.” The concepts still loom in “Epping Forest” and “Cinema Show,” but there’s a quieter flair in Peter Gabriel’s pastoral lawnmower and Phil Collins’ prophetic “More Fool Me.” Sue me, but I like this far better than The Lamb.
#GreatAlbums1970s, #Vinyl, #Album, #Prog, #ProgessiveRock

Great Albums - 1970s: #Yes – #CloseToTheEdge (1972). If you can decipher the subtitles and figure out what a “Siberian Khatru” is supposed to be, a big green lolly for you. In any case, these pieces are among the few examples of prog concept keeping its shoes on the ground, especially amazing in light of Anderson’s lyrics – which mystified even him. Wakeman’s organ solo on the title track is transcendent – fitting Yes at its rockiest.
#GreatAlbums1970s, #Vinyl, #Album, #Prog, #ProgessiveRock

Keyboards stacked like cord wood? Check. Epic songs with incongruous subtitles? Check. Silk pantsuits and embroidered capes? Check. Haircuts like Roger the Shrubber? Check. Well, then, it must be progressive rock time!

Below/ tagged are some of the lesser-known prog gems from the 1970s, known more to prog diehards than general listeners.

#GreatAlbums1970s, #Vinyl, #Album, #Prog, #ProgessiveRock

Great Albums - 1970s: #Badger – One Live Badger (1973). Ex-Yes keys man Tony Kaye teamed with bassist-vocalist David Foster, a pre-Yes bandmate of Jon Anderson (who produced this LP), for this live set with an early jam band vibe. Although the drawn-out arrangements and Kaye’s keyboards situate this overlooked classic in the prog pantheon, there’s enough electrified soul here to put one in mind of Kath’s Chicago or early Lighthouse. #GreatAlbums1970s, #Vinyl, #Album, #Prog, #ProgessiveRock

Great Albums - 1970s: #Khan – #SpaceShanty (1972). Khan was the brainchild of Canterbury stalwart Steve Hillage, later of Gong and a Kevin Ayers/ Mike Oldfield sideman. Joined on keys by Dave Stewart (Egg, Hatfield & the North), Khan blended the usual prog pastoralism and experimentation with a heavier approach not far shy of Sabbath/ Uriah Heep at times (parts of “Space Shanty” and “Hollow Stone”). A challenging listen, very underrated.
#GreatAlbums1970s, #Vinyl, #Album, #Prog, #ProgessiveRock

Great Albums - 1970s: #BarclayJamesHarvest – S/T (1970). Because they got in early, BJH retained a fair amount of 60s festival vibe (“Taking Some Time On”) along with the mellotron-drenched spaciness of “Mother Dear” and “The Sun Will Never Shine.” “Good Love Child” does Abbey Road boogie closer than any band not signed to Apple, while “Dark Now My Sky” goes full symphonic epic, putting BJH in the same stratosphere as early King Crimson. #GreatAlbums1970s, #Vinyl, #Album, #Prog, #ProgessiveRock

Great Albums - 1970s: #CurvedAir – #SecondAlbum (1971). This prog outlier had a gothic jazz feel owing to Francis Monkman’s driving keyboards, Darryl Way’s Ponty-esque violin, and Sonja Kristina’s haunting vocals. Kristina, one of the few prog frontwomen, lends her sultry thunder to “Back Street Luv” (a minor hit). Her unhinged delivery on “Piece of Mind” (the obligatory epic) emphasizes the house of mirrors fright factor in the music.
#GreatAlbums1970s, #Vinyl, #Album, #Prog, #ProgessiveRock

Great Albums - 1970s: #Renaissance – #AshesAreBurning (1973). This former Yardbirds offshoot morphed slowly into a lighter, ethereal version of prog, adding Steeleye Span/ Sandy Denny folk textures to the usual prog bombast. Singer Annie Haslam brought a gentle lilt to the music (the antithesis of Sonja in Curved Air), but there’s no mistaking the prog factor of John Tout’s classically inspired piano and Jon Camp’s sly Rickenbacker bass. #GreatAlbums1970s, #Vinyl, #Album, #Prog, #ProgessiveRock

Great Albums - 1970s: #GentleGiant – #Octopus (1972). Possibly the world’s most musically proficient rock band – each member played two or more rock instruments, at least one orchestral instrument, and could sing madrigal harmony – the results were not always easy to absorb. “The Advent of Panurge” is as dense as it sounds, and “Knots” will twist your brain matter, but there’s plenty of rock catharsis on songs like “A Cry for Everyone.”
#GreatAlbums1970s, #Vinyl, #Album, #Prog, #ProgessiveRock