PA's Top 100 Prog Albums, Year by Year

HERE IS A WEATHER WARNING:- There's a storming gale of VERY HEAVY Psychedelic Rock on the way which is expected to reach Force 10 on the Beaufort Scale. Occasional gusts of very high decibels are expected! The opening blitzkrieg of storming Hard Rock and Heavy Metal thunder is titled "Futilist's Lament", and it would indeed be futile to lament the loss of sleep throughout this window-rattling sonic blast. This thunderous assault on the eardrums won't just keep you awake, it'll probably wake up the neighbours too and have them angrily banging on your door. There's no peace for the wicked (or the good) either with the next song "Death Warmed Up" as the non-stop artillery barrage of sound continues. This storming "Sea Shanty" is an unrelenting 9-minute-long pressure wave that's LOUD enough to wake the dead, never mind the neighbours, and it's probably the only time you'll ever hear a violin played on a heavy Psychedelic Rock/Metal album. Yes, really! A violin! Although you've never heard a violin played quite like this before. This even goes beyond the incredible power of Darryl Way's manic violin-playing in Curved Air. Yes, it really IS that awesome! Is this stunning album Psychedelic Rock or is it Heavy Metal? Who knows? Maybe it's some amazing new hybrid such as Psychedelic Metal. Either way, it's a remarkable album of unbridled raw power and energy. Phew! There's a bit of a breather now but not for long with "Pushed, But Not Forgotten". The song opens deceptively gently, but there's another storming outburst of Heavy Metal thunder and lightning on the way. It's not quite the storming hurricane of the first two powerful numbers, because this third song contains some gentler melodic passages, and it sounds all the better for it too. After all, thunderbolt and lightning can be very very frightening (according to Queen). This song is more like a warm gentle breeze with occasional outbursts of Heavy Metal thunder raining down, so keep an umbrella handy.

The enigmatically-titled "Walking Down Their Outlook" doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but who says LSD-influenced wild and crazy Psychedelic Rock has to make any sense anyway!? One thing's for sure though, it's another burst of raw Psychedelic Metal mayhem, featuring an absolutely maniacal violin player running rampant throughout. Who would have believed a delicate violin could ever sound so incredibly LOUD! Not Stradivari or Vivaldi, that's for sure! There's no let-up in the incredible pace of this album, so be prepared for more fireworks with "Missing Out", another 9-minute-long, non-stop fusillade of Heavy Metal cannon fire. This sonic blast explodes into life like a psychedelic shell burst bathed in glowing iridescent rainbow colours. There's more musical madness and mayhem on the way with "Nowhere", and nowhere will you find any gentle romantic ballads on this album. It's another wild and frenzied psychedelic violin ride aboard the crazy train, which brings the album to a magnificent conclusion in a storming blaze of pounding and percussive glory.

High Tide's "Sea Shanties" rides high on a great tsunami wave of thunderous raw energy and power. "Sea Shanties" they are NOT! This is a rolling wave of storming Heavy Metal thunder from beginning to end. Batten down the hatches and hold on tight because it's going to be a wild and windy ride. There's an unstoppable High Tide on its way with a Force 10 gale blowing in on this supersonic blast from the past. Come hell or high water, you won't want to miss out on the storming ballroom blitz of High Tide!

The album opens powerfully and dramatically with "Iceberg", an imposing cliff of pristine white ice as tall as a building with the awesome latent power to sink ships. This imposing organ-powered piece of music has similar grandeur and magnificent majesty. The song begins as a delicate and atmospheric slow fugue, sounding like a church organ, before erupting into a wild keyboard jamboree in which the organist goes absolutely berserk in a roaring storm of sound. The golden-voiced singer emerges from the organ storm in full impassioned voice in this dramatic refrain. It's powerful and heavy, but also beautifully melodic at the same time. This is the kind of thunderous and unrestrained organ music they ought to play in a grand cathedral as the bishop glides diagonally down the aisle across the chequered floor. How can Rare Bird possibly follow that storming opening foray onto the music scene. They follow it with "Times", a fast-based barnstorming number with all the unstoppable power of Stormin' Norman Schwarzkopf leading his army into battle. This powerful raw and raucous song features fantastic fugues and pounding percussion, so don't play it TOO loud or it might just give you a pounding headache. Onwards now to "You Went Away", a refined and sweet-sounding organ piece with the vocalist imploringly pouring his heart out over his lost love:- "You went away, And left me one that day, When we were much too close, Dreaming of a private piece, You went away." ..... This is no gentle ballad though, because the crazy organist and manic drummer are just waiting in the wings, so be prepared for a sonic onslaught in their wild moment of glory for the powerful grand finale. There's no let-up in the incredible pace and power of this album with "Melanie", a flamboyant and foot-stompingly good slice of funky fusion to close out Side One.

Opening Side Two comes "Beautiful Scarlet", an elevating and exuberant blitzkrieg of music which explodes into life with a dramatic chord sequence. This is energetic keyboard playing to die for, the like of which we don't hear any more. This is exhilarating and exuberant music designed to lift the spirits up into the stratosphere. The pianist and organist battle it out in unison to see who's the greatest keyboard player of them all. It's pompous and passionate and everything we could wish for in a powerful burst of Progressive Rock. And now for Rare Bird's BIG number, "Sympathy", their main claim to fame which was a massive hit across Europe but only made it to No. 27 in the British charts, so it looks like the good people of continental Europe knows a good song when they hear it. "Nature's Fruit" is another rollicking and rambunctious keyboard-driven song on an album full of outstanding songs where every song sounds like it's good enough to be released as a single. We're taking flight now with "Bird on a Wing", an emotionally-rich song featuring soaring vocals and the sound of that oh-so-beautiful organ in accompaniment. The dazzling guitarist deserves a mention too with his stirring power chords carrying the music along on a sonorous wave of sound. Just when you thought this album couldn't get any better comes "God of War" to close out the album in dramatically fine style. The music rumbles along like a powerful express train steaming down the tracks with the powerful voice of the singer sounding like he's ominously prophesising doom and gloom and catastrophe. It's a suitably dynamic and dramatic conclusion to a superb album.

You can't beat a good solid dose of boom and bombast in a Prog-Rock album and this passionate and powerful album has it in spades. This is spectacular organ-driven British Rock, going full speed ahead on full locomotive power from beginning to end. it's also melodic and occasionally melancholic, but it's ALWAYS great music. This first Rare Bird album deserves to be treasured and preserved like a magnificent golden eagle.

The album opens with a terrific cover version of The Beatles "Norwegian Wood" which, dare I say it, is even better than the original. It's a perfect 7-minute-long introduction to the album and represents the best song on the album as a whole. There's a marvellously long instrumental build-up with some skilful fuzzy guitar riffs twinned with pleasantly understated and laid-back drumming. The music is overlaid with the sound of a saxophone, which is where the Jazz-Rock element comes into it. The real highlight of the song comes in the instrumental break in the middle section with repeated heavy guitar riffs and a powerful rhythm section which gathers in intensity and speed towards the conclusion. Track 2 "Pleasures of a Lifetime" is the longest song on the album at over 8 minutes in duration. It's a beautifully sweet-sounding song featuring warm and tender vocals and a gentle guitar, leaving one feeling in a pleasantly mellow mood. The mid-section features a Jazz break with some versatile saxophone playing and up-tempo drumming before returning to a more sedate and low-key pace for the song's finale. Track 3 "St. Thomas" is an uplifting and fast-paced instrumental Jazz number featuring some excellent work from the flautist, very reminiscent of Ian Anderson in Jethro Tull. Track 4 "Goodnight John Morgan" is another Jazz instrumental which continues at a more relaxed pace and features a very pleasant piano twinned with saxophone and gentle drumming which is easy on the ears. Track 5 "Father of My Daughter" is another soft and gentle song with pleasant-sounding vocals in similar vein to Track 2 and this very agreeable and laid-back number compliments the album nicely. The unusually titled "II B.S." is the next tune on the album, opening with strange sound effects, before launching into a fast-paced, 6-minute-long Jazz instrumental jam session, where the skilled musicians are giving free-rein to demonstrate their musical dexterity to the fullest extent. Track 7 features the second cover version on the album, "Monday Monday" by The Mamas & the Papas. Again, this very talented group of musicians demonstrate their prowess with the long and Jazzy instrumental introduction. The vocals kick-in about halfway through the song and it stands as a very worthy cover version of a great song. The final song "Don't Make Promises" rounds off the album beautifully with another nice gentle song featuring a masterly instrumental Jazz break midway through the song.

A superb album overall and highly recommended for fans of early Jazz-Rock. It's a must-have addition to any Jazz-Rock lover's album collection.

The first track "Garden of Earthly Delights" is a very promising and impressive opening to the album and nicely sets the scene for the album as a whole. The track features a very pleasant rock organ playing in the background overlaid with electric guitar and fine vocals. The track ends with some appealingly far-out psychedelic guitar playing from Steve Hillage. Track 2 "Azathoth" has a very religious feel to it, opening with a resonant church organ and charming ethereal vocals. The middle section of the song features some powerfully heavy and freaky guitar riffs, before returning to the more sedate sound of the church organ towards the end. Track 3 "Queen St. Gang" is an instrumental and it's the stand-out track on the album for me. Again, it features the magnificent sound of the organ under-laying the music as a whole, together with some gently laid-back drumming. Track 4 "Leg" opens with an impressive organ solo before launching into heavy electric guitar riffs, twinned with powerful bass and drumming in the rhythm section. After the deceptively quiet beginning, this track turns into a real out-and-out rocking barnstormer of a song. Track 5 "Clean Innocent Fun", at over 10 minutes long, begins as a slow and heavy, full-on psychedelic jam which gathers in pace and dramatic intensity as the song progresses and should appeal to fans of Jimi Hendrix. The final track on the album "Metempsychosis" is the longest number at over 16 minutes in length. The track opens with some freaky sound effects before launching into some powerful and throbbing Space Rock which is very reminiscent of Hawkwind's early albums. This is by far the heaviest track on the album and features some wonderfully freaky psychedelic guitar licks. The song has a hauntingly reflective middle section before returning to the heavy pounding rhythm for the grand finale to the album.

The album opens in fine rollicking and rambunctious style with "It Came On Sunday", which comes loudly knocking at your back door. The postman doesn't bother to ring twice, he just comes crashing straight through your door with a special delivery of powerhouse heavy blues. It's not quite as heavy as the throbbing and thunderous raw proto-metal of Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath though. No, this roaring song with its pounding beat and hypnotic rhythm is more akin to the powerful organ-driven sound of early Uriah Heep, Deep Purple and Rare Bird, with a healthy splash of mean and mighty blues thrown into the mix too. It's probably best to hunker down through the storming Hard Rock of "It Came On Sunday" and wait for Monday to come 'round. There's no peace for the wicked (or the good) though, because it's time now for a piece of "Mrs. Cooper's Pie", which turns out to be a tasty slice of thrumming organ-driven heavy rock, of which High and Mighty keyboard wizard Ken Hensley of Uriah Heep fame would be mighty proud. This Very 'eavy, Very 'umble song is a Demons and Wizards Wonderworld of sonic energy which has all of the raw undiluted power of a tank rolling across Salisbury Plain, so you better run, you better take cover, because this tank ain't stopping for anyone. We're celebrating the Sweet Freedom of a "Ladybird" next, as we dive Head First into this sonic blast from the blast. Again, the Writing is on the Wall for another pounding and pulsating explosion of audio dynamite, as this band of stormtroopers are on a take-no-prisoners Conquest, where you the listener may be the Innocent Victim. This is an album that should come with a noise abatement notice! The band really Ram the message home with the next storming rocker: "Aries". Batten down the hatches because this album is about to get VERY LOUD indeed! "Aries" is a supercharged high-energy cover version of a track from the classic American Psychedelic Rock album , "The Zodiac: Cosmic Sounds", recorded in the Summer of Love year of 1967. This is where the manic intensity of earlier numbers is ramped up to 99 and taken to a whole new level of sonorous magnitude, instilling the music with all of the unstoppable power and energy of a battering Ram. Whether or not you believe in horoscopes, it's written in the stars that the Astounding Sounds of this song and album will Amaze and Delight fans of Heavy Prog.

Take cover! It could be a good time to hide under the bed now or the "Bogeyman" might get you. He sounds like a mean and moody bogeyman too, if this creepy blues number with a mean and moody attitude is anything to go by. The brief and very bizarre sailor's hornpipe sea shanty in the opening only adds to the Looney Tunes wackiness in this wild ride on the Crazy Train, with the manic vocalist sounding like he's on some kind of psychedelic acid trip from Hell. Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible..... There's no hope of sanity returning any time soon though as it's a Return To Fantasy for "Shadow of Man". It's another dark and brooding return to insanity that doesn't just verge on madness - it goes right off the rails altogether and takes the listener on a nightmare ride of absolute bedlam where the lines between fantasy and reality are constantly blurred. The music is a lunatic asylum of crazy over-the-top vocals accompanied by an absolutely manic keyboard player and a drummer going hell for leather with the relentless pounding power of a pneumatic drill. "Shadow of Man" represents a non-stop bunker-busting artillery barrage of sound from beginning to end, so it's best to have the ear- defenders at the ready. This band might sound as crazy and demented as a box of frogs at times, but that only adds to their manic appeal. Some sense of normality returns now for the heavy blues rocker "Tasker's Successor", which still barrels along relentlessly on full-power, but without the craziness of the two earlier numbers. We're S-L-O-W-I-N-G things right down now for "Hill of Dreams", an epic and grandiose number with all of the pomp and magnificent splendour we've come to expect from the best in Prog-Rock. This truly IS Progressive Rock too because the song progresses from a fairly sedate beginning, and then lights up like a Firefly into a dynamic crescendo of sound for the magnificent finale. This is the kind of gloriously pompous prog that dreams are made of! The album is rounded off nicely now by "Virginia Waters", a heavy psych number charging full-steam ahead, featuring some strangely incomprehensible babbling vocals and a maniacal accordion player, but that's no less than what we've come to expect from this psycho band of warriors on the edge of time.

If you like your Heavy Prog all-fired up with some added manic intensity, then the Writing on the Wall is that you'll love the sound of "The Power of the Picts". This band are a whole Different World of prog with a unique style all of their own, which verges on madness at times, but the album should appeal to fans of the keyboard-heavy sound of such bands as Black Widow, Deep Purple, Rare Bird, and especially Uriah Heep.

"Giants" opens the album with a real giant of a song. It's a four and a half minute long psychedelic freak-out, featuring not only the sound of a wailing acid guitar, but some wailing vocals too. Tune in, turn on, and drop out to this psychedelic blast from the past. In the immortal words of Austin Powers, "It's groovy baby!" Onwards now to the intriguingly-titled "Manco Capac", who, just in case you wondered, was the first governor and founder of the Inca civilisation in Cusco, Peru. This Lovely song is overflowing with Love and flower power. It's sensual, it's spiritual and it's a song with perpetual appeal 50 years on from its recording. Take a look at these inspirational and devotional lyrics:- "High on a mount in the sacred place, The Holy sun is born to the lake, He radiates his life - the sun's so, In water and cosmic energy the God's flow, And he is the spirit in the lake of time, His eyes are the Truth you seek, His face is blue wishing cloud skies." ..... Hallelujah brother! This spiritual slice of late 1960's psychedelia will take you on a cosmic journey along the free love freeway, without the aid of any psychedelic substances. Far Out, Man! Onto Song No. 3 now and "Body", another song drenched in swinging psychedelic 1960's vibes. If you're looking for fun and feelin' groovy, then chill out to this mellow and laid-back groove and dream about going to San Francisco and wearing some flowers in your hair. And now we come to an uptempo and uplifting number "Gange Mai". What's it all about you may well ask. Well, it's all about the sacred (but very polluted) River Ganges as these lyrics reveal:- "Gange Mai, The river, Gange Mai, Holy water." ..... Yes, that's it in a nutshell. It's a lyrical, spritual hymnal tribute to the Indian river and Hindu goddess Ganga. The title of the next song, "Chant", might give you a clue as to what to expect. You won't be surprised to hear it's a devotional song full to the brim with repeated chants of "Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna", so you might be inclined to put on a robe and shave your head for this spiritual number. Then again, perhaps not.

Onto groovy Side Two now and it's time to get on the magic bus for "Pearl and Bird". It's an enchanting and entrancing, laid- back devotional groove, with the golden-voiced rich mellow tones of the singer inviting us on a spritual journey. This inspiring music is your ticket to musical heaven. Onto Song No. 7 now and the best-known song by Quintessence which they'll always be remembered for, "Notting Hill Gate", which just happens to be the district of London where the band originally hails from. This bright and lively, flutey psychedelic number was released as a single in 1970 and reached No. 22 in the UK charts. We come to the end of this inspirational and spiritual album now with "Midnight Mode", an epic 9-minute midnight mass, featuring a gorgeously-long flute solo. which Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull would be proud of. It's a song full of Indian mysticism and psychedelic guitar grooves. It's hippy, it's trippy, and if you're in the right kind of mood, the music will make you feel part of an ever-expanding, loving, joyful, glorious, and harmonious universe.

If you've remained in blissful ignorance of this marvellous album for the last 50 years, then give "In Blissful Company" a listen. This beautiful, inspirational and spiritual album will take you on an emotional, mind-expanding, psychedelic journey of love and devotion. Who needs a dopamine high from drugs to reach the heights of spiritual ecstasy when you can achieve an emotional and devotional high with this wonderful debut album. "In Blissful Company" is indeed a blissful album, which is best listened to in romantic company. It's fabulous, baby!