| 5.0 classic |
| Comus First Utterance |
| Even in the musical landscape of 2014 where entire genres are devoted to evoking the sounds of forest, of night and of terror, "First Utterance" is still the finest ode to them all. |
| King Crimson Red |
| "Red" was King Crimson's way of telling contemporary rock music how silly it sounded. Hard-edged instrumentals! Chromatic stomps with rattling, tectonic bass! Blues-eschewing mini-epics angry at the way the world had become! An utterly essential album for fans of music's pioneers. |
| King Crimson Larks' Tongues in Aspic |
| The bravest album in progressive rock. At no point will you enjoy this as background music; at no point will it let you down if you give it your full attention. |
| Parliament Mothership Connection |
| Every time I try to write this sound-off, the music interrupts me and I find myself strutting around the room in sunglasses. Ahem... Unfunky UFO is worth the price of admission on its own, but Mothership Connection as a whole is as an authentic a mystical freak-out as possible, and a bass player's dream. |
| 4.5 superb |
| Area Arbeit Macht Frei |
| Fearless freak fusion with a truly virtuoso singer, Arbeit Macht Frei sees Area use funk rock as a double-edged weapon - this is a progressively and politically energetic record with no wasted movements. |
| Curtis Mayfield Curtis |
| Opening track stands up as an incredibly bold statement even now, and the bass-line is simply crucial. Curtis straddles the borders between soul and funk here, and nothing freaks out or collapses into sweetness. A very confident album. |
| Herbie Hancock Head Hunters |
| A holy grail for people who want to love funk but can't find enough substance elsewhere in which to sink their teeth! The Headhunters could seriously keep a groove going without it growing excessive or faceless, particularly as Hancock's presence on some very spacy synthesizers lends each composition credibility, variety and a jazzy bite. |
| Joni Mitchell Blue |
| Blue is defined by songs arranged so earnestly and sensitively that they don't just accompany Joni's words but turn them into profundity. |
| Mike Oldfield Tubular Bells |
| Mike Oldfield's fragile and pastoral classic. It's still interesting to note that Tubular Bells is almost devoid of rhythmic percussion but still holds a perfect pulse. Man plays a million instruments and still manages to have an inimitable and emotional guitar performance style. Side one is classic from beginning to end; side two is the afterglow. |
| Milton Nascimento and Lo Borges Clube da Esquina |
| As soon as I've learnt Portuguese I'll be bumping this to a five! |
| Stevie Wonder Innervisions |
| The premier songwriter of the 70s doing what he does best. Side one hangs together as a wonderful suite. Tunes are engrossing, a cut above typical three chord pop without being complicated listening. |
| 4.0 excellent |
| Aphrodite's Child 666 |
| Dark psychedelia with a ritualist bite - blows hundreds of future soppy concept albums about human relationships and the stars right out of the water. |
| Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso Darwin! |
| A creative, symphonic ode to the minor keys! Darwin! doesn't jam for one second, alternating between progressive suites, impassioned balladry and jazzy incidentalism. Banco still strike me as the boldest symphonic band of the era. |
| Curtis Mayfield Superfly |
| Social commentary over some essential funky soul grooves; never overblown or preachy, Superfly states the facts as they are. The accompaniment gets a bit adult contemporary in places, though forgivably as this is the soundtrack for a film - still, "Curtis" was harder hitting. |
| Focus Focus 3 |
| Focus can jam, and jam well, but side one of Focus III is a composer's dream too, full of stunning theme and controlled variation. This album stands up to a lot of prog's big names and only really suffers from being gentle and a little long. |
| Genesis Foxtrot |
| Bursts with ideas and compositional flourish. Get 'em Out By Friday is the highlight, a perfectly feasible piece of social science-fiction with stomping bass. |
| Gong Flying Teapot |
| The beginning of a very a silly odyssey. Just enough compositional flare to separate all the irresistible jamming. Not particularly a guitar rock album - more of a psychedelic confluence of daftness and fusion. |
| Mike Oldfield Ommadawn |
| Oldfield at his most consistent. Unlike the suite arrangement of Tubular Bells, Ommadawn really is one extended-length song, with its themes reprised and varied along the way. The climax of part one is essential listening in any category! |
| Robert Wyatt Rock Bottom |
| Knowing the sad story behind Rock Bottom, it's surprising to receive a mischievous, playful album instead of the poignant one you imagined. The music gets dark, murky and primal but you're never too far away from the next daft turn of phrase or absurd poem. The songs wriggle unpredictably but always cling to the emotional - although Rock Bottom is replete with brilliant instrumentalists it is vivid and touching, never virtuosic or boastful. One of the coziest albums. |
| Steve Reich Music for 18 Musicians |
| Stunning and approachable study of pulse and serial progression. |
| The Enid In The Region of the Summer Stars |
| Yes, it's neo-classical idol worship and, yes, it's as gentle as gentle can be, but In the Region of Summer Stars is too good to dismiss in these manners - all the compositions are incredibly strong and, refreshingly for the 70s, there's barely any blues influence to be found. |
| Van der Graaf Generator Pawn Hearts |
| Some of VdGG's greatest and scariest compositions, Pawn Hearts is a trio of thrillingly chromatic epics to accompany Hammill's swooping voice. Sax and organ carry the album, guitar is marginalized. The journey's the thing. |
| Van der Graaf Generator Godbluff |
| The more approachable side of Van der Graaf Generator with comparatively - for them - bite-size, catchy and concise tunes. Godbluff contains some of their best melodies and a particularly heavy sax attack. Lyrics are as ever exemplary. |
