Blackwater Park - Dirt Box (1971)

Blackwater Park was a progressive hard rock band from Berlin, Germany, with an English vocalist. They released only one album, Dirt Box, which included a cover of

Sir Lord Baltimore - Kingdom Come (1970)

Artwork by Doug Taylor

Sir Lord Baltimore was an American rock band from Brooklyn, New York, United States, formed in 1968 by lead vocalist/drummer John Garner, guitarist Louis Dambra, and bass player Gary Justin. Some have cited the 1971 review of their debut record, Kingdom Come, in Creem magazine as containing the first documented use of the term "heavy metal" to refer to

Flied Egg - Dr. Siegel's Fried Egg Shooting Machine (1972)

First album recorded as Flied Egg called "Dr. Siegel's Fried Egg Shooting Machine" is surely the best record Shigeru Narumo & his friends ever done. Improvement over "When The Raven Has Come To The Earth"(recorded as Strawberry Path) is really huge. The most important is that band's leader

Baker Gurvitz Army - Baker Gurvitz Army (1974)

Former The Gun and Three Man Army members Paul and Adrian Gurvitz joined forces with ex-Cream drummer Ginger Baker in 1974. Things had not been going too well for

Gun - Gun (1968)

Artwork by Roger Dean

The Gun were renamed in 1967 from The Knack, formed by guitarist/vocalist Paul Gurvitz (born Paul Anthony Gurvitz, 6 July 1944, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire - he was known by the surname Curtis until the early 1970s after which he returned to his original name Gurvitz). The Knack changed their name in the spring/summer of 1966, and the setup was Paul Curtis (Gurvitz) on guitar and vocals, Louie Farrell (born Brian John Farrell, 8 December 1947, Goodmayes, Essex)  (who had joined The Knack in mid 1966) on drums, Gearie Kenworthy on bass guitar (born 17 October 1946), Tim Mycroft organ (born 1948 died 2000), and later for a short while, Jon Anderson of Yes. The Gun performed at the UFO Club, supporting bands such as

High Tide - Sea Shanties (1969)

"Called by some a masterpiece of proto-prog-metal, "Sea Shanties" is somewhat rougher around the edges than its follow-up, "High Tide". Nevertheless, it is undeniably miles ahead of its time: a powerful, haunting wall of sound which is only let down by poor production values, all too revealing of the 37 years that have passed since the album's release. Strangely enough,

Fusion Orchestra - Skeleton in armour (1973)

"A little-known powerhouse of a band, Fusion Orchestra was one of the best of the many long-lost British groups that celebrated the new progressive sound of the early 1970s. Leader Jill Saward takes the reins as firmly as any male musician of her time and belts out a wail that could put some off, but her flute playing and contributions on

Birth Control - Plastic People (1975)

Formed in Germany, Birth Control it's a somewhat strange group: they started as a instrumental jazz rock outfit, but their albums are in the vein of Deep Purple with a German touch.

Plastic People, by the way, it's a mix of progressive, hard rock, krautrock (very little), jazz/soul and

Lucifer's Friend - Lucifer's Friend (1970)

Lucifer's Friend, previously known as Asterix, formed in Germany with the English singer John Lawton, later with Uriah Heep.

Their self-titled album released in 1970 it's a mixture of Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. In some tracks you can clearly hear, in the guitar playing,

May Blitz - May Blitz (1970)

(Artwork by Tony Benyon)

May Blitz were formed in 1969 by ex-Jeff Beck Group member Tony Newman on drums, Canadians James Black on lead guitar and vocals and Reid Hudson on bass and vocals.

Their debut album "May Blitz" was released on Vertigo in 1970. The cover was designed by