Canadian brass rock band Lighthouse were formed in Toronto 1969. Unusually, the band leader Ronn "Skip" Prokop was a drummer, he has played previously with artists such as Janis Joplin, Carlos Santana and Al Kooper before forming his first band The Paupers. Of these, the Kooper connection is probably the most significant, as the music of Lighthouse is based around a solid brass section and big arrangements, similar to those of Blood, Sweat & Tears and Chicago.
Prokop's ambitions were made clear from the outset when the first line up of Lighthouse had no less than 11 members. The were quickly picked up by RCA Victor, who release the bands self titled debut in 1969. Further albums followed quickly, but the punningly titled "Peacing it all together", their third release, would see the end of their relationship with RCA…

Silk Torpedo provides an interesting glance into the glam era. Beginning with "Dream" - a ghostly instrumental prelude that the group's friends in Led Zeppelin would later cop for "In the Evening" - this album launches into "Joey," a superb combination of piano boogie, crashing drums, and melodramatic choruses draped in Hammond organ. Phil May's vocals on this piece run somewhere between Ian Hunter and Steve Tyler, and are every bit as effective. "Maybe You Tried" is a glittering slice of glam rock, all pouting and hip-thrusting, with a simply killer guitar hook from Pete Tolson. From this strong start, though, the album falters into a torpid sort of introspection. Still, "Belfast Cowboys" deserves kudos for taking on the Irish question long before U2 was taking its first music lessons. The CD reissue adds live versions of "Singapore Silk Torpedo" and "Dream/Joey," both recorded in 1974.

"Still Looking" is the only album by US psychedelic rock band "Headstone" from 1974. In the psychedelic underground collectors scene the album got established as a classic psych-hard-rock rarity. Their sound is strong and melodic with awesome guitar/organ leads, solid bass and catchy vocals. Their natural float creates a hypnotic atmosphere and makes you listen to this album again and again. At all their musical spirit is closer to the end 60s blend, than the recording year 1974 reflects, and sometimes they remind of the early Bloodrock stuff.

In the early seventies, the British-American group Carmen broke new ground in rock music, combining the British flair for progressive rock with traditional Spanish folk themes into a very fresh, energetic and powerful new mix. The sound is centered around guitar, keyboards are used subtly but to good effect. On the whole, they are a rather hard band to describe… Some vague comparisons could be made to Jethro Tull, Mezquita (some of the Spanish themes), and Triana (the flamenco/prog combination).

Franco Battiato is one of the most successful singers in Italy. He began his career as a "light" singer, recording a few singles. In 1971 he started his particular journey through experimental music, recording his proggiest issues: "Fetus", "Pollution", "Sulle corde di Aries". Some very atmospheric parts and some very melodic songs make these records worthwhile, along with musical references to the arabic culture and italian folk that will surface from time to time in all of his following output. His next records are gradually more and more experimental, exploring minimalism and culminating with "L' Egitto prime delle Sabbie", with two long pieces based on hardly one note and its harmonics.

Depending on who you ask, this is either Nektar's greatest or worst album. As Albrighton explained later, it was the band's attempt to re-invent itself as someone else - like the Magical Mystery Tour. Old fans were appalled; but as the first album to get much airplay in the U.S., it brought in new fans who found it by far their most accessible work. Its progressive and funk elements are set around a demented circus theme, with the songs introduced by a loony Teutonic ringmaster. "That's Life," powered by chattering drums and a positively orgasmic Rickenbacker bass sound, is a standout of progressive rock showmanship. Delicate pieces like "Little Boy" and "Early Morning Clown" - where Albrighton uses rotating Leslie speakers to great effect - alternate with pub rockers like "Fidgety Queen" and the lumbering funk of "Nelly the Elephant"…

Expanding back out to a more all-over-the-place lineup - about 15 or so people this time out - Funkadelic got a bit more back on track with Standing on the Verge. Admittedly, George Clinton repeats a trick from America Eats Its Young via another re-recording of an Osmium track, namely leadoff cut "Red Hot Mama." However, starting as it does with a hilarious double soliloquy (with the first voice sounding like the happier brother of Sir Nose d'Voidoffunk) and coming across with a fierce new take, it's a good omen for Standing on the Verge as a whole. Eddie Hazel's guitar work in particular is just plain bad-ass; after his absence from Cosmic Slop, it's good to hear him fully back in action with Bernie Worrell, Cordell Mosson, Gary Shider, and the rest…

Cut at the 1974 Montreux Jazz Festival with Stones' bassist Bill Wyman anchoring the rhythm section, the set captures some of the ribald musical repartee that customarily distinguished the pairing of Buddy Guy and Junior Wells, though they certainly break no new ground as they roll through their signature songs.

Area's second album takes its cues from the most serious side of early-'70s British progressive rock, particularly Soft Machine and King Crimson. There's a high-voltage, at times furious energy to the quasi-jazz-rock fusion, with keyboards showing some influence from Miles Davis fusion records, and the guitars wheeling off lines with a busy anxiety. This is the first album that contains the better known line up, with Ares Tavolazzi replacing Patrick Djivas on bass.
This album is notable also for being the first one in which experimental music is introduced. For example "MIRage? Mirage!" contains a part in which the whole band can be heard whispering readings (for example a negative review of "Arbeit Macht Frei", a TV guide…), and "Lobotomia" is constructed using loud synth noise, with the clear intention to disturb the listener…