Recording again for the American label Asylum, our Italian friends took off for Los Angeles to produce another English-language album, the appropriately-titled Jet Lag. Inside the West Coast jazz-rock scene, PFM struck up some friendships, including Frank Zappa and Jaco Pastorius; and even added an American, Greg Bloch, ex-Mark-Almond and It's A Beautiful Day, to replace Mauro Pagani. It should be no surprise then that the resulting album completely ditches the band's prog rock styling for something a lot closer to jazz fusion.

Coming into 1977, Alan Powell, Paul Rudolph and Nik Turner were given the boot from Hawkwind following a failed coup orchestrated by Turner. Retaining Simon House and Simon King, Dave Brock and Robert Calvert recruited Adrian Shaw on bass to complete the new lineup. Released in 1977, Quark Strangeness and Charm proves the Brock/Calvert songwriting team had hit their stride; and musically, Hawkwind is at its most progressive.

Grobschnitt reconvened to complete their fourth record in the winter of 1976, having spent most of the year writing and rehearsing their new musical concept; in particular, Eroc had spent the previous months perfecting the lyrics. Here, the band furthers their symphonic proportions for the progressive fantasy of Rockpommel's Land. Sung in English, but with German liner notes included inside (go figure), the fairy tale revolves around a boy daydreaming about his paper airplane. Ernie and a large bird, Maraboo, travel to Severity Town, where Black Shirts punish Mr.

Brand X began around the trio of guitarist John Goodsall, keyboardist Robin Lumley and bassist Percy Jones. Of course, having Phil Collins in the drummer's seat didn't hurt their prospects, either; but Brand X was truly a collective, and Collins was, lest we forget, once just a drummer. They first teamed up during sessions for The Eddie Howell Gramophone Record in 1975, and then again on Lumely's album with Jack Lancaster (of Blodwyn Pig fame), Peter & The Wolf. Though earlier recordings exist, the first Brand X album proper was released in 1976.

With Alto Pappert's departure, Kraan was again a quartet. Although Ingo Bischof's tenure would be intermittent over the long run, it was stable for now. He brought along fellow Karthago member Tommy Goldschmidt for the sessions that resulted in the band's sixth album, Wiederhören. Half of the album was recorded with Conny Plank at his studio in Neunkirchen, while the band self-produced the other half at Rüssl Studio in Hamburg.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer's long absence from the rock arena broke during the heyday of "punk." While the band's surfeit had always been an easy target for pundits, Works Volume 1 was perhaps their most unfashionable offering to date. Styled to resemble an album of classical music, even the black-and-white album cover cries pretension. Three sides of the vinyl are each credited to a band member, while the fourth is claimed by the band as a unit. Keith Emerson's contribution is "Piano Concerto No.

Anthony Phillips first appeared in the timeline as the original guitarist for Genesis. Unable to make the commitment to life in a rock band, he left in 1970 and returned to formal music studies at Guildhall School of Music & Drama. His friendship with Mike Rutherford never wavered-in fact, with Phil Collins, they recorded the unreleased single "Silver Song" b/w "Only Your Love" in 1973 for Charisma Records, during a lull in Genesis' activity.

Pierre Moerlen was born in Colmar, France, in 1952. A star pupil at Conservatoire Régional de Strasbourg, one of his earliest rock groups, Hasm Congélateur included future Magma guitarist Gabriel Fédérow. During his tenure in Gong, Moerlen took more than one sabbatical for a parallel career in classical music—as a percussionist with the Percussions de Strasbourg. Thus, when he set out to recruit a new lineup for Gong, it was obvious which direction he would take-percussive!

By the time Ian Anderson got around to writing this, Jethro Tull's tenth studio album, he had moved outside London for a life in the country—and, presumably, he had gotten over the fact that he was indeed too young to die. "Ring Out, Solstice Bells" was initially released (as an EP) the previous November for the holiday season and managed (surprise, surprise) to chart on the UK Top 40. Though the album's subject matter and cover image seem to have turned folksy, there's little folk music inside Songs From The Wood, save perhaps for the songs' subject matter.

Following the release of their last album in 1975, Pink Floyd had spent 1976 sinking hundreds of thousands of pounds into their Britannia Row Studios, where Animals was recorded. The bulk of the album had already been written before the session; "Dogs" first appeared in 1974 as "You Gotta Be Crazy," while "Sheep" was previously "Raving and Drooling." Roger Waters again dominates the picture, providing the album's grand and Orwellian concept.