Originating from Virginia, Happy the Man was one of America's premier progressive rock bands. Guitarist Stanley Whitaker and drummer Mike Beck founded the band, eventually adding keyboardist Kit Watkins, instrumentalist Frank Wyatt and bassist Rick Kennell. Moving to Washington D.C., the outfit attracted the interest of Peter Gabriel, who at the time was searching for a backing band. HTM, however, were committed to their music and settled for a contract with Arista Records instead.

Italy, more than any other country represented in the timeline, produced some of the most genuine and decadent progressive rock during the early 70s. Even more obscure than the English "cult classics," only the polycarbonate and aluminum of the compact disc has allowed for these treasures—which were originally pressed in the hundreds—to be resurrected from both oral legend and obscurity. One of the prime examples is Il Balletto di Bronzo ("Bronze Ballet").

Heldon's fourth album (also carrying the subtitle of Richard Pinhas's then-girlfriend, Agneta Nilsson) was released in early 1976, and offered a more polished production than previous efforts. The big change though was the middle section of the album's side-long piece, "Perspective IV." Aided by Coco Roussel on drums, Alain Bellaïche on bass guitar and Patrick Gauthier on Mini-Moog synthesizer, Heldon delivers very aggressive rock ‘n' roll.

Phos was, in fact, the Greek band's fourth album, and represented a significant change in style from their earlier releases. Originally named Socrates Drank the Conium, the band centered their heavy, blues-based psychedelic rock on John Spathas's guitar work, influenced greatly by Jimi Hendrix. Not that much had changed by their third album, 1973's On The Wings, which was their first to see release outside of Greece. In the US, it was the first of two records from the band to see release on the Peters International Cosmos label.

Since we last left Eloy, the band had added a second guitarist, Detlev Schwaar, for 1975's Power And The Passion. The sprawling concept album displayed a marked progression from the band's previous efforts; their writing was more demonstrative, and Manfred Wieczorke's use of synthesizers added considerable texture. But despite the success of the album in their native Germany, problems with management led to the band's breakup, with founding member Wieczorke joining German hard rockers Jane.

During the year since their last release, Genesis had not only transitioned to Phil Collins as vocalist, but they also found time to tour America and record their next album. Wind & Wuthering picks up where their previous album left off, though offering a little more empathy to their past spirit; and in particular the Selling England By The Pound album. The lively "Eleventh Earl of Mar" opens; it's a rocker, but the gentle break is stuffed with detail. "All in a Mouse's Night" is similar, again driven by Mike Rutherford's bass pedals.

Following closely in the direction first offered on Phaedra, Tangerine Dream released Rubycon and the live Ricochet in 1975; the former rose to No. 12 on the UK charts, the band's highest position yet. Both were excellent releases that featured one single composition split over each of the album's sides, again with heavy accents on mood and atmosphere. Stratosfear, however, reflects a paradigm shift for the band: Augmented by acoustic instruments, including harmonica, guitar, piano and harpsichord, Tangerine Dream's constructions now move toward actual composition.

Kansas' third album, Masque, pointedly displayed the two sides to the band. They still contained "Two Cents Worth" of boogie-rock; however, with Kerry Livgren's songwriting, the band also delivered two classics from their "symphonic" side: "Icarus-Borne on Wings of Steel" and "The Pinnacle." Sales for the album, however, were as stagnant as their previous releases, and the band reached a supposedly do-or-die scenario with their label.

After rehearsals in the famed Headley Grange venue and a few UK concerts, Van der Graaf Generator were back at Rockfield Studios to record their third album in less than a year. Peter Hammill even found time to record a solo album, the subject of which was the breakup of his relationship. His cathartic Over was quite a wrenching matter; but, thankfully, World Record is another story. The album attempts to be the most straightforward that VdGG would deliver, though ultimately it may be their most perplexing.