In the time between their previous album and this release, Pink Floyd had risen to the very top of rock ‘n' roll's elite. And while most would consider this a high-class problem, the band seemed none-the-happier for it. The first attempt at a follow-up, the Household Objects project, was abandoned in the fall of 1973. The band reconvened in early 1975, only to have the sessions interrupted by two US tours. Once back in the studio, artistic torpor prevailed until Roger Waters ultimately took over.

To record the band's eighth album, Ian Anderson assembled the crew in Monte Carlo with their new mobile studio: no grand compositional aspirations this time, but perhaps a little holiday fun. What came out was an album of contrasts and one of Jethro Tull's most dynamic records—polarized between the acoustic of the minstrel and the electric of the band. The title track kicks off quietly with Anderson literally in character; but soon the band lets loose, propelled by Barriemore Barlow's kick drum and one helluva riff from Martin Barre's guitar.

Manfred Mann's Earth Band completed their first tour of the US in 1974, where they probably discovered the track that would open their next album, 1975's Nightingales & Bombers. A cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Spirits in the Night" also was released as a single, but hold this space: They'd return to the writer's well a year later for much greater fortunes.

Originally the Sebastian Hardie Blues Band, these Australians paid their dues as Johnny O'Keef's backing band during the 60s. In 1973, the Plavsic brothers Peter (bass) and Alex (drums) joined up with guitarist and vocalist Mario Millo, while keyboardist Toivo Pilt jumped aboard a year later. It should be evident by now that a lot of bands were "switching" to progressive styles around this time. Though this wasn't disingenuous per se, the more organic evolutions of the original British groups still remained the barometer, and comparisons could not be avoided.

Quiet Sun's sole album was recorded while Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera was recording his debut solo record, Diamond Head. That album included an incredible roster of musicians (and the classic track "Miss Shapiro"), but it also sought to cover the same pop territory as Roxy Music, and most certainly succeeded. Mainstream, then, was the progressive "studio twin." Manzanera returned to keyboardist Dave Jarrett, as well as Bill MacCormick and Charles Hayward: the former an ex-Matching Mole bassist, and the latter the future This Heat drummer.

In 1975, Gentle Giant signed to Chrysalis Records in the UK—an agreement that purportedly stemmed from the relationship the band had made with the label after touring with mainstays Jethro Tull. On their first album for the label, Free Hand, the band replaces the uniformity of their previous efforts with a much more playful and varied atmosphere. The first side revolves around the themes of broken relationships, both personal and business. "Just the Same" kicks things off with a choppy rhythm, but its highlight is the break: one minute soaring, the next quirky.

In 1974, a heavy tour schedule consumed Caravan. John G. Perry left in July and was replaced at producer David Hitchcock’s suggestion by ex-Curved Air bassist Mike Wedgwood. After a switch to Miles Copeland’s BTM agency, the band embarked on their first US tour in September. They entered the studio in early 1975 to record their sixth album, Cunning Stunts. The record kicks off with the proud “The Show of Our Lives” (with Wedgwood on lead vocals), before sliding into “Stuck in a Hole.” Both the latter track and “No Backstage Pass” would be the only compositions from Pye Hastings.

Recorded in June at the La Taverne de l'Olympia in Paris, the magnificent double-album Live (later known as Hhaï/Live) is perhaps Magma's most exemplary statement. The lineup had toured the UK earlier in the year: joining Christian and Stella Vander and Klaus Blasquiz were violinist Didier Lockwood and keyboardist Benoît Widemann, with bassist Bernard Paganotti replacing Jannick Top; guitarist Gabriel Fédérow and pianist Jean-Pol Asseline rounded out the stage.

Signed to Manager Miles Copeland's BTM label, Renaissance released Turn Of The Cards in May 1974; the album would break the band into the US Top 100. It also contained a few songs that would become concert favorites, including "Running Hard" and "Mother Russia." However, Scheherazade And Other Stories, released in August 1975, was the more accomplished of the two releases.

Synergy was the sobriquet of Larry Fast's one-man synthesizer show. Hailing from New Jersey, Fast would rise to prominence as one of America's premier electronic musicians, largely through a series of albums released on the Passport label. Released in 1975, his debut album, Electronic Realizations For Rock Orchestra, set the stage. Awash with synthetic flourishes and Mellotron a-plenty, "Legacy" unfolds in a familiar way. But the promise of the initial heavy sequence fades into something altogether lighter, much to this listener's chagrin.