While still a member of Gong, Hillage was afforded the opportunity by Virgin Records to record a solo album. It's no surprise then that Fish Rising contains most of the Gong crew, plus Hillage's partner Miquette Giraudy and former bandmate Dave Stewart. In fact, much of the material here was first written during the second incarnation of Khan in 1972. Stewart's keyboards give "Solar Musick Suite" (sic) a none-too-subtle nod towards the so-called Canterbury sound.

Hatfield and the North's second album appeared a year after their debut. The Rotters' Club offers more of their jazzy inventions and supports a fine cast of guests, including Virgin labelmates Lindsay Cooper and Tim Hodgkinson from Henry Cow. Again, Dave Stewart's keyboards are central, particularly his use of the electric piano and organ.

Along with a host of guests from the French progressive scene, Cyrille Verdeaux recorded a series of albums under the umbrella of Clearlight. The Paris-born keyboardist had a formal musical education at Conservatoire de Paris, and this experience certainly shaped his compositions. Signed to Virgin Records in the wake of Tubular Bells' success, the similarities between Mike Oldfield and Clearlight are purely topical: If Oldfield represented a folksy, hippie vibe, then Clearlight was the opposite—the French sophisticate.

Hailing from Munich, saxophonist Klaus Doldinger (b. 1936) had an illustrious career throughout the 1960s, playing with such jazz luminaries as Don Ellis and Donald Byrd. But in the late 60s, he hooked up with the younger generation to explore psychedelic and jazz-rock terrains. He recorded two albums on the Liberty label with Motherhood, a band that included the yet-to-be-famous Udo Lindenberg on drums and a pre-Amon Düül II's Lothar Meid on bass. Adding Jimmy Jackson on organ and Olaf Kübler on tenor saxophone, they morphed into Passport in 1971.

Following the break-up of Van der Graaf Generator in late 1972, Peter Hammill pursued his solo career in earnest. Released in 1973 and 1974, respectively, both Chameleon In The Shadow Of The Night and The Silent Corner And The Empty Stage were primarily acoustic affairs, showcasing Hammill’s one-man show (but not without contributions from former VdGG members).

Kraan’s third record, Andy Nogger, was their first recorded with legendary producer Conny Plank. It’s a significant relationship, one that would extend across many years and projects together, both as a producer and musician. As the excellent “Stars” demonstrates, Kraan has a highly energetic and original sound—somewhere between rock and jazz, but nowhere around the then-current idiom of fusion.

Though based in Germany, Down To Earth saw Nektar back to recording in the UK at Chipping Norton Studios, with producer Peter Hauke in tow. The album revolves around the concept of a circus; popular at the time, Argent would also use this theme. The band leave behind most of their psychedelic trappings and long-form jamming, and instead deliver an album of expertly-crafted songs. The lively "Astral Man" glibly sets the stage; these British expatriates may have been taking a stab at their countrymen's otherworldly opuses, or perhaps even a little at their own.

Hailing from Pennsylvania, Todd Rundgren was first heard in Nazz, a band whose 60s-garage rock styling was released to no particular acclaim. In 1970, he formed Runt with Hunt and Tony Sales, and scored a hit with the blue-eyed soul of "We Gotta Get You a Woman." In 1972, Rundgren released the double-album Something/Anything? It provided another couple of hits: "I Saw the Light" managed to chart on both sides of the Atlantic, while a re-recording of Nazz's "Hello It's Me" entered the US Top 5.

Hailing from Florence, Sensations' Fix was really a front for Franco Falsini; in addition to playing guitar and keyboards, he also wrote and produced most of the band's music in-wait for it-Virginia. Joining him were two Americans: bassist Richard Ursillo, previously with Campo di Marte, and drummer Keith Edwards. Their debut album, Fragments Of Light, was released in 1974 on Polydor, and is certainly the most un-Italian of all the progressive rock to come out of Italy.

Under the guise of Popol Vuh, the Munich-based Florian Fricke created one of the most original bodies of work during the 1970s. His first two records were krautrock of the most kosmische type. Released in 1970, Affenstunde ("Monkey Hour") saw Fricke's hand on the Moog synthesizer; he was one of the first in Germany to own one. By 1972, he had switched to organ for the following In Den Gärten Pharaos (now recording for the Pilz/Ohr label), but had yet to find the quintessential Popol Vuh sound.