While Daevid Allen and Gilli Smyth were off in Majorca, the core group of Tim Blake, Steve Hillage and Didier Malherbe—with newcomers Mike Howlett on bass and Pierre Moerlen on drums—spent the spring touring France as Paragong. When the couple returned, this "classic" lineup completed their first UK tour in the summer, and then returned to France to record the second installment of the Radio Gnome Invisible trilogy.

Gentle Giant recorded their fifth album in the still-settling wake of the eldest Shulman Phil's departure. The band was back at Advision, but for the first time since their debut without engineer Martin Rushent. Like the black-and-white cover, In A Glass House has a stark, monochromatic feel to it; but nevertheless contains some classic Giant material. "The Runaway" kicks off on John Weathers's solid offbeat; and along with "Experience," both songs would remain concert favorites for some years, albeit in shortened form.

Brain Salad Surgery, a euphemism for oral sex (from Dr. John's "Right Place, Wrong Time"), was Emerson, Lake & Palmer's first album on their own Manticore imprint, and came complete with a H.R. Giger cover and poster. It continued the long-standing tradition of covering the classics, opening with a concise rendition of Hubert Parry's "Jerusalem." The adaptation of an Alberto Ginastera piece, "Toccata," is a highlight, featuring Carl Palmer's percussion synthesizers in a surprisingly expressive role.

Following his excursions with fusion in Chapter Three, Manfred Mann’s next venture sought something “earthier” and closer to rock. In 1971, Mann formed the Earth Band with drummer Chris Slade, bassist Colin Pattenden and guitarist and vocalist Mick Rogers. Dubbed Manfred Mann's Earth Band, they churned out four albums in the space of almost two years. Both Glorified Magnified and Messin' (US title Get Your Rocks Off) were solid efforts, illustrating that Mann had indeed assembled one cohesive band.

Kraftwerk starts and ends with Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. The duo first recorded with Organisation, a band that released one album, Tone Float in 1970, before establishing themselves as Kraftwerk (with the others off to Ibliss). Both Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother (later of Neu!) interned with a Schneider-led band early on, which is well-documented in the video "Truckstop Gondolaro" from German Beat Club television. The duo reunited for their second album, now substituting a rhythm machine for a drummer.

Robert Fripp and Brian Eno paired up for this recording more than a year prior to its release. At the time, Eno was still in Roxy Music (but soon on his way to a solo career), while Fripp was busy recruiting for King Crimson. Recorded in Eno's front room, the album's centerpiece is "The Heavenly Music Corporation;" it's Fripp's guitar feed looped-back through two tape recorders. The result? You guessed it: heavenly music.

Having road-tested some of the material the previous summer, Remember The Future splits its single title down the album's two halves; the individual track names banded on the vinyl, Nektar offers two song cycles that run continuously. The story revolves around a bluebird and a blind boy, but I won't go there; I'll let Nektar relate that to you. The sprightly opening section, "Images of The Past," bounces beneath Roye Albrighton's rhythm guitar. Immediately, the vocal harmonies hit you: one of Nektar's endearing trademarks.

Violist Geoffrey Richardson jumped aboard Caravan in late 1972, while bassist John G. Perry joined after the Australian tour. They were two significant additions to the band, as both musicians would impart a significant influence on Pye Hastings and Richard Coughlan. The band hired Dave Sinclair for a tour in the spring; but by the time they entered the studio to record their fifth record, For Girls Who Grow Plump In The Night, Sinclair had returned as fulltime keyboardist.

Although released in July as a budget-priced album, the performances on Genesis Live were priceless; the record rose to No. 9 on the UK album charts. Live albums had started to appear during the early 70s, ostensibly to fill the album-per-year requirement most labels demanded. Of course, other than earning an easy buck or two, they also gave bands a breather to jump-start the creative process or fill a vacant role, and often served as a bookmark in a band's development. For Genesis, it closed the chapter that began with Trespass.

Faust were uniquely German; and, in all likelihood, were the antithesis of the aesthetics of British prog rock. In fact, Faust's raison d'être had more in common with post-modern art than anything remotely romantic; however, their relative success (courtesy of Virgin Records) was tightly tied to the progressive era. Their first two albums for Polydor, both produced by Uwe Nettelbeck, were instant krautrock classics, though not easy listening by any stretch.