Pink Floyd has the honor of offering the last serving of excess for the decade, spread out over the double-album The Wall. Just listen to the opening bars of "In the Flesh?" Roger Waters's voice is the first to be heard, and it's no surprise. Since their last record, the other members of the Floyd had cut solo albums to little commercial or artistic success.

With Phil Collins in Canada sorting out his personal life, Genesis entered 1979 on hiatus. Both Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford turned their attention to solo projects, with Banks's being the first out of the gate. A Curious Feeling was produced with David Hentschel at Abba's Polar Studios, with Banks handling all instrumentation—only Chester Thompson assisted on drums and percussion. Based loosely on the novelette Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes, the album is a relatively uniform set of songs.

Mike Oldfield's follow-up albums to Tubular Bells were similar in style, and none the worse for it: Hergest Ridge also managed to top the British charts upon release, while 1975's Ommadawn would settle for No. 4. After a few years' break, Oldfield released the ambitious (for the time) double-album Incantations in 1978; the album was successful, reaching No. 26 on the UK charts. The reclusive musician then assembled a large band and orchestra in the spring of 1979, mounting a tour as a solo artist for the first time.

Among Jethro Tull's activities during the previous year, they managed to back Steeleye Span's Maddy Prior on her debut solo album, Woman In The Wings. David Palmer lent his considerable arrangement skills, while Martin Barre contributed a blistering solo to "Cold Flame." The album is worth seeking out. Judging by the Stormwatch album cover, Ian Anderson seemed to have had enough with country life, looking now to the North Sea for inspiration on this, the band's 12th studio album, and the final installment of their so-called folk trilogy.

Drummer Bill Bruford assembled the core group of Allan Holdsworth, Dave Stewart (then on loan from National Health) and American bass player Jeff Berlin for his first solo album, 1978's Feels Good To Me. Recorded in 1977 at Trident Studios, the album was produced by Robin Lumley and had a vague affinity towards what Brand X was attempting at the same time (instrumental jazz fusion). Compared to Kenny Wheeler's flugelhorn, Annette Peacock's vocals were a very odd addition to the album-yet, to each his own, as they say.

In Spring 1978, Steve Hillage and Miquette Giraudy assembled a new lineup to tour, this time with drummer Andy Anderson and ex-Man bassist John McKenzie, and Frenchman Christian Boulé returning as second guitarist. A double-album, Live Herald, was released in early 1979, and was culled from recordings of all three lineups of the Steve Hillage Band. The album's fourth side, later known as Studio Herald, offered four new recordings.

Arthur Brown and Vincent Crane first performed together in The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, somewhere towards the beginning of the timeline. However, a decade later, during the sessions for one of the Richard Wahnfried albums, the pair offered their Faster Than The Speed of Light record to Klaus Schulze. Seeing as the duo weren't "boring old farts" Schulze coalesced, releasing the album on his Innovative Communications label—one better known for Neue Deutsche Welle and electronic music.

Following the release of his last album, Steve Hackett assembled a touring band that included his brother John on flute and guitar, John Shearer on drums and Pete Hicks on vocals. He rounded out the lineup with Nick Magnus on keyboards and Dik Cadbury on bass. The band then shipped off to Holland to record Hackett's third album, Spectral Mornings, which was again co-produced with John Acock.

Anthony Phillips's 1979 release Sides was another attempt at commercial rock music; but, as the title might suggest, the album splits itself between the commercial songs of the first side and the progressive rock of the second. Most of the musicians from his preceding album were back, including the potent rhythm section of Michael Giles and John G. Perry. Hardly pensive, the opening track "Um & Aargh" wastes no time making use of the duo. Lyrically, the track relates a perfect account of Phillips's tribulations as a recording artist.

Following the prior year's tour commitments, Bill Bruford and Allan Holdsworth would split to pursue their jazz-rock leanings in the drummer's band, leaving Eddie Jobson and John Wetton to chase a more commercial path with U.K. Holdsworth's position at guitar would not be filled, while American drummer Terry Bozzio was recruited to replace Bruford; he came from Frank Zappa's band, where Jobson had previously spent a year (1976), following his departure from Roxy Music (1975). Released in March, Danger Money was another excellent album from U.K.