Gong had now solidified from a loose amalgamation of Paris fringe musicians to a relatively stable touring unit. Daevid Allen, accompanied by partner Gilli Smyth and saxophonist Didier Malherbe, added Pip Pyle on drums and Christian Tritsch on bass; and the band completed their first return to England with a performance at the Glastonbury Festival in June 1971. Kevin Ayers also served a six-month tour duty around this time, leaving a John Peel Session as his recorded legacy with the band. Gong recorded three albums in 1971.

Beginning on April 12th, 1971, at the Zoom Club in Frankfurt, Germany, King Crimson returned to live performance with a lineup comprised of Robert Fripp, Mel Collins and newcomers Ian Wallace (ex-The Warriors) on drums and Boz Burrell on vocals, with Pete Sinfield back-of-the-house on VCS3 synthesizer and lights. Per legend, auditions for bassists proved so unsuccessful that Fripp eventually taught Burrell how to play the instrument. The band toured extensively, breaking only to record their fourth album, Islands.

After their triumphant return, Traffic assembled a live unit with two members from Ginger Baker’s Airforce, bassist Ric Grech and percussionist Reebop Kwaku Baah. Drummer Jim Gordon came in to allow Jim Capaldi to concentrate on vocals. Even Dave Mason returned for a few gigs in mid-1971, as documented on the interim live album, Welcome To The Canteen. However, the oddly titled The Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys was another masterpiece for the band.

Led Zeppelin was already a household name by 1971, due in part to Jimmy Page’s huge guitar riffs and singer Robert Plant’s voice and good looks. Their first two albums were mostly hard rock rip-offs of blues standards-albeit excellent hard rock rip-offs of blues standards. Their third album, however, stretched out musically, particularly with British folk influences; that’s further exploited here on “The Battle of Evermore,” a vocal duet with Fairport Convention’s Sandy Denny.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s first major performance was at the Isle of Wight festival on August 29th, 1970, where they offered their rendition of Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition.” It was a grand show, complete with cannon fire and Keith Emerson’s organ-flinging antics, and even filmed for posterity. (Their actual debut was six days earlier at the Plymouth Guildhall.) The album Pictures At An Exhibition, however, was recorded live in March of 1971 at the Newcastle City Hall. It follows Emerson’s “Nice” tradition of adapting classical compositions into a rock context.

After the critical (and self-critical) reaction to their previous album Atom Heart Mother, Pink Floyd spent a great deal of time on their follow-up, Meddle. The album is often mistakenly called “Echoes,” as the track of the same name encompasses the record’s entire second side. Except for a break to compile Relics, the band spent the better part of six months on the track, which they first played live under the name “Return of the Son of Nothing” in April 1971. Using Morgan, AIR (with 16-track capabilities) and Abbey Road Studios, the band finally finished the track in July.

After the upheaval that followed their last album, the core members of Genesis-Tony Banks, Peter Gabriel and Mike Rutherford-forged ahead, adding two members who would be crucial to their future. Drummer Phil Collins, previously in Flaming Youth, was recruited at the recommendation of Charisma boss Tony Stratton-Smith. The band then spent a brief period as a four piece before the bearded and bespectacled guitarist Steve Hackett arrived, virtually without audition, from a Melody Maker advert.

There’s a seeming tradition in the Netherlands, beginning with the original Dutch export Ekseption, of souping-up classical music themes into a rock format. Focus ventured onto this path, but borrowed more from the Baroque and Renaissance eras; and more importantly, used those influences to create something of their own. Keyboardist and flautist Thijs van Leer formed the group in 1969 as the pit band for the Dutch production of Hair. At the end of the year, guitarist Jan Akkerman was recruited from another Dutch rock band, Brainbox.

Success may have proved too much for Arthur Brown, as his attempts to keep the Crazy World together failed. Along with Drachen Theaker, Brown assembled a new band, provisionally called Puddletown Express, in late 1969. The lineup included saxophonist George Khan, organist Jonah Mitchell, bassist Dennis Taylor and guitarist Andy Rickell, aka “Android Funnel.” A follow-up to the Crazy World was recorded, but ultimately abandoned. (It did see release decades later as Strange Lands, as did the Brown-less Rustic Hinge recordings).

Pawn Hearts would be the final statement of Van der Graaf Generator’s “first generation,” and they ended it with a masterpiece. The album’s first side contains “Lemmings (Including COG)” and “Man-Erg,” the latter being the only number that was previously road tested before the recording session. Both are full of VdGG mechanics: the relative calm of “Man-Erg” pierced by Hugh Banton’s hammering organ, while “Lemmings” plunges into even darker imagery, both lyrically and sonically.