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Latest news: Work has begun on The Strawberry Bricks Companion, a curated and annotated discography of the artists and groups from the timeline, 1967 to present. Due sometime in the future.

Buy the book: The third edition of The Strawberry Bricks Guide To Progressive Rock is available for individual purchase through your country's Amazon website, including local shipping and Prime benefits: Amazon.com (US) | Amazon.co.uk (UK) | Amazon.ca (CA) | Amazon.de (DE) | Amazon.fr (FR) | Amazon.es (ES) | Amazon.it (IT) | Amazon.jp (JP) | Amazon.com.au (AU)

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Gong USA Tour 2024

The modern psychedelia of Gong featuring Kavus Torabi, Dave Sturt, Ian East, Fabio Golfetti and Cheb Nettles begin their first USA tour on September 24th in Allentown and travel across the East Coast until their ProgStock gig on October 20th. Charles Snider will be manning the merchandise table for the band. Please come see Gong and purchase a CD, t-shirt or poster to show your support! West Coast dates are planned for Summer 2025 as well as a second leg of the East Coast in August 2025.

Reviews for the Third Edition

Reviews for the third edition of The Strawberry Bricks Guide to Progressive rock (will be updated).

Totally missed this review! Thank you Pete Pardo and Sea of Tranquility!

Private Collection > Jon & Vangelis

Artist: Jon & Vangelis
Label: Polydor
Catalog#: 813 174-1
Format: Vinyl
Country: United States
Released: 1983-05

The Friends Of Mr. Cairo > Jon & Vangelis

Artist: Jon & Vangelis
Label: Polydor
Catalog#: PD-1-6326
Format: Vinyl
Country: United States
Released: 1981-07

Short Stories > Jon & Vangelis

Artist: Jon & Vangelis
Label: Polydor
Catalog#: PD-1-6272
Format: Vinyl
Country: United States
Released: 1980-01
Strawberry Bricks Entry: 
Evidently, Jon Anderson spent little time mourning his divorce from Yes, as he quickly started up both a solo career and a highly successful collaboration with Vangelis. The pair initially recorded together for the Greek musician's 1975 album, Heaven & Hell; and from there, their relationship grew, first with Anderson adding harp and vocals to a couple of records in Vangelis's prolific catalog of albums. Short Stories is the debut album by the duo, now billed as Jon & Vangelis.

Animation > Anderson, Jon

Artist: Jon Anderson
Label: Atlantic
Catalog#: SD 19355
Format: Vinyl
Country: United States
Released: 1982-06
Strawberry Bricks Entry: 
Alternating with his collaboration with Vangelis, 1982 then saw another solo album from Jon Anderson, Animation. He again assembled a stellar cast, including Jack Bruce, Clem Clempson, Simon Phillips and Chris Rainbow. “Olympia”, a paean to electronic music and gear(!), opens the album with considerable momentum, partly due to its driving forward beat. Perhaps producer Neil Kernon deserves the credit, but there's considerable more momentum to the album than on any of Anderson's previous.

Song Of Seven > Anderson, Jon

Artist: Jon Anderson
Label: Atlantic
Catalog#: SD 16021
Format: Vinyl
Country: United States
Released: 1980-11
Strawberry Bricks Entry: 
Parallel to his venture with Vangelis, Jon Anderson also began a solo career. Producing, writing and arranging, Anderson also assembled a fantastic cast: Ronnie Leahy on keyboards, Ian Bairnson and Clem Clempson on guitar, John Giblin on bass and Morris Pert on drums. Several compositions had been poised for Yes, including "Some Are Born," "Everybody Loves You" and "Hear It," but it's obvious why they were never executed: Don't go looking for Yes' music here as Anderson's solo effort, Song Of Seven, is an altogether different beast.

Olias Of Sunhillow > Anderson, Jon

Artist: Jon Anderson
Label: Atlantic
Catalog#: SD 18180
Format: Vinyl
Country: United States
Released: 1976-07
Strawberry Bricks Entry: 
Seems not everyone had their fill with Tales From Topographic Oceans; built around a story inspired by Roger Dean's wooden space ship on Yes' Fragile album cover, Jon Anderson's Olias Of Sunhillow is once again chock full of sci-fantasy and mysticism. The story, influenced by Vera Stanley Alder and J.R.R. Tolkien, concerned the migration of four tribes to a new planet.

The Yes Album > Yes

Artist: Yes
Label: Atlantic
Catalog#: SD 8283
Format: Vinyl
Country: United States
Released: 1971-02
Strawberry Bricks Entry: 
The Yes Album was that herculean leap that not only helped Yes save their recording contract with Atlantic, but also elevated them towards rock’s elite. With new blood Steve Howe (previously in Bodast) on guitar, Yes spent a few months isolated in the country writing new material, including fantastic arrangements of Paul Simon’s “America” and The Young Rascals’ “It’s Love.” In retrospect, the elements for success had been in place on their previous two albums; but here, Yes elongate their compositions, which gives them room to blossom without ever getting bloated.

my first album

Album: 
Fragile

This was my first album, a birthday gift from my sisters. I first heard Roundabout on AM radio. What an impression it had on me.

Blink > Nova

Artist: Nova
Label: Arista
Catalog#: ARTY 118
Format: Vinyl
Country: United Kingdom
Released: 1975-12
Strawberry Bricks Entry: 
Following the demise of Osanna prior to their 1974 release, Landscape Of Life, Elio D'Anna and Danilo Rustici formed Uno. Originally slated with Napoletano Toni Esposito on drums, the pair ventured to London to record an eponymous album, Uno, with drummer Enzo Vallicelli. Yet the group did not last, even with Rustici's brother Corrado, previously a member of Cervello, augmenting on guitar. So D'Anna and the Rustici brothers returned to London and under the auspices of Pete Townshend, producer Rupert Hine and Arista Records, formed Nova.

Illusion > Renaissance (Yardbirds)

Artist: Renaissance
Label: Island Records
Catalog#: 6339 017
Format: Vinyl
Country: United States
Released: 1970