1974 Albums

After a change in both management and record label, Barclay James Harvest released Everyone Is Everybody Else in June; though the band wasn’t thrilled with Rodger Bain’s production, the public was-both Radio Caroline and the BBC picked up on the album. Two dates from the subsequent tour were recorded for their next release, the double-album Live, with the Drury Lane performance also captured on film. The symphonic structures of “Summer Soldier” open the album, followed by the majestic Mellotron of “Medicine Man.” It’s a mighty one-two punch: a powerful live band, BJH are at their best here.

Tempest recorded a second album, Living In Fear, in late 1973. Ollie Halsall, fresh from a defunct Patto, brought a more immediate guitar as well as lead vocals to the band. The album was produced by Gerry Bron, with Geoff Emerick behind the controls. Halsall's "Funeral Empire" opens, a solid rocker with some creative synthesizer and a great break, while a cover of The Beatles' "Paperback Writer," featured in their live set, follows.

The Acqua Fragile story begins in 1971 in the city of Parma with two bands, Il Moschettieri ("The Musketeers") and Gli Immortali ("The Immortals"). The former included bassist Franz Dondi, keyboardist Maurizio Mori and guitarist Gino Campanini and supported The Rolling Stones on their first Italian tour; while the latter offered vocalist Bernardo Lanzetti and drummer and primary composer Piero Canavera. The new band, spotted and adopted by Premiata Forneria Marconi and their management, spent the next couple of years supporting many foreign acts in Italy.