15 classic albums from the UK underground, Heavy & Progressive rock!

In my struggle to sum up the UK underground in only 15 short soundclips I must start with the Legendary Vertigo label, home of Black Sabbath, Uriah Heep ao, there are a lot of great records on vertigo what not so many people have heard about, two are included here: Gravy Train and Still Life.

Gravy Train was not that "underground" and did a handful of records in the early 70s, most known is the classic "Ballad of a peaceful man" but for me their debut LP is as good as anything they wrote.
Still Life (the other Vertigo act included) is a blank page, at least for me, I don't know what happened to them after this stunning album.

Nick Greenwood, formerly the bassplayer in Crazy World of Arthur Brown tried his wings with the mega obscure LP "Cold Cuts"(1972), obviously with no luck as the record must have sold very poor back then, after this obscure but brilliant organbased album Greenwood ended up in Khan. Another organbased heavy progressive monster is the one created by The Norman Haines Band or Sacrifice as the Birmingham group originally was named. Haines was the organist of Locomotive and the "Den of Iniquity" album is very much like a heavier, evil brother of the Locomotive LP.

Fontana released some great but megaobscure records around 1970, a big record company that for some reason pressed very few copies of some of their most interesting signings!?. The fantastic heavy/bluesrock LP Red Dirt is supposed to only have been made in 200 copies, but in the case of Czar I guess a lot more copies was pressed. The Czar Lp was reviewed as a poor mans King Crimson coverband at the time of its release, but hell no! today 40 years later this LP sounds as fresh as ever, not hardrock but a very fine blend of hard progressive rock.

Fire. The magic shoemaker: sure it is a progressive record but it´s also very much in psychedelic vein, the Lp has always been rare and whispered about in the record collectors circuit, as on of the finest moments of collaboration between prog and psych, members from Fire later turned up in The Strawbs and Paul Brett Sage.

Even the Ghost LP have some psychedelic leanings but most tracks are doomy progressive and rather heavy rock, there are also a couple of acid folk tracks on the album that firing in many directions, but always a winning Lp in my book, and my week spot for laminated covers with flipbacks goes over the top here, beautiful!.

Then there are the brass rock or brassy progressive bands as two good examples of this genre I had to pick up the bizarre record by Brainchild, called Healing of the lunatic owl!!! Get the picture? You don't need Chicago, IF and Blood Sweet & Tears when there is bands like Brainchild spiting their pumping heavy jazzrock right in your face! or Galliard! Galliard released two fine records on the Deram Nova label, , more pastoral in its approach than Brainchild, with an almost medieval atmosphere, especially their second, with its burlesque cover drawing by David Anstey (the man who painted most early Savoy Brown covers like Hellbound Train and Blue Matter) catches the eye and ear.

The rural progressive rock genre was not the most common subgenre within the UK progressive scene but there are some great examples, The Parlour Band and Northwind. The beautiful album by The Parlour Band just have to be included, as it is important as a bridge between progressive rock groups like Ramases and more mellow popbands like the later Lps by Marmalade, they surely knew how to write music with hooky lines, that their album was released on the Deram label makes it even more interesting for collectors, as Deram for me and many others means quality!.
The second rural group included is Northwind from Scotland. I don't know who they were or are!?, but they released one fine Lp in "Sister Brother Lover" very much in the mellow progressive rock style, although something happens on the two last tracks there they turn Hardrock!

Welsh band Blonde on Blonde was a very talented foursome, they recorded three Lps of which their third "Reflections on a life" is their most together. They got consequently good reviews and they played Isle of Wight rock festival in 1969, but for some reason their big break never came.

Another influential artist for the UK progressive rock scene was Pete Brown, most known as a lyric writer for Cream, (he wrote lyrics for Sunshine of your love, White Room and a couple of other classics) In 1970 after he was asked to leave his own band Battered Ornaments, he started Peter Brown & Piblokto and recorded two monstrous hard progressive records on the Harvest label, sadly in the shadows of label mates Pink Floyd and Deep Purple, Piblokto´s two LPs passed through unnoticed at the time, but 40 years later they regularly spin on my turntable, and many other's I suppose!.

Historic analysis by Dyvelsten 20120105