This is the album where Jeff Lynne finally found the sound he'd wanted since co-founding Electric Light Orchestra three years earlier. Up to this point, most of the group's music had been self-contained – Lynne, Richard Tandy, et al., providing whatever was needed, vocally or instrumentally, even if it meant overdubbing their work layer upon layer. Lynne saw the limitations of this process, however, and opted for the presence of an orchestra – it was only 30 pieces, but the result was a much richer musical palette than the group had ever had to work with, and their most ambitious and successful record up to that time.

In many ways, Badfinger is a continuation of Straight Up – an unabashed, concise pop album – but there's one important difference: Todd Rundgren was a taskmaster on Straight Up. He may have not jelled with the band, but he brought out their best. Chris Thomas didn't work the same way, although he's equally skilled in the studio, and he made a state-of-the-art pop record, which meant that they didn't necessarily play to the band's strengths. Instead, they tried a little bit of everything, with everybody throwing in a song or two, all in hopes that something would click on the radio. As a result, Badfinger is a bit of a mess.

Man's importance in the history of Welsh rock music cannot be understated. Fusing the worlds of Psychedelia, Blues, Rock and Roll and West Coast inspired rock, they were simply one of Britain's most original groups of the 1970's. Along with label-mates Hawkwind, Man were true champions. The reissuing of Man's entire legacy for United Artists continues with their 1974 Top 30 album hailed by many as their defining moment. The reissue is expanded with an extra previously unreleased CD recorded in Los Angeles in 1974 featuring "American Mother" never recorded by Man. The booklet includes liner notes exclusively penned by Man guitarist and raconteur Deke Leonard.

Originally released in 1974 this album was in a limited pressing of about fifty copies and sold at art shows in Germany - much like other titles that were reissued on CD through the Psi-Fi label - like Cosmic Corridors, Golem, Pyramid, Nazgul and Temple. It recalls the colder side of early Tangerine Dream for the most part, but manages to get a few melodic licks in between the lines and features a masterful command of alien atmosphere. Three lengthy tracks to allow you to be totally taken in - "Lunarscape" proves to be quite trippy, mysterious and out-there, as "Ethereal Jazz" features plenty of bubbling synthesizer and jazzy percussion and "Venus Rising" has a brain-damaging atmospheric vibe.

For this intriguing club date, guitarist Pat Martino (who by the early 1970s had his own distinctive sound) really stretches out on two of his originals (including "Special Door," which clocks in at 17:43) and the pop song "Sunny." With keyboardist Ron Thomas, electric bassist Tyrone Brown and drummer Sherman Ferguson offering alert and forceful support, Martino performs music that falls between advanced hard bop, fusion and the avant-garde without really fitting into any of the genres.

Canadian brass rock band Lighthouse were formed in Toronto 1969. Unusually, the band leader Ronn "Skip" Prokop was a drummer, he has played previously with artists such as Janis Joplin, Carlos Santana and Al Kooper before forming his first band The Paupers. Of these, the Kooper connection is probably the most significant, as the music of Lighthouse is based around a solid brass section and big arrangements, similar to those of Blood, Sweat & Tears and Chicago.
Prokop's ambitions were made clear from the outset when the first line up of Lighthouse had no less than 11 members. The were quickly picked up by RCA Victor, who release the bands self titled debut in 1969. Further albums followed quickly, but the punningly titled "Peacing it all together", their third release, would see the end of their relationship with RCA…

Silk Torpedo provides an interesting glance into the glam era. Beginning with "Dream" - a ghostly instrumental prelude that the group's friends in Led Zeppelin would later cop for "In the Evening" - this album launches into "Joey," a superb combination of piano boogie, crashing drums, and melodramatic choruses draped in Hammond organ. Phil May's vocals on this piece run somewhere between Ian Hunter and Steve Tyler, and are every bit as effective. "Maybe You Tried" is a glittering slice of glam rock, all pouting and hip-thrusting, with a simply killer guitar hook from Pete Tolson. From this strong start, though, the album falters into a torpid sort of introspection. Still, "Belfast Cowboys" deserves kudos for taking on the Irish question long before U2 was taking its first music lessons. The CD reissue adds live versions of "Singapore Silk Torpedo" and "Dream/Joey," both recorded in 1974.

"Still Looking" is the only album by US psychedelic rock band "Headstone" from 1974. In the psychedelic underground collectors scene the album got established as a classic psych-hard-rock rarity. Their sound is strong and melodic with awesome guitar/organ leads, solid bass and catchy vocals. Their natural float creates a hypnotic atmosphere and makes you listen to this album again and again. At all their musical spirit is closer to the end 60s blend, than the recording year 1974 reflects, and sometimes they remind of the early Bloodrock stuff.

In the early seventies, the British-American group Carmen broke new ground in rock music, combining the British flair for progressive rock with traditional Spanish folk themes into a very fresh, energetic and powerful new mix. The sound is centered around guitar, keyboards are used subtly but to good effect. On the whole, they are a rather hard band to describe… Some vague comparisons could be made to Jethro Tull, Mezquita (some of the Spanish themes), and Triana (the flamenco/prog combination).