Peter Gabriel - 1
Artist: Peter Gabriel
Community Score: 8.50

Peter Gabriel tells why he left Genesis in "Solsbury Hill," the key track on his 1977 solo debut. Majestically opening with an acoustic guitar, the song finds Gabriel's talents gelling, as the words and music feed off each other, turning into true poetry. It stands out dramatically on this record, not because the music doesn't work, but because... Read More

Fine Old Tom
Artist: Tom Newman
Community Score: 7.00

Longtime producer/engineer for Mike Oldfield and many others, Tom Newman displays his creative chops on this, his first solo effort. A real sleeper, Fine Old Tom is a relatively obscure yet refreshing original pop/prog-rock project constructed by Newman and his pals, with Jon Field, Mike Oldfield, Ned Callan, Chris Cutler and Fred Frith in the... Read More

Dream
Artist: The Moody Blues

Although this isn't too easy to locate, Moody Blues fans may find this double-LP, 29-song set of early recordings worth the search. It includes every track the band released prior to Days of Future Passed, with the unfortunate exception of "Time Is on My Side." All of the Denny Laine tracks are available on the Magnificent Moodies CD reissue,... Read More

The Eye of Wendor
Artist: Mandalaband

Arguably the most successful and listenable of the progressive rock era's declared concept albums, and certainly a rival to Yes' Close to the Edge and Tales From Topographic Oceans and more concise than Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds. The music encompasses classical and new age elements as well as folk influences, as it tells the story of the... Read More

The Best of Kayak - EMI
Artist: Kayak
Breakfast in America
Artist: Supertramp
Community Score: 7.69

With Breakfast in America, Supertramp had a genuine blockbuster hit, topping the charts for four weeks in the U.S. and selling millions of copies worldwide; by the 1990s, the album had sold over 18 million units across the world. Although their previous records had some popular success, they never even hinted at the massive sales of Breakfast in... Read More

Even in the Quietest Moments...
Artist: Supertramp
Community Score: 6.79

The group produced this one without Ken Scott. The title track and "Give a Little Bit" are standouts. ~ All Music Guide, All Music Guide Read More

Caught Live + 5
Artist: The Moody Blues

The Moody Blues released this live concert recording (augmented by some previously unissued studio cuts) after they'd decided to re-form at the end of the 1970s, in order to get some product out and test the waters for their reunion the following year. As their first new release in five years, it sold extremely well on both sides of the Atlantic... Read More

Book of Dreams
Artist: Steve Miller Band
Community Score: 6.83

Unless the Black Crowes dress up in NASA drag or Garth Brooks takes his glam-industrial doppelgänger Chris Gaines into Mothership terrain, Steve Miller should retain his monopoly on the "Space Cowboy" moniker for many years to come. And it is here, on this 1977 blockbuster, that Miller shored up his cosmic persona: from the winged horse on the... Read More

Diamond Head
Artist: Phil Manzanera
Community Score: 6.75

Phil Manzanera's first post-Roxy foray into solo albums is a terrific all-star affair that still holds up enormously well. Calling on favors from Roxy members present and past, and those from the Cambridge/British art rock scene, Manzanera assembled a supergroup for every song. Robert Wyatt sings Spanish gibberish on the opener "Frontera," a... Read More

Wind & Wuthering
Artist: Genesis
Community Score: 7.64

For many veteran fans, Wind & Wuthering was the last near-great Genesis album, as well as their last album to feature a progressive rock sound. The group's second (and last) album as a quartet, it features the requisite long-form songs, complete with slashing guitars, rippling synthesizers, sweeping Mellotron passages, and elegant piano parts,... Read More

Mustard
Artist: Roy Wood

Unlike Boulders, Mustard is designed as a full-fledged album instead of a collection of pop vignettes. Outside of Wood's love for Brian Wilson there's no concept, yet it flows smoothly and attractively, since each song sounds like an epic pop extravaganza in miniature. In a typically perverse turn, Wood opens the record with a scratchy parody of... Read More