1st Clock

This early live set by Purple Mark II, complete on two discs, was recorded in Stockholm, Sweden in 1970, and it showcases the band at its most extended. The jams on "Wring That Neck" and "Mandrake Root" clock in at around half an hour apiece. An instrumental version of the Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black" leads into the requisite drum solo, and also included is the longest-ever recording of "Child in Time." Some of this (especially "Mandrake Root") can be trying to the patience of someone who wasn't there. But this was the era when hundreds of bands were stretching out every night, and Purple, with the skills and imaginations of Jon Lord and Ritchie Blackmore to call on, did it better than many, at its climaxes reaching a fiery intensity matched by few others.

Essential: a masterpiece of progressive-rock music.
ONE OF THOSE HIDDEN PROG GEMS!!
I sometimes wonder how would sound the music of classical masters such as BACH or BEETHOVEN would they be living nowadays with our modern technology! I think TRIUMVIRAT would be the closest thing BACH for example would come up with.

The debut international long-player by the Bee Gees may shock anyone who only remembers them for their mid- to late-'70s disco mega-hits, or their quirky early-'70s romantic balladry. Up until 1966, they'd shown a penchant for melodic songs and rich, high harmonies, in the process becoming Australia's answer to the Everly Brothers. When the Bee Gees arrived in London late in 1966, however, they proved quick studies in absorbing and assimilating the progressive pop and rock sounds around them. In one fell swoop, they became competitors with the likes of veteran rock bands such as the Hollies and the Tremeloes, and this long-player, Bee Gees' 1st, is more of a rock album than the group usually got credit for generating. Parts of it do sound very much like the Beatles circa Revolver…