Aircraft Illustrated From Vol 05, N 07 From 1972 07

Some Time in New York City… This album was not kicked off with a good start. After John and Yoko moved to New York, they started to get involved in anti-war protests, and protests to get John Sinclair out of prison. All of these were followed with Richard Nixon's attempts to deport John Lennon, which would last for around 5 years afterwards…

Gnidrolog are one of the more overlooked bands that took part in the progressive rock explosion in Britain around 1971-73. Intricate band, with an eclectic music that is very hard to categorize. Their music is a blend of blusy prog, with horn instruments, and intense vocals on top of it. They might appeal to Gentle Giant, Jethro Tull and VDGG fans. Still, pick up "In Spite of Harry's Toenail" or better yet, their opus "Lady Lake", and prepare to be bowled over.

With apologies to groups like The Meters, Bar-Kays, and Average White Band, when it comes to all-time great instrumental R&B bands, for most folks Booker T. & the MG's represent the gold standard. And with good reason'or, actually reasons! First of all, as the house band of the hallowed Stax label, The MG's pretty much invented the sound of Southern soul, playing on records by everybody from Otis Redding to Wilson Pickett to Carla Thomas. Second, on their own as Booker T & the MG's, they came up with some of the most indelible instrumental jams of all time, including'but by no means limited to!''Green Onions.' And, third, each member of the band was an absolute monster on their instrument, to this day revered and copied by untold numbers of musicians. Indeed, by the time the mid '60s rolled around, bands on both sides of the Atlantic wanted to sound like Booker T. Jones, Steve Cropper, Al Jackson, Jr, and Lewie Steinberg (replaced about halfway through this collection by the great Donald 'Duck' Dunn).

Gnidrolog are one of the more overlooked bands that took part in the progressive rock explosion in Britain around 1971-73. Intricate band, with an eclectic music that is very hard to categorize. Their music is a blend of blusy prog, with horn instruments, and intense vocals on top of it. They might appeal to Gentle Giant, Jethro Tull and VDGG fans. Still, pick up "In Spite of Harry's Toenail" or better yet, their opus "Lady Lake", and prepare to be bowled over.

The second album by Manfred Mann's Earth Band to be released in 1972, Glorified Magnified is as solid a heavy rock album as you're likely to find from that era, and it still holds up three decades later, mostly because these guys are smarter than the music they're playing and don't mind indulging their taste as well as their dexterity. They can romp and stomp through "Meat" or "I'm Gonna Have You All," complete with a slashing guitar solo by Mick Rogers on the latter, or throw in a synthesizer interlude by Mann on "One Way Glass" that's so quietly and carefully executed as to be worthy of a classical piece – and not skip a beat doing it.