Final Sin (1977)

Luis Miguel González Bosé (born April 3, 1956), usually known as Miguel Bosé, is a Panamanian-born Spanish musician and actor. Bosé became an honorary Colombian citizen in 2010. Propelled by his famous family and their friends, in 1971, Bosé started a career as an actor, participating in various movies. He quickly won spots on the basis of his talent and good looks alone, rather than his name, and he did study serious acting as well as dancing and singing. However, he did not make that many films, and in 1975 he decided a career change was due and started exploring his talents as a singer. With the assistance of Camilo Blanes he recorded his first singles. Two years later, in 1977, Bosé signed a contract with CBS Records, and he remained with them until 1984.

This collection documents the late Prince Far I's (aka Michael Williams) final period with the Trojan label. These are frequently referred to as his best years, despite the fact that Psalms for I and Under Heavy Manners are graded as his finest albums. But it comes down to track-for-track, the dub 12" singles, and the sound system tracks that he cut with one of the greatest bands in the history of reggae, the Arabs – mainly made up of the Roots Radics band with cats like Flabba Holt, Style Scott, Chinna Smith, and Bingy Bunny. Prince Far I's Cry Tough Dub Encounter albums are well known for their visionary quality and stridently spaced out effects. Far I was his own producer from 1977 on, and he did a better job than anybody who had worked with him previously, whether it be Adrian Sherwood, Joe Gibbs, or Bunny Lee. With the exception of the first cut on this two-disc set, "Heavy Manners" produced by Joe Gibbs, the Prince was at the helm for everything else here. Of the 40 selections, four complete albums are represented, and a few singles.

Argentinian composer, instrumentalist and producer Litto Nebbia (real name Félix Francisco Nebbia) is a veteran of the Argentinian rock scene. A highly influential one at that, and a pioneer. In the first half of the 1960's he sought his fortunes in rock music, and as a forming member of Los Gatos he got his share of fame and fortune early. A part of his career that inspired many contemporary musicians too, with artists such as Charly García and Luis Alberto Spinetta acknowledging the importance of Nebbia and Los Gatos as inspirations for their own careers.
While most renowned as an instrumentalist, jazz musician and for his later day excursions into other styles, the 1970's saw Nebbia exploring a stylistic field rather more refined. A string of albums issued between 1971 and 1977 saw Nebbia either incorporating elements from or actively exploring progressive rock, fusion and jazzrock. This period of his career concluded with the advent of The National Reorganization Process in Argentina and Nebbia's subsequent exile in Mexico, and when he moved back again in the 1980's he had moved on to different pastures as a composer and musician both. And while he continued being, and still is, a driving force in the Argentinian music scene, for fans of progressive rock it's his albums from 1971 til 1977 that may be worth investigating.

RA found Utopia moving away from the long, experimental instrumental jams that distinguished their first two albums, but what's surprising about it is how the group changed. Sure, the lineup was different but their approach changed on RA, as they moved away from prog rock and toward hard rock. In that regard, it makes sense that Rundgren's possessive has been stripped from Utopia's name, since the band no longer sounds like an indulgent spin-off of his own albums…

Symphony X is an American progressive/power metal band from New Jersey founded in 1994 by guitarist Michael Romeo. The band came into existence when guitarist and composer Michael Romeo recorded a demo tape entitled "The Dark Chapter" with the keyboardist, and future band mate, Michael Pinnella in early 1994. Romeo distributed the tape to various recording labels and, due to the tape's reception in Japan, he got himself a record deal in the Land of the rising Sun with the now defunct Zero Corporations Label. Musically Symphony X is similar to, although heavier than most other progressive metal bands to which they are commonly compared: Dream Theater, Fates Warning and Pain of Salvation. They play in a very syncopated, progressive fashion, also incorporating elements of symphonic metal into their sound…

Luis Miguel González Bosé (born April 3, 1956), usually known as Miguel Bosé, is a Panamanian-born Spanish musician and actor. Bosé became an honorary Colombian citizen in 2010. Propelled by his famous family and their friends, in 1971, Bosé started a career as an actor, participating in various movies. He quickly won spots on the basis of his talent and good looks alone, rather than his name, and he did study serious acting as well as dancing and singing. However, he did not make that many films, and in 1975 he decided a career change was due and started exploring his talents as a singer. With the assistance of Camilo Blanes he recorded his first singles. Two years later, in 1977, Bosé signed a contract with CBS Records, and he remained with them until 1984.

Considered by many to be the first heavy metal band, Black Sabbath was formed in 1968 by Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward…