Genesis 1978

Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music.
While on the British continent ELP, GENESIS and YES became extravagant millionairs, on the other side of the Atlantic 'six hillbillies' with their band KANSAS turned out to be the best and one of the most popular USA progrock band ever.

The debut album from amalgamated progsters John Wetton, Bill Bruford, Eddie Jobson, and Allan Holdsworth has the edge over both Danger Money and Night After Night because of the synthesis of melody and rhythm that is inflicted through nearly every one of the eight tracks…

U.K. were a British progressive rock supergroup originally active from 1977 until 1980. The band was composed of singer/bassist John Wetton (formerly of King Crimson, Roxy Music, Bryan Ferry's band and Uriah Heep), keyboardist/electric violinist Eddie Jobson (formerly of Curved Air, Roxy Music and Frank Zappa's band), guitarist Allan Holdsworth (formerly of Tempest, Soft Machine, The New Tony Williams Lifetime and Gong) and drummer Bill Bruford (formerly a full member of Yes and King Crimson, and also a tour drummer for Genesis), who was later replaced by drummer Terry Bozzio (formerly of Frank Zappa's band)…

In their early years, Kaipa was one of Sweden's best Symphonic Prog bands. Roine Stolt from The Flower Kings was a member of Kaipa. Their albums contain mostly instrumental music, drawing its influences from classic progressive Rock bands (Camel, Yes, Genesis), Classical music (Bach), and also Swedish Folk music. The Decca Years is a compilation of the three first albums from Kaipa, released under the Decca label during the years of 1975 to 1978. It also includes a demo which was previously unreleased, and a previously unreleased live set.

This double-live CD, made on BJH's last tour with Wooly Wolstenholme, is one of the better live albums to come out of the progressive rock genre. Though not as exciting as Genesis Live or as majestic as Yessongs, it shows the group in excellent form, playing and harmonizing beautifully and doing many of their best songs, among them "Child of the Universe," "Rock and Roll Star," "Poor Man's Moody Blues," "For No One," and "Mockingbird" (the latter never sounded more beautiful)…

Starlight Dancer (1977). Like fellow proggers Genesis, the late '70s saw Kayak make an abrupt shift to glossy but thin radio-friendly pop. Though Koopman remains as a lyricist and arranger, the rhythm section has been replaced by the quite conventional bassist Charles Schouten and drummer Theo DeJong. The ostinato bass and hi-hat on "I Want You to Be Mine," for one, smell strongly of a discothèque. "Ballad for a Lost Friend" shows an increasing predilection for Queen-like bombast by the guitarist, though it and "Still My Heart Cries for You" do revive some of the band's old aggressive sense of dynamics. But more typical is the bland closing instrumental "Irene." There's a certain coldness to the proceedings, and the band's virtuosity has been watered down for easy digestion. Though not a bad album on its own merits, it's likely to alienate fans of their early work…

The pairing sounds ideal — the former front man of Genesis, as produced by the leading light of King Crimson. Unfortunately, Peter Gabriel's second album (like his first, eponymous) fails to meet those grandiose expectations, even though it seems to at first. "On the Air" and "D.I.Y." are stunning slices of modern rock circa 1978, bubbling with synths, insistent rhythms, and polished processed guitars, all enclosed in a streamlined production that nevertheless sounds as large as a stadium…