Gryphon

Disco may have been a dirty word as the 70's came to a close but during the 80's its influence on much of this selection helped create some of the greatest dance music recorded. As a poet and philsopher once said, 'Lets Groove Tonight'…..

Steve Howe's first solo album was a failure next to rival solo releases by Jon Anderson and Chris Squire, both of whom yielded work that was more majestic and memorable. The playing is strong throughout, but towards what end is the mystery – none of the songs are particularly memorable, nor is the production (even a guest appearance by members of the folk-rock group Gryphon doesn't help), and Howe is such a weak singer that he'd have been better off following the lead of his Yes predecessor Peter Banks and sticking to instrumentals.

White Willow are the leading Norwegian band, mixing elements of orchestral pop, 1970s progressive rock, jazz-rock, and even electronica. The band were begun in 1992 by guitarist Jacob Holm-Lupo. Over a period of 2 years from December '92 to September '94 the band recorded a number of songs that would form their fist album, Ignis Fatuus, released in '95 by The Lasers Edge, the start of a long partnership with the American label, and signalling them as one of the leading groups in the revival of Progressive Rock along with bands like Anglagard and Anekdoten. The sound of this first album is largely characterised by mid paced, acoustic guitar and mellotron led Folk Prog, bringing to mind Gryphon but with a touch of the more acoustic nature of early Genesis and King Crimson's first line-up. However, the two "epic" songs that close out the album showed a full electric band with a much more staunchly Symphonic approach…