Home

Welcome to *now mobile-friendly* Strawberrybricks.com

Latest news: Work has begun on The Strawberry Bricks Companion, a curated and annotated discography of the artists and groups from the timeline, 1967 to present. Due sometime in 2025.

Buy the book: The third edition of The Strawberry Bricks Guide To Progressive Rock is available for individual purchase through your country's Amazon website, including local shipping and Prime benefits: Amazon.com (US) | Amazon.co.uk (UK) | Amazon.ca (CA) | Amazon.de (DE) | Amazon.fr (FR) | Amazon.es (ES) | Amazon.it (IT) | Amazon.jp (JP) | Amazon.com.au (AU)

Please follow the Album of the Day #progaotd on Twitter | Facebook | or via RSS

Reviews for the Third Edition

Reviews for the third edition of The Strawberry Bricks Guide to Progressive rock (will be updated).

Totally missed this review! Thank you Pete Pardo and Sea of Tranquility!

Waters Of Change > Beggars Opera

Artist: Beggars Opera
Label: Vertigo
Catalog#: 6360 054
Format: Vinyl
Country: United Kingdom
Released: 1971-11
Strawberry Bricks Entry: 
Perhaps the most easily recognizable “trademark of quality” from the era, Vertigo Records delivered a wide range of music during the late 60s and early 70s. A few of their acts, like Black Sabbath and Rod Stewart, went on to superstardom; while most others would have to be content in releasing what would become some of the most collectible records of the era. Beggars Opera was a band of the latter set. Formed in Glasgow in 1969, the band consisted of vocalist Martin Griffiths, keyboardist Alan Park, drummer Raymond Wilson and guitarist Ricky Gardiner.

Cosmic Century > Wallenstein

Artist: Wallenstein
Label: Kosmische Musik
Catalog#: KM 58.006
Format: Vinyl
Country: Germany
Released: 1973-12
Strawberry Bricks Entry: 
In 1973, Wallenstein switched to Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser's Kosmische Musik label, and saw some personnel changes. Jerry Berkers left and was replaced by bassist Dieter Meier; while a new member, Joachim Reiser, joined on violin. The band then rechristened itself as "The Symphonic Rock Orchestra" and released the excellent Cosmic Century album. Jürgen Dollase's piano still dominates, but as the lead-off track "Rory Blanchford" attests, Reiser's violin is indeed a new texture.

Blitzkrieg > Wallenstein

Artist: Wallenstein
Label: Pilz
Catalog#: 20 29064-6
Format: Vinyl
Country: Germany
Released: 1971-11
Strawberry Bricks Entry: 
Though originating from Mönchengladbach, Germany, Wallenstein sported an international lineup: Keyboardist Jürgen Dollase and drummer Harald Grosskopf aided American Bill Barone on guitar and Dutchman Jerry Berkers on bass and vocals. Their debut album Blitzkrieg shared the band’s original name; their choice of using a term associated with Nazi Germany was controversial for the time. Released on the Pilz label, the album was produced by Dieter Dierks. Written by Dollase, Wallenstein’s symphonic styling is based on his classically-trained piano playing.

Inside > Eloy

Artist: Eloy
Label: Janus Records
Catalog#: JLS 3062
Format: Vinyl
Country: United States
Released: 1973
Strawberry Bricks Entry: 
From Hannover, Eloy formed in 1969, taking their name from sci-fi author H.G. Wells's Time Machine. As with many German bands at the time, Eloy covered English bands, which had considerable influence on their music. Oddly enough, the band gained a recording contract by winning a talent contest. Their hard rock debut, sung in English (as were all their albums), was a private release, but constant touring led to a deal with EMI.

Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh > Magma

Artist: Magma
Label: A&M Records
Catalog#: SP-4397
Format: Vinyl
Country: United States
Released: 1973-12
Strawberry Bricks Entry: 
Armed with a two-album deal from A&M Records (and reportedly signed by Herb Alpert) it was at manager Giorgio Gomelsky's request that Christian Vander firmly took the reins of Magma to realize his epic work, Mekanïk Destrukïw Kommandöh. It tells the story of Nebëhr Gudahtt, a sort of apocalyptic prophet from the planet Kobaia—Book of Revelations-type stuff, really. Recorded versions existed as early as January and the piece was performed in New York in July (with a horn section that included the Brecker Brothers); the album, however, is the grandest of presentations.

Angel's Egg (Radio Gnome Invisible Part 2) > Gong

Artist: Gong
Label: Virgin
Catalog#: V 2007
Format: Vinyl
Country: United Kingdom
Released: 1973-12
Strawberry Bricks Entry: 
While Daevid Allen and Gilli Smyth were off in Majorca, the core group of Tim Blake, Steve Hillage and Didier Malherbe—with newcomers Mike Howlett on bass and Pierre Moerlen on drums—spent the spring touring France as Paragong. When the couple returned, this "classic" lineup completed their first UK tour in the summer, and then returned to France to record the second installment of the Radio Gnome Invisible trilogy.

In A Glass House > Gentle Giant

Artist: Gentle Giant
Label: WWA Records
Catalog#: WWA 002
Format: Vinyl
Country: United Kingdom
Released: 1973
Strawberry Bricks Entry: 
Gentle Giant recorded their fifth album in the still-settling wake of the eldest Shulman Phil's departure. The band was back at Advision, but for the first time since their debut without engineer Martin Rushent. Like the black-and-white cover, In A Glass House has a stark, monochromatic feel to it; but nevertheless contains some classic Giant material. "The Runaway" kicks off on John Weathers's solid offbeat; and along with "Experience," both songs would remain concert favorites for some years, albeit in shortened form.

Brain Salad Surgery > Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Artist: Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Label: Manticore Records
Catalog#: MC 66669
Format: Vinyl
Country: United States
Released: 1973-11
Strawberry Bricks Entry: 
Brain Salad Surgery, a euphemism for oral sex (from Dr. John's "Right Place, Wrong Time"), was Emerson, Lake & Palmer's first album on their own Manticore imprint, and came complete with a H.R. Giger cover and poster. It continued the long-standing tradition of covering the classics, opening with a concise rendition of Hubert Parry's "Jerusalem." The adaptation of an Alberto Ginastera piece, "Toccata," is a highlight, featuring Carl Palmer's percussion synthesizers in a surprisingly expressive role.

Solar Fire > Manfred Mann's Earth Band

Artist: Manfred Mann's Earth Band
Label: Polydor
Catalog#: PD-6019
Format: Vinyl
Country: United States
Released: 1973-11
Strawberry Bricks Entry: 
Following his excursions with fusion in Chapter Three, Manfred Mann’s next venture sought something “earthier” and closer to rock. In 1971, Mann formed the Earth Band with drummer Chris Slade, bassist Colin Pattenden and guitarist and vocalist Mick Rogers. Dubbed Manfred Mann's Earth Band, they churned out four albums in the space of almost two years. Both Glorified Magnified and Messin' (US title Get Your Rocks Off) were solid efforts, illustrating that Mann had indeed assembled one cohesive band.

Ralf & Florian > Kraftwerk

Artist: Kraftwerk
Label: Philips
Catalog#: 6305 197
Format: Vinyl
Country: Germany
Released: 1973-11
Strawberry Bricks Entry: 
Kraftwerk starts and ends with Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. The duo first recorded with Organisation, a band that released one album, Tone Float in 1970, before establishing themselves as Kraftwerk (with the others off to Ibliss). Both Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother (later of Neu!) interned with a Schneider-led band early on, which is well-documented in the video "Truckstop Gondolaro" from German Beat Club television. The duo reunited for their second album, now substituting a rhythm machine for a drummer.