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A great illustration of the sorts of qualities that always made the British scene so interesting over the years – as even in the big year of hits that was 1972, these groups still had a way of coming up with all sorts of interesting modes and really fresh styles – maturing the earlier experiments of prog rock, going for some continued inventiveness in more edgey groups, and furthering a new generation of songwriting that took things way past too-familiar pop themes! The depth of music here is really great – and although the set features a few bigger names, they're easily matched with a number of groups who never charted on our side of the Atlantic, and who were really part of the record-buying cognoscenti on both sides of the ocean – represented here by the kind of album nuggets that really pushed this generation past singles and 45s! As with other Esoteric packages in this series, the choice of cuts is great – never too familiar, but also never too obscure for obscure's sake – as the 55 track package moves through work by Khan, Bombadil, Pretty Things, Ten Years After, Skin Alley, Rare Bird, Edgar Broughton Band, Uriah Heep, Hawkwind, Atomic Rooster, Barclay James Harvest, Mellow Candle, Van Der Graaf Generator, Help Yourself, Matching Mole, Bond & Brown, Vinegar Joe, Nektar, Family, Free, and others! CD

Prog rock was shifting a bit as 1974 came into view, but the leading lights of the scene were still going strong – sometimes with new modes and slight shifts in production techniques that showed that the music was evolving very strongly, and not just content to mire in the modes of an initial wave of activity! If anything, most of the cats on this set are even sharper musicians and more daring songwriters than a few years before – which means that sometimes, there's an even more focused approach to the music – a bold message that can come across strongly, without a full side album jam – and with production elements that don't oversaturate as much, which almost seems to indicate that the prog scene of the moment were having some thoughts about musical shifts to come! As with the other titles in this series, the box features a superb set list – really well-chosen cuts that go past the obvious – accompanied by a very hefty set of notes on each act and the tunes within. 4CD set features 51 tracks in all – work from Caravan, Hawkwind, Gong, PFM, Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Peter Hammill, Neutrons, Nektar, Hatfield & The North, Traffic, Gravy Train, Darryl Way's Wolf, Procol Harum, Jethro Tull, Stackridge, Greenslade, Strawbs, Kevin Ayers, Jack Bruce, and others! CD

A stunning selection of cuts from a huge moment in prog on the British scene – the year 1973, and a time when the movement was maybe at its peak – or at least had some of its leading lights working at the top of their creative powers! This isn't a collection of classic rock hits, nor is it overly-familiar material from album rock giants – and instead, the package is a really inventive journey through a nicely varied mix of material – album cuts, rarities, and a few single cuts that have the bands focusing their energy into shorter tunes than before. In fact, that's maybe the real charm of this work – as so many of the groups are have really perfected their craft, yet haven't given in to commercial pressures – so there's top-shelf cuts all the way through, but also nary a hit in the batch. As with other Esoteric/Cherry Red collections like this, the package has very detailed notes that support the wonderful choice of tracks – and the 4CD set features 48 titles in all, with work from PFM, Badger, John Martyn, Curved Air, Hawkwind, Jonesy, Rare Bird, Nektar, Al Stewart, Anthony Phillips, Greenslade, John Lees, Yes, Beggars Opera, Robert Calvert, Caravan, Camel, and many others! CD