One of the great unsung Prog bands out of Britain in the mid to late 70's, very critically acclaimed, led by the brilliant virtuoso guitarist and musician Bill Nelson, should be mentioned when talking progressive rock. They had a string of excellent albums before disbanding around 1980. Starting with "Axe Victim", then "Futurama", followed up with "Sunburst Finish", "Modern Music", "Drastic Plastic", and "Live In the Air Age".. They headlined frequently in Europe, and when they toured America, they were a strong support band. I believe they opened for Blue Oyster Cult on a tour in the late 70's. They had a lot of great Prog/Art Rock type songs like "Jets at Dawn", "Axe Victim", "Maid in Heaven", "Jet Silver and the Dolls of Venus", "Sleep That Burns", "Blazing Apostles", "Love is Swift Arrows", "No Trains To Heaven", "Speed Of the Wind", and "Ships In the Night". I have been a fan of their first 3 albums since the late 70's, and also the Live album.. Modern Music gets high marks among fans as well.

I would be remiss if I did not mention one of my favorite Prog rock/Hard Rock hailing from the U.S., specifically West Virginia area, who were also somewhat popular in the mid to late 70's, and achieved some critical acclaim, and they would be Crack The Sky. Rolling Stone voted their first album, "Crack the Sky" as the Best Debut album of 1975, and Rolling Stone also has it listed at #47 in their Top 50 Prog Albums of All Time. Their 2nd album "Animal Notes" is excellent too, and their 3rd LP with Lifesong Records, "Safety In Numbers", is also great. Unfortunately Crack The Sky suffered from bad marketing, poor distribution of their records by the record company, and Lifesong going out of business, causing Crack the Sky to disband for awhile. They reformed in the 1980's with "White Music", "From the Greenhouse", "Dog City", and "Raw" LP's.. Breaking up again in the 90's, and then reuniting again in the 2000's, continuing to perform and release new material to the present day, including albums, "The Sale", "Machine", and "Ostrich". Mostly known for their 70's and 80's material, their music is along the lines of Be Bop Deluxe, but more on the Hard/Classic rock side. In the late 70's Crack the Sky opened for Supertramp, Styx, Rush, ELO, Boston, ZZ Top, Heart, Frank Zappa, Yes, Kansas, and Foreigner.. Some of the Best songs IMO are "Ice", "Nuclear Apathy", "Hold On", "Animal Skins", "Mind Baby", "Lighten Up McGraw", "Safety In Numbers", "Robots For Ronnie", "Maybe I Can Fool Everybody", "Hot Razors", and the outstanding "She's A Dancer".
Since for some odd reason Crack The Sky is not listed on FRL, and does not have a page here, I am including them on the Be Bop Deluxe page, who only recently got one, and I suppose I am making a pitch for Crack The Sky for a page listing, where they would be first eligible in 2000. A great and talented band, influenced by The Beatles and King Crimson, but had the bad fortune of a terrible record company, lousy promotion of material, and basically limited popularity, with most fans from the Baltimore/ Wash DC/ Pittsburgh/ Philly/N. VA area.. Still, a band that deserves recognition as they have paid their dues many times over, and they are still fantastic in concert..

Posted by Will N. on Saturday, 03/7/2020 @ 21:27pm

Not one of the most well known bands out there, but "Ships in the night" is a wonderful song.

Posted by StunningStocktaker on Tuesday, 09/7/2021 @ 11:02am