Opus was formed in 1973 and the original line-up included the founder and organist Miodrag Okrugic, guitar player Miodrag Kostic and bassist Dusan Cucuz (later in Tako), but soon they split. They were named after Okrugic's composition "Opus No. 1" which he scored during his tenure with the band Yu Grupa. Okrugic re-formed Opus in 1975 with bassist Slobodan Orlic, drummer Ljubomir Jerkovic and singer Dusan Prelevic (ex Korni Grupa/Kornelyans) and soon they recorded their debut "Opus 1", done in the symphonic rock style. It failed to draw attention of the public and the band split again. In various incarnations guitar players in this period were Ljubo Sedlar, Zoran Dasic and Vidoja Bozinovic. The final line-up from 1977 re-formation included Okrugic, Orlic, drummer Zelimir Vasic and guitar player Milan Matic, but after fruitless attempts they finally disbanded for good. In addition to their only LP album, they recorded three singles from 1974-77.

Contrasting the clever spoonerism from which Cunning Stunts derives its name, Caravan are heard on what is arguably their most uninspired material to date. The effort is certainly far from a total loss, but nowhere nearly as creative as their former studio effort For Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night (1973) - the likes of which sadly would not be equalled. Instead of commencing the affair with the aggression and spirit that informed previous LPs - such as "Memory Lain, Hugh" or "Waterloo Lilly" - which had christened their earlier albums, "The Show of Our Lives" comes off comparatively heavy and practically dirge-like. Caravan's trademark instrumental agility while perhaps temporarily mired, is not lost on Pye Hastings' uptempo rocker "Stuck in a Hole"…

Since Sedaka's Back was a hit, Neil Sedaka and co-producer Graham Gouldman saw no reason to mess with success on its follow-up, The Hungry Years. The record is essentially Sedaka's Still Back, complete with the same adult contemporary/MOR material and slick production that marked its predecessor. It also suffers from uneven material, but it's distinguished by a slow rearrangement of "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" and "Bad Blood," a duet with Elton John. The remainder of the album is pleasant but undistinguished soft rock from the mid-'70s. (Varese Sarabande's 1998 reissue of The Hungry Years contained four bonus tracks.)

A sublime 70s session from Moacir Santos - a set that mixes the complex grooves he forged in 60s Brazil with the warmly jazzy sound of American fusion - all in a result that's totally unique! The album's quite different than any other electric Brazilian sets recorded in the US at the time - a complex album that's filled with soul and imagination - and not just an electrification of earlier styles from Brazil. Santos' vision here is wonderful - and he works with his own arrangements, and key help from producer Dale Oehler - who knows how to bring in all the right electric elements without losing the edge of Moacir's music. Players are great too - and include Jerome Richardson on soprano sax, Oscar Brashear on trumpet, Don Menza on tenor, Gary Foster on alto, Larry Nash on Fender Rhodes, Clare Fischer on piano, and Jerry Peters on organ…

While the instrumental alliances that take place throughout Recycled aren't nearly as solid as on Journey to the Center of the Eye or Remember the Future, the album still harbors some of Nektar's intergalactic progressive rock penchants, although a slight decline in the band's cohesion is apparent. Guitarist Roy Albrighton lacks his usual gusto on most of the tracks, but tends to show signs of earlier days on both "Flight to Reality" and "Automatic Horrorscope." What does hold strong is Nektar's ability to conjure up a science-fiction atmosphere through the unorthodox application of percussion, guitar, and keyboards. Tracks like "Unendless Imagination" and "Cybernetic Consumption" wallow in a futuristic amalgam of strings and synth, with Larry Fast working the keyboards this time around…

The soundtrack to Ken Russell's movie provided Wakeman with a canvas upon which to work his magic (or do his damage - it depends upon one's attitude) upon the music of Franz Liszt and, to a lesser degree, Richard Wagner. Actually, much of what is here is more substantial than the material on Journey or Myths and Legends, which can be attributed largely to the composers' contributions.

Berits Halsband was one of Sweden's greatest unsung progressive jazz rock units. Formed in Stockholm in 1974, their sole self-titled album was released in 1975 on the Forsaljud label and featured as much as 14 members, including a trumpets and flute horn section. The album included four lengthy instrumental steamy upbeat fusion pieces in a slightly folk-tinged jazz-rock vein; add to it a Canterbury-centric airiness and a rhodes’ based, post “Bitches Brew” intensity and what you get is one of the best mid-70s psychedelic-jazz rock albums you never heard of… Well, except the few ones, who kept the “collectors’ flame” on, with original copies nowadays fetching few hundreds of euros. 40 years later Greece’s Sound Effect Records, in collaboration with Musicbazz Productions presents the first ever reissue of this seminal '70s rarity on both vinyl and CD…

For the first time, from the vaults of electronic music guru, Klaus Schulze, comes The Schulze-Schickert Session, a rare and previously unreleased private session featuring echo-guitar pioneer Günter Schickert. Recorded on 26 September 1975 in Klaus Schulze's home studio in Hambuehren, Germany, Schulze can be heard playing an EMS Synthi A, as well as keyboards, and a Syntanorma, while Schickert plays a 12-string Framus with metal strings and also sings on a few tracks. Although Schickert's name is little-known outside of a very select circle of krautrock fans, he was a key member of the Berlin free jazz scene of the 1960s and a pioneer of the echo-guitar.

Fandango! is the fourth album by the American blues rock band ZZ Top, released in 1975. Half the tracks are selections from live shows, the rest are new songs from the studio. Fandango, from which the album gets its name, is a type of dance similar to flamenco. In the late 1980s a digitally remixed version of the recording was released on CD and the original 1975 mix version was discontinued. The remix version created controversy among fans because it significantly changed the sound of the instruments, especially drums. The remix version was used on all early CD copies and was the only version available for over 20 years. A remastered and expanded edition of the album was released on February 28, 2006, containing three bonus live tracks. The 2006 edition is the first CD version to use Terry Manning's original 1975 mix.