Journey to the Centre of the Earth is the second solo album from the English keyboardist Rick Wakeman, released on 3 May 1974 by A&M Records. The album is a live recording of his second of two concerts on 18 January 1974 at the Royal Festival Hall in London. With its concept based on Jules Verne's science fiction novel of the same name, the album tells the story of Professor Lidenbrok, his nephew Axel, and their guide Hans, who follow a passage to the Earth's centre originally discovered by Arne Saknussemm, an Icelandic alchemist. Wakeman performs with the London Symphony Orchestra, the English Chamber Choir, and a group of hand-picked musicians for his rock band, which later became the English Rock Ensemble. Actor David Hemmings narrates the story. Journey to the Centre of the Earth was overall well received by music critics. It reached number one on the UK Albums Chart, the first album from A&M to do so, and peaked at number 3 on the Billboard 200 in the United States.

2nd concept album of Norwegian progressive rock band AVKRVST. Two years on from their spellbinding debut 'The Approbation', AVKRVST are presenting their second and most formidable album to date: 'Waving at the Sky' takes the band's compelling sounds and pushes them further towards progressive perfection. A dark and devastating concept record about real life events, it is a spiritual successor to its predecessor, and a huge leap forward on every conceivable level. The album's hazy, unsettling narrative is based on the harrowing events that took place in rural Norway when Simon Bergseth and Martin Utby were children: The seven tracks are inspired by a gruesome family tragedy about abuse that is as dark as it gets.

Recorded live At Town Hall, Birmingham, UK. 11th February 1970.Sigma's release of "Violence In Birmingham", as indicated by cd labels.

There's the Rub is the fifth studio album by rock band Wishbone Ash. It is the first album to feature guitarist/vocalist Laurie Wisefield, who would be a major part of the band's creative direction for the next 11 years. The album is considered by many to be a highpoint of the band's recording career. The title is taken from Shakespeare's Hamlet; "To sleep—perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub." The track "F.U.B.B." caused controversy because of the acronym's meaning ("Fucked Up Beyond Belief") upon the album's release. Moreover, the haunting ballad "Persephone" would go on to become one of the band's most popular live songs. The lyrics of "Lady Jay" are based on the Dartmoor folk legend about Kitty Jay.

Secret Messages is the tenth studio album by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), released in 1983 on Jet Records. It was the last ELO album with bass guitarist Kelly Groucutt, conductor Louis Clark and real stringed instruments, and the last ELO album to be released on the Jet label. It was also the final ELO studio album to become a worldwide top 40 hit upon release. Secret Messages, as its title suggests, is littered with hidden messages in the form of backmasking, some obvious and others less so. This was Jeff Lynne's second tongue-in-cheek response to allegations of hidden Satanic messages in earlier Electric Light Orchestra LPs by Christian fundamentalists, which led up to American congressional hearings in the early 1980s (a similar response had been made by Lynne on the Face the Music album, during the intro to the "Fire on High" track).

Ut Gret is a progressive group from Louisville, KY who incorporate elements of rock, jazz, classical, zeuhl, world musics and minimalism to build their musical landscape. When Jackie Royce joined Ut Gret in May of 2010, the first thing they did was schedule a recording session. Mark Englert (the Tom Bombadil of Louisville music) offered his house, chock full of his musical instruments (many of his own design), for the purpose. There were two long sessions of over an hour each. These were edited down to the length of a single CD by long-time Ut Gret friend and collaborator Denny Whalen.

Recorded live at Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, CA, USA, May 1, 1970
(soundboard recording of very good to excellent quality)

Rock's longest, strangest trip, the Grateful Dead were the psychedelic era's most beloved musical ambassadors as well as its most enduring survivors, spreading their message of peace, love, and mind expansion across the globe throughout the better part of three decades. The object of adoration for popular music's most fervent and celebrated fan following – the Deadheads, their numbers and devotion legendary in their own right – they were the ultimate cult band, creating a self-styled universe all their own; for the better part of their career orbiting well outside of the mainstream, the Dead became superstars solely on their own terms, tie-dyed pied pipers whose epic, free-form live shows were rites of passage for an extended family of listeners who knew no cultural boundaries. The roots of the Grateful Dead lie with singer/songwriter Jerry Garcia, a longtime bluegrass enthusiast who began playing the guitar at age 15. Upon relocating to Palo Alto, California, in 1960, he befriended Robert Hunter, whose lyrics later graced many of Garcia's most famous melodies; in time, he also came into contact with aspiring electronic music composer Phil Lesh.

Purely a touring ensemble by 1991 - their final studio album, 1989 s Built To Last was no classic - Grateful Dead were nevertheless as active as they d ever been, and indeed between 1990 and 1995 the band earned $285 million, second only to The Rolling Stones in tour revenue for the period. Their show at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena, on 27th October 91, featuring both Carlos Santana and Gary Duncan on a brace of tracks, was, as-almost-ever, considered extraordinary by fans. Emotional is indeed the word here to describe this show; there is a voodoo to a great many of these songs in terms of their placement and interpretation - Sugar Magnolia to open, a just-ironic-enough Touch of Grey to close the first set. 2nd set is top notch; Gary Duncan's playing is much more prominent than Santana's in the extended Mona-jam, which evokes some great multi-dueling-guitar moments.

MESMERISING SECOND\-ALBUM\-TOUR BROADCAST FROM PETER GABRIEL\nThe Lamb Lies Down on Broadway was Peter Gabriel final album with Genesis, but tensions increased during this period as Gabriel wanted to write all of the lyrics himself, and he split with the band after director William Friedkin had invited him to work on a screenplay. The project dissolved, and Gabriel returned to work with Genesis, but was late to deliver the lyrics and relied on contributions from Banks and Rutherford.\nDuring a stop in Cleveland, while on the Lamb Lies Down tour, Gabriel informed the band of his intention to leave at its conclusion.

90125 is the eleventh studio album by the English progressive rock band Yes, released on 7 November 1983 by Atco Records. After disbanding in 1981, following the Drama (1980) tour, bassist Chris Squire and drummer Alan White formed Cinema with guitarist and singer-songwriter Trevor Rabin and original Yes keyboardist Tony Kaye, who had left in 1971, and began recording an album. They adopted a more commercial and pop-oriented musical direction as the result of their new material, much of which derived from Rabin's demos, with former Yes singer Trevor Horn as their producer. During the mixing stage former Yes singer Jon Anderson, who had left in 1980, accepted the invitation to return and record the lead vocals, and subsequently Cinema changed their name to Yes. The album was remastered in 2004 with previously unreleased bonus tracks.

The French group Halloween was one of the first new progressive rock groups to emerge from the late 80's. Nothing is truly over and done with, as the phoenix rising from the ashes of time can always rise once again and soar into the mainstream. Call it rebirth (or its better-known French label 'la Renaissance') perhaps even artistic freedom after 24 years of immaculate silence, this veteran group reignites its muse for a return to the progressive community in 2025. Around the original core trio of vocalist/violinist Jean-Philippe Brun, Gilles Coppin on keyboards,(both class of 1988) and drum stool director Philippe di Faustino (in 1989) , as well as adding Geraldine LeCoq on the vocals (1994), Psy-KO showcases their ongoing legacy of intricate symphonic-prog but adding impregnable jazz-rock elements that eschew a mature sensibility in proposing challenging colorations to their discography.

Jakko M. Jakszyk, most recently known as the vocalist & guitarist in legendary progressive rockers King Crimson, returns with his brand new solo album ‘Son Of Glen’.

Six CD set. Five albums from the early days of Magnum - four studio recordings and the live 'Marauder' album. Covering releases from 1978-1983 plundering their archives with plenty of rarities and B-sides, demos and live tracks. Magnum originally formed in Birmingham in 1972 around guitarist and songwriter Tony Clarkin and singer Bob Catley.

Steve was the first member of Genesis to release a solo album (Voyage of the Acolyte in 1975) before leaving the band in 1977. This new box collects his six Charisma studio albums with Please Don’t Touch and Spectral Mornings utilising the recent Steven Wilson stereo remixes (via the original multi-track tapes). The remaining albums have been newly remastered from the original master tapes. As well as this studio work, The Charisma Years 1975-1983 contains Live at The New Theatre, Oxford 1979, a newly mixed concert recorded on the Spectral Mornings tour and Live at Reading 1981 an LP of Steve’s appearance at the Reading Festival in August, 1981. Finally, a 12-inch live EP is included called I Know What I Like. This features Steve’s band performing the Genesis’ I Know What I Like (in Your Wardrobe) recorded in 1979 at Oxford New Theatre plus several tracks recorded live at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in November 1979.