A transitional album on which the band moved from Syd Barrett's relatively concise and vivid songs to spacy, ethereal material with lengthy instrumental passages. Barrett's influence is still felt (he actually did manage to contribute one track, the jovial "Jugband Blues"), and much of the material retains a gentle, fairy-tale ambience. "Remember a Day" and "See Saw" are highlights; on "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun," "Let There Be More Light," and the lengthy instrumental title track, the band begin to map out the dark and repetitive pulses that would characterize their next few records.

U.K. were a British progressive rock supergroup originally active from 1977 until 1980. The band was composed of singer/bassist John Wetton (formerly of King Crimson, Roxy Music, Bryan Ferry's band and Uriah Heep), keyboardist/electric violinist Eddie Jobson (formerly of Curved Air, Roxy Music and Frank Zappa's band), guitarist Allan Holdsworth (formerly of Tempest, Soft Machine, The New Tony Williams Lifetime and Gong) and drummer Bill Bruford (formerly a full member of Yes and King Crimson, and also a tour drummer for Genesis), who was later replaced by drummer Terry Bozzio (formerly of Frank Zappa's band)…

Referred to as "the great white hope of progressive rock" by Rolling Stone; UK were one of the most influential and acclaimed supergroups of the 1970s. Originally formed in England in 1977 by keyboardist and electric-violinist Eddie Jobson (Roxy Music, Frank Zappa); vocalist and bassist John Wetton (King Crimson); guitarist Allan Holdsworth (Soft Machine); and drummer Bill Bruford (Yes, King Crimson, Genesis), UK represented the final statement of the classic progressive-rock era…