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Birth Control - Hoodoo Man (1973)

German band Birth Control seems to have had it's ups and downs, and this, their third album, is probably one of their ups. Some people surely will disagree though. This is hard prog with a jazzy touch, and their sense of humor shines through at times. A lot of the music reminds me a little of pre-heavy metal Deep Purple. This has their big song "Gamma Ray" which is considered a classic in Germany. Five bonus tracks, including the single version of said song in two parts. Not really what you would call Krautrock, but there's some good experimental jazzy prog here.

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Ainigma - Diluvium (1973)

Ainigma's sound is "no compromise" heavy progressive rock, with fuzzy guitars and a very distinct organ sound. This uncomplicated instrumentation is often associated with the sixties American garage punk, in fact Ainigma sound very much like a psychedelic punk rock band from the late sixties and could very well be included on compilations like "Acid Dreams" or "Beyond The Calico Wall". Their album was recorded from April to May 1973 at PFS studio in four days. All lyrics were in English and actually very dramatic! The album contains four songs plus bonus track "Thunderstorm", with the title track clocking in at almost 18 minutes. This extensive and dark seance dealt with the deluge, brought on by the greed and evil of humankind, and represented the trio at their best. The band were from Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in the southern part of Germany. Remarkably enough, considering their artistic maturity, they were only between 15 and 17 years old at the time of recording. (Cosmic Dreams At Play)

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Grobschnitt - Solar Music Live (1978)

A progressive rock milestone. "Solar Music" evokes such a perfect harmony between strong lyrics and heavy repertoires of long drum solos. Strongly recommended for those prog rock fans who are intrepid and restless when it comes to discover new horizons within the 70's lost worlds of prog. A must have! It isn't only the live version of their previous works, it is a whole different experience beyond that. The power and passion of this miraculous exercise made music, is simply incomparable to anything regarding not only the prog scene of the 70's, but the nowadays prog, turning this 9 pieces set, into the greatest live recording of Progressive Rock. You won't believe the magnetism, the interaction and the charisma this German band's got prepared for your, it is useless to resist the charm, you will get sucked in the world of Grobschnitt. The remastered CD edition contains previously unreleased material. (progarchives.com)

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Incredible Hog - Volume I (1973)

Incredible Hog was a British trio that released only one album; this is a great example of hook-laden heavy riffing, complete with intelligent lyrics and a pounding rhythm section, not to mention some brilliant lead guitar. If you like English bands from this era like T2 or Leaf Hound or Led Zeppelin you will want this.

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Janus - Gravedigger (1972)

The British group Janus was one of the best around! What a huge disaster that they only gave us one album first time around (the reformation some years ago was just a drag). "Gravedigger" revealed Janus' duplicitive nature: side one had the excellent heavy progressive classic "Red Sun" and a couple of other songs coming close to the distinctive British nature of "Parachute" period Pretty Things. Side two featured the 20-minute title track, full of dark images with acoustic guitars and strings accompanying the sparse lyrics, which seem to be about a guy who slowly drinks himself to death. The hook line was, "The Gravedigger's arm is waiting for you!" A fantastic album! (alexgitlin.com)

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If - If (1970)

If was a jazz-rock band from the United Kingdom. Not jazz fusion, but maybe like a more progressive Chicago, having horn players, a couple keyboard dudes, etc. Despite extensive touring in the U.S. they never really caught on, and were more popular in Europe than England. This is highly improvisational, laid-back jazzy rock that probably won't appeal to fans of hard prog, but prog fans with a taste for jazz could do worse than downloading this.

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