VA - Blowing Free; Underground & Progressive Sounds of 1972 (2022) 4CD

A NEW 4 CD REMASTERED CLAMSHELL VARIOUS ARTISTS BOXED SET CELEBRATING THE FINEST SOUNDS OF THE SO-CALLED “UNDERGROUND” AND PROGRESSIVE ROCK MUSIC OF 1972

FIVE HOURS OF MUSIC FEATURING TRACKS BY ATOMIC ROOSTER, BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST, EDGAR BROUGHTON BAND, CARAVAN, CURVED AIR, EMERSON LAKE AND PALMER, FAMILY, FREE,GENTLEGIANT,HAWKWIND,HELPYOURSELF,KHAN,LINDISFARNE,MAN, MATCHING MOLE, NEKTAR, PRETTY THINGS, PROCOL HARUM, NEKTAR, RARE BIRD, AL STEWART, TEN YEARS AFTER, THIN LIZZY, URIAH HEEP, VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR, VINEGAR JOE, WISHBONE ASH, YES AND MANY MORE

INCLUDES AN ILLUSTRATED BOOKLET WITH ESSAY BY MARK POWELL

The next release in their series of compilations celebrating the so-called “underground” rock music – ‘Blowing Free – Underground And Progressive Sounds Of 1972’, is a 4CD clamshell box set which gathers together over five hours of music from 1972, a momentous year in rock music and one which would continue to see Progressive music in all its forms become a dominating force with the album buying public. Much of this music appeared on the “progressive” imprints of major record labels such as EMI’s Harvest, Decca’s Deram and Philips Records’ Vertigo and the emerging independent labels such as Charisma, United Artists and Island Records and led to an increasied presence of underground album music on BBC Radio One with its Sounds Of The Seventies and Top Gear programmes. On television the iconic series The Old Grey Whistle Test would be a major contributor to the success of many of these musicians.

1972 saw a wealth of imaginative artists continue to meld seemingly disparate musical genres and influences such as Jazz, Blues, Folk, Rock and Classical music on a host of wonderful albums, all of which appealed to an audience of students and followers of the “underground’ culture. Universities and Colleges were regular venues on the burgeoning live music circuit in the UK for these artists, most of whom earned loyal followings through regular concert performances both in Britain and in Europe. It was also a year when many of these performers gained commercial success with acts such as Family, Free, Hawkwind and Thin Lizzy enjoying singles chart success while Emerson, Lake And Palmer, Procol Harum, Ten Years After, Uriah heep, Wishbone Ash and Yes would enjoy considerable album chart success in the UK, USA and Europe.