In 1960, the vast majority of British rock primarily consisted of either bands attempting to mimic the sounds of American groups with inconsistent degrees of success, or novelty acts whose music was intended to be charming teen fodder and little more. While that would soon change as more U.K. bands embraced rhythm & blues and the example of the Beatles led to more acts upping their game, it's mind boggling to consider how far the British rock scene would travel in a mere ten years. By 1970, R&B, beat music, and psychedelia ...
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In 1960, the vast majority of British rock primarily consisted of either bands attempting to mimic the sounds of American groups with inconsistent degrees of success, or novelty acts whose music was intended to be charming teen fodder and little more. While that would soon change as more U.K. bands embraced rhythm & blues and the example of the Beatles led to more acts upping their game, it's mind boggling to consider how far the British rock scene would travel in a mere ten years. By 1970, R&B, beat music, and psychedelia had given way to what was dubbed underground rock, with dozens of major acts adopting the ethos of what would come to be called progressive rock in a variety of ways. Not only were rock bands creating material of previously unimaginable ambition, complexity, and scale, a large and growing audience of young rock fans were lining up to hear it. As these acts defined the tastes of "serious" rock fans, the album began to replace the single as the preferred medium for rock & roll (in part because so many underground groups were eager to stretch their tracks out to seven, eight, or nine minutes, exceeding the capabilities of a 45). The rise of underground rock was so pervasive that Esoteric Recordings has been able to compile an epic-scale four-disc box set entirely devoted to sides issued by prog-adjacent bands in the year 1970. Taking Some Time On: Underground Sounds of 1970 is a thorough study of the first full flowering of the progressive era, and it shows how diverse the scene could be, from the powerfully physical attack of Family (a live take of "Good News, Bad News" catches them in full flight) and the sci-fi-informed explorations of Hawkwind (already in search of space on "Mirror of Illusion") to the pastoral concision of Lindisfarne (the hip balladry of "Lady Eleanor") and the whimsy-fortified poetic wanderlust of Pete Brown & Piblotko! (the memorably titled "Things May Come and Things May Go, But the Art School Dance Goes On Forever"). The set also includes early salvos from more than a few groups who would go on to enduring stardom -- among them Yes, Jethro Tull, Traffic, and Ten Years After -- as well as a few who would mutate into decidedly different form later on, such as Deep Purple, Status Quo, and Fleetwood Mac. This collection may be tough sledding for dabblers, as compiler Mark Powell has no fear of presenting bands both famous and obscure in their most idiosyncratic and expansive moments, with one performance by Caravan clocking in at over 14 minutes. But if you're a serious scholar of this stuff or don't mind diving into the deep end of the dawn of prog, Taking Some Time On: Underground Sounds of 1970 is an excellent study of a unique time in rock history, and the remarkably thorough band biographies in the accompanying book are every bit as interesting as the music. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
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