Various Blowing Free: Underground And Progressive Sounds Of 1972 (4-CD)

(Esoteric) 66 tracks, digipack
The next release in the series of compilations celebrating so-called 'underground' rock music - 'Blowing Free - Underground And Progressive Sounds Of 1972' - is a 4CD gatefold box set that collects more than five hours of music from 1972, a significant year in rock music when progressive music in all its forms was to become a dominant force with record buyers. Much of this music appeared on the 'progressive' labels of the major record companies such as EMI's Harvest, Decca's Deram and Philips Records' Vertigo, as well as on the emerging independent labels such as Charisma, United Artists and Island Records, and led to an increasing presence of underground album music on BBC Radio One with its Sounds Of The Seventies and Top Gear programmes. On television, the legendary series The Old Grey Whistle Test was a major contributor to the success of many of these musicians.

. 1972 saw a plethora of inventive artists fusing seemingly disparate musical genres and influences such as jazz, blues, folk, rock and classical music on a variety of wonderful albums, all of which appealed to an audience of students and followers of 'underground' culture. Universities and colleges were an integral part of the burgeoning live music scene in the UK for these artists, most of whom gained a loyal following through regular concert appearances in both the UK and Europe. It was also a year when many of these artists found commercial success: Family, Free, Hawkwind and Thin Lizzy had chart success with their singles, while Emerson, Lake And Palmer, Procol Harum, Ten Years After, Uriah Heep, Wishbone Ash and Yes enjoyed considerable success with their albums on the UK, US and European charts.

. Richly illustrated booklet with an essay by Mark Powell and reviews and reports from various newspapers and magazines.