Various High In The Morning - The British Progressive Pop Sounds Of 1973 (3-CD Box)

(Grapefruit Records) 65 titres dans un coffret 3 CD gatefold, livret de 48 pages inclus.

The latest installment of Grapefruit's popular annual surveys of the more melodic end of the early '70s British progressive rock scene.

A four-hour compilation of major hits, important album tracks, cult classics and rarities from 1973.

1973 was another significant year in the British pop scene, as the emergence of glam - including the Bryan Ferry-led Roxy Music, who proved that "avant-rock" could be a commercial proposition - inspired many underground bands to adopt a more streamlined sound.

This more song-oriented approach helped re-energize the singles charts in 1973, with memorable 45s from Mott The Hoople, Manfred Mann's Earthband, Faces, Status Quo, Medicine Head and Nazareth.

Although they didn't hit the charts, some of the maverick singer-songwriter talents of the era - Kevin Ayers, Al Stewart, Kevin Coyne - also released popular, radio-ready singles.

On the live scene, the British free festival scene was dominated by a new hippie/glam/space rock convergence, with trailblazers Hawkwind being joined by bands like The Pink Fairies and Arthur Brown's Kingdom Come.

High In The Morning is a fascinating three-CD, four-hour survey of the 1973 British rock and pop scene, featuring all of the above names as well as Thin Lizzy, The Kinks, Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Caravan, Procol Harum, Stealers Wheel, Roy Wood, Rare Bird, Badfinger, Free, Family and many others.

"High In The Morning" is housed in a clamshell box featuring a classic photo from the Windsor Free Festival that year, and includes a 48-page booklet with rare photos, quotes and biographical information.