Episode 5 - Guitar Driven Thing, British Heavy Psych and Prog

Today’s episode continues to explore the underground progressive scene and here we are focusing on the heavier more guitar driven style, which many bands started to practice around 1969. Instead of being influenced by the keyboard dominated sound of King Crimson and Yes many psych bands choose another path of development, adding heavier elements inspired by the guitar virtuosity of Jimi Hendrix and Cream. This eventually evolved into hard rock and heavy metal and in the US same development can be seen with bands like Iron Butterfly and Amboy Dukes. However, this was a slippery slope to take and according to us there are many examples where the mixing of prog and psych with wailing wah-wah guitars and heavy drumming was not successful. In this episode we are going to play some songs where bands did succeed in creating some quality music and which we considered are good representatives of the British heavy psych-prog genre.

Blossom Toes - If Only For a Moment (Marmalade) 1969-Listen To the SilenceMighty Baby - s/t (Head) 1969 -Egyptian Tomb  Red Dirt - Diamonds in the Dirt (Audio Archives) 1971/1995-Mixed BlessingPink Fairies - The Never Never Land (Polydor) 1971-Never Never LandDark-Round the Edges (SIS) 1972-Maypole