Formative Years

Can't have Phaedra without Rubycon. Can't have Rubycon without Phaedra.

Whilst I have always seen Autobahn (particulalrly) is to Pop as Tangerine Dream is to Rock. Well, that's my take anyway. This and Rubycon were on to close to struck rotation back in the day.

When the world of Tubeway Army, Ultravox, John Foxx, Visage, OMD et all emerged - I was in. Would I have been in as quickly without this one being part of The Soundtrack of my Life? Who knows. But it is.

A bookend to The Zombies Odyssey and Oracle - a final album recorded after they broke up - this one is an album from Floyd before their first album! It’s included as a companion to that Zombies album - demonstrating a lot of that rock/psychedelia/folk/whimsy combination that to me makes the early progressive work - which in later years increasingly saw jazz and classical merge into the form.

The Zombies broke up in ’67 - then started to work on this (and released it ) in ’68 - go figure. If you read some of the stuff I write about around music I like, you will notice that I use a term ‘English Progressive’ - which emerges from an observation that the progressive artists in the UK have a foundation of folk and psychedelia in addition to the obvious world of rock. Think early Genesis, Syd Barratt and Jethro Tull and you’ll get me drift.

Andrew Hickey neatly summarises the clear difference

This last album from Rod and Colin - where they retained creative control - not the suits - delivered shades of Rod's shortly to emerge band 'Argent' and Colins long time collaboration with Alan Parsons.