Banquet - Underground Sounds Of 1969

This is another excellent compilation from Cherry Red Records as they continue their in-depth exploration of the musical treasures of the late 60's. Here again, the focus is on 1969. That time when psychedelia was evolving towards what was then quaintly called progressive rock.Given the comment made by my fellow reviewer about the the absence of a track list I have included one here. All fifty two tracks of it. Glorious pieces of top quality, progressive rock, ranging from well known practitioners such as Yes, Barclay James Harvest, Jethro Tull, Procol Harum, Family, The Moody Blues and Colosseum, through slightly less well known, but equally wonderful practitioners like Mighty Baby, Fat Mattress, The Third Ear Band and Audience, to some of my own personal favourites such as the fantastic Taste, Jody Grind and Eyes Of Blue. The quality never wavers while the variety is excellent all through.If you are a fan of this genre of music you will love this wonderfully curated and assembled box set with its detailed liner notes. And if you are beginning your musical journey through the archives of progressive rock this is a fine place to start. One glance at the musical goodies listed here will convince you of that fact.DISC ONE:1. BEYOND AND BEFORE – Yes2. IN THE BEGINNING – Genesis3. AFTERWARDS – Van Der Graaf Generator4. NORTHERN HEMISPHERE – East Of Eden5. ALL NIGHT DRINKER – Fat Mattress6. THE FUTURE HIDES ITS FACE – Man7. AFTER THE WAR – Eyes Of Blue8. MR. ARMAGEDDON (SINGLE VERSION) – Locomotive9. POOR WAGES – Barclay James Harvest10. MEET ON THE LEDGE – Fairport Convention11. WHERE IS THIS DREAM OF YOUR YOUTH? – Strawbs12. SHIELD – Deep Purple13. EGYPTIAN TOMB – Mighty Baby14. THE WEEK LOOKED GOOD ON PAPER – Pete Brown & His Battered Ornaments15. BAD SCENE – Ten Years After16. BORN ON THE WRONG SIDE OF TIME – Taste17. BILLY THE MONSTER – The Deviants18. MAGICIAN IN THE MOUNTAIN – SunforestDISC TWO:1. WALKING IN THE PARK – Colosseum2. OH WELL (PART ONE) – Fleetwood Mac3. HOUSE WITHOUT WINDOWS – Mighty Baby4. AUSTIN OSMANSPARE – Bulldog Breed5. BETTER BY YOU, BETTER THAN ME – Spooky Tooth6. NEVER TELL YOUR MOTHER SHE’S OUT OF TUNE – Jack Bruce7. TROUBLE ON DOUBLE TIME – Free8. A NEW DAY YESTERDAY – Jethro Tull9. RICE PUDDING – The Jeff Beck Group10. A SALTY DOG – Procol Harum11. BROTHER THRUSH – Barclay James Harvest12. A SAILOR’S LIFE – Fairport Convention13. BANQUET – Audience14. GYPSY – Moody Blues15. PAINT IT BLACK – Jody Grind16. RAINMAKER – Michael Chapman17. NO MULE’S FOOL – FamilyDISC THREE:1. EVIL – Edgar Broughton Band2. THE LADY RACHEL – Kevin Ayers3. CHASING SHADOWS – Deep Purple4. FLIGHT – The Climax Blues Band5. LIVING LIFE BACKWARDS – Pete Brown & Piblokto!6. KINGS AND QUEENS – Renaissance7. STONE CIRCLE – Third Ear Band8. WHO DO YOU LOVE – Juicy Lucy9. THEME FOR AN IMAGINARY WESTERN – Jack Bruce10. SING ME A SONG THAT I KNOW– Blodwyn Pig11. SOMETHING IN THE AIR – Thunderclap Newman12. ONE WAY GLASS – Manfred Mann Chapter Three13. WALKING DOWN THEIR OUTLOOK – High Tide14. THE KETTLE – Colosseum15. NOTTING HILL GATE (SINGLE VERSION) – Quintessence16. SPUNK BOX– Man17. SURVIVAL – YesSo how about that then? The absolute creme de la creme of progressive rock, all laid out before you and needing only your undivided attention to guarantee THE most sublime listening pleasure.Enjoy!

The price look high but there is so much music I did not hear and did not even expect to exist. My favorite sound - turn of 60s and 70s, rich of strong mix of rock, blues and jazz.

But it's very good and well worth buying !

Hilarious that so many of these Grapefruit/Esoteric releases, though beautiful, cannot be bothered to give us an actual tracklisting. They sure know how to compile these but have no idea what it is like for us to buy them. Shame