Various Artists – Ring the Bells & Sing - Progressive Sounds of 1975 4CD Box Set

Various Artists – International Pop Overthrow: Volume 25 

• THE NEXT OF ESOTERIC’S SERIES OF COMPILATIONS FOCUSSING ON THE YEAR IN PROGRESSIVE ROCK.

• A NEW 4CD REMASTERED CLAMSHELL BOX SET CELEBRATING THE FINEST MUSICAL SOUNDS OF SO-CALLED PROGRESSIVE ROCK MUSIC OF 1975.

• FIVE HOURS OF MUSIC FEATURING TRACKS BY BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST, BAKER GURVITZ ARMY, BE BOP DELUXE, CAMEL, CARAVAN, GENTLE GIANT, GREENSLADE, STEVE HACKETT, PETER HAMMILL, HATFIELD & THE NORTH, HAWKWIND, STEVE HILLAGE, MAN, MANFRED MANN’S EARTHBAND, NEKTAR, PFM, PROCOL HARUM, NEKTAR, RENAISSANCE, SOFT MACHINE, VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR, YES AND MANY MORE.

• INCLUDES AN ILLUSTRATED BOOKLET WITH ESSAY BY MARK POWELL.

• REVIEWS & FEATURES IN NATIONAL NEWSPAPERS, UNCUT, MOJO, RECORD COLLECTOR AND PROG MAGAZINES PLUS COVERAGE ON RELEVANT WEBSITES AND FANZINES.

The next release in their series of compilations celebrating so-called “Progressive” rock music – Ring the Bells and Sing – Progressive Sounds of 1975’ is a 4CD clamshell box set which gathers together over five hours of music from 1975. Sometimes dismissed in later years by some critics as a year when rock music was failing to progress, this compilation reveals that 1975 was indeed a year where a great deal of excellent, diverse and creative music continued to be produced by artists for an audience for whom the album was the important format and the iconic television series The Old Grey Whistle Test was essential viewing.

The compilation also features lesser-known acts who failed to make a wider known impression but produced excellent work of a wide breadth such as DRUID, FRUUPP, GLOBAL VILLAGE TRUCKING COMPANY, KESTREL, STACKRIDGE, STRING DRIVEN THING and WIGWAM. ‘Ring the Bells and Sing’ is an opportunity to experience some diverse progressive sounds of 1975.

Tracklist:

DISC ONE
1  The Show of Our Lives – CARAVAN
2  In My Life – BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST
3  Maid in Heaven –BE BOP DELUXE
4  Assault & Battery / The Golden Void – HAWKWIND
5  Squire – ALAN HULL
6  Just the Same – GENTLE GIANT
7  Rufus T. Firefly – STACKRIDGE
8  Soon (single version) – YES
9  The Salmon Song – STEVE HILLAGE
10 Rhayader - CAMEL
11  Rhayader Goes to Town – CAMEL
12  Modern Times – AL STEWART
13  Ocean Gypsy – RENAISSANCE

DISC TWO
1  Spiral Galaxy 28948 – HAWKWIND
2  Star of Sirius – STEVE HACKETT
3  Time – BAKER GURVITZ ARMY
4  The Institute of Mental Health Burning – PETER HAMMILL
5  Pandora’s Box – PROCOL HARUM
6  Wind Cloud - KESTREL
7  Music in Dreamland – BE BOP DELUXE
8  Harlequin – PFM
9  Lucky Seven – CHRIS SQUIRE
10  Nightingales and Bombers – MANFRED MANN’S EARTHBAND
11  Sheba’s Song – FRUUPP
12  Solar Musick Suite – STEVE HILLAGE

DISC THREE
1  People – BAKER GURVITZ ARMY
2  From Under – PFM
3  It’s All Over – NEKTAR
4  Toward the Sun – DRUID
5  7171 551 – MAN
6  Free Hand – GENTLE GIANT
7  No One’s More Important Than The Earthworm – STACKRIDGE
8  Doldrums – GREENSLADE
9  Watch Out, There’s a Mind About – GLOBAL VILLAGE TRUCKING COMPANY
10  Pig Storm – WIGWAM
11  Give My Compliments to the Chef – SENSATIONAL ALEX HARVEY BAND
12  Starving in the Tropics – STRING DRIVEN THING
13  Out of My Tree – CLIVE JOHN

DISC FOUR
1  Hazard Profile – SOFT MACHINE
2  Didn’t Matter Anyway – HATFIELD & THE NORTH
3  Bless Your Lucky Stars – WIGWAM
4  Shadow of the Hierophant –STEVE HACKETT
5  Hymn for the Children – BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST
6  Trip to the Fair – RENAISSANCE
7  Arrow – VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR
8  Dancer –BABE RUTH
9  The Dabsong Conshirtoe – CARAVAN

Label: Esoteric
Released: 2024