I really like the concept of this compilation box set. It gathers up progressive rock music from a specific year. I am sure the argument could be made for various years being the peak of the genre, but 1975 was clearly a year when prog was really a driving force in music. We get some heavy hitters like Yes, Caravan, Renaissance, Hawkwind, and more. But there are also lesser known acts included.

I have to admit that this is one of the more effective carious artists box sets for me, probably because I really relate to this kind of music. The four CD set is all encased in a cardboard clamshell box and includes a great booklet. I should mention that I’ve previously reviewed some of the songs included here on other albums. For the sake of consistency those track reviews are either copied or modified for use here.

I really dig the piano based groove that gets things underway here. The track builds organically outward from there. When the vocals join it feels a little trippy and psychedelic. The number works out to more mainstream prog stuff as it gets going. There are some hints of jazz in some of the guitar soloing, but overall this is great melodic progressive rock that gets pretty soaring at times. It really gets soaring and triumphant later, and the lyrics include the passage that was used for the title of this set.

A cool prog jam opens this. The cut works out to more of a folk rock or mainstream arrangement. There are some intriguing twists and turns along the road. A section later takes on some cool symphonic angles during a balladic section.

More glam rock based at the opening, there are definitely Bowie and Mott the Hoople references to be made here. This has a bit of an arena rock vibe to it. Still, there are proggy breaks here and there. The guitar fills on this are great.

The first part of this two-fer, “Assault and Battery” begins with a building segment in the mode of both Genesis and Yes. This cut takes on the more solid Hawkwind trademarks, but is very progish. The lyrics are very fantasy oriented. It breaks into a classic space jam with prog leanings that is almost Traffic influenced at times. It drops directly into the next cut. “Golden Void” was presented as a separate track on the Hawkwind “Warrior on the Edge of Time” album, but here it’s part of one track with the previous piece that it comes out of.  Very dramatic and very prog, it is Hawkwind at their best. "Down the corridor of flame, Will I ever fly so high again?" The imagery on this one is only topped by the progish wonderment of the music. Anyone who says that Hawkwind is not progressive rock probably has never heard this powerful composition.

Prog and psychedelic textures merge on this energetic rocker. The cut has a cool groove, but also plenty of progressive rock class. It reminds me to some degree of Al Stewart. The guitar soloing on this is so tasteful and classy. That whole instrumental break is great, though.

Finger pops in a demonstration of stereo separation lead us out. Then a bouncy piano set to that popping joins. After a time other elements are added and we’re off on a killer classic Gentle Giant progressive rock jam. It’s a little off-kilter but also very tasty. There are some Zappa-like bits here and there and the little lilting trademark Gentle Giant vocal mode shows up frequently. There are also several Yes-like instrumental breaks. There’s a melodic one that’s perhaps a bit like Genesis, too, but I also hear hints of ELP in that one – and some fusion. We get a full jazz treatment (with some Zappa in it) later, too.

More purely prog, this has a real Frank Zappa sort of vibe to it. This instrumental has some definite jazz elements at times. It's another standout here.

This song is the closing section of the epic "Gates of Delirium" from Relayer. As part of that piece this represents the final vocal segment, and it is quite poignant, the peace after the horrors of war. The lyrics portray a vision of hope amongst the madness. Steve Howe works some stunningly beautiful slide guitar over top of the melody here. This works through to a satisfying resolution. As a single without the music that preceded it, it still works quite well.

Frantic prog jamming brings things in here. The track works through that, but then it drops way down to continue. This evolves outward, bringing some definite space rock to bear. It powers outward with some edgier jamming to continue. This is quite a potent number that occupies a lot of interesting sonic territory. The vocals bring a definite space rock thing to bear. There is a shift around the midway point to an almost metal thing, but that serves as the springboard for a number of twists and turns. It turns jazzy for a while, but then works forward as it goes through different modes. This is quite an adventure when you take it from start to finish with a number modes and flavors along with returning themes. The closing jam gets especially intense.

This is a killer melodic prog jam. Different instruments become the focal point at different times. This instrumental is so classy and tasty.

This (appropriately) feels like an extension of the previous number. It’s more hard-rocking right out of the gate, though. This makes me think of Styx to some degree. Around the minute-and-fifteen-seconds mark it shifts to a different kind of slower moving melodic prog jam. That evolves as the number continues. This instrumental does a great job of fulfilling the promise of the one that came before it.

At some point the sea sounds morph into the sounds of a bar. A short folk like movement is heard over the top of that. From there, the sound effects drop away and the song moves out into some rocking music that works really well. It still has plenty of folk rock in the mix, but it’s also very proggy in a lot of ways. This is a track that grows gradually and steadily into something amazing.

This comes in with beautiful, but slightly sad sounding balladic textures. The vocals quickly come in over top to carry the verse and the piece forward. As this moves on, layers of instrumentation fill out the arrangement and turn this into a lush and very powerful song. After running through in the more energized approach it drops back to the sedate to continue forth. The basic motif (while expanded on and reworked) follows through again with the mellower segment leading to the more powerful and fully arranged. It drops back to just Annie Haslam's voice and the piano after this next full band segment. Then the piano carries through with an extended solo. Eventually, this ramps back up to the full progressive rock band treatment. This becomes an instrumental (save for non-lyrical vocals) excursion that becomes quite impassioned. It drops back eventually to the sedate again to restart the process. Once again they gradually move this upward into the expansive and potent full band treatment. They drop it back one last time to the more mellow to end it.

An awesome trippy science-fiction leaning, psychedelic, super heavy sound opens this. The cut works forward from there into a killer space rock jam that is absolutely trademark Hawkwind. This is such a great instrumental piece.

Complete with vocals from Phil Collins, this track really feels like something that could have been done by Genesis. It has a slower, more melodic movement earlier. Then it blasts out further down the road into some smoking hot fast paced stuff. Keyboards and picked guitar are on the menu as it drops back down later. The track works through some definite evolution as it continues driving forward.

Ginger Baker gets a spoken vocal on this number. The cut has a real psychedelic vibe to it. It reminds me of what you might get if you merged Blind Faith with Captain Beyond. It is such a classy tune.

Starting with percussion, the nearly spoken vocal brings some definite psychedelic edges to this. As the arrangement grows backwards tracked sounds and more are added to the mix. This is dramatic, theatrical and pretty freaky. There is a real psychotic vibe to it.

Tuned percussion starts this. The group come in augmenting that and creating a magical and dramatic sonic tapestry. This tune is just so cool. It works through some intriguing changes and is one of my favorites from these guys. There is some impressive instrumental work here, but always in service of the song and not the other way around.

There is a cool, trippy jazz meets mellow prog vibe as this cut gets underway. It evolves naturally from there as it continues. There aren’t any big changes, but this thing is all class.

After a powerhouse opening movement, the cut drops to a piano and voice arrangement to continue. It powers back out further down the road. There are powered up segments laced with horns that call to mind The Beatles. Some of the harder rocking sections bring a bit of a glam rock vibe. It's all pure progressive rock, though. A mellow, bouncy, melodic prog section is a nice touch, too. This is another standout cut.

A melodic prog number, Genesis comparisons are valid to a large degree because the vocals make me think of Gabriel. I really dig some of the intricate guitar work on this piece. This number is quite effective. There is a fast paced section that comes in around the half way mark, with the piece gradually speeding upward. Then it explodes out for a killer jam with some smoking hot instrumental work featuring different instruments including flute. The powered up, intense, fast section serves as the backdrop for the next vocals of the set, and makes up the bulk of the second half of this. It drops around the seven-minute mark to a mellower movement that carries the track from there instrumentally and quite effectively.

Starting with a Pink Floyd like organ sound, Squire comes in on bass to bring the rhythm section with him. The man lays down some of the funkiest sounds he ever has on this cut, turning it into a nice mid-tempo groove. Saxophone lends a jazzy texture to the song. Squire's vocal lines create a cycle of energy and rhythmic pattern, and the man throws short bass runs into the ends of the verses to create an additional energy and interest. This is incredibly listenable and if you focus on the bass guitar work you'll note that The Fish puts down some more incredible playing on this one. The points where it takes the lead guitar role are equally awesome, but those you can't miss. Paying attention when it's more in the background reveals even more to love about Squire's mastery of the instrument. Add in the symphonic arrangement and killer vocals layering and it's obvious that this can stand alongside most of the music in Yes' catalog.

Trippy keyboard elements bring this in feeling a bit like Yes. As picked guitar takes over, and the number begins to evolve from there some space rock emerges in the mix, too. This thing powers up gradually and gets into some harder rocking territory. It’s a killer instrumental with plenty of classic prog in the mix. It also drops back down later on for a reprise of earlier modes.

I’m reminded of Klaatu as this number opens. It works out to more cool prog rock from there. The number works through that for a while, but eventually makes its way out to an exploratory kind of jam that has some particularly tasty moments. This thing is quite a cool and dynamic piece.

Guitar based prog brings this in with a picked, somewhat mellow motif. Vocals come in over the top of this ballad-like arrangement. There is plenty of psychedelia in the mix. The track grows organically as it continues. We’re taken through quite a few changes on this killer progressive rock journey. Then again, this thing is an epic that runs nearly 17-minutes long, so that is to be expected. There is a cool fusion-meets-Pink-Floyd kind of jam mid-track that is positively on fire. A new jam near the seven-minute mark is packed full of prog mystery and style. It reminds me to some degree of Mike Oldfield. It explodes out from there with some killer psychedelic space rock. The guitar soloing really gets intense as it continues building outward from there. It resolves out to more pure psychedelia for the return of the vocals. It eventually makes its way back out to mellower, space prog to end.

Drums open things here. The guitar fires in with a fast paced proggy styled jam that's very cool. They work out into something that's energetic and has a bit of a funk edge. As the vocals join, 70s rock is at the heart of this. It's proggy, but also has some definite psychedelic edges to it. It's a powerhouse rocker, particularly later. While a lot of this is a drum showcase, it's not at the detriment of the song.

There is a short burst of fast paced progressive rock goodness. The track drops to just keys from there. Then we get the return of that blast, and more keys after. The first vocals come in over the top of those ambient keys, feeling a bit like Genesis. As it explodes out from there I'm reminded of Emerson, Lake and Palmer a bit. The cut continues evolving with sections that call to mind acts as wide ranging as Nektar, ELP, Yes and Gabriel era Genesis. I love the powered up prog jam after the two-minute mark that has a lot of Yes built into it. This just keeps growing and evolving and always entertaining. After a vocal only line, we're taken out into a different jam that's a bit slower and quite cool. I love the shifts and changes that ensue.

A very nice guitar ballad feel begins this one, becoming very emotional and richly arranged as the piece progresses. Some rather pretty piano/vocal work marks the ending of the track.

The guitar sounds that start this make it feel like bluegrass or country music. As it builds outward from there it gets an infusion of heavier, space rock type stuff, but that country angle remains. The high register vocals beg comparisons to Renaissance, Yes and Starcastle. The track gets more purely proggy vibes in control as it works forward. It’s definitely on the folk prog side, though, reinforcing that Renaissance kind of thing. That said, there are some Yesish parts, too. I really love the synthesizer sounds on the tune. A dropped back, intricate, mellower section again brings Renaissance in as a reference, but the powered up jam that ends the song feels like Starcastle to me.

This comes in feeling almost mid-jam with a rather Hawkwind-like sound. The cut gets into some almost freeform sounding jamming from there. They work through some twists and turns as they continue. It eventually gets into more of a mainstream hard-rocking, driving jam for the entrance of the vocals. There is definitely some blues rock in the mix. The extended instrumental section mid-track has some psychedelia along with funk, but overall it’s sort of jam-band like. It’s has some killer guitar soloing, too. That section works through with more hard-edged jamming until it turns a little spacey at the end.

They open this with a freeform sounding RIO jam that has hints of King Crimson in it. They take it out from there into a killer hard rocking jam that serves as the backdrop for the vocals. Yet they alternate with more RIO-like work. We are taken through a number of changes and variations before they eventually end it.

While in some ways this is more along the lines of a bluesy arena rock sound, this is packed full of prog elements. A saxophone solo brings some jazz to the table, and there are definitely hints of Pink Floyd on the instrumental movement. The whole tune stands very tall.

Keyboard based, this is an intriguing cut that has a lot of jazz tendency to it. It's quire mellow and is very artsy and just a bit weird.

Jangly, psychedelic textures get things underway here. The track works out with a folk prog kind of approach in a balladic format as the vocals join. It grows out gradually, and there are definitely some hints of country music in the mix. This gets into more hard rocking territory further down the road, but I’m not sure I’d call it proggy. The mellower modes that return later bring more of that prog angle. This has a real 1960s psychedelic vibe at play a lot of the time. It turns to some trippy psychedelia later that really works so well and leans on the spacey side of things. That part of the track does get proggier. It eventually gives way to a reprise of the earlier folk prog stuff for the return of the vocals.

I really love the hard rocking jamming on this thing. It has some proggy angles, but in a lot of ways is more just hard-edged 70s rock. This jam covers a good amount of territory before it’s over. It’s a classy instrumental piece.

This track opens with a mellow, trippy jam. It works through with that concept for the first vocal section. It starts rocking harder beyond that. There are definitely space rock elements at play. An instrumental movement around the halfway mark explodes in killer jamming. The next vocals come in over the top of that harder movement. The cut continues to working through with style and intensity.

Mainstream rock with both folk and prog in the mix, this is a classy tune. This thing gets into some powerhouse jamming later with some smoking hot electric violin playing. It definitely has some proggy moments at play.

Prog that has a somewhat mellow space vibe gets us underway here. The track gets into harder edged, more mainstream rock territory as it continues. I have to say that the vocals on this don’t always work for me, but there are sections where they do.

Ambient elements get things going here. Drums rise up to join as it begins to intensify. Eventually it explodes out into a fast-paced hard rocking jam that is very classy. It’s part psychedelia and part prog. It’s all cool. This evolves into a smoking hot movement that’s part space rock and part jam band. The guitar soloing is so tasty. This instrumental keeps evolving and has some particularly intense sections.

Folky and mellow as it gets underway, this has some space rock elements in its folk prog motif. I really love the flute and keyboard interplay on the instrumental section later.

I really love the trippy, echoey groove as this gets underway. It turns more decidedly proggy as it continues. The vocals have an understated, space-rock meets psychedelia quality. The instrumental arrangement keeps shifting and changing. There is a killer electric guitar excursion that has an almost classical vibe to it later. The tune works its way back to the song proper and really builds in some killer prog modes as it makes its way forward. There is a sound-effect that seems like a storm or some other kid of torrent at the end.

At nearly twelve minutes long this is an epic piece. A powered up melodic prog mode gets things started. It drops down to acoustic guitar for the entrance of the soaring vocals (Sally Oldfield). This track creates a good balance between mellower modes that are nearly classical and more powered up ones. There are some sections that definitely call to mind Genesis. Some guitar hammer-ons enter and hold it for a time. The number explodes outward into more of a Genesis like jam from there. It drops to near silence as some chimes take over. Then a cool prog jam gradually rises upward. The track continues to evolve and explore the sonic landscape as it continues sans vocals. It gets pretty powerful and rather symphonic before it is over.

Now, this cut is much more pure folk music. It's a solid tune, but not the proggiest thing here.

A very dramatic and classically oriented piano solo starts this, and begins a powerful melody that is both dynamic and intricate to create the extended intro. As a new bouncing, pounding segment takes it the rest of the band join (with the piano still serving as the key instrument for a while) and they launch on a series of changes. As this powers up Haslam's vocals come across in non-lyrical elegance at points. There is also laughter at times as this one begins to intensify and work its way up in power and complexity. They continue on for a while moving through more progressive rock and classical type changes. It drops later to more mellow textures and the first lyrics come across over just a piano based song structure. This moves and carries forward with a slowly building structure. At points weird carnival music takes its place almost at the forefront. This gets ever so slightly dissonant from time to time. It shifts after a while to a more melodic, rock oriented texture to carry it forward in a full band rendition. Then this gives way to a soaring fast paced progressive rock structure that is quite powerful. They shift this out into a smooth flowing jazz structure to carry on in instrumental explorations. This moves back out the more powerful prog rock movements with more non-lyrical vocals, then extrapolates out from there into another instrumental trek. The carnival like sounds return, then the cut shifts back to the verse. This again eventually gets a bit dissonant as the familiar themes play through once more then take it to the outro after some inspired instrumental work on those sounds. Choral vocals soar on the actual ending section.

Coming up gradually, there is a cool space rock meets freeform jazz vibe at play here. That holds it for close to the first two minutes. Then a mellower mode begins to emerge. It’s slow moving and spacey. It’s also so cool. Eventually vocals join and the number has a harder rocking, but still somewhat understated take on the slow groove as they do. This continues to evolve with a rather freeform space rock meets pure art music vibe. It gets harder driving and more intense as it continues. I really love the jazz meets space rock jam that takes over later.

Coming in gradually, this has some powerhouse hard rocking sounds that are tempered with prog. I think I’d consider it more arena rock than anything else. The vocals are definitely in line with that concept, even leaning toward heavy metal. This is a powerhouse tune, but I’m not sure I’d consider it progressive rock. That said, the synthesizer jamming definitely brings more pure prog to bear. The extended closing instrumental section is more guitar oriented beyond that keyboard dominated part, though.

This track is almost 18-minutes long. It comes in with balladic prog modes that are extremely captivating. The cut grows gradually with both some Yes-like tendencies and some jazzy vibes. That mode holds this for quite a while, evolving as it does. The track eventually powers out to more rocking stuff as it continues. It’s still decidedly melodic prog based. A faster movement later has some hints of King Crimson along with some definite jazz tendencies. The jazz rock thing becomes more prominent as the track continues. There is some smoking hot violin work in a jam around the six-minute mark. This thing keeps shifting, changing and reinventing itself. A soaring, classically tinged movement with a lot of organ built into it creates a climbing vibe further down the road. That resolves into more of a melodic prog jam before they shift to an almost Traffic-like thing. As the instrumental movement continues, it takes on different focuses. I really love some of the bass work, but there are also some passages of impressive keyboard and guitar playing. It just keeps driving onward with a lot of prog style and charm. This things gets positively driving and intense further down the road as little sound samples cover the top of the arrangement. It eventually coalesces and transforms to a melodic jam that includes the title to this box set as its lyrics.