As you know, although I’m a fan of all the big bands in the 60s and 70s, I also have a special place in my heart for the bands that made just one or two albums and never really made it but who nonetheless made some good music. There are hundreds of them, maybe more. More than I even know.
I have also assumed that I’m not alone in having this passion, even though they often never charted. And I wanted to celebrate them in our own small way, so maybe they’re not totally forgotten.
The first is the Third Ear Band - Alchemy. Their debut on the Harvest label. A landmark of experimental ethnic fusion that feels like an ancient pagan ritual recorded in a studio. They were one of the most uniquely strange and mesmerizing British groups to emerge from the late-1960s underground scene. Formed in London around 1967–68, they completely bypassed standard rock instruments (no guitars, bass, or standard drum kits initially) to create a sound that mixed medieval European folk, Eastern ragas, and avant-garde classical minimalism
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Stomu Yamashta - Go. This, the first of three albums, is one of the most ambitious, star-studded jazz-fusion/progressive supergroup albums of the 1970s. Masterminded by the virtuoso Japanese percussionist and composer Stomu Yamashta. The album flows seamlessly as a continuous suite. It balances Klaus Schulze's cold, sweeping electronic textures with Yamashta’s organic rhythms and Steve Winwood’s warm, soulful melodies.
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Isotope.
Formed in London in June 1972, Isotope was the brainchild of the brilliant guitarist Gary Boyle, who had just finished a stint playing alongside Stomu Yamashta in his East Wind project. Inspired by the explosive sounds of the Mahavishnu Orchestra and Return to Forever, Boyle wanted to create a vehicle to push the boundaries of heavy, guitar-driven fusion. The debut was a lightning-fast, savage attack of intricate jazz-rock solos, featuring frantic trade-offs between Miller's acoustic-tinged jazz piano and Boyle's unpredictable, fiery guitar lines.
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Hatfield and the North - Hatfield and the North represents the absolute pinnacle of the Canterbury Scene—that whimsical, highly intellectual, yet deeply charming sub-genre of British progressive rock that blended complex jazz-fusion with quirky, dry English humor. Active primarily between 1972 and 1975, they were essentially a Canterbury supergroup, bringing together musicians who had already cycled through foundational bands like Caravan, Gong, Egg, and Matching Mole. The band famously took their name from a motorway road sign on the A1 heading out of London.
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Fotheringay - Formed in 1970, Fotheringay was the short-lived but brilliant vehicle created by the incomparable Sandy Denny after she made the shocking decision to leave Fairport Convention at the very height of their Liege & Lief success. Named after her own haunting song about Mary, Queen of Scots ("Fotheringay"), the band was designed to give her more creative freedom and a heavier, more dynamic rock foundation. Their sole contemporary release is a masterpiece. It features some of Sandy’s most achingly beautiful original compositions alongside powerful traditional folk arrangements and choice covers.
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Henry Cow - fiercely intellectual, fiercely political, and uncompromisingly avant-garde sibling. Active from 1968 to 1978, Henry Cow pushed the boundaries of what a rock band could be. They completely rejected commercial music industry norms, combining the complexity of 20th-century classical composition (think Igor Stravinsky or Béla Bartók) with free jazz improvisation, jagged art-rock, and hard-left Marxist politics. They were brilliantly challenging, intensely disciplined, and entirely unique. Their debut album (often called Leg End because of the sock cover). It’s their most accessible "Canterbury-adjacent" jazz-prog record, full of complex but witty instrumental interplay.
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Not really obscure, but you might think most people might not have encountered any of these bands but in fact Fotheringay made #18 in the UK and Go #12 in UK and USA #22 Hatfield had The Rotters Club at #43. Third Ear Band’s debut did get to #49 briefly. Henry Cow remained avowedly non-commercial though. It shows how eclectic tastes were in the 70sand how diverse.
