First from Last Exit... 1975 [FLAC limited time only]

With Gordon Sumner = Sting.  I think everyone can instantly recognize his unique voice in fact, anyone who might be older than about 35 maybe, that is, millenial or Gen X or god forbid baby boomer?  (I certainly would never ask a Gen Z to identify him.)

This band existed as of 1974 and I suppose was the first for bassist Sting (aged 23 at the time), with this cassette release from 1975 in the jazz-rock territory it's unusual to say the least.  It definitely surprised me, partly because it's quite approachable and listenable, with horn rock songs for the most part.  You'll note some of the later Police harmony vocal patterns on On This Train #2:

I would go so far as to say almost every song is not throwaway, showing the youthful creative energy you always encounter with music and musicians.

Album closes out with the lovely instrumental A Bit of Peace:

Huge surprise for me, who has never been a Sting fan and probably never will be without a head injury. Apologies to those who are.

Akropolis - Half a million hours symphony, 1979

 

Back to the classic prog sound with this lesser known one-off album from late in the era, this one is very similar to stuff like Thomas Flinter, my favourite Prisma, etc.  Discogged here, despite the artist name, it's a Danish band. Go Greenland!  Btw, half a million hours of course was the expected lifespan back then-- a surprising 57 years.  Probably that's related to too much sex and drugs.

Movement, Puberty:

Post-Osanna band Uno with their one-off from 1974

 

UNO:

Formed from the ashes of Osanna when the band split in 1974 by Elio D'Anna and Danilo Rustici along with drummer Enzo Vallicelli (from Hellza Poppin, who had played with Osage Tribe and Claudio Rocchi), Uno was a much-hyped band that went to England to record their first and only album with help from lyricist N.J.Sedwick and singer Liza Strike (of The dark side of the moon fame).

The album is not far from late Osanna style (Landscape of life-era), with four English-sung tracks and three in Italian, with songs like I cani e la volpe in evidence, but didn't reach the success the band hoped.

An English sung version of the album was released abroad, with a nice surreal cover designed by Hipgnosis (again a link with Pink Floyd), but didn't attract much interest.

The three-piece band worked well in studio but couldn't get satisfying results when playing live, so the help from Danilo Rustici's brother Corrado Rustici (from Cervello) on guitar and bass was requested for live appearances. From this expanded line-up came the inspiration for a new band, called Nova.

Enzo Vallicelli has kept playing (and still does it now, under his surname of Vince Vallicelli) as an appreciated blues drummer.

Hopefully everyone is familiar with ultrahigh-energy Italian Mahavishnu-like fusion band Nova too, which is just brilliant, especially 1975's Blink but also 1977's Wings of Love.

Interesting they mention Dark Side of the Moon, because I always though Goodbye Friend is a little bit too much of a homage or less gratuitously a copycat of The Great Gig in the Sky:

The most progressive track is 11 minutes long and called Uno Nel Tutti, it doesn't rise to the level of Il Baricentro or Banco or Gramigna, but it's still great, reminds me a lot of famed French proggers Pulsar, with the strong aforementioned Pink Floyd spacey influence:

Amazing cover graphics too!

Barry Coates and the Hats: Because I love you, 1983, and Move Like a Dancer, 1989

 

I noticed Barry played guitars on the previous masterpiece prog-fusion album.  (I'd known him from before, thanks to the great Move like a Dancer fusion album.)  His own databased page is here.

In the 80s he played with the smooth fusion band called Barry Coates and the Hats, and they put out 2 albums in that decade, the 2nd a bit better than the first, privately pressed.  From that first 1983 one, the closer called At Last:

While from the follow up LP/CD Dancer, 1989, there are quite a few beautiful compositions, augmented by a bit of a new age feel which is not altogether unpleasant in this circumstance or environment.  Consider the crystal-clear acoustic guitar on Hover Craft:

Probably we can agree the usual standard simplistic new age chord progressions are missing here.

Some nice thoughts and really fine ideas in there though, worth hearing a few times.

Tom Baker in Magic Language, from 1981, strongly recommended [limited time FLAC

 

Here's another stunning find, at least as good as the recent Petit - Best of all Possible Worlds, but in a different style, this is more along the lines of classic prog-fusion like (US) Mosaic.

Hard to believe, again, these brilliant progressive LPs still exist out there, unknown, unheard, neglected.

Information here.  Little to no info on the man:

Engineer, arranger and bassist. Worked with gospel artists in Cincinnati, Ohio area.

To my amazement I saw keyboard duties are by Peter Wolf, who we've seen before here. (His progressive masterpiece from 1980 was called Tutti.) 

Arrangements, compositions, and vocals are all from Tom Baker though.

The opener to the album says it all, Alpha-Theta-Omega:

And this is followed by the equally stunning Rainbow to Rainbow:

The album closes out with a really really shockingly beautiful tender song with harmony vocals and highly intriguing harmonies plus dissonances, it's called Love that has been Lost and it kind of reminds me of the intensely original songwriting of Brandes Ward MacLean:

Note the dissonant harmony vocal chord of the ending.  Like, wow.

It seems insane to me that someone could be so unknown yet write this most amazingly creative, original and progressive music, then disappear again.  There is not one bit of trite, simplistic 'by-the-numbers' type composition in here at all.  Every track is great in its own way, like a beautiful, talented family.

A note at the end:

“The greatest and unceasing thanks is reserved always for the Savior.”

Thanks indeed!
And in turn, many thanks to the readers / followers / commenters who contribute these suggestions / finds, from the bottom of my heart.