Did you not see Gentle Giant in concert? They were immense, so many were multi-instrumentalists. As a 16 y.o. listening to vinyl in my bedroom, "Three Friends" was a revelation and "Mister Class and Quality" was my favourite track: It still sounds good today to me. It ends abruptly as the tracks on the LP merged.
I lived in a small village in North Wales as a boy and lots of us used to travel to see gigs between 1970 and 1976 at the Liverpool Stadium (primarily used for boxing). The young people were spoilt for choice in those days! Saw many of these gigs: DATE GROUP PRICE 30/05/70: Kevin Ayres & The Whole World / Third Ear Band / Edgar Broughton Band 19/09/70 Free / Mott The Hoople / Bronco / Trees 62.5p ? 10/10/70 If/Quintessence/Mott the Hoople/Traffic 26/11/70: The "Harvest Show": Kevin Ayers and the Whole World/Third Ear Band/Formerly Fat Harry/Michael Chapman/Edgar Broughton Band 05/12/70 Stray/East of Eden/Yes 19/12/70 / If /Bronco/ Dhyani/Mott The Hoople 62.5p 06/02/71 Amazing Blondel / Free 65p 04/03/71 Jonathon Swift/Yes 55p Mar-71 Mott The Hoople / John Martyn 02/03/71 High Tide / Cochise / Hawkwind 50p 04/03/71 Jonathan Swift / Argent / Bonzo Dog Band / Yes 55p 20/03/71 ??? / Hawkwind 27/03/71 ??? / Incredible String Band 65p 03/04/71 Stoned Rose / Greasy Bear / Mott The Hoople 65p 22/05/71 Cochise?/Faces 30/05/71 Traffic (cancelled) 03/07/71 Paladin/Uriah Heep 25/09/71 Seatrain /Traffic 09/10/71 Peace / Mott The Hoople 14/10/71 Terry Reid / Stone The Crows / Canned Heat 26/10/71 Jonathon Swift / Yes 01/11/71 Climax Chicago/Argent 11/11/71 T.Rex 27/11/71 Loudon Wainwright/Soft Machine 29/11/71 Led Zeppelin Jan/72 Mountain 31/01/72 Wild Turkey/Black Sabbath Feb/72 Mick Softley / Flash / Steve Miller Band 09/02/72 Jimmy McCulloch/Mountain 19/02/72 Mike Harrisons Junkyard Angel/ Mott The Hoople 26/02/72 Hawkwind (Cancelled) 18/03/72 Heads Hands and Feet 25/03/72 Chuck Berry 27/03/72 Tir Na Nog / Jethro Tull 01/04/72 Status Quo / Hawkwind 03/04/72 Foghat?/Capt Beefheart 08/04/72 ( Rock ‘n’Roll Circus) Max Wall / Hackensack / Mott The Hoople 70p 27/04/72 Hendrix Plays Berkeley (Film) / Gentle Giant 08/05/72 Curved Air 10/05/72 Flying Hat Band / Edgar Broughton Band 13/05/72 Slade/Status Quo ??/05/72 Colin Blunstone/ELO 20/05/72 Uriah Heep 03/06/72 Sutherland Brothers?/David Bowie and the Spiders From Mars 07/06/72 MC5/Kingdom Come 14/06/72 Rory Gallagher / Roxy Music / Nazareth 17/06/72 Paladin / Sha Na Na 20/07/72 Argent 05/08/72 Quintessence 02/09/72 Mountain 16/09/72 Status Quo 23/09/72 Home / Mott The Hoople 70p 24/09/72 ?? / Procol Harum 28/09/72 Groundhogs 30/09/72 Spider Mike King / Sutherland Brothers / Brinsley Schwarz / Hawkwind 70p 04/10/72 Brinsley Schwarz / Ten Years After 05/10/72 Sandy Denney/John Martyn? 11/10/72 Smith Perkins and Smith/Greasy Bear / Curved Air 70p 12/10/72 Moonstone / Fanny 14/10/72 Victor Brox / Kinks 16/10/72 Vinegar Joe 18/10/72 Slade 19/10/72 Amsterdam lil / Phillip Goodhand Tait / Lou Reed 21/10/72 Amazing Blondel / Steeleye Span 04/11/72 Smith Perkins and Smith/Ten Years After 08/11/72 Sunrise / Supertramp / Roxy Music 18/11/72 Suzi Quatro/Thin Lizzy / Slade 25/11/72 Greasy Bear / Argent 30/11/72 Curtis Maldoon/Wishbone Ash 09/12/72 Quintessence 10/12/72 Faces 16/12/72 Gentle Giant/Stray/Groundhogs 22/12/72 Greasy Bear / Hawkwind (Space Ritual.Recorded live) 80p 21/01/73 Harvey Andrews/Focus 27/01/73 Uriah Heep 17/02/73 Hackensack / Kinks 85p 28/02/73 Nazareth / Deep Purple 01/03/73 Greenslade / Rory Gallagher 1.00 10/03/73 Badger / Nutz / Black Sabbath 1.00 17/03/73 Gunner Cade / Can 70p 19/03/73 ?? / Jethro Tull 31/03/73 Nazareth / Robin Trower 07/04/73 Foghat/Captain Beefheart 12/04/73 Nick Pickett / Curved Air 70p 14/04/73 Spencer Davies Group? 28/04/73 Ange / Kala / Kingdom Come 75p 05/05/73 John Mayall 26/05/73 Zoe / Amon Duul II 88p 31/05/73 Nazareth/Robin Trower 02/06/73 Esperanto / Sha Na Na £1.10p 09/06/73 Amsterdam Lil / Moonstone / Fanny 88p 16/06/73 The Sweet 26/06/73 Wishbone Ash 14/07/73 Clancy / Swan Revived / Hawkwind 99p 13/09/73 Frank Zappa 22/09/73 Bloodstone / March Hare / Kinks 06/10/73 Glencoe / Argent 80p 11/10/73 Savoy Brown / Status Quo £1.25p 15/10/73 Home//Wishbone Ash 18/10/73 Silverhead/Nazareth 20/10/73 John St Field/Vyvyan Morris/Deke Leonards Iceberg/Man 27/10/73 Henry Cow / Faust 88p 28/10/73 Principal Edwards 15/11/73 Heavy Metal Kids / Uriah Heep 17/11/73 Queen / Mott The Hoople £1.00p 24/11/73 Stryder / Rory Gallagher 15/12/73 Caravan / Golden Earing 12/01/74 Fruup / Hawkwind £1.00p 02/02/74 Keith Christmas / Can 14/02/74 Tom McMasters / Barclay James Harvest 88p 06/03/74 Blue 23/03/74 Alquin / Golden Earring 88p 30/03/74 Wizzard 13/04/74 Darien Spirit / Bad Company 88p 27/04/74 Global Village Trucking Co / Hatfield&the North / Tubular Bells(film) / Gong 44p 11/05/74 Stryder / Sensational Alex Harvey Band 18/05/74 Heavy Metal Kids / Nazareth 28/05/74 Steely Dan (Cancelled) 06/06/74 Groundhogs? 08/06/74 Judas Priest / Budgie 70p ~ 13/06/74 Blue / Alquin 50p 15/06/74 Henry Cow/Captain Beefhart £1.25p 29/06/74 BJH (Cancelled, Unsafe venue) 13/07/74 John Gladwin / John Dummer Band / Dux de Luxe\Brinsley Schwarz 44p 27/07/74 Supercharge / Keith Christmas / P.Bardens Camel 44p 03/08/74 Alberto y los Trios Paranoias / Jonathon Kellys Outside / Strider 44p 10/08/74 Greasy Bear / Pete Atkin/Clive James / J.S.D. Band 44p 17/08/74 Amserdam Lil / Renegade/Stackridge 24/08/74 Seventh Wave?/Judas Priest/Steve Ashley/If 31/08/74 Rare Bird / Barclay James Harvest 88p 14/09/74 Jess Roden / Sutherland Brothers and Quiver 21/09/74 Zorch?/Groundhogs? 28/09/74 Still life / Lol Coxhill / Edgar Broughton Band 44p 05/10/74 Slack Alice/Thin Lizzy 10/10/74 Isotope / Gong 88p 19/10/74 Steve Ashley / Global Village etc / Supertramp 50p 26/10/74 Hamster / Flag / Supercharge\Strife 44p 27/10/74 Faust 02/11/74 Tangerine Dream 09/11/74 Seventh Wave / Thin Lizzy 24/11/74 Sassafras / Watt Roy Turner / Curved Air 75p 04 /12/74 Jackie Lynton Band / Rory Gallagher £1.25 07/12/74 Keith Christmas 11/12/74 Clancy / Argent 12/12/74 Skyfall / Budgie 90p 14/12/74 Neutrons / A Band Called O 35p 18/01/75 Al Mathews / Hawkwind £1.25p 08/02/75 Mandala Band / Robin Trower 40p 15/02/75 Julian Brook / Barclay James Harvest £1.00 16/02/75 Sassafras / Black Oak Arkansas £1.00 08/03/75 Ellis / Edgar Broughton Band 60p 15/03/75 Pinnacle / Nutz / Supercharge 22/03/75 Brackenwood / Judas Priest 80P 25/03/75 Sailor / Cockney Rebel (the Fire !!) ?? 29/03/75 Medium Theatre / Strife 05/04/75 Guests / Fruup 50p 26/04/75 Global Village Trucking Company / Gong £1.00 03/05/75 Guests / Can 75p 10/05/75 Nick Pickett / Camel 11/05/75 Keef Hartleys Dog Soldiers/Love 17/05/75 Socrates/Curly/Neutrons 60p 20/05/75 ?? / Uriah Heep 24/05/75 Snafu / Nutz 60p 31/05/75 Zzebra/Stackridge 75p 07/06/75 Filthy McNasty / Skyfall /Hustler/ Be Bop De Luxe 60p 14/06/75 Blythe Spirit / Supercharge / Sassafras 21/06/75 Silk/Jack The Lad/Jess Roden Band 28/06/75 Upp/Ronnie Lanes Slim Chance 26/07/75 Stonehenge / Hawkwind £1.25p 20/09/75 Hobo / Budgie 90p 04/10/75 Thunderpuss / Pink Fairies 80p 05/10/75 Van Der Graaf Generator 11/10/75 String Driven Thing / Thin Lizzy £1.00p 19/10/75 GT Moore and the Reggae Guitars / Dr Feelgood 01/11/75 Films:-Stones,B.O.A. / Nutz / Kids 50p (with Sounds Coupon) 08/11/75 Edgar Broughton Band 75p 16/11/75 Mike Herons Reputation/Andy Fraser Band 04 /12/74 Jackie Lynton Band / Rory Gallagher 13/12/75 Michael Moore/Gentle Giant 22/12/75 Supercharge / Sassafras / Kids £1.00p 26/12/75 Osibisa 22/01/76 Roogalator / Dr Feelgood £1.00 20/03/76 Graham Parker and the Rumour / Thin Lizzy 03/04/76 Gong
Progressive Rock, you probably never heard of Gryphon or Greenslade as well, although I would think you would know of Jethro Tull (Ian Anderson).
I saw Greenslade at the Liverpool Stadium in 1973 and enoyed seeing them. I also had "Bedside Manners Are Extra" by them and enjoyed that too, back in the day. Don't know about Gryphon but enjoyed some tracks by Jethro Tull. The 1970's had some great music. I wasn't into folk very much, as I know you are Jim, but I do love the Penguin Cafe Orchestra and perhaps they are close to folk music? My favourite long play by them:
I never saw Greenslade during the 1970s but I eventually got to see them at the old Renfrew Ferry which was parked at the quay on the south side of the river in Glasgow I think that might have been the early 2000s they were great, my favourite album was Time and Tide, I still play them in the car sometimes. I also still play Tull stuff quite a lot. I'll check out Penguin Cafe Orchestra later, to my mind most modern music has folk roots to some degree or other. My tastes regards Progressive Rock have changed though I am way less likley to listen to Yes or Genesis these days and far more likely to listen to the Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd.
Coincidentally, Jim, today I listened to "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" from "Wish You Were Here" for the first time in years and the hairs on my body stood up (reminded by Toby Marks' (Banco de Gaia) best of list on a podcast. Time spent listening to the Floyd a lot in the past was brought back whilst listening to "Shine On...."
Very impressive... yup I've heard of Greenslade. And I shared a couple of beers with Graham Parker once Like Floyd or better said I liked Wish you were here and Dark Side of the Moon... been learning how to play a bit of the Great Gig in the Sky recently
Yes 'Music for a found Harmonium' was adapted as a reel and I've heard it many times played by Irish and other Celtic folk bands, a case of contempory music being adopted by the folk scene
