Music: 'Lazy Days – The British Progressive Pop Sounds of 1975'

A compendium of hit singles, intriguing misses, cult classics and key album tracks from 1975

The deliciousness of defining progressive rock at this moment in time is given loving credence by the latest 3CD compilation release, Lazy Days – The British Progressive Pop Sounds of 1975 from Grapefruit.

Not willing to overemphasize the meaning or relevance inherent to such a divisive genre, what can be gleaned from this collection (which by the way, has been issued as a year-by-year anthology, beginning with 1970), is not a blow-by-blow summation of defining era bands like Yes or Genesis, but a more refined appreciation of songs and artists that released music in 1975, but maybe not by ‘1975 standards.’

Jean Cocteau (2019 Remaster)/℗ 1975 Cherry Red Records Ltd Cherry Red Records Ltd/YouTube

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Be Bop Deluxe was already a known commodity, having given themselves over to the glam rock gravy train of Bowie and T Rex. But here, they’re all art-housey genuflecting in the form of “Jean Cocteau,” kicking back with a soft breezy melody amid the beachy sands of the French Riviera.

I Ain't Gonna Stand For This No More – Ace/℗© Ace (UK)/YouTube

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With the smooth soul of vocalist Paul Carrack, “I Ain’t Gonna Stand For This No More” was Ace’s follow-up to the smash “How Long.” But despite the crackerjack musicianship and swampy backbeat, this tune was nowhere near the previous chart success they had enjoyed and was subsequently revamped for their sophomore LP Time For Another, to lesser accolades.

Ivor Cutler ‘Go and sit upon the grass’/℗© Ivor Cutler/YouTube

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When you hear “Go and Sit Upon the Grass,” you can understand why Paul McCartney cast the Scottish artist as Buster Bloodvessel in 1967’s Magical Mystery Tour. Or maybe not. This song, with its droning harmonium, spoken word vocals and shockingly dark lyrics, sounds perfectly suited to the listener of eclectic, left-field thinking and art house leanings. Or maybe not.

Heard It All Before – Pilot/℗© 1975 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company/YouTube

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Blessed by the production duties of Alan Parsons, Scottish quartet Pilot was on a high after the release of their singles “Magic” and “January.” Naturally, “Heard It All Before” would follow suit with its double-track sounding guitar stylings and catchy melody. But for whatever reasons, the band could not sustain their momentum and never visited chart success again.

Barclay James Harvest – Titles • TopPop/℗© Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Music & Media Int'l, Inc/YouTube

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Barclay James Harvest would certainly not be the first (nor the last) band to invoke The Beatles in song. While “Titles” would not match the whimsy of Nilsson’s 1967 “You Can’t Do That,” it’s fair to say “Titles” did its darndest in the most yacht-rock way possible, with a heavy lifted dose of George Harrison’s “Something” thrown in. But check out this video and John Lees ‘finger barf’ sign. A harbinger of things to come.

[Lazy Days by Oddsocks]/℗Oddsocks, Cherry Red Records/Grapefruit/YouTube

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You’d be forgiven if this dainty little ditty flies under the radar, but Oddsocks’ “Lazy Days” is a small gem that falls more into the folk-rock basket than prog-rock’s weight-bearing potato sack. As a duo from Weymouth, Dorset, Robin Brooks and Gerald Claridge sound like a Squeeze forerunner in cadence and tone, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to hear a young Glenn Tilbrook on lead vocal in an alternate universe.

Lazy Days – The British Progressive Pop Sounds of 1975 is available to pre-order from Grapefruit, and releases 6 December as a 65-track, 3CD box set, which includes a 48-page booklet with photos, cuttings, and the story behind each song.

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