TIME MACHINE: VERTIGO RETROSPECTIVE

Can't recommend this enough. The beauty of it is its depth of coverage, with many different bands bringing out great examples of how "prog" back in the early mists of time (let's say 1972 or so) could mean many different definitions, certainly more than it does these days. I particularly enjoy how blues influences are not wiped clean away at this point and offer yet another genre for progressive musicians to explore (especially the criminally underrated Patto). One step further than the blues and you get some excellent fusion as well, notably Ian Carr's "Nucleus."

Prog purists won't be disappointed by excellent tracks from Cressida, Gentle Giant, Gracious!, Jade Warrior (worth purchasing simply for the "oriental" brilliance of "Borne on the Solar Wind" - one of those rare tracks that will get any serious music fan loving prog) and Greece's Aphrodite's Child. The other side of the spectrum finds classic bands as varied as early Black Sabbath and Rod Stewart's defnitive version of "Handbags and Gladrags", which some will recognize as the basis of the theme to the UK's "The Office."