(Underground Rock) VA - Banquet (Underground Sounds Of 1969) (3 CD) - 2021, MP3, 320 kbps

CD1
01 - Yes - Beyond & Before - 3:54
02 - Genesis - In The Beginning - 4:05
03 - Van Der Graaf Generator - Afterwards - 4:56
04 - East Of Eden - Northern Hemisphere - 5:06
05 - Fat Mattress - All Night Drinker - 3:14
06 - Man - The Future Hides Its Face - 5:28
07 - Eyes Of Blue - After The War - 3:34
08 - Locomotive - Mr. Armageddon (Mono Single Version) - 4:37
09 - Barclay James Harvest - Poor Wages - 2:33
10 - Fairport Convention - Meet On The Ledge - 2:52
11 - Strawbs - Where Is This Dream Of Your Youth (Orig.Version) - 3:04
12 - Deep Purple - Shield - 6:05
13 - Mighty Baby - Egyptian Tomb - 5:29
14 - Pete Brown & His Battered Ornaments - The Week Looked Good On Paper - 5:19
15 - Ten Years After - Bad Scene - 3:31
16 - Taste - Born On The Wrong Side Of Time - 3:57
17 - The Deviants - Billy The Monster - 3:26
18 - Sunforest - Magician In The Mountain - 4:12
CD2
01 - Colosseum - Walking In The Park - 3:54
02 - Fleetwood Mac - Oh Well (Part One) - 3:24
03 - Mighty Baby - House Without Windows - 6:12
04 - Bulldog Breed - Austin Osmanspare - 2:56
05 - Spooky Tooth - Better Be You, Better Than Me - 3:43
06 - Jack Bruce - Never Tell Your Mother She's Out Of Tune - 3:41
07 - Free - Trouble On Double Time - 3:25
08 - Jethro Tull - A New Day Yesterday - 4:09
09 - The Jeff Beck Group - Rice Pudding - 7:25
10 - Procol Harum - A Salty Dog - 4:37
11 - Barclay James Harvest - Brother Thrush - 3:03
12 - Fairport Convention - A Sailor's Life - 11:10
13 - Audience - Banquet - 3:34
14 - Moody Blues - Gypsy (Of A Strange And Distant Time) - 3:36
15 - Jody Grind - Paint It Black - 5:06
16 - Michael Chapman - Rainmaker - 3:41
17 - Family - No Mule's Food - 3:19
CD3
01 - Edgar Broughton Band - Evil - 2:37
02 - Kevin Ayers - The Lady Rachel - 5:19
03 - Deep Purple - Chasing Shadows - 5:33
04 - The Climax Blues Band - Flight - 7:51
05 - Pete Brown & Piblokto! - Living Life Backwards - 2:03
06 - Renaissance - Kings And Queens - 10:59
07 - Third Ear Band - Stone Circle - 3:27
08 - Juicy Lucy - Who Do You Love - 3:02
09 - Jack Bruce - Theme For An Imaginary Western - 3:29
10 - Blodwyn Pig - Sing Me A Song That I Know - 3:03
11 - Thunderclap Newman - Something In The Air - 3:56
12 - Manfred Mann Chapter Three - One Way Glass - 3:34
13 - High Tide - Walking Down Their Outlook - 4:59
14 - Colosseum - The Kettle - 4:26
15 - Quintessence - Notting Hill Gate (Single Version) - 2:55
16 - Man - Spunk Box - 5:50
17 - Yes - Survival - 6:19

"Banquet - Underground Sounds of 1969" is another excellent compilation from Cherry Red Records that continues their in-depth exploration of the musical treasures of the late 60's. Here again, the focus is on 1969. That time when psychedelia was evolving towards what was then quaintly called progressive rock. Nearly four hours of music from 1969, a year that saw a huge progression in both musically and socially. It was a fine year for creativity in British album-based rock, embraced by the emerging counterculture. Musical stylistic influences such as psychedelia jazz, blues, hard rock, folk and even classical music melded, all of which championed by "underground" figures of the day such as DJ John Peel on his BBC Radio One show Top Gear and by publications such as International Times and Oz.
1969 also saw bands that would go on to achieve success and influence in the 1970s such as Deep Purple, Fleetwood Mac, Ten Years After, Jethro Tull, Barclay James Harvest, Edgar Broughton Band, Free, Family, Genesis, Strawbs, Van Der Graaf Generator, Man and Yes begin their rise to prominence. Aside from featuring better known acts such as Jack Bruce, Thunderclap Newman, Procol Harum, Moody Blues, Taste, Fairport Convention, Colosseum, Michael Chapman and The Jeff Beck Group, this compilation also features lesser-known acts that produced fine work of a wide breadth such as Eyes of Blue, East of Eden, Blodwyn Pig, Locomotive, Mighty Baby, Pete Brown and The Deviants.
This collection celebrates a creative period when rock music was evolving into something altogether more serious, moving away from the single as medium to give way to the dominance of the album. Open your ears to "Banquet, Underground Sounds of 1969" (Amazon).