Getting it on with Prog

@slaw You conveyed my thoughts in a much nicer way than I could.  Kudos to you, you're a gentleman and a scholar!

Whatever. I’m always up for discussion on prog rock.

I did some reviews on prog archives years ago with same moniker. Might still be there.

In any case prog archives is a great place to find reviews of prog both old and new. Nowadays with music services like Spotify. It’s fun to find some thing different of interest then give a listen.

The UK private press scene is an interesting one. Lps were mostly limited to 99 press since anything over that faced taxing.(The straight folk ones were pressed in greater numbers - 300 to 500.)
Here folk music holds sway, but there are some rock/prog ones to be found:

CIRCUS -ONE Can you think of any earlier prog UK private?

BODKIN -SAME origionally came without a cover. Later an ex-manager devised a wrap-around cover

ENGLAND -SAME (not early -this is ’76, and not strictly prog. More towards heavy guitar rock. This has nothing to do with the "Garden Shed" band. good lead guitar, maybe 500 pressed.

PEGGY’S LEG -GRINILLA say no more, great lp (Apparently "Grinilla" is some Victorian book. I’m guessing this as I collects old book illustrations - or at least photocopies of said - and there is a beaut for a book of this title.)

SINDELFINGEN -ODGIPIG puissant time changes, complex shit. One of those you either hate or like. If you like Comus -and who doesnt? - Sammmmmy ventures to say, this is for you.

DON BRADSHAW LEATHER -2lp set R.G. Godfrey of Enid

WHITSUNTIDE EASTER - they usually call this folk with a symphonic bent. Not so sure the prog part is that evident. Really its basically a Dutch band who recorded this in UK. (Clear UK-sound with many an English-articulate Dutch band? Opo, Sunforest,....)

CHARGE-SAME wow! Here is a great stoned heavy prog guitar lp. Like a hard Hendrix. Wah-wah and guitar echoing.Primative. Vocalist that goes from screaming to melancholy. A sidelong track "Child of Nations". What else could you ask for? Origionally no cover. Then with white cover with "Charge" written in ink. Ive read the vocalist rated as sounding being close to the End (not the group!),ready to go hand-in-hand with Eternity. Well, to that I reply -you havent heard REAL stoned yet.Try Chico Magnetic or Mecki Mark Men.

GRANNIE-SAME A goodun! Amateurish but full of surprizes, hard prog about 200 made.

ITHACA -GAME FOR ALL WHO KNOW Influenced by Moody Blues, as Sammmmmy supposes, was ALCO-THREADS OF LIFE.

SOFT SHOE -FOR THOSE ALONE why has this not yet been reissued??? progfolk

Most of these have been reissued on cd.

Sammmmy - that’s some obscure stuff there, never heard of any of them but youtube to the rescue. Here’s some that twirl my propeller:

Seven Reizh ’Strinkagenn ys’ from Brittany, a french/Celtic/folky/Prog thing.
Epidaurus ’Earthly Paradise’ for keyboard fans
Anekdoten ’From Within or Gravity’ love how sweden channeled 70’s prog spirit
Gila ’bury my heart at wounded knee’ - from the Krautrock side
All can be sampled on yubber tube.
btw love ptree so grain of salt here  -ye soggy quilt-

I collect Brittany folk. (I have maybe 15 different Stivell lps.) Also French bands like Malicorne which sound like they could come from the north.

...
Epidaurus is DUAL-keys, mainly instrumental (with some mere 5 minutes of female-voice vocalizing.)One side is sequencer-driven, making it sound Berlin electronics school-ish.

The second lp (CD) released some 20 years later - first lp was 1977 - is a let-down.

By the way, I always mix-up Epidaurus with another  German prog band, Epidermis "Genius of Origional Force", which is much better prog and one of the very few bands influenced by Gentle Giant.)