(3xCD Box Set; Esoteric Recordings) I have long felt that Jethro Tull not only released some truly amazing albums but also spawned some wonderful groups which never truly gained the recognition they deserved and these days are mostly forgotten by most. One of those was Wild Turkey which was formed by Glenn Cornick after his departure, while another (and arguably superior) was Blodwyn Pig formed by Mick Abrahams after he and Ian no longer saw eye to eye following the release of ‘This Was’. They burned very brightly indeed, releasing two albums which both reached the Top Ten in the UK before Mick was kicked out of his own band and he left the business for a while before coming back for a short while before leaving again. What we have here are a proto prog outfit which took ‘This Was’ as a template and then moved further into the blues. Mick recruited Jack Lancaster (saxophones, flute, violin), Andy Pyle (bass) and Ron Berg and created some beautiful music on ‘Ahead Rings Out and ‘Getting...

(63:17; Melodic Revolution Records) I sometimes have to pinch myself when I think of Martin Springett and wonder just what might have been if his musical talents had been recognised at the right time. I first came across Martin when I reviewed the reissue of his debut solo album, 1983’s ‘The Gardening Club’ more than 40 years after it originally appeared. Not long afterwards he contacted me and I soon reviewed his other three releases, but I am sure neither of us realised what was going to happen next, in that he was going to form a new band in his seventies, and we now have the seventh album since the world started to catch up on his music. Here we have basically the same line-up as 2024’s ‘Another Country’, but I note that Norm Macpherson (who is responsible for the music alongside Martin and Kevin Laliberte) does not play on this one, so the line-up is Martin Springett (vocals, guitars), Kevin Laliberte (guitars, keyboards), Thomas Kinzel (piano), Drew Birston (fretless bass), Wayne...