Strawbs - Hero and Heroine (1974)

Probably the most played prog-rock LP in my collection during the '70s, Strawbs's 'Hero and Heroine', more than any other album of the time, indelibly captured the mood and spirit of my lonely youth, and remains the most vividly memory-stirring of the 5,000 or so discs in my possession. The music's impeccably crafted and conceptually cohesive, with a scoop of art-rock sophistication here, a dash of Celtic folk vibrancy there, and an unforced measure of melodic grace almost everywhere. The album features the (IMO) classic lineup of Dave Cousins (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars), Dave Lambert (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars), John Hawken (piano, electric piano, organ, Mellotron, Moog synthesizer), Chas Cronk (bass, synthesizer, vocals) and Rod Coombes (drums, percussion, vocals).