Stackridge The Man In The Bowler Hat (Pinifore Days in the US) 1974

Question: What do you get when you crossbreed Fairport Convention with early Yes and a little Genesis? Answer: Stackridge.

Stackridge released five records between 1971 and 1976. Prog mixed with British folk-rock sounds well nigh impossible, but that is what they sound like. The Man In The Bowler Hat was their third. You can hear much of it on YouTube, and there are streaming options as well as lots of CDs and LPs at Discogs.

The band sported an unusual line-up of guitar, bass, drums, flute and violin. And they still sound like a rock band, and one of the more unique ones you're likely to hear. They cited both the Beatles and Frank Zappa as influences, as well as Syd Barrett, Beach Boys and the Marx Brothers. And it all gets into the mix.

I think you'll find them to sound quite like nothing you've ever heard, and mostly in a good way.

David Wilcox Guitar Shopping from What You Whispered 2000

David Wilcox is a more folky artist than I am usually drawn to, but his guitar playing, his mellow voice, and especially his songwriting really shine. He has a way with words that is impressive: sometimes playful, sometimes romantic, frequently insightful, always well-constructed. In his younger days he wrote about vehicles quite a bit. This one's available for streaming, and there's a YouTube of it, so you can follow along if you'd like. 

Guitar Shopping

There's a guitar here in the window
I'd like to play before it's sold.
It's such a classic, mint condition,
Great shape for one this old.
Now all these axes have their stories,
Of the gigs that they have seen
But when this one sold the first time
I was seventeen.

'Course back then I didn't want it
It was way too new for me.
I needed something old and righteous
With its own authority.

So the first guitar I ever bought
Was twice as old as me
'Cause its life was full of music,
As I dreamed that mine might be.

And I played that thing a thousand nights
And traded it away
For something slightly newer
That was easier to play.

But now lately I buy new guitars
They're shiny as a hearse.
I still like the look of road wear,
But the roles have been reversed.
And now this thing is a classic
That I still don't need to buy.
Yeah, the old one's have their stories
But by now,
So do I.