Rock: well recorded bass...60s/70s

andy fraser on free's "fire and water" lp was a bass player's wet dream--he played more lead than anything else. the songs were great, too.
a guiltier pleasure was chris squire on yes's "fragile;" yes was very uncool but i still listened to this record a thousand times.

ghost: yes was uncool because of (a) sci-fi lyrics and incomprehensible dungeons 'n dragons imagery (b)bloated, purposely difficult "compositions" with long drum solos, (c) technical proficiency as opposed to punky attitude, and (d)no one i know admits to liking them. also, "tales of topographic oceans" is a terrible title.

slightly off topic, but i though i'd weigh in on bd's and ghost's missives. procol harum had certain prog-y elements (technical virtuosity, obscure lyrics, ambitious song structures), but at core were a pop band--their best stuff was very accessible and easy to play, even for a duffer like me. as for cream, i vacillate between loving 'em and having reservations--to my ears their forte was tightly-constructed studio pop, like disraeli gears--compared to, say, the allman brothers their jammy live stuff always sounded somewhat lumbering and not quite coherent to me--lots of soloing for soloing sake. plus they didn't really feel the blues, though many will credibly disagree

bd, not that anything i say merits close attention, but i didn't accuse cream of being prog-y--i was referring to procol harum. in any event, while i never liked the mc5 (who were much more countercultural icons than worthwhile music makers), i do like big brother as a musical unit--i think they're highly underrated. on a purely technical level i supposed they struggled with tempo and key, but to me they had a real feel for that big bloozy thing. they made a record after janis, with nick gravenites as singer, which was surprisingly well-written and performed--wish i could remember the name.
the flamin groovies, whose name you invoke, were on a higher plane altogether--i genuinely think they were among the best american bands of the 70s, albiet in that narrow jangly pop genre. "shake some action" and "tore me down" are flat-out masterpieces and they did the best ever cover of "warewolves of london," which you should race to spotify to hear immediately.

Ghost, are u not a fan of Derek and the Dominos?

ghost, i've previoulsy debated whether layla is overrated, but ultimately always came out on the side that says it's not. there is a bunch of filler--key to the highway and have you ever loved a woman are the sort of lethargic dross i think you're referring to, although they really nail nobody knows. mostly, though, the originals are transcendent--it's as if clapton, who ("badge" and "presence of the lord" aside)was never much of a songwriter, was momentarily infused with genius. as for the sound, it is sorta murky, but i couldn't conceive of it any other way. like you and whart suggest, it may be pressing-specific.
our quibble as to layla's merit notwithstanding, i do agree that nothing clapton did after 1970 is particularly lovable. his good stuff had a strong collaborator (jack bruce/duane/the bramletts); if you look at his stone classics, very few (presence, bell bottom blues) were solo compositions. as always, many may disagree.