In 1972 the big rock and jazz albums were the Rolling Stone�s Exile on Main Street (right), and the Pink Floyd �concept album� Dark Side of the Moon. In the jazz world Weather Report produced their fusion classic I Sing the Body Electric, while Chick Corea moved in the other direction with his sparse Light as a Feather.

In London Pierre Boulez was in his second year as Chief Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and new music ruled. UK premieres that year included works from Maderna, Stockhausen, Ligeti, Crumb, Sessions, Xenakis, Maxwell Davies, and Boulez himself.

Take An Overgrown Path to find out a lot more about contemporary music, current affairs and the arts in 1972, and to access more links than you can shake a stick at. Also read about Edmund Rubbra's Ninth Symphony, the Sinfonia Sacra which was completed in this tumultuous year. This remarkable work bucked the avant garde trend, and anticipated the emergence of composers such as Arvo P�rt, John Tavener and James MacMillan. The full story of Rubbra's Ninth Symphony, including three audio files from the premiere recording, is in The Year is '72.