The College Crowd Digs Me

"Tonto's Expanding Head Band" - Tonto's Expanding Head Band (1971 )      The music is spacey electronic splashes of very early Moog synth that tip-toe through the fields of prog-psych trippiness.  Tonto's Expanding Head Band , created by Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff , offers a weird and experimental mind game on their debut.  The album has been credited as being a big influence on numerous musical acts, from Stevie Wonder to Devo.        I didn't love this square initially, but it's definitely been a grower.  Tonto's Expanding Head Band is a spin that requires active listening free from distractions.  Being in the right frame of mind matters.  Headphones are your friend, and though I don't listen to this a lot, the album still gives more than it takes.   "Tonto's Expanding Head Band" - Tonto's Expanding Head Band (back) Favorites include: "Aurora" "Riversong"      My copy is a 1...

"The Savage Seven" Stk  (1968)      " The Savage Seven" Soundtrack is from one of many cash-in biker/hippie counter-culture B-movies that flooded the summer drive-ins in the '60s.  Low-budget bottom feeders.  Edgy stuff for the period, but poor acting and weak scripts usually had the bongwater leaking out before the first hit.  Still, the passage of time makes these movies and soundtracks a lot of fun.  I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff.      As for the tracks on this square, there is  an atypical song from Cream,  "Anyone for Tennis,"  which was recorded during their  "Wheels of Fire"  sessions but then released on the soundtrack.    Two songs,  "Unconscious Power"  and  "Iron Butterfly Theme,"  were culled from Butterfly's debut album,  "Heavy"  (1968).   A couple of songs from  Barbara Kelly & The Morning Good  have an Austin Powers aura. ...

"Solar Music - Live" - Grobschnitt (1978 )      I've spun this album a lot since picking it up a few weeks ago.  "Solar Music - Live" is a bit of a space-rock adventure in the way Pink Floyd would sometimes trip off into.  A little kraut-psych in the juices, as well.  Ron at The Hog's Ear Report describes the square a little like Floyd following up their "Animals" album by never going into "The Wall" at all, and that's not inaccurate.  A what-if...if you will.  There is definitely a "Meddle/Animals" aura about this, yet very much unique in its own right.  The first track is neither here nor there.  Nothing special.  But after that, let the games begin.  By the time you get to the end of side two…you've been places.       Grobschnitt is legendary across the pond, with their live shows often lasting several hours.  "Solar Music - Live"  was recorded in 1978 at the Otto Pankok Forum in Mühlheim, German...

American Boys by Steven Phillip Smith (1975) Paperback, 435 pages NO SPOILERS:      Oftentimes, the worst part of going anywhere is the anticipation of the return.  American Boys  follows four soldiers in Vietnam in 1966.  The writing was partially based on the author's personal experiences during the war.  Steven Phillip Smith left little doubt about the brutality and monotony of war, and just how hard it was to balance the highs with the lows.  Totally a mind-flayer keeping it all in check.  There are some brutal scenes Smith delivers that really leave a mark.   And yet, his descriptive prose somehow finds beauty in the mundane and the chaos.        The fighting was more from a helicopter/gunnery perspective, which I found both fascinating and horrific.  And the importance of it all was not lost on me.  As with all aspects of war, each moment can spell your last.  Lucky this; unlucky that....

"Wanted" - Mason Proffit (1970 )      Mason Proffit and this album in particular have a bit of a cult following.  In the Midwest, anyway.  Thanks in part to KSHE radio playing "Two Hangmen" from their debut album.  Listeners requested this song on a fairly regular basis.  At least that's the way I got the story.    Mason Proffit,  out of Indiana,   was an early country rock band whose first album,  "Wanted,"  became a kind of underground hit.   The album has a late Byrds, early Poco vibe, but with enough of a Mason Proffit  dust-storm to call their own.  I enjoy country-rock from this period, and this album is no better or worse than the other good stuff, so if you are of the same mind, your ears will probably be right at home with this square.      I see this particular album at almost every record show that comes around.  Always priced under a ten-spot, and still I skipped over it a ...

"Phenomenon" - UFO (1974)     I've had this on CD forever, but finding a vinyl copy of  UFO's  " Phenomenon"  was challenging  for me.  I just could never be in the right place at the right time, I guess.    The album is a wonderful conundrum that both rocks and relaxes at the same time.  UFO scratches both itches perfectly with its chill-metal salutations.  It's my favorite UFO album, bar none.  This, and their live  "Strangers In The Night," (1979)   are definitely my go-tos.      "Phenomenon" has it all.  There is an unusual headiness about this square that takes me somewhere.  There is some space rock dustings in the mix.  The slower and mid-tempo tracks  sizzle and burn, with  Phil Mogg's  vocals effortlessly selling the bridge without sounding the least bit wuss .  No hyperbole here.  Mogg makes it work.   Additionally, 19-year-old  Mic...