Linhart's debut album is a strange, unfocused affair, the kind of thing that would have only been issued by a major label in the late '60s. The singer varies between relatively short songs and way-extended workouts that mix folk with rock, Indian music (Big Jim Sullivan plays sitar), and even some mellotron. Linhart uses drawn-out blues-folk phrasing that owes quite a bit to Village folk-rockers like Tim Hardin and Fred Neil, and in fact a five-and-a-half-minute workout on Hardin's blues, "Yellow Cab," opens the LP. The ten-minute "Willie Jean" is next, and actually Phil Ryan's mellotron here gives the song an unusual lift that helps to differentiate what would otherwise be an OK but unremarkable anguished folk ballad.
The 18-minute "Sing Joy" takes up most of side two, and its Indian-oriented improvisation gets tedious after a promising opening burst of ominous orchestral drone. When he milks that drone for an entire, albeit three-minute, song (the closing "End Song," overlaid with mellotron), the result is more interesting, recalling Fred Neil at his most despondent, but with freakier production.
It's no mystery as to why Linhart favored these elastic, spontaneous-sounding folk/jazz/blues/Indian/rock fusions; he had no doubt played that kind of music when one of his bands, the Seventh Sons, backed Fred Neil live in the mid-'60s. Still, his singing, songwriting, and editing capabilities were not quite up to the point where he could shine on an album all his own.
Whatever critics wrote or write about this album you better listen yourself to it. It's full of untamed emotion and at the same time full of great musicality. Linhart is an impressive musician and he have both, a lot of skills and an impressive feeling for music. Of course here is a lot of different songs on the album. But all are great. Because Linhart is great. Enjoy. (Frank)
pass: SB1
This is different and has its moments. Overall, it's amazing how many different musical personalities of Buzzy Linhart has been unveiled throughout the years. With The Seventh Sons he explored trippy psychedelic jazz on ESP-Disk, with Music he performed rock with prog influences, with Montreal (teaming up with jazz flutist Jeremy Steig and Woodstock veterane Richie Havens) he visited folk-jazz, but for me, it was ATCO's "Pussycats Can Go Far" from 1974, which defined his music - an eclectic mixture of pop, rock, excellent songwriting (close to Randy Newman), flawless production (Muscle Shoals' Beckett & Hawkins), novelty, and vocal extravaganza. Thanks, Frank, for reminding me!
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