STONE GARDEN - Stone Garden
This US band are so obscure that they do not feature in any of my reference books. What I do know is that they recorded this album in the late 60's, and it was the only thing they did. Some years ago it got a re-release on the Rockadelic label but that too is becoming increasingly hard to find so the recent CD issue is most welcome. Classic acid psyche is the order of the day, with heavy guitars and a good vocal performance by the singer. 'Oceans Inside Of Me' starts off with a great riff and is the perfect opener by the band. 'It's A Beautiful Day' is a slower song but by no means less powerful, and the guitar solo leaps from the speakers. At first 'Bastard' has an almost jungle feel to it, with its gutteral screams and Latin percussion, but before long the guitars kick in and it is great hard rock boogie. 'Stop My Thinking' is an authentic Chicago blues which breaks up the album nicely, and then 'Assembly Line' and 'Woodstock' bring back the hard rock with a vengence, the latter including a particlarly stunning guitar solo. The only track which does not seem to sit comfortably with the rest of the material is the closing 'SF Policeman Blues', which is a sort of jugband story song of the band's drug bust in San Francisco. That aside, this is a great hard rock album which just goes to show that there are still some outstandingly good lost albums out there which are ripe for re-issue, and this one is most definitely a case in point. Highly recommended.