As I write this, I'm kind of at a loss. As I write this, I don't know what album to present this week. I have lots of ideas--lots of albums out there that I'm very fond of for many different reasons, but I don't know what to say about them other than, "Here's an album I like. Hope you like it too." And I realize that that was the general idea behind these weekly recommendations, but--especially since I've started doing this as a blog post--I feel like it needs something more. Maybe a few words about why I like it, how I stumbled upon it, what it means to me. But nothing is coming to me. I'm not really in the headspace for it, I guess. I'm also at work which is a source of constant interruption. And I realize that since I'm being paid to be here that that should be my priority--and it is--I just wish it would stop derailing my train of thought.
I keep hoping that as I continue writing, something will jump out at me. I'm thinking back to my youth, when I first discovered and fell in love with rock music. I started going through my parents' record collection looking for something new (or at least new to me) to listen to because I hadn't yet developed my own music collection.
Now I've got something...
This week's album is a bit on the obscure side. In fact, it's the only album released by this particular group and, arguably, a relic of another time--which may be why I'm drawn to it in the first place. I first found it in my parents' collection, strangely enough, not when I was in high school, but sometime after I graduated college. Based on the record label (Elektra Records), producer (Paul A. Rothchild), the way the band's name was written on the front cover, as well as the band's wardrobe (the gentleman front and center appears to have been ejected from the set of a Robin Hood movie), I deduced that it was a psychedelic rock album from the mid to late 1960s. Having a weakness for that sort of thing, I put it on the turntable and found, much to my delight, that my suspicions were correct. Naturally, I was quite taken with it and listened to it quite a few times. I was super excited some years later to find that, in spite of its relative obscurity, it had been released on CD, so of course I bought it immediately since, at that time, I no longer had access to a turntable. It's interesting to me how it's not an album I play much, but when I do, I really enjoy it. It always reminds me of that really weird but enjoyable time in my life when I first moved out of my parents' house and was officially "on my own."
Even though this was the group's only album, many members became known for other things later on. Dallas Taylor would go on to become the drummer for Crosby, Stills & Nash, as well as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and many of Stephen Stills solo projects. Doug Lubahn sat in as a session bassist on The Doors' second album. (The Doors also recorded for Elektra Records and were produced by Rothchild.) After declining an offer to become their full-time bassist, he did actually play on many tracks for their next two albums. Lead singer Cliff De Young turned to acting where he amassed over 130 film and television credits including The Hunger (1983) and Glory (1989).
Originally released in 1967, the album set itself apart by featuring two drummers, Dallas Taylor and Michael Ney, playing together. It only reached #126 on the album chart, but the group enjoyed some moderate national success touring alongside other acts of the day, including Moby Grape, Canned Heat, and The Doors. After a couple of personnel shake-ups, the group disbanded by 1968. While definitely a product of its time, I still find the music enjoyable. Allegedly taking their name from The Tibetan Book of the Dead (as well as a rather potent form of LSD), this week please enjoy Clear Light with their self-titled debut (and only) album.
It should be noted that the YouTube link does include the bonus track "She's Ready To Be Free" at the end. This song was the B-side to their single "Black Roses" and was not on the original album, however it was included in the CD release (although why they put it in the middle of the album, I'll never know).
Until next week, stay safe, be good to your neighbours, and please remember that if at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
Yours in peace, love, and rock and roll!
The Reverend Will the Thrill
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