There is a whole story behind this album that you can read at Wikipedia. All I know is I put this album on the same way I do with every album – without reading the stuff. My ear just loves music. I was immediately impressed – the first song on the album is Sugar Man, and I started thinking back to Tommy James and The Shondells, etc because of some of the psychedelic studio tricks and I was convinced I would write this one up positively. Come to find out this guy is super-well known & somewhat of a mystery, and on top of all that the track was recorded somewhere between 1969 and 1970. Almost 40 years ago. I never heard it before, so for all I knew it was a new release. It sounds like a new release, which is amazing when that is contemplated. The song does have drug references (coke and maryjane), which leads me to believe I did not hear this song growing up because the record company (purportedly Buddha) did not want the intense scrutiny of the feds. Anyone remember Spiro Agnew & his push to make White Rabbit and other songs of our generation “Illegal” to play over the radio? I remember that vividly. To think that that man would have been president if it were not discovered he was a crook before Nixon was. Crazy life. Anyway, the album is great fun, a must-have for any collection whether it was recorded in 1969 or 2008. There are hints that this version of the album has been re-recorded. It could be, the sound is that good. In the long run, it doesn’t matter. Here is the US it might as well be a new release. Shoutouts for Only Good For Conversation and Inner City Blues. Rodriguez
