Born 1947, released the eponymous debute 1966 and further eight albums before his death from a drug overdose 1975. In those nine years and albums he mastered most contemporary US musical genres - folk, jazz, psych, funk, soul. While the debute had more of classic singer/songwriter folk rock, this second LP has a more generous production - some tracks are heavily orchestrated and there's bits of psych guitar, harpsichord, congas and harmonium. The songs are very strong and the adventurous superstructure toghether with his distinctive vocals makes it outstanding for its time. Maybe too outstanding, cause like his other issues it didn't sell a lot on release. It's one of those albums getting better over time and today he is seen by many as the musical genious he actually was. I had a UK copy of this in the early seventies and it didn't get to me at all. I seriously thought he was British - the string arrangements, his dialect and idioms and strangely neat overall appearance was a lot more Harvey Andrews than Bob Dylan. But eventually I learned it was all American. Recorded in Los Angeles, produced by Jerry Yester and Jack Holzman and the mixing done by studio wiz Bruce Botnick. Today my perception is broader and I think it's a great album. It's so well done - performances, arrangements, production, mix, audio - and the songs still touch. A classic I could never be without. This sounds like a dedicated mono mix all through, but I never had a US first press stereo so I can't compare. Anyone reading this knows for sure? First UK on Electra with same tracking and number. Re-issued many times on vinyl and CD. Premiere US with label as shown here and thick matt f/o cover. (SYSÖ*) (YZÄ*) (ÖXCÅ*)
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