SPOOKY TOOTH/SPOOKY TWO ILPS 9098 (-69) UK

Spooky Tooth has to be one of the most eclectic (i.e. adaptive, imitative or just indecisive) UK bands ever, during a decade or so going trough an unprecedented number of different names, settings, genres and collaborations. Started as pop/rock combo Ramrods 1960, three years later playing r&b with renewed setting as VIP:s. Reformed as Art 1967 with yet another setting and recorded a psych album produced by Guy Stevens. Thereafter following Stevens through the 1967 Hapshash & The Coloured Coat sessions, providing backing as "The Heavy Metal Kids". First album as Spooky Tooth - "It's All About A Roundabout" - 1968 also produced by Stevens and this second by Jimmy Miller. Later they would back French electronic and experimental composer Pierre Henry on his album "Ceremony" and do a collaboration with Joe Cocker's Grease Band on "The Last Puff", as "Spooky Tooth Featuring Mike Harrison", before breaking up 1970. Common knowledge seems to be this album was the best they made, their tour de force. With that background in mind I have a hard time to compare and value one effort higher than another - it's all about perspective. To my taste Art's "Supernatural Fairytales" still sounds superb and "Roundabout" has its moments, the Hapshash album is one of the best acid trips on record, "Ceremony" an interesting sign of the times and "Last Puff" includes some very striking bulky blues. This is also good, but I'm not in 100%. The heavy numbers are all outstanding - "Waitin' For The Wind", "Evil Woman", "Better By You, Better Than Me" - but why gospel inbetween and what's with the country rocker in the middle of everything? Though very well performed with top production and audio the parts doesn't fit. Maybe I'm being too strict, but considering the hype and the sums this UK changes hands for today you could expect more. First US on A&M (SP 4194). Premiere UK had structured label as shown here, thick unflexible vinyl and matt fold/out cover. (ÖSÄP*) (FSÄ*)