Angels and Space Gods: J.D. Blackfoot Posted by Junior

J.D. Blackfoot: Angel From: Ultimate Prophecy [San Francisco, 1971] J.D. Blackfoot: Epitaph For A Head [Philips, 1969] Autumn's here and as the leaves start to fall from the trees my musical taste veers towards the slow and soulful in preparation for those long winter nights. To combat this natural hibernation setting in I've called on the almighty power of psych rock from J.D. Blackfoot. Formed by the superbly monikered Benjamin Franklin Van Dervort, the J.D. Blackfoot band that played on the album the Ultimate Prophecy were a short lived affair to say the least. You can read more about the comings and goings of the band at the severely moustached Devort's website. Their one album together ofter veers on the edge of psych's worst excesses with the track Prophecy in particular sounding dangerously close to a dry run for Spinal Tap's Stonehenge number. The ballads, on the other hand show the wonderful county tinged melodies the band had on offer. Angel is the lightest of light folk styled tracks, its upper pitched vocals and soft harmonies reminding me a lot of early Love but with a distinctively country twang. Sweet but never descending into sickly saccharine levels it's a recent fave. So, all very nice and all that but where's the hibernation combating rock? Look no further my friend for here is the truly awesome Epitaph For A Head. Released as a single only and even more rare than an OG of the album it shows what happened when the band took the bad pills rather than the happy ones: a bad rock trip of a song, with whacked out guitars, clattering drums and lyrics on a whole nother level (Ah, It's A Space God) . Turn it up loud and let it blow your mind.........