Monday 4 June 2018

Elephant Mountain – THE YOUNGBLOODS****

Darkness Darkness/Smug/On Sir Francis Drake/Sunlight/Double Sunlight/Beautiful/Turn It Over/Rain Song/ Trillium/Quicksand/Black Mountain Breakdown/Sham

Elephant Mountain was the third album from the country rock group The Youngbloods. They received a significant amount of critical acclaim but only limited commercial success. (US:118)

“A bit of a comeback compared to their previous outing, this one recalls the garage flavour of their first. It's got better production and better songwriting, but some horns detract from the overall impact a little.”

“This is mostly nice mellow folk with some baroque pop touches. A couple of tracks have some pale psych elements but the best parts of the LP are the great laid back hippie chill-out tracks like On Sir Francis Drake and Trillium.”

“This is really a perfect album for a beautiful sunny summer day. I knew of Jessie Collin Young long before I knew of The Youngbloods. Pity, because nothing he did solo really stands up to this, even though there are similar elements throughout.”

“An excellent showcase of The Youngbloods' idiosyncratic country-rock. Mixtures of jazz, folk and rock are dispersed throughout giving this legendary effort a feeling of ambience. The startling opening Darkness Darkness clues the listener that this is not going to be any ordinary album. The remaining songs continue the momentum. Good musicianship prevails throughout.”

“It has got to be the most eclectic album of it's day. It was definitely ahead of it's time. It has some jazz, blues, country, rock and Celtic influences, not to mention Jesse's exquisite voice. Music of the 60s at it's best, but not outdated.”

“Probably one of the best rock albums of the 60s. Provides great listening music for any activity. While many remember The Youngbloods for Get Together, Elephant Mountain goes far beyond the commercial hit which receives so much air time. Those of us that remember the real sixties can relate to these songs and the memories produced by this album.”

“All the songs have great melodies, and original chord progressions, showing that Young either had musical training or great instincts.”

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