Considered so ‘uncool’ – he’s totally cool, during this 1968 to 1972 period when he recorded for Uni Records. Besides the highly-crafted hits, there’s the occasional Fred Neil or Joni Mitchell cover, but the highlight is always his own tunes, wacky sh*t like “The Pot Smokers Song” – every one of them perfectly played and arranged. Except for the million selling Hot August Night – the rest of these CDs are in that horrible late 80’s MCA CD packaging with generic back covers and booklets – all original credits stripped out completely. Whatever he mutated into later doesn’t change how great this era is – just like Rod, Elton, et al – they all had a “good” period.
– Pat Thomas is the author of Listen, Whitey! The Sights and Sounds of Black Power 1965-1975.
