Crazy Elephant - Crazy Elephant mp3 download

Malahelm

Released in 1969, Crazy Elephant stood in stark contrast to all that was happening around them. Arriving at the tail end of psychedelic pop, the influence of these Johnny-Come-Lately’s had was minimal at best, other than their trans-Atlantic hit “Gimme Gimme Good Lovin,” with music fans favoring more deeply introspective attitudes. Though all of this should come as no surprise, since the band was for all intent and purposes, a mere musical concoction, falsely and purposely rumored to be a group of Welsh coal miners.These were the days when an AM hit single could still lead to a full album, though here, a rather empty one at best, and simply one of dozens of aliases created to foster the bubblegum pop of the Kasenetz and Katz production team, along with Super K Records. If the music’s not the best, the snapshot of the times certainly is, especially when one considers the mildly psychedelic R&B overlays for the Otis Redding song “Respect,” with the album taking an even wilder turn with the heavy (vernacular of the day) version of “Somewhere” by Lenard Bernstein, all indicating that with or without Kasenetz and Katz, who were pleased with the cash the single was rolling in, the band actually seemed eager, deeply wanting to create something beyond that hit single, and refusing to be defined by it.Standing on the shoulders of bands such as Rare Earth and Vanilla Fudge, Crazy Elephant laced their tracks with tripped out fuzzed guitars and swirling organ runs, all of which were intended to feature and display their psychedelic nature.Of course the album has been reissued with bonus material, though I caution listeners not to think that this record had anything at all to do with the year 1969, or the intense music being laid down by The Jefferson Airplane, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors and a host of others who were intent on changing the musical fabric of the world, all with actual psychedelic meanderings. Review by Jenell Kesler