AKA: Tobacco Road

It's All About 1968 Album

Spooky Tooth

This album marks Wright’s arrival in the band, and *bang* just like that – they are transformed into a communal soul-hard rock tour-de-force, although a few flaws from the past still remain. But the formula for the next album’s big success is now in place – the combination of Wright and Harrison’s dueling vocal power is out in front, along with their keyboards, Grosvenor’s guitar is gruff but timely, and the rhythm section of Kellie and Ridley are a compelling anchor. Two covers are the standouts here – or rather, two re-imagined covers are the standouts – especially their drawn-out, drama-filled take on “Tobacco Road”, along with a nice read on Janis Ian’s “Society’s Child”. Meanwhile, the dark soul-psych of “Sunshine Help Me” was tabbed to become a hit, but never got there, for some reason. It is nearly all about this album, but in actuality, it was the next one that was the group's most realized achievement.