Essentially the Deviants were the British counterpart (or response) to what Frank Zappa and The Fugs were doing, but arguably, their debut goes some ways further. Their aim was to make cultural and political statements by parodying pop songs of the time, playing and releasing music in an underground style. Ptooff is an unflinching document of the time, not afraid to further delve into the dark corners of society which the aforementioned bands had already exposed. It takes some time getting used to, being nearly the direct opposite of mainstream-style psychedelia, but worth revisiting what turned out to be the real underground of the era.

Crow albums all seem to have that same general big horn/jazz rock/Midwest vibe; this one is a little more distinctive than the others. Best reason why: Black Sabbath covered "Evil Woman". But Crow Music is not bad - only a few of the tracks are massed with overdramatic horns or keyboards and there are a few pleasant hooks, plus they know how to keep a solid party vibe going.

Cactus was part back-up plan and evolution of a previous act. Carmine Appice and Tim Bogert had been the rhythm section of the wildly successful psychedelic band Vanilla Fudge, and in 1969 were looking to team up with Jeff Beck for a new venture, but this was postponed due to Beck's injuries from an auto accident (ironically, they would still join together in Beck, Bogert, and Appice two years later). Instead, the duo called up Detroit veterans Jim McCarty and Rusty Day and set up shop as Cactus. What ensued was a volume-cranking, beer-chasing answer to the British-derived hard rock that was making its mark at the time. The songs may have been flimsy, but covers of "Parchman Farm" and "You Can't Judge A Book By It's Cover" reek of festival smoke, dirty noise, and good times. "Let Me Swim" was another straightforward standout. The album was a prime reason why the band was a fixture on the stadium circuit. Subsequent albums have diminishing returns; this one by far is their best, and even the cover is a good indicator of this.

This last gasp effort from Brownsville was bolstered by the additions of Bruce Nazarian and heavy rock producer extraordinaire Eddie Kramer, and the end result was their most aggressive release to date. That did not mean it was stellar all the way through, but at least give them credit for enthusiasm. The payoff comes at the end with "Martian Boogie", which was undeniably the most raucous and humorous single they ever cut.

First off, the band name, album title, and cover are hardcore late 60’s British blooze rock to a capital T! Beyond those interesting tidbits, Black Cat Bones are now known are a launching point for a multitude of famous musicians in the 70’s arena rock scene – from guys like Paul Kossoff, Simon Kirke and Rod “The Bottle” Price, to lesser players like Stu and Derek Brooks who would go on to record the cult classic Growers of Mushroom album while in Leaf Hound with Pete French. And the music within is – pretty dirty, dusty-sounding, hardcore blues rock, for the most part. Generally reminiscent of early Fleetwood Mac and/or Canned Heat. They thump away on your brain and sex drive on “Chauffeur”. They properly plunge you down to the depths on “Death Valley Blues”. They tool ‘n’ groove along admirably on otherwise non-descript tracks like “Coming Back”, “Save My Love”, and “Sylvester’s Blues” (which I think is named after the piano player credited on the track). The standard “Feelin’ Good” is given reasonably tough coverage, but what is slightly odd about it is how it segues back into its’ original acoustic intro right in the middle of the most dramatic part of the track. Another oddball is “Four Women”, which is much more of a spooky lounge-jazz style ballad focusing on the lead singer Brian Short. It really does not fit on this record. Price takes the lead vocal on the enjoyable blues romp “Good Lookin’ Woman”. He could have taken over the vocals for the rest of the record and it would have been a bit more authentic, just sayin’. Overall, I like this, but completely understand why these guys escaped to other groups to gain fame and fortune.