Now Playing: Hay! Kelly!
Topic: Addition
This one is not in the AA at all but clearly belongs, even without the recently observed $300+ going rate.
BLUEBYRD (White Bear Lake, MN)
Sweet Thoughts 197 (no label MT 1501)
An obscure private press with an unusual and attractive sound for local early '70s trips, the all-male Bluebyrd quartet delight the listener with a moody folk-pop sound seemingly rooted in the mid-'60s stylings of Peter & Gordon and Simon & Garfunkel. Recorded mainly as a demo for a studio project, the emphasis is on the songwriting and the vocal harmonies, both of which are quite attractive. While a rare style to pursue in later years, it is not completely unique, and the hallowed Schibbinz offer a good reference point for the best aspects of Bluebyrd. Comparisons could also be made to Lazy Smoke and Fredric, as long as one bears in mind that this is neither psychedelic nor underground, and does not offer much room for the secondary instrumentation beyond the distinct guitar-picking, and any 'trippy' production tricks are completely absent. The timewarp magic is disturbed by a couple of lesser tracks in a peppy '70s pop bag, one of which copies the melody to "Moondance". If these guys were bent they might have sounded like Dyckman-James, but they are straight as an arrow without sounding clinical. One of the more interesting Acid Archives type things I've run across in the last year or so. [PL]