Rich Mountain Tower - Rich Mountain Tower (1971 Reissue 2015)

"Rich Mountain Tower's debut self-titled album, released in the fall of 1971, combines southern rock with acoustic ballads and psychedelic flourishes to create a sound well ahead of its time. Originally issued in quadrophonic sound, it's a superb recording that shows just what a fine and underrated band this Tennessee quintet was.

Really, though, these folks are mainly anchored in psychedelic folk, with a driving, rock rhythm and lots of jangly guitars and Southern-style slide balancing out the nascent twang. The lyrics are very hippie-dippie and diffuse, spacy, celebratory stuff about being alive and in nature, sung in airy harmonies with pedal steel an 12-string guitar providing sweet counterpoint -- all in all, a very Byrds-y sound.

A few Nashville studio pros were brought in to beef up the band's sound -- Charlie McCoy lays down a few hot harmonica riffs, and steel player Weldon Myrick adds gorgeous accompaniment throughout. There's not a lot on here that I would call "country," as opposed to rock, and a few songs may get irritating if you're just in search of country sounds, although for psych/folk-freak fans this record is a real treat. A mixed bag, but a great document of its time.