Nitzinger - One Foot In History (Reissue) (1973/1999)

Nitzinger is the band named after Texan guitarist John Nitzinger, whose long career has yielded sporadic releases and on-stage appearances for over three decades, starting in the late '60s. Hailing from the city of Fort Worth, John Nitzinger was, by his own account, a precocious songwriter and musician and was involved in several bands and nondescript single releases in the mid- to late '60s. But it wasn't until the next decade that the Nitzinger name began gaining recognition -- first as a sometime songwriter for fellow Texans Bloodrock, and then, after recruiting bassist Curly Benton and drummer Linda Waring, to create a power trio named after himself. This lineup recorded an eclectic eponymous debut album (part bluesy boogie rock, part esoteric post-psych) for Capitol in 1971 and briefly broke into the American charts' Top 200 with a spunky Southern rock single called "Louisiana Cock Fight." A sophomore effort named (perhaps somewhat prematurely) One Foot in History followed in 1973 and introduced second guitarist Bugs Henderson, but achieved no repeat trip into the charts. So, after collaborating with Henderson on another Southern hard rock album billed simply to Thunder, it wasn't long before Nitzinger -- the band -- had been reduced to John and assorted session musicians, recklessly experimenting with everything in between rock and disco on 1976's Live Better...Electrically. The guitarist would later work with Carl Palmer's PM project and Alice Cooper during his Zipper Catches Skin album and tour, but has otherwise been largely forgotten outside the state of Texas, where he informally retired to after years of road work (he also reportedly conquered a few addictions and won a battle with cancer). The new millennium finally saw John Nitzinger record another album, mixing both new material and re-recorded classics for the appropriately named Going Back to Texas, released in 2002. And since then, Nitzinger has carried on performing occasional gigs, fostering an on-going musical partnership with former Bloodrock buddy Jim Rutledge and basking in a steady rediscovery of his early work thanks to the information-spreading power of the Internet.