It's A Beautiful Day - At Carnegie Hall (Reissue) (1972/1995)

Founded in San Francisco, USA in 1967 - Disbanded in 1974 - Reunited in 1997 - Still active as of 2017

Way back in 1969, a haunting little song called "White Bird" could be heard on just about every classic-rock radio station across North America. The song is intrinsically linked to this band, brainchild of David LaFlamme, a virtuoso violinist who frequently jammed alongside the likes of Jerry Garcia and Janis Joplin. Their original line-up included Patti Santos on vocals, David's own wife Linda LaFlamme on keyboards, Hal Wagenet on guitar, Mitchell Holman on bass and Val Fluentes on drums. Through numerous personnel changes, ongoing legal disputes over royalties and various setbacks (the LaFlamme's own divorce and then Linda Laflamme having to hand over her keyboard duties after being struck in the head by a bottle thrown from the audience), the group released three studio albums. A nasty lawsuit then saw David LaFlamme forced out of the band he had created. With a new violinist, keyboard player and still more musicians passing through the revolving doors, the band eventually issued two rather disappointing albums and then fizzled out of the picture. Late-period members such as bassist Bud Cockrell and guitarist David Jenkins resurfaced in PABLO CRUISE while David LaFlamme and Patti Santos enjoyed low-key solo careers. Patti (the voice of "White Bird") was killed in a car accident in 1989.

Their eponymous first album is an American masterpiece of finely crafted, classically inspired folk-rock structured around violinist LaFlamme's virtuosity. A combination of San Francisco Bay Area psychedelia, folk, classical and jazz, it has a very 60ish 'trippy' feel. "Marrying Maiden", their second release, is exceedingly pastoral compared to the first, as the band switched to earthier, country-flavoured rock with cajun spices, bits of jazz and good old-time rock'n roll. By the time the third album "Choice Quality Stuff / Anytime" was released in '72, David LaFlamme was being ousted and the band altogether had seen so many personnel changes it was becoming something of a loose aggregate of the Bay Area 'all stars' (among whom were several members from SANTANA). Although not a bad album, "Choice Quality Stuff" with its distinctly blues-based rock'n roll is nothing remotely similar to the first. Two subsequent LPs, released in '73 and '74 respectively, feature yet another string of new musicians and don't have much to offer to progheads.

The first album is a true American classic and is highly recommended to fans of early RENAISSANCE and ILLUSION. The lighter "Marrying Maiden", still featuring stellar instrumentation and haunting vocals, is a good runner-up.