SRC - Traveler's Tale (Reissue) (1970/1993)

Along with the Stooges, MC5, and the Amboy Dukes, SRC was a group of local heroes of the Michigan rock scene in the late '60s and early '70s, although in terms of national success, they were relegated to the second division populated by such bands as the Frost and the Rationals. Led by the Quackenbush brothers, Gary and Glenn, the Ann Arbor group evolved out of the Fugitives, adding lead singer Scott Richardson from fellow garage band the Chosen Few. SRC recorded three erratic albums for Capitol that blended Motor City crunch with sustain-laden psychedelic guitar, pompous bursts of organ, spacey lyrics, and unexpectedly wispy, vulnerable vocals, throwing in some pretty ballads and harmonies to temper the hard rock excess.

SRC's final album was recorded after the departure of guitarists Gary Quackenbush and Steve Lyman, Ray Goodman assuming all the guitar chores. Despite the shakeup, the sound hardly changed at all, perhaps becoming a bit more progressive-minded. The organ-guitar duels and alternation of concise hard rock with lengthy progressive passages also remained intact. If this album came out today, you'd swear it was a satire of the progressive rock era, some of it is so prototypical. But these guys were serious about what they did, and impressive, in their own way. The CD reissue includes a non-LP B-side from the same era, "My Fortune's Coming True."