Badger - White Lady (Reissue) (1974/2002)

With the addition of Jackie Lomax, Badger's fusion of soul and art rock now strongly favored the soul side of the equation. Recorded in New Orleans with veteran arranger and producer Allen Toussaint, White Lady is scarcely recognizable as the same band; without a paste-in of Roger Dean's logo on the back cover, you'd never guess these lads hailed from anywhere past Bourbon Street. Fans expecting prog-rock were sure to be disappointed, but it didn't matter: the band had already called it a day before the album came out. But in retrospect, it's not a half-bad effort. "A Dream of You" has smoky vocals, warbling Hammond organ, and a slick vocal and brass backing reminiscent of Van Morrison. "Don't Pull the Trigger" is easily the most satisfying track, though, with Barry Bailey's slide guitar jabbing over the telegraph staccato of Toussaint's repeating piano. The rest of the album is passable filler, though it ends with a decent shot at superfly urban funk in "The Hole Thing." Toussaint himself plays on a number of songs, and Jeff Beck even shows up to lend a hand on the title track.