John Kay & the Sparrow - John Kay & the Sparrow (Expanded Edition) (1969/2019)

Before Steppenwolf hit with "Born to Be Wild," there was a blues band out of Canada called the Sparrow. Not only is the future growl of John Kay subdued on this record, so are the bellowing sounds that became organist Goldy McJohn's trademark. The John Kay composition "King Pin" has an almost jazz piano playing against the harp. With drummer Jerry Edmonton, McJohn, and Kay, this is three-fifths Steppenwolf, and it comes off as Steppenwolf lite. Guitarist Dennis Edmonton, the drummer's brother, composes or co-writes five of the songs, where John Kay wrote four. Dennis Edmonton's "Chasin' Shadows" is psychedelic pop, very British sounding, and gives indications of the trippy style he would develop. When he left the band he became Mars Bonfire and penned "Born to Be Wild,," released on his own CBS album Faster Than the Speed of Life. "Green Bottle Lover," written by both Edmonton brothers, is even more psychedelic and rocking. The liner notes are terrible, giving little information about this historic disc, leaving it to the music. Where John Kay's "Twisted" starts off the festivities with the boogie-woogie blues that seems indicative of the Sparrow, the final track, "Isn't It Strange" by St. Nicholas and Dennis Edmonton, goes full throttle with the psychedelia. A very interesting collection of sounds exhibiting two musical sides, only hinting at what they would develop when they hooked up with producer Gabriel Mekler to eventually crank out about a half a dozen Top 40 hits on Dunhill.