Terry Reid - Seed Of Memory (Reissue) (1976/1995)

Terry Reid moved to California in the mid-'70s, befriending a number of musicians from those parts and broadening his sound in the process. One result was this album, produced by Graham Nash and featuring David Lindley on acoustic and slide guitars. Seed of Memory isn't as heavy as his earlier work, and not remotely the bold, strident virtuoso rock production of his first LP -- most of it, apart from the vaguely Led Zeppelin-ish "The Way You Walk," is fairly laid-back by Reid's standards. "Ooh Baby" tries for a kind of meld of funk and British blues. But several numbers, like "Brave Awakening," with its relaxed beat, high harmonies, and understated backing orchestration, or the ominous acoustic-textured "To Be Treated Rite," seem more like outtakes from Nash's Songs for Beginners or his subsequent albums, or one of Neil Young's mid-'70s albums, than they do like the work of one of England's most promising '60s bluesmen. The album ends on a disjointed note, with the ambitious but not wholly successful "Fooling You," which makes extensive use of the saxophone. It all just might not be what fans look for in Reid's work, and lacks some of the excitement of his other albums.