Flamin' Groovies – Studio '68 (1984) LP

The very earliest Flamin' Groovies material ever to be issued, taken from live studio tapes cut on January 10, 1968. Lead singer Roy Loney's songs dominate this session, which also includes a couple of Lovin' Spoonful numbers and a version of the blues "Sportin' Life"; a couple tunes would later show up on their Sneakers EP. Most of this material is good-timey, blues/R&B-influenced rock, in the spirit of the earliest recordings of the Charlatans, Dead, and Big Brother. The jugband influence of the Lovin' Spoonful also pervades a few tracks, in an unimpressive fashion. This hardly stacks up with the best San Francisco rock of the time; its appeal will largely lie with Groovies fanatics (a not inconsiderable audience) looking for a glimpse of the group's roots. By far the most impressive track is "Good Morning, Mr. Stone," a seven-minute psychedelic workout with guitar work inspired by Jeff Beck, Pete Townshend, and Jorma Kaukonen, as well as a brief lift of a snatch of the Who's "A Quick One."