Fire Water Air, Richard Marsh - Golden Sunrise (2013)

With the late Father Yod no longer a factor, the musicians in Fire, Water, Air (who had been involved in the releases by Yahowa) could get down to the business of being, more or less, an actual rock band. A rock band not like many or any others, of course, but nonetheless a group that was not hindered by Yod's inept vocals or scattered mystical lyrics. Considering the 1977 release date, it comes across as timewarped, way-underground psychedelia at least five years out of synch with the times (not a bad thing, just an observation). As was usually the case with the Father Yod/Yahowa projects, songs and melodies are not the musicians' strengths. What matters more is the overall vibe. Distorted guitar riffs and tribal rhythms comprise the jammy template upon which the players unleash half-inspired, half-unfocused, spaced-out hard acid rock. The harder-rocking tunes here, though more professional than those on the Yahowa LPs, tend to be meandering and uninteresting, the highlights as usual supplied by Djin Aquarian's unpredictable assortment of ghostly high-voltage guitar tones. Sky Saxon sings on some of this stuff, and though the credits don't specify which tracks, it's probably on the bluesiest, albeit most humdrum, ones. Actually, the standouts are the acoustic Neil Young soundalikes near the end ("Across the Prairie" and "Just Moving On"), as well as the eerie closing chant-song "Celebration," with its echoing vocals and mournful violin. Originally released as an eight-track tape, the album has been reissued as one disc of the 13-CD God and Hair: Yahowha Collection box set, which also includes several albums by the related Yahowa and Father Yod & the Spirit of '76 groups.~Review by Richie Unterberger