This is a Desert Island Disc for me, yet a lot of people have never heard of it. I myself never tire of listening to it. I love the way it’s a fusion of so many hip styles of the time. It’s folk, psychedelic, country, hippie, jamming, stoned soul genius. There’s a couple of jugband styled numbers here which permeated their previous two albums, though mixed with progressive blues instrumentals, psychedelic acoustic compositions, and the wonderfully electric piano of ‘Banana’. It’s a bridge between the rock whimsy of the 60’s and the burgeoning singer-songwriter dynamic of the early 70’s. To say it’s a gem of the era is putting it lightly. From foreboding “Darkness Darkness” through the mesmerizing “Ride The Wind”, there is not a bad moment on this record to these ears.

Back in 1987, when ESP was living at 1116 7th Avenue, we had a couple of wild and crazy old hippies on our block. One lived directly two doors down from us at 1120, in a darkened tree-covered run-down turn-of-the-century Wilson Bungalow home. His name was Blue, he was easily 15 years my senior, he had almost translucent pale skin, long shiny black hair, and he rarely left his house. He sold pot to a few of us Fairmont dwellers, always amazing buds. He was also a full-on Garage Rock aficionado, with a record collection that I envied highly. He said that he could hear us rehearsing every night, yet he never ventured over to hear us. Yet, he would try to inspire me with obscure albums whenever I’d drop in. “You should cover this Roky Erickson song!” Between Chocolate Watchband and The Seeds, one stoned coffee morning he played Elephant Mountain. I was immediately taken by the style, the sound, and the songs. I set out to find a copy but it was elusive to see in the wild, even in the 80’s when old albums were cheap and practically everywhere. Thankfully, Blue had made me tape of it which I carried with me well into the 90’s. Finally found the vinyl in Portland around 1994 and have cherished it since. I don’t know whatever happened to old Blue after we moved out. But I always think about those lazy 80’s days on Seventh Avenue whenever I hear this album. Dig…