GYPSY

I bought this album when it came out in 1970 because of the wonderful cover art and the fact that it was a double album with a single album price. My friends and I liked it right away. It seemed to blend the sounds of several groups that were popular at that time. It took the harmonies of groups like Crosby, Stills & Nash, the song structures of progressive groups, and the styles of more mainstream rock acts. The main problem with the album is the by-the-numbers production technique. When you've got 3 or 4 tracks of harmony vocals, you don't place them all dead center in mono!!! Likewise, the drums have that "cardboard box" sound sometimes. Of course, we're talking about 1970, and we're talking low-budget recording. I prefer the longer tracks over the more commercial short songs. All in all, I have never heard another group that blended seemingly disparate elements so well in a fairly commercial way.