THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Not too far into the first track, "The American Metaphysical Circus," you begin to realize that this is going to be a very unique and strange album. However, it's also very well played and inspired and has it's own kind of charm even if it sounds like it was made on another planet. However, considering the anything goes mentality back in the last sixties when this was recorded (which often included lots of drugs), it probably wasn't all that out of place. This is one of those albums that probably gets labeled psychedelic (which it is) but there's something more going on musically which makes me consider it a forerunner to all things prog (ie proto prog). The diverse instrumentation includes drums (including very early drum machines), fretless bass, electronics (early primitive synthesizers), violin and female vocals (which give the whole affair a bit of an Airplane vibe at times).

The album is notable for being pretty rocking at times (especially on the second track "hard coming love") but without electric guitars (in fact I don't believe there is any guitar on here except for bass). One might be fooled into thinking there is guitar on the aforementioned "hard coming love" on first listen but it's actually an electric violin you hear. There is also a spacey (pre-Hawkwind) vibe going on on some of the tracks and two nice mellow tracks ("Cloud Song" and "Love Song for the Dead Che") that have a bit of a proto-new age vibe to them. The unique instrumentation and varied sounds make this a very eclectic album. Other standout tracks include "I Won't Leave My Wooden Wife for You, Sugar", "Where Is Yesterday" and the three part "The American Way of Love."

Given the year this came out (1968) I can say without any hesitation that this is one of those not too common albums from any time period which could be considered progressive in the literal sense. It's definitely an album which pushed the envelope further which ultimately led to prog (at least the kind that most associate with the term since it's pretty obvious upon listening to this that this is progressive music). This is an experimental album that combines elements of psychedelic and early prog (proto prog) and is a pretty wild ride.

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