Living Guitars

It took a long time for San Francisco to develop from a bustling frontier town - "an

American dream; includes Indians too" * - to the place the hippies call home.

It took a long time for popular music to grow into the present mind-expanding, driving,

psychedelic sound.

And it took a long time for artists such as Jefferson Airplane, the Beatles and Bobbie

Gentry to develop the exceptional styles that swung them into the spotlight.

It didn't take long for the Living Guitars to get hold of what's happening and adapt

today's rhythms and harmonies to their own styling with refinements and special

techniques. From listening to their super sound, it would seem the Living Guitars have

been playing together since raga began. They succeed in fusing electronics with

melody. No matter how psychedelic - "minds move; walls do too"* - the song, the

common denominator here is always melody.

It didn't take long for the ten songs included in this album to become big hits across the

nation. Title song San Franciscan Nights could well be the anthem of flower

children, and a great showcase it is for the nineteen-string sitar. Originally recorded

by Eric Burden and the Animals this tune moved quickly from the underground to

overwhelm pop listeners.

Bobbie Gentry's haunting Ode to Billie Joe zoomed to first place on the charts in only

four weeks.

Jefferson Airplane: yesterday the West Coast; today the world. Somebody to

Love is big league.

Beards, beads, capes, tattoos - yes, of course. Put on granny glasses. Turn on, turn

on. It's Haight-Ashbury - "jeans of blue, Harley-Davidsons too."* Perhaps you need

props in Haight, but you don't need them to enjoy this album. Everyone loves good

arrangements, superb musicianship, great rock songs. It's universal!