Blue Mountain Eagle

Reportedly named after a local newspaper in Fox, Idaho, Blue Mountain Eagle was essentially an offshoot from New Buffalo, itself the fatherless child of the highly regarded but short-lived Buffalo Springfield. Got it? Regardless of its origins, the band’s one and only album, first released in 1970 on Atco Records, is a superb, smoldering collection of guitar-heavy, harmony-laced, country-tinged acid rock. The band plugs in and rocks hard on numerous cuts, including “Feel Like a Bandit,” “Loveless Lives” and “Sweet Mama,” all riddled with nasty fuzz guitar. Even the more laid back numbers—“No Regrets” and “Promise of Love,” for example—are full of grittiness and bite. Collectors will be interested in the Stephen Stills-penned “Marianne,” the b-side to the group’s first single, included here as a bonus track in both its stereo and mono mixes, while trivia buffs will note that bass player Randy Fuller is the younger brother of Bobby Fuller of the Bobby Fuller Four (“I Fought the Law”). I’m always slightly depressed when I stumble upon a great record no one has ever heard. That Blue Mountain Eagle sits atop the vast vinyl scrap heap of long-forgotten ‘70s music is a true rock and roll tragedy.

Notes: Here is an audio-only YouTube clip of Blue Mountain Eagle's "Love is Here:" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdGELXbv2do&playnext=1&list=PL6354E5FECC840872&index=2.