Blind Ravage

Fuzzed-out freakiness from the furthest reaches of the frigid far north (that’s Canada, eh), Blind Ravage used 1971 to drop its lone self-titled debut album on an unsuspecting public (and unsuspecting the public remained; the record sank without a trace upon its initial release). That Blind Ravage suffered such a short shelf life is a shame, actually, for the band’s brand of north-of-the-border psychedelic hard rock is definitely worth a listen. The group’s organ-dominated, guitar-laden sound is best heard on tracks like “Tousaw,” “Disaster,” “Loser” and “Susie-Q,” the album’s lone cover song (originally co-written and recorded by Dale Hawkins in 1957 and successfully reinterpreted by Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1968). The vocals aren’t great, the production quality is questionable and the quartet probably wasn’t helped by an unusual marketing campaign—the original sleeve notes, in addition to preparing the listener to be “ravaged,” describe the band’s sound as “devastating”—but Blind Ravage is in the end a decent entry from the vast wilderness of obscure Canadian rock and roll.