09052014 - The Charlatans "The Charlatans"

The opening track on this record, "High Coin", written by Van Dyke Parks, sounds like The Byrds, but with a saxophone. Further in they combine some lovely vocal harmonies with rampant guitar licks and bluesy tunes that bring Big Brother and the Holding Company to mind. This was their only album, released in 1969, and you can tell how these guys became important in defining the "San Francisco Sound". I'm not too sure what to make of their cover of "Folsom Prison Blues" though, as it's relatively true to the original, thus making it pretty out of place in this setting, but I guess they had their reasons. Most of the songs are pretty cool though, with the frantic "The Blues Ain't Nothin'" as a personal immediate fave!