1969 offered a
cornucopia of music but few songs provided such variety as Loadstone’s
‘Flower Pot’. Clocking in at over 15 minutes, this ambitious piece
provides elements of psychedelic, jazz, and horn-rock for the patient
listener. Most music from this era that passed the five-minute mark was
built almost exclusively around soloing. And although ‘Flower Pot’
dishes out a fair share, its really only one aspect of what is
expressed. The pristine musicianship and compositional skills are
apparent for this group of Las Vegas hired-gun musicians. But few would
guess that prior to the Loadstone album, these guys were backing the
likes of Andy Williams and Bobby Darin. And with
jazz-pianist-turned-producer Dave Grusin at the controls musicianship,
and not self-indulgence, was likely the emphasis. Regardless, few groups
succeeded, let alone, rose to this level of ambition on their debut
record. And it’s hard to not consider ‘Flower Pot’ a mark of achievement
and greatness in the rock genre. Line-up / Musicians Pat Maloney/Artwork Barry Abernathy/Bass John Philips/Bassoon Larry Devers/Drums Steve Douglas/Flugelhorn John Philips/Flute John Sterling/Guitar Terry Ryan/Keyboards John Philips/Oboe John Philips/Tenor Saxophone Sam Cernuto/Trombone Steve Douglas/Trumpet Discography Loadstone 1969
1.See The Light 2.Keep On Burning 3.Dayshine 4.Time 5.It Couldn't Be Bad 6.Flower Pot
