Search - Flock :: Dinosaur Swamps

Horns, guitars, and an electric violin, they had it all!

06/26/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was casually looking through the rack at the local drug store (sometime in 1970)when I spotted the coolest album cover I'd ever seen. I bought the record for the cover and have never regreted it. Jerry Goodman (in his pre-Mahavisnu Orchestra/ Dixie Dregs days) plays up a rock and roll storm on the electric violin, outshining even his contemparies Papa John Creech (Hot Tuna) and David LaFlamme (It's A Beautiful Day). The rest of the band shines on instrumentation ranging from flute to banjo, all in the same song. From the opening note of Green Slice to the last chord of Unranian Circus the boys from Chicago blaze a trail yet to be followed. If you liked the Al Kooper version of BS&T, the CTA album, and Canadian hornmeisters Lighthouse (One Fine Morning) you will LOVE Dinosaur Swamps. If you buy just one 70's CD this year, make it this one!"

Music lover

01/10/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I too found my first album copy in a used record store during the early 70s. At first the blending of all the instruments was confusing. But then it grew on me. Now this is one of my most treasured CDs. I am familiar with brass instruments and can only marvel at the skill needed to be so creative in their use. This to me is far more creative that Chicago. It also reminds me of a bit of Quick Silver Messenger Service."

You'll like it, once it sinks in.

matt tan canada | montreal, quebec, CANADA | 06/17/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"At initial playing, "dinosaur swamps" really stinks (excuse the pun).
One might be tempted to think that there is only one tune worth listening: the catchy "big bird" (track 2)... and/or perharps, "mermaid" (track 6), a clever ditty of psychedelic fairground meets chamber ensemble, with the added flair of flamboyant falsetto and harmony.
Persevere further, however, and the magic within this album soon manifests itself.
"Crabfoot" (track 5) cleverly mixes blues "You don't love me" type melody with James Brown "I feel good" soul-vamps.
The track before that ("Lighthouse") is an ambivalent tune;
it leaves me wondering if this idiot-wailing is a touch of genius or simply just that.
Should you ventured beyond tracks 5 and 6,
you will be pleasantly rewarded with "Uranian Sircus" which exemplifies what really makes FLOCK a heavyweight,
flying beyond the heads of tons of more well-known "progressive" bands of that era.
As a previous reviewer noted: FLOCK is not bad; just misunderstood.
Great loss, should you write-off this band's music,
simply because you did not find their music catchy enough, at first hearing."