B.F.Trike - B.F.Trike (1971 us, superb heavy garage psych)

B.F. Trike formed when three members of late 60’s psyche band Hickory Wind decamped to Nashville in 1971 and started work on an album for RCA Records. Eschewing the psychedelic style of their previous band the trio turned up the fuzz guitar and produced ten tracks of great heavy rock.

The tapes were then shelved for eighteen years until Rockadelic issued them in 1989 in a limited edition of 100 vinyl copies as well as on CD. The vinyl is now long gone and fetches astronomical sums at auction, so if you want to hear the album then you will have to go for the CD. The question is, therefore, is it worth it. Well, in this case it might well be, as the songs are catchy, well played and sung, they have great fuzz guitar solos, the rhythm section is restrained where it needs to be and upfront on the heavy rockers, and the whole album hangs together extremely well.

It opens with a re-recording of one of their Hickory Wind songs ‘Time And Changes’, done in a much heavier style and with some fine guitar-work. ‘For Sale Or Lease’ is slightly slower, but still as heavy, with a crisper guitar sound and some good riffing. ‘Lovely Lady’ is a mixture of commercial hook overlaid with stunning fuzz guitar, making it catchy and accessible while at the same time raw and powerful. ‘Sunshine’ lets you catch your breath after the onslaught of ‘Lovely Lady’, being an upbeat acoustic number, while ‘Bench Of Wood’ has a distinct Hawkwind feel to the vocals and heavy riffing.

They keep the style for ‘Six O’Clock Sleeper’ and manage to pull it off by giving it more of a groove and throwing in some nifty guitar-work. ‘Magic Makin Music Man’ is another one of their catchy heavy rockers, and the album ends with ‘Be Free’, which combines the ubiquitous fuzz guitar with some inventive percussion and a staccato chorus which lifts it above the average.

Why RCA refused to issue this at the time Heaven knows, but be thankful that we can hear it now.
PeterJolly

Tracks
1. Time And Changes - 2:44
2. For Sale Or Lease - 3:03
3. Wait And See - 2:38
4. Lovely Lady - 3:08
5. Sunshine - 4:51
6. Bench Of Wood - 3:31
7. Three Piece Music - 2:39
8. 6 O'Clock Sleeper - 4:15
9. Magic Makin' Music Man - 2:13
10. Be Free - 3:42

B.F.Trike
*Bobby Strehl - Vocals, Drums
*Mike McGuyer - Vocals, Guitar
*Alan Jones - Bass

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