American Gypsy: "American Gypsy"

Weird psych-soul on the Cadet label.  American Gypsy was a group of ex-pats from the States, and they recorded this album in Holland in 1975.  There’s an interesting mix of styles at work on this LP, from the Gil Scott-Heron/Bill Withers-fashioned vocals of “Inside Out” and “Lady Eleanor” to the more spacy soul meditations of “10,000 Miles” and “Sweet Angel Eyes.”  As a band, American Gypsy reveals itself to be very versatile, as comfortable with heavy psych-rock as they are with clavinet-soaked funk, and they even dabble in ‘70’s prog rock a la Yes or ELP from time to time.  There’s little that one could criticize about this record musically; however, it leaves something to be desired thematically, as the relentless genre-bending makes for a less than coherent listen.  It’s as though they want to show all they know within this one record, and while creatively that may be an impressive goal, in the end it disrupts the focus and momentum, as the endless juxtapositions become more and more jarring with each song.  Still, anyone interested in multi-genre psych-funk exercises will want to investigate this, as it is, if nothing else, unique, and at the particular moments where the style combinations strike the right balance, it’s exhilarating.