THE NEXT MORNING “SAME” PSYCHEDELIC SOUL REISSUE

THE NEXT MORNING “SAME” (SURVIVAL RESEARCH) ORIGINLLY FROM 1971 THIS NEW REISSUE IS DELUXE AND SEALED
I like this a lot, but personally don’t hear much Hendrix in it. The guitarist is very good, but sounds to me like a guy doing his own thing. I hear about as much Hendrix in his playing as I hear Clapton in Hendrix’s playing, i.e. not much. A bit closer to Santana if anything, but not a lot. As for the funk element, closer to the first Parliament album (Osmium) than to Funkadelic, but if anything more in the region of James Gang. The quality of the tunes is quite consistent, with three or four particularly good ones. I’d describe it as soulful hard psych rock with a touch of funk and a hint of prog. The vocals occasionally sound somewhat strained/off, which I assume is the result of a very tight recording schedule on a day when the singer’s voice was shot or otherwise below par, and with no option of more studio time from the dodgy Roulette subsidiary. The singing is soulful and earthy nonetheless, and again I don’t hear the similarity to Hendrix’s bluesy vocals that some others claim to hear. Apart from the vocalist’s slight accent, the most Caribbean thing about the album is the organ, played paradoxically by the only American in the band, though even here the sound is more Vincent Crane than reggae. In fact I’d probably place the group’s sound somewhere between Atomic Rooster, James Gang and Zamrock band WITCH, and relatively far from Hendrix, Sly Stone and Funkadelic.
If you are hoping for a Hendrix, Sly and the Family Stone or Funkadelic clone, you will probably be disappointed. If on the other hand you’re in the market for unpolished hard psych rock with soulful vocals and a touch of funk, you may be pleasantly surprised.

rack listing
A1
The Next Morning4:53
A2
Life2:50
A3
Changes of the Mind5:54
A4
Life Is Love5:22
B1
Back to the Stone Age5:15
B2
Adelane2:51
B4
Faces Are Smiling4:15
B3
Jam of Love6:18
Total length: 37:38