Lacewing
Lacewing (col)
Mainly in the typical westcoast Airplane/Mamas & Papas/Big Brother bag but with hints of '70s things to come. Starts off strongly with femme-vox folkrock and psych and maintains a reasonably good level, with fuzz leads and minor prog ambitions on side 2, while side 1 has more of a CA '68 sound. Use of piano and heavy drum licks betray a 'Volunteers' influence, while the atmospheric instrumental passage during 'The Storm' may be the most original thing on board. It took me a long while to figure out why it sounded so familiar, but the overall sound is quite similar to the British Julian Jay Savarin album, although less coherent in its structure. About 2/3rds is excellent femme-vox hippie-rock, with impact lessened by a couple of uninspired tracks and a drum solo at the closure. In an earlier incarnation this band was known as the Measles and featured Joe Walsh on guitar. The band was briefly called Lacewing around the time of the Mainstream album, which (like other OH bands on Mainstream such as Freeport and December's Children) was recorded at Criteria Studios in Miami. Vocalist Mary Sterpka was later drafted by Walsh to sing back-up vocals on the James Gang hit "Midnight Man". (Courtesy of Acid Archives).