Sons of Champlin - Loosen Up Naturally (1969)

"Definitely not in the top tier of the San Francisco pyschadelic scene with the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane..."
Ooof.
But that's kind of not fair. Because these guys sound NOTHING like either of those bands. I mean, there's definitely some weird, trippy, "psychadelic" guitar solos in here, but these guys have a horn section. Like, a prominent horn section. I mean, in every song.
The Sons of Champlin, to me, sound like an R&B band that got dropped into that Haight/Ashbury scene and was like, "OK, we'll add some of that stuff too." Which translates into....well, just a lot going on.
Take, for example, the lead-off track, "1982-A," whose very first lyrics warn you about the rest of the album. "Can you feel it coming? It's gonna set you back on your heels..." I know the term "wall of sound" gets thrown around a lot, but throw these lyrics on top of some blaring horns, pounding bass, and driving keyboards, and it's a lot to deal with.

