As you might now, World In Sound occasionally digs up some of those lost gems in Psychedelic music which have long since been out of print...and one of those gems is this here self-titled album by a group of Detroit based youngsters who recorded the thing back in 1970.
At the time of their formation in 1967, the members of the band [singer/ B3 Hammond organ player Marc Heckert – 14; guitarist Al Tozzi – 15; bassist/ singer Craig Smith; 15 (he actually left the band not long before the album's recordings to be replaced by Art Thinel, of the same age as the other boys – and returned to the band later); and drummer/ singer Dave Mascarin - 15] were all under age, but they had some very understanding parents, with Dave's mother (tenderly sur-named “Mrs. M”) even convincing venue owners about the youngster's musical qualities in spite of their age, and his dad not only driving 'em to their concerts, but also helping out as roadie.
By 1970 the boys had themselves a very nice repertoire of original songs, and although live they also played some covers, but when the occasion arose to record an album (funded in part by their supportive parents), the boys decided to stick with their own material (in spite of the common practice of those days among beginning bands to incorporate covers in one's album). However, back in those days the studios were geared foremost toward the Motown sounds, and the studio the boys had picked to record their material was really inexperienced in the sounds of Rock. As a result of recording the instruments direct into the recording equipment, the original master tapes of the album were without the power that the boys were used of displaying in live conditions, and so the guitarist went back into the studio to lay an extra solo guitar layer on top of three of the songs. Thus, the outcome became somewhat more acceptable to the guys, and it's in that version that the album was released (on vinyl, of course) through US label V.O. Records in 1972. Months, in fact, before the band's demise.
The band's name however lived on through the Underground of Psychedelic music, and the album became one of those rare things for which occasionally up to 1,000 dollars would be offered in a bidding. In 1988, Italy's Hablabel re-issued the LP, and 3 years later came an additional unofficial re-issue (in limited edition) through Austria's Not On Label. A first CD version of the album then came into being in 1994 through Italian label Anthology, and in 2001 a European re-issue of the CD was released through World in Sound. A new vinyl re-issue (for the German market), was then released at the same time by WIS and Klimt Records, the latter re-issuing the LP one more in 2012 for the French market. Okay, now you might've thought I would've added the current offering at the end of that list, but actually...
...this ain't quite that same album! Or, let's put things straight : the music on this album is not the same as on that album. You see, what happened is that Al Tozzi felt it would be a good idea to see if the original recordings...the ones from befóre the guitarist laid an extra layer on top, could still be found at the old studio...and he was able to pick 'em up. And so what you hear here, is the same music as the one the band members were so disappointed about back when...but which this time around, they insisted on being released. Well, in spite of the negative feelings the guys may have had about the recordings back then, this is still a very nice album, and the material was definitely composed with The Doors as a main influence, no doubt about it! But I dó understand the band's point of view back in 1970, you know, the recordings not being quite representative of what Mystic Siva stood for.
For an insight on that, you might wanna check the LP/CD entitled Under The Influence, recorded live prior of the album (also displaying covers by The Beatles, Traffic, Loudermilk, and S.R.C.; the band also liked playing covers by Hendrix, Cream, and others in that style), and released through World In Sound in 2002 (vinyl) and 2003 (CD). Fake videos of two songs off the studio album (I'm uncertain as to which version) and one off the live recording can be found at YouTube (just google the band's name, and you'll find the links to the YouTube files no problem!). End conclusion: great stuff, and for once the editor-in-chief will have to expect me holding back the CD for my own collection!