Appaloosa-Appaloosa (1969)

Appaloosa's only album was one of the most understated examples of baroque folk from the late 1960s, a style that was widespread at the time and perfectly described a fusion of folk and symphonic classical music. Emerging from the Boston folk scene, the group consisted of guitarist and vocalist John Parker, who was also the main songwriter, bassist David Raiser, and string players Robin Batteau and Eugene Rosov. For a time, the band focused on small gigs at Cambridge University in Boston and even opened for Tim Hardin on occasion before moving to New York. There, they connected with Al Kooper, who, after hearing them, offered them a contract with Columbia Records to record an LP. Released in 1969, the self-titled album was produced by Kooper himself, who also played several instruments on the recording, along with other session musicians from Columbia's New York studios. The eleven songs included epitomize the folk-rock of the Boston area, with certain similarities to the work of Earth Opera or James Taylor. The opening track, "Tulu Rogers", is a delightful piece of country folk with Bach influences; "Pascal's Paradox" follows in the same vein, while the nostalgic "Yesterday's Road" and the jazzy "Thoughts of Polly", "Billy-Weekly", and "Now That I Want You" bear the unmistakable stamp of Al Kooper. "Rosalie", for its part, is a folk song with hints of country. Despite the incredible quality of this album, it went largely unnoticed, although its legacy would remain as a model for some later baroque folk artists.