Blonde On Blonde-Contrasts (1969)

Borrowing their title from Bob Dylan's 1966 album, Blonde on Blonde was a psychedelic band formed in 1967 in Newport by guitarist Gareth Johnson, bassist Richard Hopkins, and drummer Les Hicks. Some time later, guitarists and vocalists Ralph Denyer and Simon Lawrence joined them. In 1968, they moved to England and recorded several noteworthy singles on the British label Pye Records. That same year, they recorded their first full-length album, "Contrasts", showcasing their psychedelic influences fused with other styles such as blues, folk, and hard rock. This debut features songs ranging from British psychedelic pop-rock ("Ride With Captain Max") to Eastern-influenced tracks like "Spinning Wheel", folk songs like "Regency" and "Island on an Island", blues rock like "I Need My Friend", and progressive blues with the elaborate "Mother Earth". In the following two years the band would release two new works "Rebirth" and "Reflections On A Life", which despite their unquestionable quality, would go completely unnoticed, thus leading to the disappearance of this excellent North American group.