Eyes Of Blue-Crossroads Of Time (1969)

“Crossroads of Time” was the debut album by Eyes of Blue, an obscure British psychedelic and progressive rock band. This legendary Welsh band consisted of guitarist and vocalist Gary Pickford-Hopkins, drummer John Weathers, singer Wyndham Reese, keyboardist Phil Ryan, guitarist Ray Williams, and bassist Ritchie Francis. In their early days, the band played a style based on soul and psychedelia, gradually moving towards the sounds of the American West Coast. With a collaboration with Quincy Jones, they contributed to the soundtrack of the film 'Toy Grabbers' and later appeared in the film 'Connecting Rooms'. In 1966, they won the prestigious Beat Contest, organized by the British music magazine Melody Maker. This led to a contract with Decca Records' progressive rock sub-label, Deram. After several singles with little commercial impact, they secured the collaboration of producer Lou Reizner, with whom they recorded their debut album, "Crossroads of Time", in 1968 in London. It was released in early 1969 by Mercury Records. This first album is a collection of songs imbued with psychedelia and typical 60s sounds, featuring a strong organ and elements of early progressive rock, rhythm & blues, pop, jazz, and Eastern influences. Highlights include the bluesy "Crossroads of Time" and "Love is the Law" (both written by Graham Bond), the psychedelic "Inspiration for a New Day" and "Prodigal Son", and the brilliant "I Wonder Why" and "World of Emotion". The album also includes several well-executed covers, such as "7+7 Is" by the band Love and the iconic "Yesterday" by The Beatles, all infused with the characteristic beat sound of the sixties. The band subsequently released their second album, "In Fields of Ardath", in the spring of 1969. Wyndham Reese no longer appeared on this album, which leaned more towards progressive sounds but still retained their wide range of influences, including psychedelic rock, blues, jazz, exotic sounds, and classical music. Later, Gary Pickford-Hopkins became one of the two lead singers in Rick Wakeman's backing band on his albums "Journey to the Center of the Earth" (1974) and "The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table" (1975). He also spent some time with the hard blues-rock band Wild Turkey, while John Weathers went on to become the lead drummer for the legendary Gentle Giant for many years, and later for the psychedelic and progressive rock band Man.