Gypsy-Gypsy (1970)

Gypsy was an interesting band focused on American roots rock, incorporating jazz, rock, soul, and folk influences, and whose origins lay in a psychedelic pop group called The Underbeats from the mid-sixties. After moving from their native Minneapolis to Los Angeles, the band toughened their musical approach, reinventing their style with sounds more in line with the cultural movements of the American West Coast. Among their seven-member lineup, guitarist and singer Enrico Rosenbaum and organist and vocalist James Walsh stood out as the two driving forces behind the band, composing most of their material and serving as their best instrumentalists. The rest of the band consisted of Preston Epps (percussion), James Jonson (guitar and vocals), James Epstein (drums), and Jimmie Haskell (strings). In 1970, they released their self-titled debut album, a double LP, on a small Californian record label. In this first release, they showcased a diverse sound ranging from soul to classic rock, with some avant-garde elements of folk and psychedelia, all delivered with vigorous and energetic rhythms. Songs like "I Was So Young", "The Third Eye", "Man of Reason", "Decisions", "The Vision", "More Times", "Here In My Loneliness", and "Gypsy Queen" are brimming with rich vocal melodies and a high level of musicianship, featuring precise and well-arranged semi-progressive structures. A year later, they released their follow-up, the more established "In The Garden", before shifting their style towards a more conventional rock sound with the subsequent albums "Antithesis" (1972) and "Unlock The Gates" (1973), their last two releases before their final disbandment.