Taos — “Space Bird”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — February 23, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,122) Taos — “Space Bird”

A famous Taos, NM commune gives us this genial, easygoing country rock gem from an LP of “mellow, unpretentious, good-natured rural rock. . . . catchy, with sweet vocal harmonies. . . . [b]lending acoustic and electric guitars with loads of tambourines.” (Adamus67, http://rockasteria.blogspot.com/2012/10/taos-taos-1971-us-beautiful-psychedelic.html)

Adamus67 adds that:

As the hippie dream turned ugly at the end of the 60s, plenty of folks decided to get out of the city & get back to basics. A huge commune in Taos, New Mexico called New Buffalo that was home to these fellas, and by 70 they were making laid back, slightly nerdy country rock with Byrds harmonies. The album was from 1968/1969. Lost U.S. rural rock gem, originally released in 1/1/1969 . . . (promo copy).

http://rockasteria.blogspot.com/2012/10/taos-taos-1971-us-beautiful-psychedelic.html

Nik tells us more:

Here’s an unusual jewel . . . . The band Taos was actually a quintet pieced together by a group of young men who had moved to the legendary Taos commune in the early 1970s, namely: Jeff Baker on guitar and vocals, Steve Oppenheim on keyboards and vocals, Albie Ciappa on drums, Burt Levine on guitar and banjo, and Kit Bedford on bass, with the occasional intermixing of instruments going on in between cuts. If the band’s commune connection leads you into expecting some sort of stoned, improvisational musical meanderings, however, you’re in for a surprise: their sole, self-titled record is pop music all the way. Indeed, the band itself is surprisingly together, tempering mildly eccentric diversions into psychedelia and country music with a solid foundation in 1960s rock and roll. If there’s one band to which Taos owes its biggest debt, I’d say it would have to be The Beatles. . . . This influence is not to say that Taos lacks an identity of its own, however. On the contrary, they manage to take this influence in surprising directions, whether it’s the lonesome cosmic cowboy pastiche “After So Long” or the phased psychedelic boogie of “Twenty Thousand Miles In the Air Again” [see #821]. . . . [T]he song lyrics aren’t really worth shedding too much ink over – there’s certainly no metaphysical contemplation or social commentary going on here, whatever other Sixties sensibilities the record may boast. . . . [T]he music here is almost too much fun to criticize. Again, this is pop music, and should be enjoyed for what it is.

http://therisingstorm.net/taos-taos/

Burt Levine himself (I think) tells us of relations with the locals:

Hi, this is Burt from Taos. We were there in 1968/1969, while the communes and ‘Easy Rider’ were going on. The locals would take pot shots at us and burned down the movie theater where we played a free gig for the residents. We were being watched and filmed by the FBI. We were all love and peace living in Nature’s Glory, but the population around us was often savage. When we left to go on tour, the house we were living in was burned down.

http://rockasteria.blogspot.com/2012/10/taos-taos-1971-us-beautiful-psychedelic.html

Not sure if all that was real or an acid flashback, but mesmerizing in either case!

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