Jade Stone & Luv - Mosaics Pieces Of Stone (1977) (2008)

Recorded in Nashville and released in 1977 -- as if that weren't already patently obvious from the artist name, album title and, most egregiously, the cover photo -- Mosaics: Pieces of Stone remains unknown to all but the most devoted collectors of obscurantist rock. The thing is, sometimes albums remain obscure for a reason. There are little known gems out there, to be sure: Sundazed's unearthing of the unreleased 1967 Columbia album by Smokey and His Sister is a minor folk-rock classic. But frankly, Mosaics: Pieces of Stone is the other sort of lost and obscure album, the kind that disappeared because it simply isn't very good. Jade Stone can't sing a note and is a forgettable songwriter with a knack for song titles like "Working at the Business of Living" and "Man," but his vocals aren't weak enough, nor are his lyrics dumb enough, to produce so-bad-it's-good giggles. The tunes and arrangements are basic mid-'70s bar band boogie, southern rock inflected and largely based on clavinet and pedal steel, but again, they're so workmanlike that they rarely even hit the pleasure center that a truly dated '70s rock arrangement can massage. The addition of another LP's worth of single sides, unreleased tracks and live songs does nothing to improve the album, but merely extends the tedium for everyone except the truly faithful collector nerd. No one else will be particularly interested in this album.