The Mojo Men - There Goes My Mind (1967-68) (2003)

There Goes My Mind is essentially the album the Mojo Men would have liked Warner Brothers to put out in 1968, but which Warners, for whatever reason, declined to do. Although the liner notes make clear that the intention was for the band to eventually record the material with Warners with full orchestration, these 16 1967-1968 recordings -- all original songs, and all but two previously unreleased -- actually sound almost as fully produced as the typical late-'60s finished product. All but two of the tracks come from a June 30, 1968, session, and to be honest most of these aren't quite as good as the sweet early harmony-laden pop-folk-psych buzz the Mojo Men conjured on their best slightly earlier recordings, shortly after drummer-singer Jan Errico had joined. (Many of those recordings, incidentally, can be heard on another Mojo Men compilation on Sundazed, Sit Down...It's the Mojo Men). The 1968 material on There Goes My Mind is in a heavier vein, with piano far more upfront in the arrangements, but often sounds a little washed out and reserved in comparison with their best earlier moments. There are still some good early San Francisco rock-type bittersweet melodies, yearning melancholy lyrics, and accomplished male-female harmonies on songs like "I Wish Today Were Yesterday," "Unaware of Me," and the haunting harpsichord-laden "Watch You Walk Away," though occasionally the tunes lean toward a slightly bubblegummy sunshine pop vibe. Yet it's one of the 1967 demos, "Today" (no relation to the Jefferson Airplane classic of the same name), that emerges as the standout, qualifying as a lost near-classic of San Francisco rock with its enchanting never-neverland lyrics, startling tempo changes, and beguiling wistful melody. And the other 1967 demo, the jazzy and similarly reflective "But Now and Then," isn't too far behind.