With their three early-'70s
Dawn albums fetching high (high!) prices in the collector shops, it was a good thing El took up the cause in 2007 and released a collection of Jonesy's material, titled Ricochet: Pioneering in 1972-1973, that the rest of us could afford. Culling tracks from their scant three LPs (1972's No Alternative, as well as 1973's Growing and Keeping Up), El put together a pretty representational spread of tunes. The band had two major facets -- thundering, King Crimson-esque prog and drug-addled psychedelia -- and both get equal billing on Ricochet. The title track from their debut, No Alternative, was a heavy, greasy, muscular piece of early prog, while "Ricochet" (from the same record) injects discotheque glam into the complex, surging heaviness, recalling the theme music from the sci-fi television show Space: 1999. For sheer, psychedelic exuberance, check the signature jam, "Jonesy.".