The Fox - For Fox Sake (1970) (2003)

Although it's considered a desirable psychedelic rarity in some collecting circles, For Fox Sake is an also-ran British psychedelic pop album of the sort that was a year or two behind the times upon its 1970 release. The best thing the Fox have going for them on this record is the swirling, at times piercing Hammond organ of Alex Lane. The songs, however, are ordinary trendy U.K. psychedelic pop with some solid vocal harmonies and light shades of soul music from time to time. Certainly "Second Hand Love" and "Lovely Day" sound extremely close in spots to the sort of music the Spencer Davis Group made just after the departure of Stevie Winwood, with some of the late Zombies' Baroque melodic sense coloring parts of both "Lovely Day" and "As She Walks Away." Some curve balls arrive in the form of a pretty folky acoustic guitar ballad, "Butterfly," the dull good-time soul-rock of "Goodtime Music," the blunt sledgehammer anti-straight world rant of "Mr. Blank," and the epic-to-little-purpose "Madame Magical," whose nine minutes feature some extended jazzy psychedelic organ improv. [The 2003 CD reissue on RPM adds historical liner notes and two bonus tracks in the original demo versions of "Lovely Day" and "Mr. Blank."].