Major Arcana - Major Arcana (1976) (Korean remaster, 2010)

This album has a particular and specific sound which is a cross between a somewhat hippie like sphere, folkpsych, and some blues influence. On keyboards and flute we hear, Sigmund Snopek III. -Sigmund Snopek III made at least one really great album, his first solo album, which was reissued in 1994 with bonus tracks from 1987, as “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” coming originally from 1972, but he was more known from his band ‘the Bloomsbury People’-. His keyboard playing, especially on the first and last track gives a real sweet psychedelic touch, while his flute is like a gay overmeloduous-jazzy contribution which fits well with the hippie-aspect. The percussion, by Jim Kitchen is mostly handpercussion. Jim Spencer, -who made two solo albums just before this-, is responsible for the often soulful blues hippie flavour (vocals and guitars). “Deana Durbin Blues” might be a less necessary but still ok blues track. Also “Down under blues” is blues like the title says, with a similar touch of a somewhat dazed emotional hippieness, which because of the voice qualities is pretty happy-enjoyable at the same time, with some fine multilayered guitar arrangements. “Papa Dock” has a much deeper drug and voodoo driven element, like Dr.John’s Gris Gris, with a magic sexually driven “white” black voice, with more hippie blues, and some sexually driven? female voice kicking on the XXX-factor on the stoned psych feeling. More fine rhythmical guitar arrangements we hear on “Back on the Spirit”, a soulful song in the name of Jesus, and a kind of hippie gospel expressed with blues and rock. The second track with really sweet keyboards (by the then in Wisconsin living Sigmund Snopek III) we hear on “Fran’s Blues”, a track which is sung with even more soul and vocal variety, also sung for the Lord. “Greensleeves” might be one of the best moments, with the flute, keyboards and guitars twinkling and interwoven with one another, and evolving like a calm mini-psychedelic trip, driven further like water ripples enlighted by the lights of a lava lamp. The song is sung with melancholy and passion…