SPOOKY TOOTH — Spooky Two (review)

Album · 1968 · Proto-Metal

4/5 · 2024-03-17
siLLy puPPy

Considered by many to be the best and strongest of the SPOOKY TOOTH albums, the sophomore release SPOOKY TWO built on the momentum of the smooth psychedelic soul tendencies of the debut “It’s All About” but at the same time maintained its trippy psychedelic demeanor and added the occasional heavier doses of hard rock. Likewise the keyboard sounds were better integrated into the musical mix and the band sounded like it was firing on all cylinders. Riding on the wave of a successful American tour, the five members crated a new batch of eight original tracks and left out the filler in the form of cover tunes. Primarily written by Gary Wright, SPOOKY TWO featured a more cohesive stylistic effect than its predecessor and showcased the band’s ability to emulate the soulful blues rock of Traffic but by distancing itself even further from that band’s similarly styled approach.

By this time keyboardist Gary Wright had also taken control of the lead vocals and had developed quite the sophisticated range of singing styles. The band tightened up its quirky mix of psychedelic rock, blues, soul and even adding a tinge of gospel. The album features a more dynamic songwriting process and the use of the double keyboard attack with the heavy guitar heft accompanied by the psychedelic smooth soul vocal style of Wright was exactly the perfect tour de force for success. Once again the critics raved yet once again the album sales floundered despite a stellar production and engineering job by the combo powerhouse duo of Jimmy Miller and Andrew Johns. The album produced one of the band’s better known singles “That Was Only Yesterday” however it failed to chart during its day. Gary Wright at this point was becoming more recognizable as the singer who crafted the huge 1975 hit “Dream Weaver.”

The album deftly blends smooth softness with moments of heavier contrast. Compared to both Savoy Brown and the Yardbirds, SPOOKY TOOTH at this point started to become its own with even the Traffic connections dissipating and whereas the debut was clearly influenced by the 1967 album “Mr. Fantasy,” SPOOKY TWO is a powerhouse that stands on its own with epic performances that evoke a true sense of accomplishment. In many ways SPOOKY TWO prognosticated bluesy rock bands such as Little Feat that would find increasing popularity in the 1970s. Considered a blues rock band that didn’t behave like one, SPOOKY TOOTH found a unique intersection between blues guitar, psychedelic atmospheres, Baroque pop compositional styles and a touch of jazz rock influences.

On top of the excellent musicianship and the impeccable instrumental interplay, Wright crafted some of the catchiest pop hooks of the band’s entire career with tracks like “Better By You, Better Than Me” and “Waitin’ For The Wind” topping the ear worm charts. While considered by some in prog circles to have been a progenitor of the prog movement, in reality SPOOKY TOOTH wasn’t particularly progressive and considering this album emerged the very same year as King Crimson’s stunning debut as well as other bands like High Tide, SPOOKY TOOTH is actually pretty tame in that regard. The band wasn’t about crafting overly complex tunes and on the contrary was about nurturing beautifully addictive melodies into a total band experience and in that regard they reached an apex on SPOOKY TWO.

Due to disappointing album sales the band began to splinter and although several members would stick it out and release a few more albums before the final break up in 1974, the original lineup ended here and the band would never regain the momentum that SPOOKY TWO had delivered so well. Luckily the album has been reevaluated over the ensuing decades and has become designated a classic of period psychedelic soul rock which found all the band’s best qualities synergizing for this brief moment in time. This album is very much as good as any Traffic album and although SPOOKY TOOTH didn’t stick it out as long or produce as many hits, the first two albums are quite pleasing to the ears with this second offering being the most accomplished.