American Gypsy : Golden Ring

This one's hard to classify. There are flutes and a string section, and the whole thing has a close, dark feel to it, but there's also some upbeat funk and scatting going on. I think it falls somewhere between psychedelia and soft rock; between Santana and America. It's tough to say.

Regardless of where you try and pigeonhole it though, it's a great tune. There's not much out there about American Gypsy on the interwebs, so I can't give much background, except to say this is off their third album.

The songs starts off with a bit of psychedelia, some acoustic guitar, light organ, light echo on the vocals, all vaguely trippy. There's something about the way they process the vocals on this track that makes them sound very close-up, almost like the singer is in your head, whispering in your ear. Then, about 90 seconds into it, they funk it up, bringing up the speed, adding wah-wah guitar, more strings and a bebopping scat solo. Then they slow it down and do it all again. It trips and grooves, it's alternately spooky and funky, which doesn't seem like it would work, but they really make it go.

You can find "Golden Ring" on American Gypsy's self-titled 1975 release. But I found it on this most excellent compilation, As We Travel: Folk Funk Flavours & Ambient Soul. It's full of 70s psychedelic funk like this. A superb compilation; highly recommended

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