The Third Mind The Third Mind LP (Vinyl)

TAS Rated 4.5/5 Music, 3.5/5 Sonics in the May/June 2020 Issue of The Absolute Sound!

Dave Alvin, Victor Krummenacher (Cracker, Camper Van Beethoven), Michael Jerome (Toadies, Better Than Ezra) and David Immerglück (Counting Crows, Camper Van Beethoven) form the core of this group of seasoned musicians, who have joined forces to take a trip back to the psychedelic folk/rock sound of the late 1960s and early 1970s. They approached the recording of these songs in a very free-form manner - no rehearsals, no charts - where they'd just choose a key, hit record and play.

The group chose songs/compositions primarily identified with the 1960s underground scene as a tribute to the open minded music of that period as well as to the fearless musicians like Alice Coltrane, Michael Bloomfield, Fred Neil and Roky Erickson who helped create the sounds of that era. They put their own spin on five songs made famous by Alice Coltrane, 13th Floor Elevators, Fred Neil and others, plus one original song, "Claudia Cardinale".

"I had a crazy idea and was looking for musicians who perhaps didn't think it was so insane." - Dave Alvin

The old stoner adage 'If you remember the 60s, you really weren't there' applies only in part to The Third Mind, the fully improvised eponymous debut album by the ad hoc band of Dave Alvin (guitar, vocals), Victor Krummenacher (bass, vocals), David Immergluck (guitar, keyboards, vocals), MIchael Jerome (drums, percussion), with guest Jesse Sykes (guitar, vocals). The 64-year-old Alvin and the 58-year-old Immergluck are the only verified boomers in this group, but Krummenacher (Camper, Monks of Doom, Cracker), Jerome (Richard Thompson), and Sykes are equally steeped in the psychedelic rock, folk, and blues aesthetic of the decade (1961-1970) that inspired these kaleidoscope live-in-the-studio performances. If you weren't there then, you can be now.

From the opening six minutes of Alice Coltrane's 'Journey in Satchidananda' to a face-melting quarter hour run-through of the Butterfield Blues Band's classic 'East West,' these musicians find their psychedelic-oriented groove and ride it like the pros they are. Miles Davis would be proud.

The dynamic of this recording is truly special. You'll hear something new with each listen. It's one to best listen to alone to appreciate the mind-blowing experience it delivers.