Although this band had a brief existence in the early-mid 1970's, comprised of former members of the artists' Deep Purple, Iron Butterfly and Johnny Winter Group, and only released 3 studio albums overall, this debut album by what was known as Captain Beyond, is a stunning achievement to the rock genre. Rod Evans was the former vocalist in Mach I Deep Purple and after his dismissal in early 1969, Evans hooked up with Iron Butterfly alumni in bassist Lee Dorman and guitarist Larry "Rhino" Reinhardt; rounding out the lineup, drummer Bobby Caldwell of Johnny Winter Group, completed the form of the band. They also had a keyboard player within the pre-production of this record, however, Lewie Golde chose to opt out of the recordings altogether, leaving the band as a quartet. The first 5 numbers are of a straightforward rock vein of the time period and the musicianship and arrangements are tightly knit, dexterous and there's almost a telepathic vibe to the ensemble of Caldwell, Dorman and Reinhardt evident within the opening number Dancing Madly Backwards.

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Rod Evans' vocals are cool and smooth with an underlying temperament of power that crescendos and accents the music throughout the disc and although Deep Purple had moved on strikingly from his first phase within the group, on this record, Evans seems to have found his stride within this aggregation of players involved. Following Backwards, the next two numbers, Armworth and Myopic Void, seem to bleed into one another and flow seamlessly together; "Void" features some great harmonies and its slower tempo and dreamy sequence is awash with psychedelic overtones in Reinhardt's shimmering guitar lines, while the ending of the track reprises the opening number with an incredible refrain. Mesmerization Eclipse enters with a chugging heavy riff and contains tasteful chord changes and impeccable percussion skills courtesy of Bobby Caldwell. Raging River of Fear flows into the ending of Eclipse, continuing the urgent and confident vibe that has been on display throughout the duration of the record thus far. After this breathtaking flow of material, the second side of the album is dominated by two main conceptual pieces in Thousand Days of Yesterdays and I Can't Feel Nothin'.

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Unlike some of the post-psychedelic acts of the day, the way that this record is constructed is rather clever and the sequences are quite uncanny within the material that's lovingly presented. Within the credits, the record was dedicated to the memory of Duane Allman; perhaps Reinhardt had jammed with the man before his untimely death and Larry's guitar prowess would certainly indicate that if this were the case, he certainly stood in great steed alongside Allman because of his searing guitar work that is evident on the album. When I picked this up last year, I was simply astounded at how well the record just flowed and transitioned from one song to another as though it were one long, extended piece. I'm a hound for long lost gems from the late 60's and early 70's and this record was quite the find, indeed. If you enjoy classic rock and don't own this one yet, please do yourself a favor and pick it up, you won't regret it.

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Rating Grade- A+