Man, as long as there are poor souls who were screwed by major labels in the 1960s and 70s, Drag City‘s always gonna have a reserve of “lost classics” to reissue! Doug Jerebine is one such unfortunate soul; his story involves Ahmet Ertegun and Atlantic Records (there’s a wonderfully detailed story here in the liner notes), and considering Atlantic’s roster and catalog, it’s a shock that this went unreleased for four decades. “Midnight Sun” is trashy blues, not unlike then-labelmates Led Zeppelin—AND future label mates Royal Trux—but he doesn’t stay in that groove for long. This is what rock and roll used to be; occasionally bluesy, occasionally country, occasionally like nothing else at the time. “Ain’t So Hard to Do” predicted not just heavy metal of the 1980s, but also the trashy grunge/punk hybrid of the 1980s and 90s. The winner here, though, is “Circles,” which is a wistful ballad that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Pearl Jam record. This would have fit right well next to Terry Reid and those Led Zeppelin records, but it’s better to have it now than to never have it at all. A rare find, and a fun little slip back into time.
