The Exkursions

A private pressing album from 1971 was the only LP by this forgotten band from Chicago.
The album is a mixture of hard rock and blues with most songs fueled by a fuzz guitar tone and Johnsons' raspy voice. The word "groovy" certainly applies here. Bell bottoms and flower power for sure. The album opens with two songs that are pure rock and roll. "Baby You Lied" is a straight-forward blues song. A few songs, such as "Third Eye" feature nice guitar jams. I would have loved to have heard more of those. Unfortunately, as far as I know, this was the only album the band ever recorded after which Mike Johnson pursued a solo career, heading into a more jazz oriented direction.
Their custom album absolutely blitzing through eight tunes of heavy blues-influenced material in the vein of Hendrix and Cream. No muffled sounds here, the production is top-notch and the guitars shine forth loud and mean, heavily imbued with 60s psych effects (originally released in 1971). Singer/lead guitarist Johnson gives an exceptional performance; he contributed a number of fine solo albums in the 70s, but none of them cook with near the intensity of this baby. "Third Eye" is a good example; after starting with some bizarre psycho-babble, the piece breaks into a fierce minute-and-a-half electric guitar jam (recalling Stu Heiss? opening solo in Rez Band's - White Noise?). "Dry Ground" is another standout, its fast-driving Hendrix groove outfitted with a killer searing guitar lead. "Baby You Lied", a love-gone-bad slow blues rocker sounds like one of those lengthy Derek & the Dominoes tracks, with wild stereo separation that surely made many a hippie smile back then. Dual rhythm guitar and leads give the band a fuller sound than most trios. Wah-wah and fuzz effects abound, sometimes together as on the opening CCR-ish "Picture Woman" . Good solid drum work throughout, too, including a solo opportunity at the beginning of the heavily fuzzed "Would You Believe", a smooth piece of soft jazz that Mike also included on his Velvet Prince album. Great psychedelic cover art to match. Says on the back they formed in Chicago in 1968, their sound "spawned out of Chicago's own particular blend of jazz, blues and rock". This one delivers in every way! On the 2011 Born Twice Records: Legends Remastered Volume Three you can hear this legendary release in digital format, remastered by specialist J Powell of Steinhaus. Everything is packaged in a beautiful 6 panel digipak that even includes a band biography that is helpful for new fans!
For fans of Hendrix, Cream, early Resurrection Band!

Lineup

Mike Johnson (Paul Butterfield Blues Band) - Lead Vocals/Guitars
Phil Johnson - Bass
Leon Wilson - Drums