Spur Of The Moments

Treading into Numero's territory Drag City has found a classic record forty years past it's sell by date. Belleville, Illinois' Spur and their album, Of the Moments, is a psychedelic head trip of garage rock straight out of the 60's that some how never made it out of their hometown. That's really a shame because this forty minute record manages to cram the best bits of the Buffalo Springfield and Quicksilver Messenger Service as well has bits and bobs of the Beatles and Zombies into one record. This newly remastered and reworked album is finally seeing the proper release it really deserves and proves that homegrown talent is always lurking where you least expect it.

Sounding something like a Midwestern, countrified, laid back jam that went on for days and days, Of the Momentsis a momentous journey on a rainbow bridge into the universe. With epic jams, twisted lyrics, lazy vocals, and enough time changes and chords to last most bands a lifetime this record is pretty much a perfect psychedelic prog folk rock record. It's so good that about the only bad thing you can possibly say about Of The Moments is that the best material of Spur was cherry picked from their archives to make this record. While it's not really a tragic flaw, one can't help but wonder what other material is out there and if it's half as good as the space jams that populate this album? If it is, then it needs to be released with the quickness.

From the jaunty distorted tune, "Mr Creep," to the rather brilliant cover of The Beatles, "Eight Days A Week," Of The Moments should have been huge back in 1968 when it was released. But alas, it wasn't and remained an obscure gem until now. Packaged with unreleased photos and ephemera and featuring a cover as close to the original as they could, Drag City has done a fantastic job of giving this record it's due. If you like your rock and roll littered with diversity, divergence, and bands on seemingly endless odysseys than you must buy Spur's Of The Moments. Like me, you'll feel privileged and lucky to be holding this brilliant work of art in your hand and you'll feel as though you owe Drag City a little something extra for finding this lost treasure; excellent stuff.