Fuzzy Duck - "Fuzzy Duck" (1971)

Fast-paced cult classic still puts on a progtasticly good, if hard to follow, show.

Fuzzy Duck's only album has become a cult icon for many, with copies on Amazon exceeding five hundred pounds in worth. Fronted by Andromeda's Mick Hawksworth, they are considered by some to be as crucial as The Pretty Things or any Canterbury band in the proto-prog movement.

The album has two shining stars in Emerson-like organist Roy Sharland and almost metallic drummer Paul Francis. Time Will Be Your Doctor opens with the line " I don't see it, I don't feel it coming on". Apt words, as this is the instant reaction of a new listener trying to grasp Fuzzy Duck's appeal, right before the track transforms from bland wannabe funk into a truely 13th Floor Elevators kind of trip. It becomes a lot like the music to a chase scene from Scooby Doo, albeit with the potential repercussions of a severe bangover. Funk remains on a roll through Just Look Around You, which comes off as a young Highway Star. Afternoon Out is a lovely, hand clapping psych anthem, while the hummable wa-wa of More Than I Am is reminiscent of Steppenwolf's Magic Carpet Ride.

One negative trait of the album is its being a rehash of the same fast paced ballyrips; one needs variety in an album, especially in the progressive rock genre. However, this should not draw away from the album's strength: high voltage power prog which beckons you to ride the yue-dye mechanical bull. An album you must listen to, but not all at once.

For fans of: Emerson, Lake & Palmer, The 13th Floor Elevators, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown

Top tracks: Time Will Be Your Doctor, Afternoon Out, Country Boy

Rating: 8.6/10