Sadly, the most distinctive thing about
Spooky Tooth
's sixth album is its title. While the band became a well-oiled ensemble of talented musicians (especially with the addition of future
Foreigner
guitarist
Mick Jones
), it wasn't especially groundbreaking or original, relying too much on generic early-'70s
blues-rock
, with pedestrian, humorless lyrics. The
gospel
choir in
"Holy Water"
and the funky guitars in
"Wildfire"
are ties to the older, less heavy
, but the rest, even the
ballad
"Self Seeking Man,"
are standard-issue
Led Zeppelin
/
Bad Company
-style
hard rock
. The playing is impressive (especially
Jones
' guitar leads and
Gary Wright
's keyboards), but without much in the way of memorable songs, it's mostly wasted. The lyrics aren't any more notable, consisting of either simple love songs or odes to self-pity. The one exception,
"Cotton Growing Man,"
is a bizarre diatribe against Southern slave owners that sounds about 100 years out of date. Fans of the genre should probably find
You Broke My Heart
enjoyable, but others need not bother. ~ Victor W. Valdivia