Short Reviews [Carpet Knights, The - 2001 - "Lost & So Strange Is My Mind" ]

As the title suggests, the music here is Psychedelic Rock, what once have been called Head Music. The Carpet Knights' music recalls the heyday of Haight-Ashbury (an intersection in San Francisco, California), the center of the late '60s hippy universe in the US. Bands like The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and Procol Harum come to mind when listening to this combination of vocal and guitar stylings (ample doses of fuzz and wah-wah), and it is fans of those bands as well as that era to whom I would most highly recommend this album. Flute is discreetly woven into the mix and is prominent in the first song, giving tp the track a Tull-ish flavor. The vocals have a distinctive late '60s or early 70s tonality, perfect for The Carpet Knights' retro sound. All in all, this is a very solid album, but it is not really Prog, at least until you get to the last (and longest) track, which goes through several sections and various moods. So, although I found "Lost & So Strange is My Mind" a very likable album, I would not recommend it to hardcore prog fans. It is good Rock with a dectinct late '60s sensibility, so if this expression appeals to you, I recommend checking this one out.

Vitaly Menshikov: November 21, 2001