Q 65 - Afghanistan (Negram Years 1970-71)

The regrouped Q 65 shows far less immersion in (and devotion to) traditional blues, and they generally play a lot louder. On about half of this album, it's as though they'd stopped listening to Howlin' Wolf and, instead, started absorbing Led Zeppelin, while other songs show off some psychedelic flourishes. The music is still blues-based at its roots -- and "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" is fine as a low-key exception to the rest of the original LP -- but some songs are ornamented with fine, elegant flute and lyrical acoustic and electric guitar breaks ("Baby Don't Worry," "Please Come Back To Me"), and a spaced-out mindset. Read More