Randy Burns-Evening of the Magician (1968-Folk)

Randy Burns' second album, 1968's Evening of the Magician, is an enormous improvement over his 1967 debut, Of Love and War. That album, while fine for what it was, included too many covers of songs by Burns' contemporaries in the Greenwich Village folk scene to show what the singer/songwriter was capable of. This album, which features 10 good to great Burns originals, is far superior and much more personal feeling. Burns' new backing trio, the Sky Dog Band, provide sympathetic and low-key backing on keyboards (Mat Kastner), bass and flute (Bruce Samuels) and percussion (John O'Leary). The acid folk settings are similar to those of Burns' ESP-Disk labelmates Pearls Before Swine, but his solid, simple songs lack Tom Rapp's psychedelic flightiness. (This is either a good or bad thing depending on one's point of view), by Stewart Mason

For me, the best Randy Burns here.

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