The Far Cry

The Bosstown Sound was created as a way to get publicity for Boston bands in response to the popularity of the many psychedelic bands coming out from San Francisco in the late ’60s. It wasn’t particularly successful despite some articles appearing in Rolling Stone and Newsweek, with the suggestion that the main reason for its failure was that the music simply wasn’t very good, a slightly harsh generalisation. Far Cry were one of the bands in question and their self-titled debut helps shed some light on what may have happened. Originally released in 1968, it’s certainly an interesting album that doesn’t shy away from throwing a healthy dose of free jazz into its blues tunes. Sounding like a woozier Blood Sweat & Tears, their most interesting feature is the yelped vocals of Jere Whitling, who seems to be channelling Captain Beefheart. Even at only seven songs it feels long and the muddy remastering doesn’t help things, as the interplay between band members is hidden beneath one dominant voice. The improvisation is unfocussed on the longer songs and perhaps the history books were right about the Bosstown Sound after all. This is an interesting souvenir of the Boston scene but hardly essential.