Zephyr (1969)

Self-titled debuts are back! So what's the deal with Zephyr anyway? What are they doing here? Is this some kind of unknown band? Well, the cover is rather...uh...distinct, perhaps the second most famous album cover to feature a toilet. Although they made quite a splash locally in the home state of Colorado, most people are interested in Zephyr's first album because it is the first appearance of Tommy Bolin, future Deep Purple and James Gang guitarist, as well as a minor figure in the New York jazz/rock fusion scene (any earlier recordings than this are archival and released much later).

Since none of those bands or experiences were on Tommy's mind yet circa 1969, what you have here is a much more raw performance style, tacking closer to the blues and low on "special" effects. This is not to say his playing is restrained. In fact, the band really let's him loose and he spars effectively with keyboard-man John Faris. However this is not a Tommy Bolin solo album (the world would have to wait until 1975 for his official solo debut). The husband-and-wife team of David and Candy Givens (mostly her singing) was the other main draw of Zephyr. I have to say though that Candy comes off as a low-rent Janis Joplin here, trying to keep up in the frantic department with Bolin and Faris. This isn't her best outing. All of the highlights point toward Bolin's performances on "Sail On", "Cross the River" and "Hard Chargin' Woman", all of which feature moods and tempos that turn on a dime.

The next album, Going Back to Colorado, reined in both Tommy and Candy, which was a disappointment in the case of the former, but did wonders for the latter. I'm not sure if that's what ultimately led Bolin to quit the band and immerse himself in the jazz fusion scene in New York (he plays on Alphonse Mouzon's Mind Transplant, Billy Cobham's Spectrum and played alongside Jan Hammer and other pillars of the scene). He would take his education from this period back to Colorado, where he formed his own band, Energy, a great band that wasn't able to land a contract, but set the groundwork for Tommy's later career as a hired gun for big-name bands. Zephyr meanwhile trooped on (Tommy stole their drummer, but the rest continued) with new personnel, though only one more studio album resulted and they sort of droned through the rest of the decade, disbanding upon Candy's death in 1984.

Tommy Bolin's death in 1976 is well known, but Candy Givens also struggled terribly with drugs. I can only imagine her situation was pretty awful, rapidly diminishing into obscurity while Tommy flamed out at the height of his popularity. For the whole story check out this interview with David Givens on the Tommy Bolin website.