Lost In My Dream:-An Anthology 1968-1974

It's reasonable, even logical, to question the need for a two-disc compilation from an early-'70s band that had negligible impact on the British or American charts or either of those country's musical sensibilities. But since 2000's That Was Yesterday only covered the years ending with 1970's The Last Puff, there was an opening, if maybe not a need, for a more extensive look at the act that finally called it quits after 1974's The Mirror. Also, since the band served as a breeding ground for musicians who went on to greater acclaim elsewhere (bassist Greg Ridley joined Humble Pie, guitarists Luther Grosvenor and Mick Jones followed with Mott the Hoople and Foreigner, respectively, and Gary Wright, who wrote the bulk of the group's material, went on to a solo career), Spooky Tooth is deserving of this comprehensive, 34-track, two-and-a-half-hour collection. Both Wright and vocalist/frontman Mike Harrison were captivating blue-eyed soul singers, the latter nearly the equal of, and very similar to, Steve Marriott. When they sang together and the material was of high enough quality, the effect was of a nascent Humble Pie with more soul and less boogie.

Spooky Tooth's brooding, slow-to-midtempo blues-rock, tinged in the early years with more than a little psychedelia, was an intriguing concoction, especially when applied to covers such as their distinctive, and some might argue, definitive versions of Janis Ian's "Society's Child," blues staple "Tobacco Road" and "Evil Woman" (not the ELO song of the same title, but one best recognized through Canned Heat's rendition). Mike Harrison had one of the U.K.'s great voices, though he never received the acclaim he deserved, even after releasing three solo albums. Tooth's original material was inconsistent, and a career-killing collaboration with French electronic experimental composer Pierre Henry (represented here by seven-and-a-half interminable minutes of "Hosanna") that followed the band's one stab at popularity in Spooky Two, pretty much killed whatever momentum they'd built up.

A few rare singles and B-sides make an appearance along with a pair of previously unreleased songs circa 1968 on disc one. Most are worth hearing, with the rare Europe-only version of "Oh! Pretty Woman" especially impressive. Disc two follows the latter part of Tooth's historical progression and is, despite no hits, also intermittently enticing. Interestingly, the final four tracks from 1974's unfairly overlooked The Mirror where lead singer Harrison was replaced by Boxer's Mike Patto, are some of the most commercial, melodic, and driving tunes the band recorded. The only glaring omission is "That Was Yesterday," not only one of the group's and Gary Wright's best moments, but the title track to two previous Spooky Tooth collections. A 16-page color booklet filled with excellent liner notes, detailed track annotation