Kapt. Kopter & the (Fabulous) Twirly Birds by Randy California (1972)
First of all, his name wasn’t really Randy California. His band leader had two Randy’s in his group and Randy Wolfe hailed from LA, so he was dubbed Randy California. He was 16 years old at the time. Oh, and that band leader, with whom the teenager shared guitar parts was named Jimmy James – or as he would come to be known – Jimi Hendrix.
When Hendrix took off for London, California went back to SoCal and formed Spirit, one of the best rock outfits in the late ‘60s/early ‘70s. After a few albums, California released this solo album. He had Jimi Hendrix Experience bassist Noel Redding on a few tracks and his stepdad, Ed Cassidy, who played drums for Spirit, on a few others. But it was all Randy, singing and playing rip-roaring guitar on hard and heavy tracks like “Downer” and on spacier rockers like “Devil.” He wrote about half the songs and did some awesome covers as well.
His “I Don’t Want Nobody” fuzzes up James Brown, while Paul Simon’s “Mother and Child Reunion” becomes a trippy journey through wah-wah land. He throws in a couple of Beatles tunes as well. “Day Tripper” is perfectly OK - though not special. But he tosses some rockabilly into “Rain” that redefines the entire song, with help from Redding’s drummer pal Les Sampson.
Jerusalem by Jerusalem (1972)
The forgotten uncle of metal. Jerusalem didn’t last long – not like the other Brits who would usher in the heavy riffing and high-pitched vocals that would come to define the new genre. But one listen to Bob Cooke and Bill Hinde trading riffs on album opener “Frustration” reveals a band that could have been as big as any Sabbath or Maiden. They follow it with “Hooded Eagle” which pushes the guitar attack even further.
And it never lets up, right through the closing epic “She Came Like a Bat From Hell,” which has singer Lynden Williams matching anything that Ozzy Osbourne was doing at the time. Deep Purple’s Ian Gillan produced the album – the band’s only full-length release. They split up shortly after its release.