CD Preview: The Flock’s Heaven Bound – The Lost Album

The Flock was one of the more interesting of the great lost bands from the late 1960s/early ‘70s, the Chicago-based outfit incorporating elements of jazz, fusion, and progressive rock into an entirely unique sound that revolved around talented violinist Jerry Goodman. More adventuresome, both on stage and in the studio, than contemporaries like Chicago (a/k/a Chicago Transit Authority) or Blood Sweat & Tears, the Flock was signed by Columbia Records, back in the days when major labels would take a chance on any crazy old sounds.

The band recorded a pair of albums for the label – their acclaimed self-titled debut in 1969 (which hit #48 on the Billboard albums chart), and which featured liner notes by British blues-rock legend John Mayall, and 1970’s Dinosaur Swamps, which was less successful commercially, but yielded a memorable track in the soaring “Big Bird.” The band had begun work on a third album for the label when Columbia Records president Clive Davis allegedly stole Goodman away from the band to play with guitarist John McLaughlin’s new Mahavishnu Orchestra project and the Flock dissolved.

The band re-formed a couple years down the road to record 1975’s Inside Out for Mercury Records, but when the album received poor reviews and failed to meet sales expectations, they were dropped by the label. The band’s singer and guitarist, Fred Glickstein, continued to write and record new material with fellow Flock founding members Jerry Smith (bass) and Ron Karpman (drums) in anticipation of a record deal that never came. The tapes were stored away until now, and will finally see release on CD as Heaven Bound – The Lost Album on July 22nd, 2014 by Cleopatra Records’ imprint Purple Pyramid.
 
In a press release for the long lost album, Fred Glickstein says “we are all very lucky to have had that happy musical trip and the chance to entertain people in the U.S. and Europe. A special thanks to everyone at Cleopatra Records for helping this project become a reality and for keeping the spirit of the Flock alive.” We have the tracklist for Heaven Bound below.

The Flock’s Heaven Bound track list:
1. Heaven Bound
2. The Bells
3. Reasons
4. Crying Out/The Voice
5. Don't You Know (Who I Am)
6. Makes It All Worthwhile
7. Noise Boys
8. Mama
9. Rolling With the Clones
10. Love Away
11. C'mon Let's Walk
12. Be Strong and Survive
13. The Christos Jig
14. The Test
15. Outroduction

Buy the CD from Amazon.com: The Flock's Heaven Bound-The Lost Album