This article was originally published on beingtheremag.com, an independent music and film magazine that ran from 2004 to 2007. It is presented here as part of the Being There Magazine archive.
By Adam Anklewicz | Being There Magazine, August 2004
Rating: ★★½ (2.5/5)
…It’s Smoke Time is a collection of the complete works of The Smoke. I found this one day when I had earned enough points to get a free CD from a record store. I’d say it was worth the price. The material found on this album was recorded between the years 1965 and 1972, with most of the songs being bonus tracks.
“My Friend Jack” and “High In A Room,” both filled with drug references, are great rock and roll psychedelia. Despite being British, The Smoke capture the sound that is forever identified with Haight-Ashbury. Weird guitar effects date these recordings amazingly well.
Able to lead the listener into quieter melody driven music with “Wake Up Cherylina,” The Smoke also can take us into some blues-rock with “Don’t Lead Me On.” “Waterfall,” though a pretty song, seems like so much of a rip off of the obscure Lennon/McCartney song “From A Window” that for those familiar with the tune, it becomes distracting while listening to it.
As an album with more bonus tracks than album tracks, the reissue makes it appear to be of great value. Most of those bonus tracks are from their collection of 45s and show quite well why they were a one-hit wonder… in Germany.
Though filled with a couple of good songs, these recording do seem to be a time capsule preserving the sound of Psychedelic Rock. My best suggestion is ignore the CD. Online music stores are designed for music like this: poor albums, a handful of good songs. Pick up “My Friend Jack,” “High In A Room,” and “Wake Up Cherylina”, a good three dollars spent.