Frumious Bandersnatch
A Young Man's Song

I’m not ashamed to say that some of the things I cherish most are my invaluable musical encyclopedias, the kind with biographies - works rated & commented for every more or less significant band. My first "girlfriend" took away, along with my teenage dignity, a gigantic volume dedicated to heavy metal (wherever you are, I hope the pages have come apart for you). Since then, I have acquired: a tome on rock blues, which introduced me to artists such as Groundhogs and Ten Years After; the great book of progressive rock, with its screaming cover reminiscent of Crimson, and finally a smaller book dedicated to old and contemporary psychedelic music.

For many months I was sure they were called Frimorius Bandesnacht, and even now I struggle to remember the monicker without errors: FRUMIOUS BANDERSNATCH. Described in my dear encyclopedia as "the lost great psychedelic band", I finally found them in their only LP, "A Young Man's Song". Comprising twelve tracks recorded at different times, the realm this work revolves in is the acid rock of the West Coast, between John Cipollina's Quicksilver and Country Joe, with Grateful Dead-like vocals (in a less folksy version).

What surprises from the first listen is the power and the instrumental compactness of the ensemble: bass and drums that lay down a pulsating carpet for the acid virtuosity of the three guitarists without much lightness. It’s music that scratches, envelops, excites, emphatic in the vocal parts and often extended to give the right space to solos, a great strength of many compositions, while the recordings have a fluctuating but always appreciable quality. Absolutely noteworthy are real masterpieces such as "Rosemary’s Baby", the powerful "Cheshire" (like the name of the band, this too comes from Lewis Carroll's imaginary world) and the very nimble "Can-A-Bliss", 12 minutes dedicated to the most popular leisure instrument among the hippie community of which Frumious Bandersnatch is a perfect example.

Unjustly forgotten, this album deserves to be placed among the most impactful works of a musical era that continues to offer extraordinary rarities for those who have time to spend, and maybe a nice encyclopedia.