The Superfine Dandelion

Superfine Dandelion drew from a lot of fine inspirations on their sole album: Jefferson Airplane, the Lovin' Spoonful, and Buffalo Springfield foremost among them. Good taste, however, does not guarantee a good record. Superfine Dandelion isn't lousy; it's just average and unmemorable. It seems as though they did their share of listening to the early Jefferson Airplane, judging from the extremely Airplane-like vocal interplay and minor chord structure of "People in the Street" and "Crazy Town." "My Place," on the other hand, has something of the country-flavored buoyancy of the Lovin' Spoonful and Buffalo Springfield, while the cheeriest cuts have the sunny folk-pop/rock feel of, say, some of the L.A. folk-rock issued by the Dunhill label ("Don't Try to Call Me" recalls P.F. Sloan) or the Monkees. Then "Janie's Tomb" and "It's Raining" have a jokey jug band vibe, like a cross between the Charlatans and the Lovin' Spoonful. These are lot of references to cram into one review, and also an indication that there wasn't much originality to Superfine Dandelion's sound. That wouldn't matter so much if the songs were outstanding, but they're just so-so. ~ Richie Unterberger