By 1972, the Hippie Dream was truly and finally over. The industry was well aware of the demise of the flower power era and actively sought the next big thing: singer-songwriters and heavy metal. By 1972, performers like Carly Simon, Carole King, James Taylor and Jim Croce had all achieved pop success while Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin gained notoriety for their loud’n’proud shows filled with wailing guitars, thundering drums and mystic-hop wordplay. Captain Beyond were just another band lost in the heavy rock shuffle…or were they? Listening to the band’s 1972 debut (which featured former Deep Purple vocalist Rod Evans) is certainly like stepping into a Time Machine and remembering an era when bell bottomed jeans and long, flowing, Jesus Christ-like hair was the order of the day. Yet at their core, Captain Beyond boasted not only genuine metallic power, but an innate group sense of what made up a great rock song. And, at a time when heavy bands were mired in lengthy “jams” and interminable guitar solos, these Southern U.S. rockers knew how to create sharp, pointed, decidedly machine-tooled rock. Today, the cosmic cowboy rhetoric of their songwriting is only slightly archaic while the music is just as pointed and sharp, economic and powerful as ever. And cuts like Raging River Of Fear and Myopic Void (from Captain Beyond), Bright Blue Tango and Evil Men (from Sufficiently Breathless), Icarus and Fantasy (from Dawn Explosion) retain their focused, intense edges intact. Lead guitarist Rhino knew his stuff while drummer Bobby Caldwell added full propulsion effectively. Top marks to Capricorn for making these albums finally available domestically (for years they were only available as pricey overseas imports) while One Way’s reissue of the band’s lone Warner Bros. title from 1977 is a superb find for fans (myself included). (Qex13)