Ted Lucas has given himself over to a delightfully sedated, incubative, and sun-soaked world where everything is bathed in a lavish orange glaze of light. Here, the moss grows just long enough to rest on, the crickets, birds and toads harmonize with him amidst a spray of soft, silvery white lyme grass and wild rye at his feet. We're invited along with him into a womb of psychedelic harmonies and richly resonant folk songs through a recently reissued nine song, self titled LP, originally released in 1975. Yoga Records is responsible for resurrecting this lost jewel, with some really beautiful accompanying artwork, and inserts. Ted Lucas' harmonies are heavy and circular, and his voice is slow, syrupy, and low as if it were seeping out the bottom of a barrel drum. Imagine Skip Spence's voice on Oar's War In Peace, with the harmonies of Kevin Ayers' Joy Of A Toy, but all with the softness of Bill Fay. The stand-out tracks include the opening song "Plain & Sane & Simple Melody", as well as "Now That I Know", "It's So Easy (When You Know What You're Doing)", and "It Is So Nice To Get Stoned". The best songs are hauntingly beautiful, world weary, delicate, genuine, sad, and even funny all at once. There is a casual intimacy to the recording as if he's sitting on his own worn out couch with his feet up, and a mic in the middle of the room. Lying on your back, and lazily staring at the ceiling while listening to "Plane & Sane", you'll find, is like a slow steep of blossoms in oil. Thanks Sebastian Speaks, Riverman Music, and Yoga Records.
