Critic's Review
Joe Viglione, All Music Guide
This is quality stuff; Delaney Bramlett on a mission with his musical instincts at their peak. Ron Grayson on drums, Tim Hedding on organ, Robert Wilson on bass, Larry Savoie on trombone, with Bramlett on guitar, percussion and vocals and you have the band Mobius. Opening with "Are You a Beatle or a Rolling Stone," the pace and tone are set for perfectly recorded pop blues. The captivating multidimensional sounds that Stephen Stills and Bill Halverson obtained in 1970 for "Sit Yourself Down" and "Love the One You're With" are emulated here by the producers, Bramlett and his co-songwriter Doug Gilmore. King Ericson adds congas to "What Am I Doin' in a Place Like This," and they create a nice atmosphere without getting in the way. The piano and organ play neatly off each other in "A Young Girl," while Bramlett's vocal is impassioned on this first disc without Bonnie. The multi-album deal they signed with Columbia resulted in 1972's Motel Shot, making this the first effort after the famous duo went their separate ways. "Big Ol' Piece of Blues" sounds absolutely determined, John Ussery adding some additional guitar to the party. This would have been a great title for Janis Joplin to guest appear on had she lived; it has everything she seemed to be looking for in 1969. "Circles" brings the ever present Clydie King and Vanetta Fields into the fray, and the result is wonderful. Maybe the gods at CBS were upset that Delaney & Bonnie were no longer a pair, because this album has immense power and it should have made more of a splash. "When a Man Is in Need if a Woman" and "I'm a M-a-n" have Bramlett displaying great chops as a frontman and blues singer. In what may be a first, future Fleetwood Mac singer Becca Bramlett joins her sisters Susan and Michelle as the Bram-letts Mini Choir on "California Rain." Michael Omartian, who seemed to be everywhere at this point in time, adds string arrangements to this folk/blues chant. The three kids, along with Feda, Suki, and Chris King, fall somewhere between Alvin & the Chipmunks and the Edwin Hawkin Singers, without the Hawkin Singers ability to stay on key. With an album so musical, this episode has a certain charm -- and humanity. Delaney Bramlett's ability to sound like many performers on the early takes that make up the Genesis album on GNP Crescendo is replaced here with the singer performing music that is his own elaborate vision. It's an important snapshot of an important time.
