By 1972,
Tommy Bolin had left
Zephyr and was yet to join
the James Gang. He had formed a band christened, aptly enough,
Energy,
but they broke up before releasing any recordings. Yet, time in the
studio was spent, resulting in this collection of songs released 27
years after their recording. Some of the songs would be redone with
the James Gang
("Red Skies," "Got No Time for Trouble") or solo ("Dreamer") in the
next few years, while "Naked Edge" comes from the soundtrack to a
mountain-climbing film called Break on Through, but most of the contents
of the album see their first release here. The album is mixed:
"Heartlight" and "Miss Christmas" are fairly generic hard rock, while
"Hok-O-Hey" and "Eyes of Blue" have a very Allman Brothers sound/feel,
yet all are elevated by
Bolin's guitar playing. The neo-psychedelic "Limits," sung by keyboardist Tom Stephenson, is unlike most of
Bolin's
other work and the extended instrumental "Naked Edge" furthers this
psychedelic jamming. "Sky Sail" is a cinematic piano/guitar duet and is a
perfect album closer. In the end, the album works more as a compilation
of
Energy's various styles than as a cohesive album
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