(Spring - 1971 had a lot of promise)

It's like beating a dead horse to say there were an awful lot of bands in the 1970's who barely got past their first albums before going separate ways. Sometimes it was just a case of getting lost in the shuffle. From around 1969 on, a lot of major labels were starting up subsidiaries whose sole purpose was to cater to the eclectic market, growing in size as the result of free form FM radio. Philips started Vertigo, Polydor had Dandelion, EMI had Harvest (with Pink Floyd being an anomaly). And RCA had Neon.

I could never figure out what Neon's story was, since they had a rather large roster of acts, none of whom made much dent, but most of whom were really quite good. RCA in the U.S. were almost totally clueless as to what to do with them, and in large part tossed the albums out on the market with little or no publicity, with the hopes some strange phenomenon would occur - which invariably never did.

Spring was one of those acts that deserved so much more recognition than the none they got. Heavy on Mellotrons and with some excellent production, they recorded one album and were in the process of doing a second when the plug was pulled.

Their first album quickly went out of print (less than six months, as was the norm) and languished pretty much unnoticed until an Italian label Akarma reissued them on CD a few years ago. I'm not sure the Akarma reissue is still print, but I would highly recommend seeking it out, if this track, Inside Out appeals.

Which I have the sneaking suspicion it might.