As the follow-up to s unrivaled album, 1972's was probably doomed to fall short of expectations from the get-go, but the peculiar conditions of its creation didn't help matters either. Having met with encouraging critical success but rather meager actual sales receipts in their native Japan, was shipped off to conquer the West -- or rather, Canada -- because of a timely offer to open for local jazz-rock outfit , whose leader and keyboard player, , would wind up producing the group's next effort, the fallaciously named . Problem was, s musical vision clashed directly against s defining heavy rock foundations, and although the band's powerful manager, , came away happier with the finished product than the bandmembers themselves, the album's songs still made for a less consistent, and certainly less potent collection than those of its predecessor. Which nevertheless meant that it was pretty darn good! Yes, the plodding thud of barely left room for its salvaging, fluid, overlaid guitar licks, and where had served as a suitably alien landscape above which singer s wildest shrieks could soar untethered, earthier songs, like the mostly acoustic and the -inspired love-in theme, sometimes left him naked and exposed to the elements, in turn. But when planted their collective foot down firmly upon their lysergic heavy rock comfort zone, resulting leviathans like and (which revisited the melodic sequence introduced one year earlier by ) equaled their highest of highs (no weed-puffing pun intended), despite their cliche-worthy titles. Nearly as powerful was the aptly named which shuddered and flailed with a certain Krautrock spirit, and the album-closing which crawled like a funeral march blending with exotic shades of Indian music and faux sitar. Most fans then and now agreed that this foursome easily made up for the not-quite-stellar threesome detailed earlier, but for a group whose sales figures were already lagging behind both the critical support and their manager's not inconsiderable gift of hype, wasn't able to reverse s gradual career descent, which would accelerate towards extinction with the following year's artistically scattered, half-live, half-studio double album, . ~ Eduardo Rivadavia