The Flock and related artists

Signed to CBS/Columbia during the brass-rock explosion that resulted in the mega-success of Blood, Sweat & Tears and Chicago, the Flock was an altogether different animal. The instrumentation was similar, with guitar, bass, and drums backed by a thre...more

Signed to CBS/Columbia during the brass-rock explosion that resulted in the mega-success of Blood, Sweat & Tears and Chicago, the Flock was an altogether different animal. The instrumentation was similar, with guitar, bass, and drums backed by a three-piece horn section, but the Flock added another dimension in the form of future Mahavishnu Orchestra violinist Jerry Goodman. The approach of both Goodman and lead vocalist/guitarist Fred Glickstein was much less restrained than the music of their more successful label mates and possessed a sort of manic energy that really needed to be experienced live. The group also had more collective experience with jazz and classical music, in addition to rock, pop, and the blues. The melding of these diverse elements made their music a little too experimental and avant-garde for pop stardom, but the Flock was an important band, well appreciated by an underground legion of fans. A sense of humor and adventure and an approach to music that transcended traditional genre boundaries made the Flock an impossible band to pigeonhole. Their unique mixture of rock, jazz, classical, and blues and their ability to find balance between a raw or polished sound made the Flock one of the more intriguing bands of the early 1970s....less