ZEPHYR (TOMMY BOLIN): ZEPHYR [UK 1991] CD/RE EN GIRONA

ZEPHYR (TOMMY BOLIN): ZEPHYR [UK 1991] CD/RE ZEPHYR (TOMMY BOLIN): ZEPHYR [UK 1991] CD/RE (Beat Goes On)  1991  made in UK cat. num.  BGOCD41 #rock  #blues rock   1 Sail On 7:42 2 Sun's A-Risin' 4:45 3 Raindrops 2:40 4 Boom-Ba-Boom 1:20 5 Somebody Listen 6:10 6 Cross The River 4:43 7 St. James Infirmary 5:15 8 Huna Buna 2:26 9 Hard Chargin' Woman 8:40   This late-'60s Denver group is most notable as the starting point for guitarist  Tommy Bolin, who was still in his teens when they recorded their first album in 1969. A rather routine slab of bluesy, heavy rock, it made the Top 50. Aside from  Bolin 's extended hard rock riffing, it prominently featured the lead vocals of  Candy Givens, who affected a blues-wailing pose along the lines of  Janis Joplin. But she didn't have the full throat or guts to back it up, ending up closer to also-ran female psychedelic singers like  Lydia Pense  (of  Cold Blood).  Zephyr  recorded one more album before  Bolin  left for stints with  James Gang,  Deep Purple, and a solo career; the group carried on throughout the 1970s. The band's debut finds  Bolin  already developed as a skilled player, but his playing, and the largely group-penned material, lack strength or subtlety. The most distinctive trait of the band at this point, in fact, is the somewhat histrionic singing of lead vocalist  Candy Givens.