"Deep Purple on the Prairie" I read from one online auction. That's worth quoting and repeating for posterity. Sky Dancer only released just this one album, recorded live in front of an enthusiastic audience in Lincoln, Nebraska one fine evening in 1977. The album opens inauspiciously enough with the crowd pleasing straight-up rockin' 'Rock and Roll Sweetheart'. But even here the guitarist begins to light things up. Once you hear 'Get Down' you know the band has serious chops and a lot of ideas to process. You just don't get to hear this much chunky organ and jamming guitars this late in the 70s - especially from these shores. 'Fear No Evil' has one of the most intense superb second halves of any track I've heard in ages. 'Hang on To Your Life' and 'Hot Rocks' are similar. This is the kind of hard rock you constantly look for - and rarely find. And 'Never Want to Be Tied Down' is the kind of thoughtful melancholic closer I was hoping it would be. All 5 of these tracks are lengthy, and feature extensive soloing on guitar and Hammond. 'Rock and Roll Circus' is also a solid hard rocker, if not a bit normal for Sky Dancer. The only throwaway here is the mercifully short boogie rock of 'Goody Two Shoes' and even it features some nice guitar work. Essential hard rock here.
This album is screaming for an archival type reissue. One hopes they may have some studio material, or even more from this live set. Sky Dancer strikes me as the type of band who were more progressive than they were allowed to be in public. The perfect setup for front loading the monster tracks, and leaving the more ordinary tracks to wallow in "bonus track" territory.
Ownership: LP: 1977 All in One. Single sleeve. Recent online acquisition (2022). Never been reissued.
1/4/19 (first listen / review / new entry); 4/22/22
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