Joseph - Stoned Age Man (Scepter, SPS 574) USA 1970

Joseph's Stoned Age Man is probably the Synonym for "Strange" when it comes to Records....still i love this one to Death and would easily rate it among my All-Time-Favourites.
The whole Album, the terms of it's recording and even Joseph himself remain a mystery...according to the little information there is, Joseph (born as Joseph Long as mentioned on the record sleeve - though some sources claim he was called Longeria) was playing in a "Battle Of The Blues Guitars" between him, T Bone Walker and B.B. King, when he was discovered by Steve Tyrell of Scepter records. If we believe Tyrell's Sleeve-Notes, Joseph had already been offered contracts by other record companies which he repeatedly refused because they wouldn't let him "Do His Thang"......well, Scepter gave him that Chance and one Thing is for sure....Joseph did his Thing on that one!
Despite or maybe because of Stoned Age Man's musical uniqueness, this Record drifted into obscurity almost at the Point of it's Release....i'm actually not surprised....how can you sell something as weird as that?

Musically Stone Age Man is rooted in the Hard-Blues-Territory mixed with psychedelic Ingredients but except that general blues mood it delivers, everything else is absolutely over the top....Joseph literally screams his Lungs out and i would like to add, that he had a remarkable voice...compare it's Timbre to that of Captain Beefhart after smoking 80 cigarettes in a row if you want...also a downtuned version of Joe Cocker comes to mind.
Besides the great Guitar Work and the other Basics you can hear Sitar, strange kinds of Flutes and some nice Hammond-Parts as well as some other undefined Extravaganza (did i hear waterpipes or am i hallucinating?).
The Lyrics fit in perfectly, as they are without a doubt walking the thin line between Genius and Madness....check out I Ain't Fattenin' No More Frogs For Snakes or the wonderful Cold Biscuits And Fish Heads ...as a bonus Joseph delivers a nice uptempo Version of The House Of The Rising Sun which rates amongst the best Versions of that Song i've heard so far.
Needless to say, that the Cover-Artwork is stunning and contributed to the Construction of the Myths around this Gem....it ain't got no weak Tracks on it....trust me!