LUCAS, TED - Ted Lucas

The music of Ted Lucas has circulated through CD-Rs and blogs for years now. Although primarily known for this, his 1975 self-titled album (sometimes referred to as The OM Record), a legacy of hundreds of tapes decisively reveal one of the psychedelic eras most criminally-overlooked talents. Lucas studied with Ravi Shankar. He was the exotic instruments specialist" for Motown and played sitar on many of their most famous productions. He rubbed shoulders with Alice Cooper and Ted Nugent and every other major player on the Detroit scene. His pioneering early psych rock bands The Spike Drivers and Misty Wizards managed to become legends with nothing more than a handful of singles. Stanley Mouse, prime image-maker for the Grateful Dead and friend of Ted, adapted the cover for Ted Lucas from his artwork for Jimi Hendrixs unfinished last album. Its the first appearance of the space scarab -- the UFO that would later become Journeys symbol. From brief, spontaneous ditties, predating the lo-fi indie movement by 20 years, to the epicly psychedelic sitar guitar ragas in Lucas signature loose string tunings, Lucas never wavered from his visceral, intensely honest vision. A self-taught master of many instruments and consummate do-it-yourselfer, Ted created a home studio and worked out new ways to tune his guitars. The pride he took in his craft and his attention to detail were inspiring and exasperating to all who knew him. His wit was legendary. The reasons for Lucas failure to break out of the Detroit scene would require, and probably deserve, a book-length investigation. His career provides insight on the difficulty of self-publishing and self-promotion in the pre-internet age. Without a doubt, things would have turned out very differently had he come up today. Lucas voice is unspeakably mellow, his guitar unbelievably gentle, and his arrangements absolutely impeccable. Do not miss this album." - Riverman Music.