Lincoln Street Exit was a Native American heavy psychedelic rock band that was formed in 1964 in New Mexico and split apart in 1970. The band was something of a conglomeration with another band from their area known as The Jacobs around the summer of 1967. The group was eventually signed to the Detroit-based Mainstream Records label in 1970, and the band released their only album, Drive It! (1970) later that year. There’s a really good interview with one of the former members of Lincoln Street Exit on PsychedelicBabyMag.com. Based on some of that interview and other things I’m seeing online, there seems to be a good deal of praise for the album, so I’m pretty stoked to give it a listen. With that said, I’m going to jump on into the music.
“Man Machine” gets grooving right away with a really groovy, almost marching beat, which is then joined by a count from the vocals as the heavy guitar work comes in. Oh wow, I’m really digging this track so far. The guitar work has a lot of heavy flavors, especially during the chorus, while the bass guitar seems to groove the song along to the marching-type beat of the drums. Holy smokes, the track seems to break through with some super groovy licks from one of the guitars. Holy smokes, I really dig the way the instrumentation mellows out as the vocals seem to guide the soundscape along with some sort of heavy psychedelic bluesy rock vocals. Holy smokes, one of the guitars gets some super groovy licks in at the end of the tune. Great track, and I’m excited to hear more.
“Dirty Mother Blues” starts out with some sort of dark, heavy bluesy riffs from one of the guitars, which are joined by super sweet, light drums at first. Holy smokes, the soundscape gets grooving with some super heavy psychedelic blues sounds that I’m really digging. Oh wow, I really dig the way the instrumentation mellows out as the vocals come into the track. I’m reminded a bit of some modern groups on the Heavy Psych Sounds record label that play with a vintage sort of style. Holy smokes, the lead guitar gets grooving into a super groovy solo filled with heavy psych flavors. Oh wow, the track seems to get into a sort of primal-like psychedelic section that reminds me of Los Angeles-based psychedelic rock groups from the late 1960s like The Other Half or even The Doors. Holy smokes, the track breaks through to some super groovy, heavy psych blues grooves from the guitar while the cymbals and strong backbeat add in more heaviness to the soundscape. I really dig the repetitive grooves from the bass guitar in this one. Oh wow, I really dig the licks in the outro. Great track.
“Got You Babe” starts out with some heavy, almost chunky flavors from what sounds to be a bass guitar and possibly a rhythm guitar at the same time. Oh wow, the track breaks through to a sort movement that feels like a mixture of hard psychedelic blues rock from the late 1960s and classic rock from the early 1970s. Holy smokes, one of the guitars lets loose a super groovy psychedelic lines for a solo of some sort. I really dig the layering of the vocals in this track, which remind me a bit of The Yardbirds, though admittedly I don’t have that much exposure to The Yardbirds. Wow, great track.
“Teacher Teacher” starts out with some sweet, mellow, somewhat dark guitar lines that have a bit of tremolo to them. Oh wow, the drums get a really sweet swing going while what sounds like a pedal steel guitar adds some country sort of sounds, while the bass guitar sounds like it’s grooving some 12-bar blues. Oh wow, all of the instrumentation comes together for a somewhat strange, dark, bluesy, cowboy-inflected psychedelic rock track that reminds me a bit of The Doors’ album, L.A. Woman (1971), mixed with a sort of psychedelic cowboy feel that I really dig. Wow, great track.
Holy smokes, “Soulful Drifter” gets started with some really sweet twangy electric guitar, acoustic rhythm guitar that seems to echo the electric rhythm guitar that’s on the other side of the soundscape. Holy smokes, a super sweet electric guitar adds some sweet psychedelic accentuations that I really dig. I’m almost reminded a bit of The Byrds with this track. I’m fighting the urge to tap my hands on my desk along to this track. Oh wow, one of the electric guitars plays some super sweet licks near the end of the track that seem to have both a sort of desert-crossing psychedelic cowboy feel mixed with a sort of surfing Los Angeles rock sound that I really dig. Wow, great track.
“Die” get started with a strong, bluesy beat from the drums, which are soon joined in by sparse, distorted guitar that seems to move along in a bluesy manner to the beat. Holy smokes, the vocals seem to segue into a super sweet guitar solo. Oh wow, the hard blues grooves gradually sweeten up and speed up as the track seems to come to some sort of crescendo at the end of the song. Wow, super sweet track.
“Going Back Home” starts out with some sweet lines from an electric guitar, which seem to trade on and off with some vocals that have a super sweet reverb to them that I really dig. Oh wow, I really dig the drums in this track; the lightness of the cymbals brings a really upbeat feel to the soundscape. Oh wow, the bass guitar has a really upbeat groove too that I’m really digging. Oh wow, the lead guitar has a really sweet classic country-inflected rock and roll sound that I really dig. Super sweet tune.
Oh wow, “Straight Shootin’ Man” gets started right away with some super groovy, heavy psychedelic guitar lines that seem to have a wah pedal effect of some sort as well as distortion. Holy smokes, there’s another guitar that has a really drippy wah pedal’d sound as well that I’m really digging. Oh wow, I’m really digging this track. Wow, great and super groovy tune.
“Phantom Child” starts out with some sort of strange wah pedal’d distorted guitar that gradually gets grooving. Oh wow, the guitar really gets grooving as the other instruments come into the soundscape. Holy smokes, I’m really digging the jams in this track. The drums have a super dynamic sound, and the lead guitar continues letting loose some super groovy lines while the tone and effects of the guitar seem to evolve with the playing. Oh wow, I really dig the tight grooves from the bass guitar in this track. The rhythm guitar almost has a sort of heavy garage rock sound with the chords that I’m really digging as well. I really dig the way the kick drum sounds separated from the rest of the percussion, and almost acts as a rapid heartbeat in the process. Wow, awesome tune and a great way to finish the album.
Holy smokes, I really dig this album. I was reminded a bit of some of the acts on the Heavy Psych Sounds record label that play with a heavy, vintage style in some tracks, while also being reminded of Los Angeles-based psychedelic rock groups from the time period like The Other Half and The Doors (particularly their later, bluesier material). The group also had a sort of hard psychedelic blues rock sound that was seemingly more common with British psychedelic rock bands from the time period, while not really seeming necessarily directly or overtly influenced by the British psychedelic blues rock groups from the time period. There were also some country and southwestern sounds mixed in at a couple moments that reminded me a bit of The Byrds that seemingly reflects how a lot of American-based psychedelic rock from the early 1970s started to pick up a bit of a country-inflection. If you’re into heavy psychedelic rock at all, and you’re also a fan of American-based psychedelic rock from the early 1970s or even late 1960s, then you might want to consider checking out this album. If you do decide to give this album a listen, then I sincerely do hope that you enjoy the experience at least as much as I did.
-A