STONED GYPSY WANDERER

"Stoned Gypsy Wanderer" was the second official physical release for A.J. Kaufmann, and, as many reviewers and heads have said before, his best album so far. It was originally released on CD with Kendra Steiner Editions (Texas, USA). This here release is the vinyl one for Australian Ramble Records. The album is soaked in the spirit of the psychedelic 60s, but presents the genre in a modern-thinking and sounding way. Lyrically, in my opinion, with allusions to Artaud, Breton and Baudelaire, it is almost a masterpiece. Musically, it has some weak spots, but this time I won't analyze the album track by track. It's a concept album after all and should be listened to as such without separating the songs. I hear echoes of Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Lou Reed, Pearls Before Swine, Syd Barrett, Country Joe and the Fish, Chrome, The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, Robyn Hitchcock - but most of the reviewers already noticed it. What I love about this album is that it's not a collection of inspirations, or a mere 60s revival work. It's original, fresh, and stood well the test of time having been finally presented on vinyl. I'd give it 4 or 5 stars with ease were I to write a review for my own blog or another website. But, as we're on a prog rock website, I will give it 3 stars. The elements that define prog-rock could be here (check out "Wine of Rape" for some prog-pop vibes), but this is not a progressive rock album even being a concept LP, just a psychedelic one - maybe best compared to the spirit of 13th Floor Elevators. As Jerry Kranitz of Aural Innovations wrote back in 2014: "Stoned Gypsy Wanderer is a captivating set of songs which mine the Psychedelic, Folk and Prog realms and are then stamped with A.J.'s own personal touch.". That's it, folks.