GOOD THUNDER

GoodThunder was a psych / prog / hard rock quintet from Los Angeles, formed in 1972, including James Cahoon Lindsay (vocals and percussion), John Desautels (drums), David Hanson (guitars and vocals), Bill Rhodes (bass), and Wayne Cook (keyboards). Their short existence allowed them to make only one self-titled album in 1972 consisting of eight tracks with the famous producer Paul A. Rothchild (The Doors, Janis Joplin, Rush) behind the console. The eight songs are connected with all the dominant forms of rock at the time, from early metal (lead guitar solos) to symphonic prog (the keyboard arrangements, complex changes of tempo and structure) to psych and folk. The overall sound can be compared with Deep Purple and the early days of Uriah Heep, and you can certainly hear a heavy dose of Yes when Matt Wayne Cook's keyboards are at the forefront. There's lots of interesting interplay going on between the different instruments and there are some cool jams. The proggiest song Barking At the Ants shows their talent to craft wonderful and rich material. After their break up, some members participated in local pop / AOR bands. Cook went on to play with Steppenwolf and Player. Despite the quality of the material, GoodThunder only record unfortunately went unnoticed despite the fact that they released one of the best debuts of 1972.