Fresh Air Friends
During the long, cold COVID winter, we were all basically under house arrest; I decided, for lack of anything better to do, to clean out my office. In a dark corner, on a dusty shelf, I found a few boxes of recording tape. Curious, I had the two track mixes transferred to CD. What I heard stunned me, gave me chills and a choke-up or two. I was, in a moment, transported to a specific time and place long ago and placed back amongst a beloved band of brothers. What I was hearing was the unreleased sophomore album that survived the demise of a band called Fresh Air.
Context: Everyone knows of the volcanic explosion of popular music that erupted in the mid sixties through the early seventies. The portals were far flung; Liverpool and points South, Detroit, New York and San Francisco. Some of the richest cornucopias were the Canyons of southern California. Fresh Air emerged in the latter part of the era, not in Laurel Canyon but just West across the Ventura County line, the Zeitgeist drifting geographically into the burnished hills of Thousand Oaks. Columbia Records noticed and signed the band during the Clive Davis era.
The latent album that I discovered needed some technical help. The two-track mixes had to be upgraded to the digital present. The songs needed a bit of framing and undergirding musically. The call went out to the original members who stepped up to add the missing colors. The metaphor of a 'Phoenix Rising' came to fruition.
Put in proper perspective, time and place, slotted in with a well-known peer group, I believe this album stands up vividly as a contribution to that Renaissance Era. I hope that you too will find the music evergreen, the songs newly relevant, the performances then and now inspiring and worthwhile. Fresh Air Friends send this out to you with our heart and soul, in hopes of connecting with all fellow travelers of our great shared journey.
Thanks for listening!
Pat Flynn
Nashville, TN