It’s A Cinch To Give Legs To Old Hard Boiled Eggs

Maxfield Parrish, named after the early 20th century painter and illustrator, was a band based around college buddies David Perrin Muir and David Biasotti, the latter a bluegrass-loving guitar pupil of Jerry Garcia, and the former a full-on folkie. Like everyone else in late-‘60s L.A., they expanded their vision outward, coming up with a batch of brilliant songs mixing country, folk, and psychedelic rock that caught the attention of Kaleidoscope’s Chris Darrow, who produced this first and only album. There’s a spirit shared with other early L.A. country-rockers (Michael Nesmith, Gram Parsons, et al), but two things set this awkwardly titled album apart: a knack for wild, poetic, Dylan-inspired lyrical imagery, and an overall sense that these guys were genuinely well-versed in traditional folk and country. That said, there are also overtly psychedelic, rock-oriented moments that venture as far from Americana as anything on the Byrds’ most adventurous late-‘60s outings. Sadly, Maxfield Parrish was destined for footnote status; the album, recorded in 1969, didn’t see the light of day until 1972, by which time the band had already broken up. The 1999 reissue on Taxim Records adds five bonus tracks and uses the band's preferred (but unused) original mix.