Sky King

Artist: Sky King

LP: Secret Sauce

Song: "Hot Mustard"

[ listen ]

Here's another album that landed in my cart at East Street Records this weekend. I almost passed it over since at first the cover reminded me of something by Cat Stevens. I figured I'd give it a listen anyway, since it featured a song called "Hot Mustard," which didn't remind me of anything by Cat Stevens. As it turns out, Sky King is amazing! Too amazing, unfortunately, for Columbia Records, the mainstream label that initially signed the band. According to Sky King's MySpace page here (click on "more" in the "General Info" section), Columbia couldn't stop fiddling with the Ann Arbor, Michigan group's followup to "Secret Sauce," their 1975 debut. Finally, with all songs for the new LP in the bag and the album on the eve of release, Sky King was told by Columbia bigwigs that their second album wouldn't be released after all and the band was fired—effective immediately. You can hear some of the songs that were meant for the group's second release, "Another Sun Is Rising," on their MySpace page here. It's a shame Sky King landed on a major label run by idiots instead of on a smaller label that might have understood, believed in, encouraged, and promotetd the incredible music they were making. There's a "Secret Sauce" album review and lots of great comments—including some from Sky King members Rick "RJ" Jacobi and Chris "Christy" Coan—on TC's Old & New Music Review blog here.