10 Obscure Classic Rock Albums You Didn’t Know Your Collection Needed

As attention seeking headlines go this is pretty enticing. So naturally I clicked the link to americansongwriter.com to discover what I'd seemingly missed. 

Seven of the ten albums listed were by artists I knew, less so the LPs listed from the 60s & 70s. 

One track featured was titled 'Witchi-Tai-To' by Brewer & Shipley and a story emerged. I thought I knew this song, you may also, as it's been covered by many artists. Apparently Mike Brewer and Tom Shipley learnt it off the radio in 1969 from a single by a short lived group called Everything is Everything. Written by group member Jim Pepper it's derived from a peyote* song of the Native American Church which he had learned from his grandfather. In 1971 he released an expanded version on his album 'Pepper's Pow Wow' and it's a great example of his hybrid jazz/Native American style music with the saxophone playing of Jim Pepper plus Billy Cobham on drums and Larry Coryell on guitar (see below). 

However Brewer & Shipley's 'Witchi-Tai-To' was released in 1969 on their album 'Weeds', is very different and the guitar riff sounds close to 'Sweet Jane' by Lou Reed, also written in 1969. Who composed this riff first is not easy to judge, a coincidence maybe, I just love it !

So here it is, the excellent track I didn't know from Brewer & Shipley > Nice video too and bongo intro 

"Witchi-Tai-To" by Jim Pepper, his version here fyi > worth a listen.

* peyote: a small spineless cactus plant which contains psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline!