Sir Douglas Quintet - Sir Douglas Quintet + 2 = Honkey Blues (1968)

The Sir Douglas Quintet were a Texan rock band formed in the mid-60s by frontman Doug Sahm.

In 1965 the Sir Douglas Quintet had a hit with "She's About A Mover", and they went on to tour the US and Europe. However upon their return to Texas they were arrested at the airport for marijuana possession. Upon his release from jail, bandleader Doug Sahm felt that he was being targeted for his long-hair hippie image, and broke up the band before moving to San Francisco (taking sax player Frank Morin with him). In California he formed a new version of the Sir Douglas Quintet with Morin, keyboardist Peter Ferst, bassist John York (later of The Byrds) and drummer George Rains. They gigged around the Bay Area and were signed to Smash records. Ferst and York were soon replaced by Wayne Talbert and Whitney Freeman.
The new Sir Douglas Quintet released their first LP in 1968. Morin's sax was augmented by extra horn players, giving the album a distinctive bluesy horn-driven sound which made it sound quite different to its predecessor. At the same time elements of the San Francisco pyschedelic sound can be heard. Most importantly the lack of Augie Meyer's Vox organ (which had been an important part of their sound before) is evident, though it is worth noting that Talbert plays some excellent piano and Hammond organ in its place. The end result is somewhat of an oddity in the Sir Douglas Quintet's discography, but nevertheless a great record.

The Best Of The Sir Douglas Quintet (1966) <|> Mendocino (1969)
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