If 1972’s Kapt. Kopter & the (Fabulous) Twirly Birds sounds like a Jimi Hendrix tribute, it’s not by accident. It was Hendrix who gave Randolph Craig Wolfe the nickname Randy California back in 1966, when Wolfe played guitar alongside Hendrix in the Greenwich Village band The Blue Flames. A year later, Randy California would form the band Spirit before departing to record this amazing album, where he was accompanied by Noel Redding, bassist for The Jimi Hendrix Experience. The album presents an equal amount of originals and covers, opening with California’s own “Downer.” That track jams hard on heavy, Hendrixesque acid rock (save for California's vocals, which were treated with tons of delay and slapback echo similar to John Lennon’s recordings). Speaking of which, California’s take on The Beatles’ “Day Tripper” and “Rain” are wonderful covers; by the time each song enters an extended solo freakout, its original foundation is barely recognizable. California also delivers a hard-hitting rendition of James Brown’s “I Don’t Want Nobody,” sounding like a more muscled version of The James Gang.