If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years it’s that fans always want more of the same before that ‘more’ even hits the record shelves … it’s always been this way, an will no doubt run this course forever. But musicians get tired of the same musical style, they get tired of playing the same songs over and over again at live venues. Once a band has said all they have to say, they begin to hear things within the notes and constructs they hadn’t realized were there, they hear new ideas from others musicians on the road, and ultimately get exposed to more as time moves on, with The Blues Magoos making perhaps the most frenetic turn of any musical career, and that was with the release of Never Going Back To Georgia, and album that dove headlong into the constructs of blues, R&B, soul, jazz and Latin influences, where if you tune your ears just right, you’ll hear that they do it all with an undertone of psychedelicization. Case in point was their take on covering Booker T & The MG’s song “The Hunter,” a number that The Magoos crafted exceedingly well, then flexing those ideas created a very breathable “Georgia Breakdown,” or the superlatively jazzy “Gettin’ Off,” a song that shows a maturity and skill no one thought existed when the group hit the music scene with “(We Aint’ Got) Nothin’ Yet”. This was an album from not only a band in transition, but a band in the mist of a musical transition as well, one that just annoyed too many people, perhaps because psychedelic rock n’ rollers weren’t into these sounds and thought them to be worthless, though I would suggest that this album was just too much of a challenge, so it got tossed into the discount rack and laughed at, with fans demanding more of those former glory hits. Regardless, The Blues Magoos didn’t faulted, they were designing more lengthy and complex material, even their cover of “Heartbreak Hotel” allowed them to own that song while they were in the midst of playing it, and on their next outing Gulf Coast Bound they sonically washed the album with the twelve minute opus “Can’t Get Enough,” breaking ground that other big name acts would capitalize on, yet refused to give credit where credit was do … after all, this was 1969, and no one saw this release coming by any stretch of the imagination. Yes, of course, I get the fact that AM radio garage psych was cool, but so was [i]Never Goin’ Back To Georgia”, as the record was profound, and if anything, ushered this once shabby chic band onto the airwaves of late night FM underground shows, where more consideration could be given along with respect, where these songs could be thought of as truly progressive.So yes, I can understand people not jumping on board, but they shouldn’t shame this album simply because they weren’t getting what they wanted … better to let it be for others to discover without being influenced by the pretenses of those who refused to step outside of their comfort zone.Review by Jenell Kesler