Description
Best remembered as the band that featured guitarist Billy Gibbons, who eventually reaped universal fame with ZZ Top, the Moving Sidewalks were actually a very popular local act hailing from Houston, Texas. A hot live attraction, they produced a few singles and a full-length album during their stint.
Originally released on the Tantara label in 1969, Flash provides ample servings of heavy psychedelic-blues rock cuisine. The Moving Sidewalks were especially enamored with Jimi Hendrix, and such a fixation religiously invades their material. Soulful vocals, dazzling riffs, bursts of distorted feedback and patches of cosmic impressions shamelessly ape the lauded performer. The admiration was mutual, however, as Jimi publicly praised Billy, calling him his favorite new guitar player, after catching a Moving Sidewalks show.
This 1968 release of “Flash” is the only famous album by this Texan trio – featuring a young Billy Gibbons – and including 5 bonus tracks from the CD re-release. Featuring “99th Floor”, the smash hit that was a sensation in the acid-psych scene of late 1960s Texas, and gained them the # 1 spot in the charts for 6 weeks.
