Although
Homer
's sole and rare album is full of ideas and busy late-
psychedelic
/early-
progressive rock
instrumentation, it's a bunch of notions in search of a road map, and ultimately doesn't say much. Sometimes there's similarity to early-'70s British
in the occasional Mellotron, the multi-sectioned song structures, and the dynamic instrumentation. There are
country
and folkier touches (including steel guitar), though, which were rare in such British music, sometimes leaving a slight odd feeling of hearing
Neil Young
(an influence especially audible on
"Dawson Creek"
) intersect with
Yes
and
the Moody Blues
. The lyrics sometimes have a verge-on-the-better-world hippie outlook that, while laudable on paper, comes across as kind of sappy. The hard-to-get-a-handle-on eclecticism isn't the problem so much as far more common shortcomings in these kind of
-era obscurities: a lack of strong songs or gripping originality, despite the undoubted competence of the playing and vocals. The 2002 CD reissue on
Akarma
adds two tracks from a non-LP 1970 single that are actually the best things on the disc. They have more of an early
feel than the LP and a tighter focus to the songs, which sound a bit like the kind of guitar-heavy, phased
psychedelic pop
the Amboy Dukes
did on
"Journey to the Center of the Mind,"
or early
Spirit
. ~ Richie Unterberger