Although Gary Farr had started his recording career as a part of the mid-'60s British R&B wave, by the time he did his first full-length album, he was heavily influenced by folk and progressive rock. Members of late-'60s British progressive cult bands
Blossom Toes and
Mighty Baby, in fact, help out on
Take Something with You, which sometimes has a pastoral rock-jazz-folk-blues feel à la
Traffic. The songs aren't nearly as solid as
Traffic's, though, and Farr's vocals, while decent, don't have the punch of a
Stevie Winwood. The result is a record that's admirable in its attitude, but not that memorable, particularly as -- in common with some other projects by this loosely affiliated group of musicians, as heard on albums by
Mighty Baby and
Reg King -- there's sometimes a drifting, unfocused feel, as if the songs are sketches that haven't been fully worked out. Farr's at his best here when the compositions and arrangements are the folkiest, slightly recalling American songwriters
Tim Buckley (a resemblance that's strongest on "Curtain of Sleep") and
Tim Hardin. There's an attractive melancholy atmosphere to many of these tracks, just not quite enough follow-through or distinction to other the songs or singing to mark it as something outstanding. [Sunbeam reissued the CD with bonus tracks in 2008.] ~ Richie Unterberger