Gypsy's self-titled debut LP (released, confusingly, under the title
English Gypsy in the U.S.) was the work of a British band extremely influenced by late-'60s Californian folk-psychedelic-rock -- more so than almost any other U.K. group you could name, in fact. Why is that, then, that hardly anyone can name
Gypsy these days? It's because the album's extremely derivative of
Buffalo Springfield,
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and especially
Moby Grape, particularly in the vocal harmonies. And it's because, while those are good influences to work from, the songs aren't nearly as good as the best work by the aforementioned acts. Some specialists would cavil that it's unfair to hold secondary bands like
Gypsy up to such high standards, and that the music should be judged on its own terms. But let's be straight about it: on this particular platter, the similarities are inescapable. The lead vocals often have the gritty tremble characteristic of numerous
Moby Grape tracks; the harmonies on "I Don't Care Do You Mind?" are very much in the early
CSNY style; the extended soloing on "Turning Wheel" can't fail to recall
Neil Young's "Down by the River"; some of the lyrics on "Standing Alone, Feeling So Bad" sound rather like
Buffalo Springfield's "Mr. Soul"; "Pony Ride" is a son (or should that be "grandson"?) of
Moby Grape's "Hey Grandma"; etc. It's well-played and well-sung, with some appealing sustained guitar effects, but more originality (and better material) were needed to make something enduring. The 2004 CD reissue on Hux adds the 1971 non-LP single "Changes Comin'"/"Don't Cry on Me," as well as six previously unreleased tracks recorded around the same time.