Dino Valente - Dino Valente

The freewheeling cosmic folk revival starts here

Best remembered for his prominent role in Quicksilver Messenger Service and for penning one of the band’s most iconic songs, What About Me?, Dino Valente is also remembered for the quite extraordinary sole album he cut for Epic in 1968. Produced by Bob Johnston, famed for his work on Dylan’s landmark 60s recordings, Valente’s sole LP excursion into the then-vogue world of the singer-songwriter finds him conjuring shimmering vistas of sound from the enchanted combination of his distinctive reverberating vocals, chiming acoustic guitar and highly atmospheric brass and string arrangements. Though the focus is on Valente’s highly individualistic take on singer-songwriter conventions, at times there’s an almost spacey, melodramatic Wall Of Sound approach, Valante’s plaintive vocals complementing the instrumental accompaniment.

Trippy, captivating and haunting, as a collection of songs the album is little short of a mesmeric listening experience, most powerfully so on Something New, My Friend, Children Of The Sun and New Wind Blowing. This remastered reissue comes with two additional tracks from the sessions that spawned this unforgetable album.

RPM | Retro 289

Reviewed by Grahame Bent
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