Floating Bridge - Floating Bridge [CD]

The story of Floating Bridge begins in the mid 1960's in Seattle. Guitarist Rich Dangel had been a member of the Wailers, the lesser known the Rooks and a late incarnation of the Time Machine. When the Time Machine split up in 1967, Dangel and bass player Joe Johnson decided to form their own band. Recruiting guitarist Joe Johansen and drummer Michael Marinelli, they became the Unknown Factor - a for-hire backing band that worked with local acts such as Patti Allen and Ron Holden. In 1968 they added former Punch singer Pat Gossan to the lineup. They became the house band at Seattle's Eagle Auditorium and gained exposure via the 1968 Sky River Rock Festival. The resulting publicity attracted the interest of L.A. based Vault Records who debuted the band with a 1968 single "Brought Up Wrong" b/w "Watch Your Step." the single attracted enough attention for Vault to finance a follow-up album. Released in 1969 with the band name changed to Floating Bridge, the album teamed the band with producer Jackie Mills. With Dangel, Johnson and Gossan responsible for most of the original material, tracks like "Brought Up Wrong," the earlier single "Watch Your Step," and "Three Minute & Ten Second Blues" feature a distinctively heavy, Hendrix-inspired sound. Anchored by Gossan's powerful voice and Dangel and Johansen's twin leads, Floating Bridge remains one of the great if obscure rare psychedelic rock albums of the late 1960's. Finally available in the digital domain, all selections have been newly remastered.