Superfine Dandelion drew from a lot of fine inspirations on their sole album:
Jefferson Airplane,
the Lovin' Spoonful, and
Buffalo Springfield foremost among them. Good taste, however, does not guarantee a good record.
Superfine Dandelion isn't lousy; it's just average and unmemorable. It seems as though they did their share of listening to the early
Jefferson Airplane, judging from the extremely
Airplane-like vocal interplay and minor chord structure of
"People in the Street" and
"Crazy Town." "My Place," on the other hand, has something of the
country-flavored buoyancy of
the Lovin' Spoonful and
Buffalo Springfield, while the cheeriest cuts have the sunny
folk-pop/
rock feel of, say, some of the L.A.
folk-rock issued by the
Dunhill label (
"Don't Try to Call Me" recalls
P.F. Sloan) or
the Monkees. Then
"Janie's Tomb" and
"It's Raining" have a jokey
jug band vibe, like a cross between
the Charlatans and
the Lovin' Spoonful. These are lot of references to cram into one review, and also an indication that there wasn't much originality to
Superfine Dandelion's sound. That wouldn't matter so much if the songs were outstanding, but they're just so-so. ~ Richie Unterberger
