Open Road's Windy Daze will be re-released as a double album on June 25 via Esoteric. The highly collectable 1971 classic has been remastered from the original Greenwich Gramophone masters and now includes 11 rare recordings, nine from the band's previously unreleased second album.
Open Road were formed by drummer John Carr and bassist/guitarist Mike Thomson in 1970. Both Carr and Thomson had been in Donovan’s band for his 1970 album Open Road. After the sessions, Donovan arranged some live shows with his new band, which he also named Open Road. After playing Europe, the band returned to the UK for the legendary 1970 Isle of Wight festival. Donovan parted company with his band soon afterwards leaving Carr and Thomson free to use the name for their standalone project. Simon Lanzon was brought in on keyboards with Barry Husband on guitars.
Open Road, minus Donovan, were the first progressive group to sign with the newly formed Greenwich Gramophone label and they entered Olympic Studios in April 1971 to begin work on Windy Daze.
Produced by Tony Reeves (Colosseum/Greenslade), the album was completed at Morgan Studios in London and fused both folk and progressive influences. A follow-up single, Swamp Fever b/w Lost and Found was released in February 1972, and Open Road entered Olympic Studios to record a second album with engineer Vic Smith. Open Road was never released and the group disbanded.
Esoteric's new version of Windy Daze also includes restored artwork and a new essay.
Tracklisting:
Disc One
1. Mother Earth
2. Secret Of Life
3. She’s My Sister
4. Mystic Woman
5. Sweet Liquor Woman
6. Waterwheel
7. Boy, You’ve Got The Sun In Your Eyes
8. Shimmers Of Sound
Bonus Tracks
9. Swamp Fever (A-side Of Single)
10. Lost And Found (B-side Of Single)
Disc Two
1. Leading Me On (Previously Unreleased)
2. Funny (Previously Unreleased)
3. Going For A Quick One Right Now (Previously Unreleased)
4. Children Of The Sun (Previously Unreleased)
5. Control Interferes With The Flow (Previously Unreleased)
6. Can I See You (Previously Unreleased)
7. Express Train (Previously Unreleased)
8. Every Little Thing (Previously Unreleased)
9. Take A Look Around (Previously Unreleased)
