H e r e 's another little musical gem, this time featuring the indisputable talents of
guitarist and singer/songwriter Steve Ono and his chums in Folly's Pool.
F o l l y 's Pool is another of the literally hundreds of private pressings which appeared in
1977 on the specialist label, Century Records (Century 44675), although it must be
said that there can't be many other bands on the label that attain this level of recording
quality and impressive musicianship.
Under the stewardship of Fresno-born Ono, the band takes us on a tour de force of
acoustic-based rural rock with folk, prog and country influences often to the
background. At times Folly's Pool sounds like they're trying to be The Eagles or
Loggins & Messina, but in many ways this does the band a disservice as they have
successfully created an individual approach to their music which often turns the
ordinary into the exceptional (the cunning transformation from folk to prog of Jig In A
is worth the price of admission alone) and the high standard of everything the band
plays (the stunning electric guitar solos are particularly fine) makes this album one to
play and savour.
Unfortunately this was Folly's Pool's only album (although an EP entitled Bathing
Caps Required was released in 1987) , but Steve Ono did go on to enjoy a career as a
w r i t e r, producer and performer, working with the likes of Wa r's harmonica player, Lee
O s k a r, the harmonica master Eddie Gordon and Stevie Wo n d e r's former musical
d i r e c t o r, Larry Gittens.
F o l l y 's Pool is an unusual album which could have achieved some commercial
success had it been released and promoted by a major label. Highly recommended Track Listing
1. Folly's Pool
2. Fallen Pony
3. Just A Memory
4. Jig In A
5. Before The Gates Of Elessaar
6. Kathleen
7. West Of The Skies
