Horn Rock Heaven Top 20 - #18. Flower Pot – Loadstone [1969]

1969 offered a cornucopia of music but few songs provided such variety as Loadstone’s ‘Flower Pot’. Clocking in at over 15 minutes, this ambitious piece provides elements of psychedelic, jazz, and horn-rock for the patient listener. Most music from this era that passed the five-minute mark was built almost exclusively around soloing. And although ‘Flower Pot’ dishes out a fair share, its really only one aspect of what is expressed.

The pristine musicianship and compositional skills are apparent for this group of Las Vegas hired-gun musicians. But few would guess that prior to the Loadstone album, these guys were backing the likes of Andy Williams and Bobby Darin. And with jazz-pianist-turned-producer Dave Grusin at the controls musicianship, and not self-indulgence, was likely the emphasis. Regardless, few groups succeeded, let alone, rose to this level of ambition on their debut record. And it’s hard to not consider ‘Flower Pot’ a mark of achievement and greatness in the rock genre. But as the song suggests, “It’s not what you are, it’s what you got”. And the listener may best decide that.